My Bookmarks
An Account of Human Costs
Places Journal
For upstaters, the reservoirs providing water to New York City represent at best an imposition and at worst an imperial pillage of the landscape.
An Enduring Source of Drinking Water
Places Journal
By the turn of the 20th century, the inadequacy of New York City’s water-provision systems was evident. A more radical solution was needed.
An Air of Permanent Mourning
Places Journal
The polarization between city and country is an old story. Now it is entrenched in the upstate communities that were sacrificed to provide water to the downstate metropolis.
“As if they had always been there”
Places Journal
After the family homesteads have been seized, the villages disassembled, and the valleys drowned — decades after the reservoirs have all been built — what do the landscapes look like?
Post-Castro
Places Journal
Six decades after the revolution, Cubans envision a new society that blends the equities of socialism with the energies of capitalism. The challenges are daunting.
Towards a Cultural History of Plexiglass
Places Journal
Plexiglass dividers aim to keep us safe amidst a viral pandemic. But there is no perfect seal.
Writing Through Prison Storms
Places Journal
Writing happens in a place and is of that place. What happens when that place is San Quentin in the time of coronavirus?
The Trouble with Consumption
Places Journal
The contradictions between capitalist needs and ecological imperatives are impossible to ignore. How might the tenets of alternative hedonism foster new mandates for radical political change?
“The Splendor of Our Public and Common Life”
Places Journal
Edward Bellamy’s utopian novels influenced a generation of urban planners and designers. They are worth reading today, as designers consider their political commitments.
An Appalachian Trail
Places Journal
In its original concept, the Appalachian Trail was more than a hiking path. It was a wildly ambitious plan to reorganize the economic geography of the eastern United States.