In honor of today's Martin Luther King Jr Day I have posted some  photos of the MLK Memorial in Washington DC, taken when it first opened in 2011.

(All photos: © John Rennie Short)

New York's superich in the Second Gilded Age

The New York Observer published an article recently on the “Second Gilded Age” in New York City that describes the wealthiest New Yorkers. It draws upon my recent essay, Economic Wealth and Political Power in the Second Gilded Age, in an edited book entitled Geographies of the Super-Rich. The full excerpt from the Observer is below:

"In the collection of essays, published last year, John Rennie Short, a professor of public policy at the University Maryland Baltimore County, refers to this period as the ‘Second Gilded Age.’ Mr. Short estimates that 103,000 people worldwide have a net worth in excess of $30 million, and this upper, upper class owns about 40 percent of global assets. The holdings of the 66 New Yorkers on the most recent Forbes 400 list (led by David Koch with $42.9 billion) adds up to an astounding $390.67 billion dollars—more than the gross domestic product of Thailand, a nation with 67 million people. Mr. Short detects similarities between the two eras. Striking inequality was seen as evidence of Social Darwinism. And it is again, he suggests. ‘Wealth is justified not simply as a result of luck or connections,’ he writes, ‘but as a ‘natural’ phenomenon and hence immune to political change and social debate.’ He also notices contrasts. It was de rigueur for elites in the late 19th century to live a life of leisure, but today’s captains of industry flaunt their industriousness. ‘The hardworking rich replace the idle rich,’ as Mr. Short puts it.”

To read the full Observer article titled “Gilded Age 2.0: New York’s Richest CEOs, Artists, and Pro Athletes,” click here.

To read my essay in full click here

Caribbean travels

Photos from recent travels in Caribbean:

Sunning in San Juan, Puerto Rico

View of Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Rainforest in Dominican Republic 

Mobile shoe store in Dominican Republic 

Well-connected house in Dominican Republic 

The Spanish forces of Caribbean colonialism

St Barts- an upmarket niche in the tourist economy of the region

Store in the capital city of Antigua, St Johns

(All photos: © John Rennie Short)

Aarhus

I recently retuned from a visit to Aarhus Denmark. I gave a talk at a conference on City Regions in a Globalized World.

The city was such a contrast to Cali Colombia, site of a recent visit and inspiration for a previous blog entry.  Rather than a social capital deficit, here was social capital in abundance with pedestrianized walkways and the many bicyclists simply leaving their bikes unattended with little fear of theft. The Scandinavian democracies, with their generous social welfare and abundant social capital, are reminders of what a humane urbanism can look like.

It was cold and overcast during most of visit. I arrived a day early so that I could explore the city. I visited the impressive Art Gallery. The wind was bone chilling and the grey skies depressing but I had a magical experience. I visited the Botanic Garden, had lunch and walked through the greenhouses. In the quiet and green-filled tropical greenhouse, the circular section in the photograph, I was alone with thousands of butterflies fluttering languidly in the heavy, humid and deliciously warm air displaying their indigo dark wings with extravagant splashes of yellow. On a cold, grey day it was a wonderful experience to be transported to the warmth and fecundity and magic of the rainforest.

Art Gallery, Aarhus

Botanic Garden Greenhouses, Aarhus

Youtube videos of John Rennie Short/Oxford University Press interview

A new book Human Geography: A Short Introduction was published by Oxford University Press. To promote the book they interviewed me at their offices in New York City and subsequently posted the responses on youtube. Here are some of them:

human geography

on geography

on place and globalization

on globalization

global integration

on travel

on writing

on education

Cali, Colombia

Just returned from a week in Cali Colombia. I was working with some colleagues at the Urban Observatory, POLIS, at Universidad ICESI. They are doing great work conducting surveys, collecting data and making social interventions such as trying to help trash pickers move into the formal economy.

The city is emerging from years of conflict: the long war between the government and FARC, the destructive nature of gang violence and internecine warfare between narco cartels. Things are getting better; homicides are coming down but are still high by US and European standards. According to official police statistics, close to 2000 people were murdered in the city in 2013. The murder rate just twenty years ago was 126 per 100,000; it is now down to 60. The comparative figure for Washington DC is 24 and only 4 for Amsterdam, which is the highest figure for a major European city.

The violence is concentrated in distinct parts of the city, especially the poor barrios where there is territorial competition between different criminal gangs. The legacy of violence is evident in the bunker architecture that prevails, the pervasive presence of armed guards and the disconcerting experience of sharing a restaurant with a young couple who had  their personal bodyguard posted outside.

And yet despite the easy characterization of the city as a place of violence, there are signs of hope. The murder rates are coming down, a more democratic politics are emerging and, despite poverty and enduring inequality, there is an active debate about creating a fairer better city. There are new land use plans, new proposals for sensitive urban renewal and creating green corridors. After years of unrelenting violence the city seems to be heading towards a better future.

In Cali, as in most cities in the Global South, poverty, marginalization and access to good quality public service remain important issues. Traffic is brutal and mass transit is barely adequate. But the city has a liquid sensuality, exemplified by its unique brand of salsa and in the provocative lyrics of popular songs. A hyper-sexualized culture, replete with widespread use of plastic surgery and loaded with public displays of affection and flesh, eroticizes the everyday and gives a powerful energy to the streets and a pulsating life to the city.

 Affluent neighborhood (Photo: © John Rennie Short)

                     

   There is an energy to street life (Photo: © John Rennie Short) 

                     

Slums in the west of the city (Photo: © John Rennie Short)

                             

Motorcycles are a popular form of transport (Photo: © John Rennie Short) 

                 

The city is located along the side of the Andes (Photo: © John Rennie Short)

  

Typical  gated dwelling (Photo: © John Rennie Short)