Relevant stories in the world of cities and their residents.
- First up: City Lab (a revamped version of The Atlantic Cities that dropped this morning) asks What if U.S. Cities Just Stopped Participating in the War on Drugs?
- Next, my friend Hilary, who runs a community garden in rural Kentucky pointed me in the direction of this lovely piece about some creative entrepreneurs who purchased vacant buildings in their small town and transformed them into community spaces. Makes you wonder what could be done with all the empty buildings in your own downtown…
- My post about ethical consumption ended up being very timely with the mining disaster in Turkey that occurred this week. Turkish citizens are certainly familiar with political protest and they took to the streets almost immediately following the disaster in order to advocate for better working conditions and laws that would ensure this.
- The tiny house movement has received a lot of press over the last few years (including from me), but it wasn’t until today that I read about tiny houses in such an intimate and personal context. An entertaining read, featuring, unsurprisingly, my friend Jay.
- Potential federal money to encourage transit-oriented development.
- Finally, if you haven’t been following the story of the asylum seekers in Australia and the abusive treatment they’re receiving while in detention, now is a good time to catch up. The situation is moving fast. Here’s the latest, and here’s some background on the activism going on in response.
The City Space 