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That's part of my point, also, that it doesn't take GREAT wealth to make a "good school". I'll be frank. I think some city schools use issues like poverty rates, English-language learners, etc as an excuse. Inner-city schools used to be the way out of poverty.
Agreed it doesn't take great wealth, but having large portions of the child population impoverished doesn't help. Maybe poverty is an excuse, but I think it's a big factor. I mentioned this idea earlier, if "big city schools" are the problem, then suburbs with similar demographics of minority poverty would have better schools. A previous poster (HeavenWood?) mentioned Philadelphia as an example of a big city school district having beaucratic and adminstration issues.
Agreed it doesn't take great wealth, but having large portions of the child population impoverished doesn't help. Maybe poverty is an excuse, but I think it's a big factor. I mentioned this idea earlier, if "big city schools" are the problem, then suburbs with similar demographics of minority poverty would have better schools. A previous poster (HeavenWood?) mentioned Philadelphia as an example of a big city school district having beaucratic and adminstration issues.
I don't follow your "if-then" scenario. And frankly, if it's bureaucracy and administrative issues, those can be fixed fairly easily, certainly far easier than eliminating poverty. Education, in general, seems to suffer from administrative overload. As I said earlier, for a business that employs a lot of professionals, they have a lot of admin.
Agreed it doesn't take great wealth, but having large portions of the child population impoverished doesn't help. Maybe poverty is an excuse, but I think it's a big factor. I mentioned this idea earlier, if "big city schools" are the problem, then suburbs with similar demographics of minority poverty would have better schools. A previous poster (HeavenWood?) mentioned Philadelphia as an example of a big city school district having beaucratic and adminstration issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
I don't follow your "if-then" scenario. And frankly, if it's bureaucracy and administrative issues, those can be fixed fairly easily, certainly far easier than eliminating poverty. Education, in general, seems to suffer from administrative overload. As I said earlier, for a business that employs a lot of professionals, they have a lot of admin.
I was saying bureaucratic/administrative issues are one among many probems with the Philadelphia School District. Yes, the red tape is bad, but the fact students stab teachers is far worse.
IMO Ban all but commercial vehicles and public transit from cities. Having dedicated bicycle lanes and an underground rail would help too.
Who would want to set up shop in a place where trucks can't make deliveries? Underground rail would help but not everything can be delivered by rail. Chicago used to have an underground rail system, but it went out of business.http://blog.chicagodetours.com/2012/...n-underground/
Last edited by pvande55; 04-27-2013 at 01:38 PM..
Reason: Add link
Who would want to set up shop in a place where trucks can't make deliveries? Underground rail would help but not everything can be delivered by rail. Chicago used to have an underground rail system, but it went out of business.http://blog.chicagodetours.com/2012/...n-underground/
That's why I said ban all but commercial vehicles...
What do cities need to do to "survive"?
Thrive !
What makes a city thrive?
[] Logistics - the framework for the flow of materials, services, and information
[] Efficiency - access to data, goods and services; inexpensive transportation
[] Functionality - economical and functional shelter; access to utilities;
[] Security - minimize risk from predators; access to medical services
[] Aesthetics - minimal nuisances; beauty unmarred; out of sight infrastructure - silent, clean, safe, and unobtrusive character.
[] Shift focus from "making money" to prosperity.
{Prosperity - the production, trade and enjoyment of surplus usable goods and services.}
So, a mid-rise-in-a-park model? Medium- to high-density residential and commercial, but a high %age of the land must be dedicated open space?
I'm not sure about it's success from an economic perspective. It might not be much higher actual density than some suburbs, but a lot of open space to curate. It seems very expensive, then, per resident, regardless of it it's the land-owner's or the city's responsibility to care for the open space.
From a citizen's perspective, my only concerns would be walkability and transit.
Or, do you mean dense neighborhoods and commercial districts, interlinked by a vast trail and park system?
This would be very expensive (ie, high local taxes), due to the high volume of government-curated land, and require detailed up-front planning and strong, consistent political support for that plan.
Mix nature and urban with a family welcoming environment, you'll have me hooked.
You might like the dual ring village mode.
Imagine a line of mixed use buildings - something like the 1890s in New York City. Stores on the street level, apartments above. Take that line and wrap into a circle. Take another line of buildings, and wrap that into a circle, placed within the first circle. The result : two circular buildings, a ring street between them, and a round park. . . a dual ring village. One more embellishment - construct continuous balconies at each upper level - not unlike the French Quarter in New Orleans... and sky bridges where appropriate.
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