Who was Peter Blake? /  by H. Pike Oliver

Peter Blake (1920 - 2006) was a prominent figure in architecture and urban design. Born in Stralsund on the Baltic in 1920, he was among the many mid-century architects and artists who sought refuge in the United States due to European political upheavals [1]. His return from service in the U.S. military in WWII marked the beginning of a remarkable career. He served as the Curator for the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York (1948-1950) and later held various posts, culminating in the role of editor at the prestigious Architectural Forum (1950-1972), and later Architecture Plus (1973-75).

Peter Blake’s contribution to architectual discourse is exemplified in his article "The Folly of Modern Architecture," published in The Atlantic in September 1974 [2]. In this thought-provoking piece, he posed and answered nine questions, ultimately concluding, “I have seen the future, and it doesn’t work”. The following month, The Atlantic published a multi-author critique of Blake's assessment entitled "In Praise (And Castigation) of 'The Folly of Modern Architecture'"[3].

Blake's book, 'No Place Like Utopia: Modern Architecture and the Company We Kept'’ reflects on the Modern Movement in architecture in the era between the wars (WWI and WWII) and through the expanding post-war years[4]. In this book, he delves into the complexities of the Modern Movement, arguing that it was much more than a style coined the 'International Style' by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Director of MOMA, in 1932.

Blake also wrote another book "Form Follows Fiasco: Why Modern Architecture Hasn't Worked," in which he critiques the fantasies of modern dogma that most architects once accepted[5]. He expresses his disenchantment with open-plan offices and homes, machine-made building materials, heat-transmitting glass facades, and windswept plazas.

Peter Blake's work contributed to the discourse on modern architecture, and his writings continue to influence the field. His reflections on the Modern Movement and his critique of its implementation offer valuable insights into the evolution of architectural and urban design in the 20th century.

An article by Sam Frentress in the May 2024 issue of The Atlantic offers additional perspective on Peter Blake's critique of modern architecture and urban design.[6]

[1] Pogrebin, R. (2006, December 6). Peter Blake, architect, 86, is dead; designed houses in Hamptons. New York Times.

[2] Blake, P. (1974, September). The folly of modern architecture. The Atlantic.

[3] Wood, R., Lapidus, M., White, K., Aldrich, N. W., Owings, N. A., Lefrak, S., Chermayeff, I., Goldberger, P., Lawrence, J., & Kennedy, R. W. (1974, October). In praise (and castigation of “the folly of modern architecture.” The Atlantic.

[4] Blake, P. (1997). No place like utopia: Modern architecture and the company we kept. W.W. Norton.

[5] Blake, P. (1977). Form follows fiasco: Why modern architecture hasn’t worked? Little, Brown.

[6] Fentress, S. (2024, May). The limits of utopia. The Atlantic

Urban travel modes around the world /  by H. Pike Oliver

A study of around 850 million people from 794 urban areas worldwide found that more than half of the respondents commute to work by car every day. Variations in transport tend to follow regional patterns.

The study by Rafael Prieto-Curiel from the Complexity Science Hub in Austria and Juan Pablo Ospina from EAFIT University in Columbia was published in the Environment International Journal in March 2024. It is one of the largest of its kind. It uses more than 1,000 surveys to capture trends in global mobility. The researchers only included trips to work (comparable surveys on general journeys are harder to come by) and surveys conducted before 2019 (to avoid the effect of lockdowns, which hit various cities at different times).

The surveys show where people use the most active forms of travel. The 100 least active cities in the study are all found in North America—a result of decades of government pro-car policies and subsidies. The least active city outside North America is Birmingham, in Britain’s West Midlands, a region long associated with the country’s automotive industry. The most active city is Quelimane, a small seaport in Mozambique. Other cities in the top ten are all in Europe, including two each in the Netherlands and Spain.

  • In the USA and Canada, almost 92% of journeys are made by car.

  • The percentage of commutes by car in Northern and Southern European cities ranges from 50% to 75%.

  • In several European cities, many commutes are made by bike or foot, such as in Copenhagen (47%) and Utrecht (75%).

  • Public transportation is crucial in some European cities. For instance, public transit accounts for most journeys in Paris (60%) and nearly half in London (45%).

  • In Southern and Eastern Asia, public transportation accounts for a significant share of journeys, such as in Hong Kong (77%), Seoul (66%), and Tokyo (51%).

See the charts below and learn more and here and here.

Morris House by Frank Lloyd Wright /  by H. Pike Oliver

The Morris House, also known as “Seacliff,” is an unbuilt design by Frank Lloyd Wright. Conceived in 1945, it was intended for the Morris family on a rocky outcrop at the mouth of San Francisco Bay.

