A tribute and a reason to pause and consider ones own position in relation to disaster and, civility and society in our own country.. could we in the tip of Africa hope one day to be a society that while divided in many ways act cohesively enough before disaster in every little decision to one day master social and civil discourse like this? By Vishaan Chakrabarti in UrbanOmnibus

Tokyo, 2010 | Photos by Vishaan Chakrabarti
This, my tenth and final entry for a Country of Cities on Urban Omnibus, is in essence a highly personal love letter to Japan. For over a year, the wonderful readers of the Omnibus have cheered and jeered as I have relentlessly argued that the United States faces a series of deeply connected challenges: economic decline, energy dependence, oil wars, terrorism, xenophobia, protectionism, mounting debt, and spiraling health care costs. These challenges, while vexing when taken together, are surmountable with the silver bullet of the city. The combined growth of the skyscraper and the subway, I continue to posit, is the best path to keep our nation and our developing planet economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The recent catastrophe in Japan has shaken me into remembering, however, that the real trailblazers in truly dense urban living have been the Japanese, for which they have largely prospered, and because of which they will overcome the unthinkable triple tragedy they now face. Continue reading →
Like this:
Like Loading...