I really enjoyed this very plainspoken TED talk by James Howard Kunstler. The official blurb is this:
In James Howard Kunstler’s view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about.
…which makes the talk sound all dainty and idealistic. I suppose it is, but Kunstler himself is far from it, cheerfully using “clusterfuck” as a descriptor and sustaining a good rant for the whole nineteen minutes. I particularly liked his turn of phrase “the nonarticulated agony of suburbia”.
Worth the time. If you’d rather grab it to watch on an iPod or download it directly, it is here.
(If you see grey boxes saying Player 7 and Player 8, just click one to bring up the video.)