The original urban crisis of the 1960s and 1970s was a crisis of economic failure, spurred on by the movement of people, jobs, and industry to the suburbs; the hollowing out of city economics; and the concentration of poverty and economic disadvantage in urban centers. The New Urban Crisis is a crisis of success, brought on by the movement of affluent and educated people, and of knowledge and tech jobs, back to the urban center. – CityLab
Author: Douglas McLennan
Nostalgia For Blockbuster Video? Seriously, It Wasn’t That Great
“I’ve heard Blockbuster called “the Walmart of video stores,” which illustrates not only their sales strategy, but their history as an industry Goliath. Like the chain of retail megastores, Blockbuster achieved domination by muscling into new markets and putting locally owned mom-and-pop shops out of business with its deep pockets and seemingly limitless resources.” – New York Magazine
What Are The Limits Of Academic Freedom?
“Academic freedom is no simple matter. We have distinct ways of understanding it, often according to class, discipline, race, gender, and ideology. At base, academic freedom entitles us, as both faculty and students, to say or investigate things that might upset others without fear of retaliation. As with any condition of speech, limits exist. And as always, complexity begins at the imposition of limits.” – Chronicle of Higher Education
Machines Are Increasingly Taking Over Creative Jobs. Should We Be Worried?
Once we thought drivers, doctors, accountants, and lawyers were irreplaceable. And yet we are beginning to see computers encroaching on those fields. Now, even the most human of professions—those centered on creativity, something we thought of as uniquely human—seem to be programmable. – JSTOR
Portland Opera Announces Plan To Get Itself Out Of “Dire” Situation
Combined with rising production costs and, as Interim General Director Sue Dixon puts it, “the shifting philanthropic landscape of Portland,” there was the very real possibility of the organization going broke before the end of the next decade. – Portland Mercury
Book Publishing Revenue Up 6.9 Percent In First Half Of 2019
The top-line message from the organization is that the combined revenue of the participating publishers for the first six months of the year was nearly US$6 billion. The previous caveat in place, that represents an increase of 6.9 percent over the same first-half period of 2018. – Publishing Perspectives
Why London Really Needs More Theatres
“The authoritative Theatres Trust reckons there are currently 263 theatres in London. It’s about the same number as Tokyo, whereas Paris has around 350. New York tops the list with well over 400. Producers believe more tickets could be sold in London. But first they need more places to originate shows in and to transfer existing shows to.” – BBC
The Turkish Grandmother Who Inspired Theatre To Change The World
Her village doesn’t have a stage, so she gathers her performers under a walnut tree in her garden for rehearsals while they do their domestic chores. Her love of theatre is apparently contagious. “When I see Ummiye calling me on my mobile, I come running,” one of her actresses says. And people in other parts of the country want a piece of the action, issuing invitations on social media for the group to perform locally. – BBC
Memory As A Product Of Theatre
“Theatre is ephemeral, we explain endlessly. Every time we raise five thousand dollars to put up a show in some under-lit black box, we find ourselves trying to justify the existence of a work of art that will vanish after one or sixteen performances. So we say that the product is the memory, not the show.” Howlround
When The Meanings Of Words And Ideas Are Up For Grabs This Is What Happens
“In the decades since the 1980s, and after the victory of capitalism over communism in the cold war, we have lived, Chantal Mouffe told me, within a sense of the “normal” to which there has seemed no alternative. Words and concepts that had been so important for those struggling for freedom from authoritarian rule in the twentieth century Mouffe now saw as having been co-opted by purely economic interests: “choice,” for example, had become a way to justify relinquishing public control of schools and hospitals; “liberty” had migrated in meaning to bolster the selling-off of state assets.” – New York Review of Books