This 18” x 24” archival pigment print edition of 100 is from Van Orton Design, known for their vibrant and unique artistic style, often creating prints of various subjects including pop culture and architecture. https://vanortondesign.com/

Elinor Ostrom and resource management /  by H. Pike Oliver

As noted in a blog post by Richeng Piao, a Visting Lecturer in Economics at Northeastern University, the work of Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012) has had a profound influence on resource management practices through her innovative approach to the governance of common resources.

Here are some key impacts of Dr. Ostrom’s work as highlighted in Dr. Piao’s post:

Elinor Ostrom’s legacy continues to shape and influence environmental policy, resource management, and the study of collective action. Her work provides a robust framework for understanding and managing shared resources sustainably, underscoring the profound impact of her contributions. 

Dr. Ostrom’s is probably most famous for her alternative perspective on the “tragedy of commons”, which was advanced by ecologist and biologist Garret Hardin in an essay entitled “Tragedy of the Commons” in the journal Science in December 1968. ‘Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest,’ he wrote. ‘Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.’ His essay, widely read and accepted, would become one of the most-cited scientific papers of all time.

Hardin concluded the tragedy of the commons could be avoided only through total privatization or total government control, Ostrom, on the other hand, had witnessed groundwater users near her native Los Angeles hammer out a system for sharing their coveted resource. As a professor at Indiana University Bloomington, she studied collaborative management systems developed throughout the world—cattle herders in Switzerland, forest dwellers in Japan, and irrigators in the Philippines. These communities had found ways of both preserving a shared resource – pasture, trees, water – and providing their members with a living.

Ostrom concluded that successful resource management systems include:

  • clear boundaries (the ‘community’ doing the managing must be well-defined);

  • reliable monitoring of the shared resource;

  • a reasonable balance of costs and benefits for participants;

  • a predictable process for the fast and fair resolution of conflicts;

  • an escalating series of punishments for cheaters;

  • and good relationships between the community and other layers of authority, from household heads to international institutions.

Car Harm /  by H. Pike Oliver

A refreshingly clear academic article in the Journal of Transport Geography (vol. 115, February 2024) by five authors from the UK and one from Germany summarizes car-related harm, including crashes, pollution, land use, and injustices worldwide. Rob Delahanty of CityNerd has prepared a well-crafted video reporting on and illustrating the findings of the article.

Key points made in this piece include:

  • 1 in 34 deaths are caused by cars and automobility, with 1,670,000 deaths annually.

  • Cars and automobility have killed 60-80 million people since their invention.

  • Car harm will continue unless policies change.

The totality of the abstract of Car harm: A global review of automobility’s harm to people and the environment is worth quoting:

Despite the widespread harm caused by cars and automobility, governments, corporations, and individuals continue to facilitate it by expanding roads, manufacturing larger vehicles, and subsidising parking, electric cars, and resource extraction. This literature review synthesises the negative consequences of automobility, or car harm, which we have grouped into four categories: violence, ill health, social injustice, and environmental damage. We find that, since their invention, cars and automobility have killed 60–80 million people and injured at least 2 billion. Currently, 1 in 34 deaths are caused by automobility. Cars have exacerbated social inequities and damaged ecosystems in every global region, including in remote car-free places. While some people benefit from automobility, nearly everyone—whether or not they drive—is harmed by it. Slowing automobility's violence and pollution will be impracticable without the replacement of policies that encourage car harm with policies that reduce it. To that end, the paper briefly summarises interventions that are ready for implementation.

This graphic highlights the harms of excessive automobility to the environment and human beings

The authors are Patrick Miner (a b), Barbara M. Smith (c d), Anant Jani (e f), Geraldine McNeill (b), Alfred Gathorne-Hardy (a b)

a) School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, EH8 9YL Edinburgh, UK

b) Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, EH8 9YL Edinburgh, UK

c) Centre for Agroecology, Water, and Resilience, Coventry University, Priory Street, CV1 5FB Coventry, UK

d) Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, 1 Granary Square, N1C 4AA London, UK

e) Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, 1 Grabengasse, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

f) Somerville College, The University of Oxford, Wellington Square, OX1 2JD Oxford, UK

Car-free in Arizona? /  by H. Pike Oliver

Jordan Pandy of Business Insider interviewed John-Robert Rodriquez, a 24-year-old school teacher who moved to Culdesac, a car-free community in Tempe, AZ (Phoenix area), in October 2023. Mr. Rodriquez has never liked driving and believes that fewer cars can foster more community. He says life at Culdesac is great, but he still has to deal with the car-dependent world outside its gates. Learn more here.

Walking the World visits Phoenix /  by H. Pike Oliver

"Chris Arnade Walks the World" is a project by photographer and writer Chris Arnade who shares dispatches and photos from his walks around the world. He documents his experiences and observations in a Substack newsletter. His work often provides a unique perspective on the places he visits, as seen in his documentation of homelessness and the drug crisis in Phoenix.

