
 |
|
May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 29, 2005
/ 25 Elul, 5765
Houston to be more like Portland
By
Froma Harrop
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
PORTLAND, Ore. There are people who think that suburban
sprawl is a good thing. The very name "Portland" makes them nuts. Portland
was the reason for Oregon's famously strict land-use planning laws. They
keep Portland pretty and the surrounding countryside green. Pro-sprawl
interests recently ran a successful propaganda campaign that persuaded
Oregonians to gut these rules.
In any case, Portland remains famous as the city that does not
roll over for real-estate barons. For the sprawl crowd, Portland is bad
advertising. The city keeps getting top marks for livability. Educated young
people continue to flock there and their retired parents are following.
Job numbers are growing, but just not fast enough for all the people who
want to live here.
No, quirky cities must be brought under the developer's boot.
Portland, Savannah and San Francisco must be shown the error of their ways.
New Orleans was one of the independent-minded places. Now that it's flat on
its back, the anti-zoning people see opportunity.
Joel Kotkin, the balladeer of American sprawl, is now busy
spreading the gospel to New Orleans. Kotkin sings the praises of
car-dependent, unregulated development while leaving out the stanzas on
gridlocked traffic and no place to walk.
Kotkin is among those urging New Orleans to look toward Houston
for inspiration, not Portland. Houston is bustle and sprawl the no-zoning
zone. It's the economic dynamo that Portland is not, or so he says. The
energy industry had left New Orleans for Houston, Kotkin writes in a
post-Katrina column, "despite New Orleans being a city that was heavily gay,
very cool and extremely hip."
The criticism is directed at the increasingly popular concept
that preserved neighborhoods, public transportation and night life are
themselves good for urban economies. They attract the creative people that
make these places go.
A Gallup poll last summer found 53 percent of New Orleans
residents to be "extremely happy with their personal lives in the city," the
best showing of 22 cities. If the people are content, why do the promoters
of sprawl feel the need to conquer the small pockets of resistance? After
all, they have a big country to sprawl over.
One reason is that they are fighting a culture war. You can't
have a war without an enemy. The enemies are the liberal-minded urban
centers that thrive on their museums, condos, gay bars and jazz clubs. They
won't let businesspeople who don't "get it" mess with their environment.
More to the point, these are places filled with singles, gays
and childless couples. In the pro-sprawl brain, these qualities make hip
cities frivolous and economic lightweights. And some conservatives think
that the only places that matter are those where middle-class families with
small children choose to live. To them, urban values seem disrespectful of
family values.
Never mind that the childless couples may be young people who
will have children some day. Or they may be older folk with grown children
who want the excitement of a city condo. Many people migrate between city
and suburb according to their changing situation.
Furthermore, single people and childless couples are not some
strange subculture. The Census Bureau recently reported that households with
no children are now the largest segment of the U.S. population. In other
words, cities don't need traditional middle-class families to survive
even though they'd love to have them. Urban centers are not about to sprout
4,000-square-foot houses, so why even pretend that they can attract the
people who want them?
The sprawl advocates are great at counting boxes in warehouses,
but not patents in file cabinets. That's why they have trouble understanding
that hip cities are also economic powerhouses. The mental work in software
design, medical research and finance tends to be urban activities. Exports
by the U.S. entertainment industry now exceed those for aerospace,
automobiles or steel.
The big joke about making New Orleans more like Houston is that
Houston is becoming more like Portland. In Houston, awful commutes have
created a hot market for city housing. Developers are turning empty lots
into loft apartments, reminiscent of Manhattan's SoHo district. And, miracle
of miracles, Houston now has a sleek light-rail system.
Like it or not, Houston is becoming cool. And with much of New
Orleans now living there, who knows what the future will bring? Perhaps
Portland has answers.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Froma Harrop is a columnist for The Providence Journal. Comment by clicking here.
ARCHIVES
© 2005 Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
A. Barton Hinkle
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|