sprawl

how to misuse technology / fall of a giant

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I noted two interesting stories about technology gone awry in the last week.

The first is about the misuse of GPS technology in Europe. Looking for shortcuts, truck drivers use GPS devices with maps that don’t adequately show just how small streets in older towns really are. The results are dangerous conditions and traffic jams as giant trucks wander into historic villages. See here.

The second explores the consequences of mobile phone use in automobiles and how a study now prove it makes traffic worse, which of course creates a feedback loop. See here.

Derek Lindner points out that Levitt & Sons is bankrupt. See here and the IHT.

commuting and class war or, lead us not into penn station

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The New York Observer reflects on the great class war between Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. Connecticut vs. Jersey and Long Island, Bon Jovi vs. Mozart, the Sopranos vs. Philip Johnson.

I, of course, am partial to the last stomping ground of Louis Kahn which after two months of commuting from Montclair to Columbia is beginning to make some sense to me.

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