Artes Perditae

Artes Perditae is Latin for lost arts. And now it is time for us to find, recall or unearth as many lost arts as we can. We are going to need them. Why? Because as Paul Gilding tells us in his book "The Great Disruption": "We've been borrowing from the future, and the debt has …

The Quiet City, The Future City

"Maybe the future is bad. But there's a future beyond that, right?" Yuno Gasa. First there is the city that we have constructed. Next is the city of the present, a quiet city, a city of stillness, anxiety and waiting. As we are confining ourselves indoors, we ask ourselves about life in our present cities. …

The Sleep of Reason

Before and After The Post tells us this morning that Congress is debating whether to debate a measure aimed at controlling climate change. The lead editorial on the op-ed page gives the debate a 50-50 chance of succeeding. We are speechless.

Challenges for the Next City

A regular reader here asked me a question the other day. He said: "You talk about the challenges facing the next cities, but I am not sure I understand exactly what you mean." So to be as clear as I can, I invite you to read the text below. It is an edited version of an article from The …

The Next City – An Inquiry Begins

Lisbon, Portugal In recent months we have had the extraordinary opportunity to visit many cities around the world, from Istanbul to Cairo, Lisbon to Rochester, New York to Portland. Some we have visited many times, some for only a fleeting moment. But we have tried to think about each place, tried to get to know …