Category: Urban life

Nimlby ethical development

1 April, 2011 (18:28) | Cities, Development, Infrastructure, Local issues, Neighborhood, New York, NIMBY, Theory, Urban life |

By: David A. Smith       “It’s good enough for the poor.”   Right outside our front yard run power and telephone lines.    Bus rapid transit – in Bogota, Colombia   My office silence is occasionally disturbed by demolition hammers rumbling the street six floors below my window.  I accept these intrusions on my [...]

City snow: owning the street

7 January, 2011 (11:20) | Boston, Cities, Communities, Infrastructure, Law, Local issues, Parking, Urban life, US News |

By: David A. Smith    [Connected to yesterday's post about sidewalk shoveling.]   Yesterday’s story on the perils of urban snowfall, using one Boston Globe article (Arial font) and one New York Times article (Georgia font), focused on the bright side of shoveling – the duty of a property owner to maintain the healthiness and accessibility [...]

City snow: owning the sidewalk

6 January, 2011 (12:24) | Boston, Cities, Communities, Homeownership, Infrastructure, Law, Local issues, Parking, Urban life, US News | 1 comment

By: David A. Smith    Whenever we have a big Boston snowstorm, as we did last week, I get to experience first-hand two of the great traditions in snowy urban life, both of which illustrate the limits of law and the power of custom and community:   Who shovels his walk, and how well? Who [...]