“I would rather the house burn down than our flames go out”

Christmas Card to Grace Hartigan

There’s no holly, but there is
the glass and granite towers
and the white stone lions
and the pale violet clouds. And
the great tree of balls in
Rockefeller Plaza is public.

Christmas is green and general
like all great works of the
imagination, swelling from minute
private sentiments in the desert,
a wreath around our intimacy
like children’s voices in a park.

For red there is our blood
which, like your smile, must be
protected from spilling into
generality by secret meanings,
the lipstick of life hidden
in a handbag against violations.

Christmas is the time of cold air
and loud parties and big expense,
but in our hearts flames flicker
answeringly, as on old-fashioned
trees. I would rather the house
burn down than our flames go out.

Frank O’Hara, ‘Christmas Card to Grace Hartigan’

We just don’t know

Interessant læsning af Mario Polèse, professor ved Centre Urbanisation Culture Société på Montreal’s Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (phew!), der konkluderer, at vi i virkeligheden ikke ved noget som helst om, hvordan man planlægger en bys positive udvikling. Økonomiske modeller, ideer om særlige industri clusters, politisk planlægning, city branding og Richard Floridas og Jane Jacobs pointering af den kreative klasses nødvendighed for at skabe positiv udvikling bliver over én kam fejet af banen. Ikke fordi de ikke (i det mindste på en eller anden måde) har gyldighed; men fordi ingen af dem tilbyder nogen universel løsning på, hvordan man skaber velstående, leveværdige byer – dertil er byer simpelthen for forskellige. Den bedste løsning er i følge Polèse i stedet noget så usexet (og ikke mindst: svært) som good goverance:

The conclusion to draw from all this isn’t that cities can do nothing to promote economic development. It’s that they should avoid academic fads and quick fixes, which are no substitute for obvious policy goals like competently providing mandated services at reasonable cost, keeping streets safe, and not taxing and regulating away businesses—good governance, in sum, and even that comes with no guarantee to work.

Men hvordan forklarer man det til en større provinsby, der lige har besluttet sig at bruge en god del af næste år kommunalbudget på branding kampagner – specielt hvis man som konsulent og rådgiver gerne vil have kontrakten?