Billy Bragg Was Wrong*, Another Great Report from England

The Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, John Prescott, is one of the most pro-livable spaces elected officials on the globe. I heard him speak a couple years ago at the CNU meeting in DC and I was mesmerized (the contrast between him and the U.S. assistant secretary flunky from HUD was telling, and embarrassing--close to half the audience walked out during the U.S. government official's lame speech). I end up reading a lot of reports from the UK, because in some respects, in part because decline set in earlier there, they are ahead of the U.S. in what they call "regneration" and specifically "social exclusion" issues.

One of many great reports is Living Places: Cleaner, Safer, Greener. It's an exciting and important read about the links between neighborhood design, safety and quality of life. Our friends in Parliament responded to the report here in html and pdf, and Deputy Prime Minister Prescott's office responded here.

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(* See this article about Billy Bragg. The song "New England" has this line: "I don't want to change the world/ I'm not looking for New England/ Just looking for another girl". I saw Billy Bragg at the late lamented Citadel in Kalorama in 1991. The closure of that skating rink-music facility by nimby neighbors has contributed greatly to my anti-nimby pro-broader-minded city attitude ever since.)