Observers Room: John Thackara: March 2011 Newsletter

[Gustaff Harriman Iskandar]

To view this email in your browser, click here. MONTHLY EMAIL NEWSLETTER: MARCH 2011 "Work faster, get time for life." I just got back from a short trip to India where this insane slogan adorned a poster at a bus stop. It pretty much sums up a febrile mood in Delhi where it was announced during my stay that India's economy will grow by nine percent next year. Among the happy consequences of this great success: a sulphur dioxide-spewing coal-fired power station is being built ten kilometers upwind from the idyllic farm of my host in Vidodara. He's a senior industrialist — and even he can't stop it. On the positive side, India is already importing coal all the way from Australia so perhaps peak coal will ensure the plant never gets lit. [This document replaces the Doors of Perception Report that accompanied my blog at doorsofperception.com. Follow me by visiting my blog, subscribing to my RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter @johnthackara. (Or you can unsubscribe.)] NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE >> JOHN THACKARA Work Faster, India! “Work faster, get time for life.” I just got back from a short trip to India where this insane slogan adorned a poster at a bus stop. It pretty much sums up a febrile mood in Delhi where it was announced during my stay that India's economy will grow by nine percent next year. READ MORE JOHN THACKARA What Kind of Design Institutes for India? A decision by the Indian government set up four new National Institutes of Design (NIDs) in the country has sparked a lively debate about the kinds of design they should teach. READ MORE FROM OUR SPONSOR Mohawk is sponsoring a Living Principles event in Denver, CO: Advertising pioneer turned social maverick Adam Bogusky. March 2, 2011 at 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Denver event on March 2 >> The Living Principals website >> Mohawk Fine Papers >> JOHN THACKARA Bangkok Cable Ways One of the reasons we underestimate the sheer physical mass of our power and information networks is that they're hidden from view. But not in Bangkok. READ MORE JOHN THACKARA UK Design Policy Becomes Multi-Scalar An interesting rebound effect of public spending cuts in the UK is that the UK Design Council and CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) are to merge. The move brings UK policy for design, architecture and public space together in a single organization. READ MORE JOHN THACKARA Ultra Modern I dislike the word “Glocal,” I also dislike the word “Creative,” now a new word has come along to bug me: “Sustainism.” READ MORE JOHN THACKARA If It's Not the Destination and It's Not the Journey... A study by Transportation Alternatives found that up to 45 percent of traffic in an area of Brooklyn was caused by cars circling the streets looking for parking. And in 2006, UCLA professor of urban planning Donald Shoup calculated that, within a year, vehicles searching for parking in a small business district in LA consumed 47,000 gallons of gas and produced 730 tons of carbon dioxide. READ MORE JOHN THACKARA: RECENT ESSAY Africa: Where Events Are King John Thackara interviews Mugendi M'Rithaa. READ MORE More essays by John Thackara >> FOLLOW JOHN THACKARA Blog on Design Observer RSS Feed Twitter @johnthackara Call for entries now open. Submit your best and win up to ,000. No entry fees. >> Need a great printer? Use one of our winners. A complete list here. >> MORE FROM DESIGN OBSERVER VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON DESIGN OBSERVER Mark Lamster Alexandra Lange OBlog Rick Poynor John Thackara JOHN THACKARA: RECOMMENDED BOOKS Animate Earth Stephan Harding Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, July Oskar Cole, Laura Allen, editors Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate Change Clive Hamilton Privacy Policy | Contact Us You are subscribed as blaul...@yahoo.com | Unsubscribe Copyright © 2011 Observer Omnimedia LLC. All rights reserved. Design Observer, P.O. Box 159, Falls Village, CT 06031, USA