Click here for a selection of real estate and community development news assembled and distributed by H. Pike Oliver. Some links lead to items that are behind a paywall.
Urbanexus Update - Issue #139 /
Click here for a selection of real estate and community development news assembled and distributed by H. Pike Oliver. Some links lead to items that are behind a paywall.
Urbanexus Update - Issue #138 /
Click here for a selection of real estate and community development news assembled and distributed by H. Pike Oliver. Some links lead to items that are behind a paywall.
A view of Mount Rainier from the AIR /
A view of Mount Rainer from Southwest Airlines flight 743 on the way from SEA to PHX on February 5, 2022.
Urbanexus Update - Issue #137 /
Click here for a selection of real estate and community development news assembled and distributed by H. Pike Oliver. Some links lead to items that are behind a paywall.
Phoenix office at night /
16” Apple M1 Max MacBook Pro with 15” ViewSonic monitor on the left and 34” curved LG monitor on the right.
Inspiration from Amanda Gorman /
After reading several analysis and opinion pieces about the current somewhat sorry state of the Great American Experiment, an essay by Amanda Gorman popped up on the computer screen. True inspiration!
A third world image of Los Angeles /
The trash in this photo is from shredded boxes and packages stolen from cargo containers on trains passing through Los Angeles as reported in an article posted by The Guardian.
Reclaiming the American housing boom /
In Building from the Ground Up: Reclaiming the American Housing Boom, Kevin Erdmann argues that an inappropriate fear of excessive homebuilding led to a self-fulfilling prophecy of recession and financial crisis, which continues to inflate the cost of living and limit the economic potential for American families today.
A lament about California /
In a New York Times Magazine article entitled This Isn’t the California I Married, Elizabeth Well laments the loss of the California that she came to years ago. And then she reports on her meeting with Alex Steffen who publishes a newsletter called The Snap Forward. She quotes Steffens as saying that, “ . . . we need to dig ourselves out of nostalgia and face the world as it exists.”
A security robot /
Here is a short video of a security robot at the former Park Central retail mall in Phoenix that is now being converted to a mix of uses , including a branch of Creighton University.
Arizona #1 -- in excess deaths during the pandemic /
Arizona ranks first amongst states of the USA in excess deaths between March 1, 2020, and December 25, 2021.
Why not get Omicron just to get it over with? /
People are asking whether they should intentionally expose themselves to covid-19. If they’re going to get the coronavirus sooner or later, why not get it now? In a New York Times article, Leana S. Win goes into detail on four reasons why this is a bad idea.
Hospitals are full, and you just might end up having to go to one.
Being sick isn’t pleasant and long COVID is a possibility.
You could infect others.
Better treatments are coming.
A covid-19 awareness sign is seen on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2020
Parking lots and heat islands /
A Sightline (@sightline) article authored by Catie Gould (@Citizen_Cate) highlights the role of large surface parking lots in creating urban heat islands.
Parking lots amplify high temperatures in the vicinity of Southeast 82nd Avenue and Foster Road in Portland, OR, USA.
Chihuly in the Desert /
An exhibit of glass art is by Dale Chihuly is underway at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Here is a collage of selected items—best viewed at night. For information about the exhibit, go here.
Desert bloom /
The first bloom of 2022 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Prosecution of insurrection /
The chart below shows the status of prosecution of persons involved in the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Of 367 people charged with one or more felonies, seven cases have reached sentencing.
According to a Washington Post article, the government estimates more than 1,000 other people took part in the insurrection, including more than 350 who committed acts of violence that resulted in attacks on numerous police officers and left at least five dead. For a full perspective on the insurrection, see a 28-page investigation by the Washington Post, The Attack: Before, During and After.
The border wall in Arizona /
Excellent reporting by Clara Migoya (@ClaraMigoya) in the Arizona Republic (@azcentral) concerning the status of border fencing in Arizona and associated environmental issues and concerns. The article is available here.
Inbound U-Haul moves /
Florida and Texas dominated the list of top 25 growth cities highlighted in the U-Haul Growth Index, an annual metric tracked by the Phoenix-based moving giant. Together, Florida and Texas accounted for 15 of the top 25 markets for one-way U-Haul moving trips in 2021. Learn more here.
Two distressing stories /
I am mostly an optimist. But there are times when I wonder if i am deluding myself. Early on this New Year’s Day morning, I read two disturbing stories. The first article addressed decades of dysfunction and mismanagement at New York City’s main jail complex on Rikers Island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx. The second article reported on the rapidly moving and devastating fires in the Denver area that has destroyed as many as 1,000 homes.
The Rikers Island situation has been brewing for decades as have the Colorado wildfires. The question is are we as a society going to take effective action to resolve the underlying factors that lead to instances of social and environmental chaos?
