Last week, I went to the Museum of the City of New York and saw an exhibition called Rising Tides. It captured the devastating impact global warming and rising sea levels are already having on some parts of the world, causing the displacement of whole communities and the prospect of millions more climate refugees in… Continue reading Bad Morning America
Posts
Women’s Right to Choose
I’m here to observe and record the USA from the perspective of something I know a bit about. But I think it would be remiss not to mention something about which I know very little. Today, abortion is effectively illegal in the state of Texas. A new law has been passed making anyone seeking, carrying… Continue reading Women’s Right to Choose
Home from Home
I came to Allerton in the Bronx by accident. But as soon as I arrived, I felt strangely at home. In some ways, it’s very different from suburban east London, where I’m from. But having been here since June, I’m seeing more and more similarities. A lot’s been written about suburbia, a subject that fascinates… Continue reading Home from Home
The Fierce Urgency of Now
This weekend marks the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. But I want to focus on one he made four years later, exactly a year before his murder. On 4th April 1967 he spoke at Riverside Church in Harlem about Vietnam, breaking his silence… Continue reading The Fierce Urgency of Now
The Gathering Storm
This is a “hot take” and potentially, a strained metaphor. But I’ve woken this morning to the news that the US Supreme Court has struck down the federal (i.e. national) eviction moratorium. This was expected, including by the Biden administration and I presume it means all the other eviction suspensions (like the one in New… Continue reading The Gathering Storm
Paradoxes in public space
Public space in New York City (NYC) embodies the nation’s paradoxes. Some of it is fantastic, imaginative, almost utopian – but the corporate dead-hand is never far away. In other places though, there’s a neglect reflecting a different, forgotten America, but one where people may be more free to express and enjoy themselves. I recently… Continue reading Paradoxes in public space
Left Behind and Left in the Game
I’ve been in the US for nearly eight weeks, but am about to head to Ireland for a quick family reunion. While at the airport, the news reached me that Ken Loach has been expelled from the Labour Party. Of course, the immediate reaction is anger that such a decent person and true socialist can… Continue reading Left Behind and Left in the Game
Field of Dreams
I think I was sent here to learn (and share) something about America. I’ll mostly be doing that through the prism of the subject I’m supposed to know a bit about, housing. But what do they know of housing who only housing know? It’s been said that to understand America, you need to understand baseball.… Continue reading Field of Dreams
Bring Your Own Brigade
I’m going slightly off-topic (but actually, it is THE topic), to write about a film I saw on Tuesday and can’t get out of my mind. I’ve Tweeted about it, but there’s more to say than can be done in 140 characters. The most important bit is, if you can, “please go and see Bring… Continue reading Bring Your Own Brigade
In a New York minute…
…everything can change, so the song goes. Well, things have certainly changed here in the past 24 hours and since I wrote this rather gloomy post four days ago. It’s a good reminder of how volatile politics can be, but also, that progressive movements must be ready to seize those moments. Two things happened last… Continue reading In a New York minute…
Bronx Tales 