[PREV - BUILDINGS_LEARN] [TOP]
February 19, 2012
One of the puzzles I have
about Stewart Brand is his
enthusiasm for the at best EDGE_CITY
problematic book "Edge
City" by Joel Garreau.
As an aside at a Long Now
event, he mentioned in
passing that he regarded Emeryville is directly
Emeryville -- the home of across the bay bridge
his Global Business Network from San Francisco,
offices -- as an Edge City. north of Oakland.
It really is on the
edges of the more
traditional cities
in the area... but There are some
it's a poor fit for more hints in
Garreau's "Edge the video
City" concept, in series made
my opinion -- for to tie-in with
one thing people this book:
actually live
there. But then BEEB_LEARNS
maybe everywhere is
a poor fit for Garreau talks
Garreau's ideas... about things
like "the iron
law of edge
There aren't too many city is that
clues in "How Buildings the bosses
Learn" about what Brand commute is
thinks is so great about shortest":
Garreau. so now Edge
City includes
the McMansions
that go with
There is some stuff on p. 62 the office
about how developers are more complexes.
influential than architects. But then, the
Bay Guardian This contradicts
There's some vapid could've told the things he said
stuff about building you that... in the original
for markets is less book: I think he
destructive than just quietly
totalitarian power. slinks away from
things he's said
before whenever
they seem
inconvenient.
This is:
(a) damning with faint praise.
(b) ignoring the fact that
developers are expert at hi-jacking
the government approvals process.
The idea that there's some
choice between free market
and government in play is
transparently false.
--------
[NEXT - PUNK_CITY]