After visiting and lamenting the most downtrodden parts of Phoenix, this is how Arnade summarized the area: Phoenix is a large grid of mile-long four-lane sides, with shopping plazas at the corners and an inside of twisting single-lane roads and simple ranch homes on half-acre plots. Those residential insides are the nice parts, and showing that they’re nice is partly why I’d come to Phoenix: to highlight a version of the American Dream, which, while I might not love and isn’t necessarily “walkable,” is still very appealing to lots of people.

You may view his entire post here.

Mitigating methane emissions /  by H. Pike Oliver

Former University of Washington Vice Provost for Research Mary Lidstrom is researching how to reduce methane emissions. To do so, she plans to utilize bacteria that can consume the greenhouse gas, which accounts for 30% of global warming emissions.

For nearly three years, Lidstrom’s lab has been working to address two primary challenges associated with harnessing bacteria for methane mitigation. The first was to find the right methane-eating bacteria, methanotrophs, for the job.

Lidstrom and her team are designing a bioreactor to house the methane-consuming bacteria in a shipping container-like structure. The goal is to deploy the technology by 2030 to slow global warming by 2050. Scale-up projections indicate significant reductions in methane emissions can be achieved by 2050.

Learn more here.

Tim Berners-Lee Critiques the Web on its 35th birthday /  by H. Pike Oliver

In a post on Medium, the web's creator concludes that the first decade of its life was great but as it moves towards middle age, things are not so great. He concludes that two issues need to be addressed.

The first is the extent of power concentration, which contradicts the decentralised spirit I originally envisioned. This has segmented the web, with a fight to keep users hooked on one platform to optimise profit through the passive observation of content..

Compounding this issue is the second, the personal data market that has exploited people’s time and data with the creation of deep profiles that allow for targeted advertising and ultimately control over the information people are fed.

Lee wants an online world that is focused on profit to become one that addresses the needs of humanity. It’s a big wish!

Perspective on the US economy /  by H. Pike Oliver

The Economist news magazine offers perspective on the strength of the U.S. economy and concludes that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have ideas that endanger it. It’s worth a read, and you can access it by clicking on the image below.

AI /  by H. Pike Oliver

Michael J. Trotten on artificial intelligence's potential pluses and minuses. He concludes with this: "So what do we actually know? That AI is coming faster than almost anyone realizes, that the pace of change will accelerate, and that nobody—not computer researchers, not economists, not historians, and definitely not me—knows where we’re heading. But for what it’s worth, I see artificial intelligence as something like fire: it will warm us, and it will burn us." 

His article posted on City Journal is available here.

Revisiting Brasilia /  by H. Pike Oliver

Pat Finn, a high school English teacher and a freelance writer on art and architecture, says, “The urban planning of the 1950s wasn’t perfect. But we need something like it if we are going to solve the housing crisis today.” This led him to revisit the master-planned city of Brasilia and write an article posted by Architizer.

He notes the faults or problems with Brasilia. And then he asks and answers several rhetorical questions.

Is Brasília really less workable than, say, Los Angeles? The latter is also car-dependent but has far more congestion. And is the class segregation in Brasília really worse than in Rio? Are isolated housing blocks really worse than favelas? And if Brasília failed to achieve its aims, does this mean it wasn’t even worth attempting?

Finn’s answers these questions with a resounding NO!

After reading the article, you may find that you have changed your perspective on Brasilia, or at least you will learn more about the place.

AI and the government /  by H. Pike Oliver

I asked Microsoft’s Copilot AI bot to describe Palantir, and here is what I received.

Palantir Technologies Inc. is a public American company specializing in big data analytics software platforms. It was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, and Alex Karp. The company's name is derived from The Lord of the Rings where the magical palantíri were "seeing-stones," described as indestructible balls of crystal used for communication and to see events in other parts of the world.

Palantir is best known for three projects: Palantir Gotham, Palantir Apollo, and Palantir Foundry. Palantir Gotham is used by counter-terrorism analysts at offices in the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) and the United States Department of Defense. Palantir Apollo is a platform that facilitates continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) across all environments. Palantir Foundry is used by corporate clients such as Morgan Stanley, Merck KGaA, Airbus, Wejo, Lilium, PG&E and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Palantir believes institutions can solve hard problems and improve the world with good data and the right software. With Palantir, investigators are: uncovering human trafficking rings, finding exploited children, and unraveling complex financial crimes. 

Humanitarian response organizations are directing resources more effectively to communities affected by natural disasters. Prosecutors are building more robust cases against insider traders. Public health officials are tracking and containing the spread of deadly diseases.

Now, please look at this video presentation by U.S. Army General Gustave F. Perna (Retired) about how Palantir helped with the logistics of delivering the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Then please read this opinion piece by Josh Tyrangiel of the Washington Post.

Elite universities in the USA /  by H. Pike Oliver

An article posted by The Economist news magazine highlights how the elite universities of the United States have become bloated, complacent, and illiberal. American universities still dominate the top rungs of most international league tables—but their lead is becoming somewhat less secure.