Tuesday's readings fit nicely with Annie Leonard's talk on production chains (or "the history of stuff"). In her short film and talk Annie suggests three things - 1) people are disconnected from the full process and various externalities of our consumption, 2) our current consumption patterns are unsustainable 3) and if we better understand the real costs of "things" we'll be better able to create a new and regenerative (rather than distractive) system.
Zukin's piece notes that when public space becomes privatized it also becomes explicitly consumption based, whether Bryant Park users know it or not. Markusen's piece on import-substition economic development made me think about the possibility that that system is inherently closer to Annie's vision of a closed loop and sustainable production chain; that is if residents decided to produce for themselves in a sustainable manner (not always the case).
Talk of import-substitution always takes me back to my Latin Americanist days and does give me some pause - local production is not always the most efficient - but in my mind more importantly growth through human interaction is important. At least in Latin America, ISI required strict insulation and therefore exclusion which its fundamental flaw. It's interesting to think about it at an urban scale, rather than a national one.
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