Umhm. Despite appearances I am not naive. Just idealistic, and that after a
long period of deep conservative views. Law school has forced me to recognize
wrongs I had thought in the past or matters of individual obligation to combat.
Land use is an example. I'd much rather hear Dave Sucher discuss land reform
than tell about good popular physics books. I can find The Quark and the Jag-
uar on my own. I know political opposition would be tremendous, senatorial ego
aside, we're talking MAJOR lobbying by union, auto, oil and highway lobbies.
Most zoning and traffic control, however, is local. My naivete does still con-
vince me that, with compelling statistics, models, graphics and neighborhood
support, regions can be made auto-banned. A lot of us really LIKE public
trans-port!
And given the effect of cars on community, banning them should help creat a
few vital areas that can be used as model examples so the ban can be spread.
Rather than trying to use the electronic network to replace human contact in
order to reduce autos, maybe we should actually be attacking the problem
itself.I know this has been said on this board before, but it's been dropped,
seeming-
ly from hopelessness. I do think law and community pressure can work, I be-
lieve in informing the public. The only way to oppose money lobbies is infor-
mation and it only works if it is broadly disseminated. Jefferson pointed out
that democracy only works when the people being ruled understand what is being
done and how to use the process. The Princeton report published here a few
months ago gave chillingly good evidence that Americans are 70% functionally
illiterate. So it's got to be TV or word of mouth. Slow, but it can be done.
There are cases all over the place that show that. Please don't force me to
go to my Administrative Law book to find the one where an Arkansas ghetto
neighborhood saved it's park by community education and use of the laws on the
books. We can do that to cars. So let's hear some ideas how. I know by now
that most of the people on this list care deeply about people and community.
You must have some ideas.
As to costs, I want to know the same things. What do the alternatives cost?
I can find overall cost of the MBTA, but not a per capita breakdown or any
analysis of indirect costs and savings. As to Conservation Law Foundation, I
can easily get their address and some info off LEXIS if there is any interest.
I hope my diatribe hasn't driven any more souls who want to talk Derrida and
architectural deconstruction (personally, I always thought demolitions teams
did that) off Design-L. I never liked Derrida as an English lit crit and felt
deconstruction was an absurdly adn dangerously alienating attitude, but to each
his own. Or is that the subjectivists? I hope some of you planners are still
interested in discussing how to mobilize public, political and press machinery
to achieve the public good. Yes, the public are still out there and they are
us. Don't ever succumb to the illness our defense attorneys and politicians
suffer, and see the Public as faceless masses. We each have a postive duty
to those around us to perform our professions to the best of our ability and
to do no harm.
long period of deep conservative views. Law school has forced me to recognize
wrongs I had thought in the past or matters of individual obligation to combat.
Land use is an example. I'd much rather hear Dave Sucher discuss land reform
than tell about good popular physics books. I can find The Quark and the Jag-
uar on my own. I know political opposition would be tremendous, senatorial ego
aside, we're talking MAJOR lobbying by union, auto, oil and highway lobbies.
Most zoning and traffic control, however, is local. My naivete does still con-
vince me that, with compelling statistics, models, graphics and neighborhood
support, regions can be made auto-banned. A lot of us really LIKE public
trans-port!
And given the effect of cars on community, banning them should help creat a
few vital areas that can be used as model examples so the ban can be spread.
Rather than trying to use the electronic network to replace human contact in
order to reduce autos, maybe we should actually be attacking the problem
itself.I know this has been said on this board before, but it's been dropped,
seeming-
ly from hopelessness. I do think law and community pressure can work, I be-
lieve in informing the public. The only way to oppose money lobbies is infor-
mation and it only works if it is broadly disseminated. Jefferson pointed out
that democracy only works when the people being ruled understand what is being
done and how to use the process. The Princeton report published here a few
months ago gave chillingly good evidence that Americans are 70% functionally
illiterate. So it's got to be TV or word of mouth. Slow, but it can be done.
There are cases all over the place that show that. Please don't force me to
go to my Administrative Law book to find the one where an Arkansas ghetto
neighborhood saved it's park by community education and use of the laws on the
books. We can do that to cars. So let's hear some ideas how. I know by now
that most of the people on this list care deeply about people and community.
You must have some ideas.
As to costs, I want to know the same things. What do the alternatives cost?
I can find overall cost of the MBTA, but not a per capita breakdown or any
analysis of indirect costs and savings. As to Conservation Law Foundation, I
can easily get their address and some info off LEXIS if there is any interest.
I hope my diatribe hasn't driven any more souls who want to talk Derrida and
architectural deconstruction (personally, I always thought demolitions teams
did that) off Design-L. I never liked Derrida as an English lit crit and felt
deconstruction was an absurdly adn dangerously alienating attitude, but to each
his own. Or is that the subjectivists? I hope some of you planners are still
interested in discussing how to mobilize public, political and press machinery
to achieve the public good. Yes, the public are still out there and they are
us. Don't ever succumb to the illness our defense attorneys and politicians
suffer, and see the Public as faceless masses. We each have a postive duty
to those around us to perform our professions to the best of our ability and
to do no harm.