tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post6986041990439318417..comments2024-03-28T14:02:40.132-04:00Comments on Discovering Urbanism: Remembering "Busytown"Daniel Nairnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14127732825472374125noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-75321405571708205102023-11-25T01:49:37.827-05:002023-11-25T01:49:37.827-05:00Bags & Wallets are essential accessories that ...<a href="https://trendycollectionhub.com/product-category/bags-wallets/" rel="nofollow">Bags & Wallets</a> are essential accessories that blend style with functionality. From totes to clutches, they offer versatile storage solutions for everyday essentials. Crafted in various materials and designs, they complement fashion statements while organizing and safeguarding personal belongings.Saiklang Newshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01081846171063757379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-63082930352141048862023-11-19T02:14:01.077-05:002023-11-19T02:14:01.077-05:00Efficient, durable, and versatile, these container...Efficient, durable, and versatile, these containers <a href="https://propertyguardmasters.com/best-pool-skimmer-baskets/" rel="nofollow">best skimmer basket</a> can transform your garage from a chaotic mess to an organized haven. In this guide, we’re delving deep into the best garage storage containers.Saiklang Newshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01081846171063757379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-54736346123282011652023-05-25T10:17:26.060-04:002023-05-25T10:17:26.060-04:00Madcity Doors provides Outward Swinging door wide ...Madcity Doors provides <a href="https://madcitydoors.com/product-category/by-type/swinging-doors/" rel="nofollow">Outward Swinging door</a> wide variety of top rated and high quality doors and its accessories in our online shop for our visitors.Phonepandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06501521491365637072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-49569315938794995792017-10-11T07:52:50.211-04:002017-10-11T07:52:50.211-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03222186550150751164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-21265271181044842582009-05-06T10:28:00.000-04:002009-05-06T10:28:00.000-04:00You are so right! I think Scarry's books left thei...You are so right! I think Scarry's books left their mark on me, too.<br /><br />I remember wishing that my town was more like that of the book--my autocentric Midwestern suburb was much the opposite, even though as a kid I couldn't explain why. We had none of the close community ties that the book had.<br /><br />Now you've got me thinking about the pro/anti-urban slants of the other books I enjoyed reading as a kid...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-40116402176342635922009-05-04T22:16:00.000-04:002009-05-04T22:16:00.000-04:00I repeatedly read Richard Scarry's Find your ABC's...I repeatedly read Richard Scarry's Find your ABC's countless and countless times as a kid. It was that and also the Bernstein Bears' Almanac, very similarly spirited. I didn't return to many other kid's books.<br /><br />Something about animals semi-dressed as humans describe and relate lessons to kids about our humanity better...Maybe there is something in there about why I became an urbanist. These books described our world...introducing us to the immense variety of life around us, changing through life cycles, rituals, in different contexts, and granting us a desire to relate better to all of it. To this day, my image of the year progresses in my head like the Bears' Alamanac.Eric Orozcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00320742140050171881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-28374847329432536942009-04-30T19:31:00.000-04:002009-04-30T19:31:00.000-04:00I'm not that familiar with the Richard Scarry book...I'm not that familiar with the Richard Scarry books. (I suspect they weren't around when I was a kid.) But I thought you might be interested in seeing this (slightly revised) excerpt from a recent e-mail I wrote about children's books and urbanism. <br /><br />- - - - - - <br /><br />When my cousins' kids were young, I tried to give them books, toys, videos, etc. that I felt counteracted what seemed to me to be the mostly pro-suburbia, pro-auto, pro-planning (yes, pro-planning) propaganda that it seems to me kids have been routinely fed since at least the end of WWII (with anti-urban Disney cartoons, suburban Dick and Jane readers, etc.).<br /> <br />Here's a tentative list of favorable / unfavorable (and ambivalent) mentions:<br /> <br />- - - - - - - - <br /> <br />"The Little House," by Virginia Lee Burton --<br /> <br />Highest on the list, perhaps, is this anti-city, pro-planning "propaganda" that I, as a pre-schooler who was fascinated by cities, nevertheless found oddly pro-city too (with the "horrors" of urbanization being rather attractive, and the "salvation" of the countryside not being all that wonderful). Pro-market, but anti-city, Walt Disney (whom I still admire nevertheless) also produced a short animated cartoon version of the book too, I believe.<br /> <br />- - - - - - - - - - - -<br /> <br />I also had a special liking for Virginia Lee Burton's other books, which, for some reason (and despite the anti-city, pro-planning philosophy underlying "The Little House") seemed more city-oriented than most other kids' picture books. (Maybe it was because of the illustrator and the illustrations?)<br /> <br />"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," by Virginia Lee Burton<br /> <br />Steam shovel gets stuck in basement while building skyscraper.<br /> <br />- - - - - - -<br /> <br />"Choo Choo," by Virginia Lee Burton<br /> <br />Great illustrations in the end-covers that seem to be a loose, panoramic view of the NYC metro area.<br /> <br />- - - - - - - -<br /> <br />"Little Toot," by Hardie Gramatky<br /> <br />The story of a little boy tug boat in what seems to be the big, busy harbor of NYC.<br /> <br />- - - - - -<br /> <br />"The Little Red Lighthouse," by Hildegarde Swift<br />(About a lighthouse made obsolete by the George Washington Bridge)<br /> <br />I think I might have missed this one when I was exactly the right age for it, but I believe I was nevertheless riveted by the the idea of a kids' book about a certifiably real place -- one that one might actually visit -- with a real (if slightly anthropomorphised) story.<br /> <br />- - - - - - - -<br /> <br />Ludwig Bemelmen's Madeline series, which I believe I only caught a glimpse of when I was a kid. But, if I remember correctly, they really capture the glory of Paris.<br /> <br />- - - - - - - - - . <br /> <br />The cartoons of the Fleischer Studios -- which for a good portion of their history were located in NYC -- were more urban oriented than Disney's and were favorites of mine.<br /> <br />For instance, there is a great (and somewhat nightmarish) short cartoon of Betty Boop getting lost in the subway.<br /> <br />They did a great feature-length cartoon which I vaguely recall as being delightfully urban: Mr. Bug Goes to Town (a/k/a Hoppity Goes to Town (1941).<br /> <br />- - - - -<br /> <br />Two of Disney's cartoons that I remember as being fun for their look at city life (i.e., London) were Peter Pan and The Lady and the Tramp.<br /> <br />For older kids, a definitely anti-city live-action film is Disney's original "Parent Trap" (which makes living in car-oriented suburban Arizona look much more fun than living in pedestrian oriented Beacon Hill, Boston).<br /> <br />- - - - - -<br /> <br />Toy trains -- When I was a kid, toy trains were still big, but all the accessories seemed to be about a small (but nevertheless charming) suburban town named "Pleasantville."<br /> <br />- - - - - <br /> <br />All in all, though, it seems to me that kids have been (and are) fed the rural / planned suburban ideal. No wonder "Market Urbanism" is such a hard sell -- it's gotten there at least 10 or 15 years too late!<br /> <br /># # #Benjamin Hemrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02774747428869052111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079297043552042968.post-61649815231022262602009-04-30T15:46:00.000-04:002009-04-30T15:46:00.000-04:00I also grew up on these stories, and think that th...I also grew up on these stories, and think that their vision is attainable. I had thought for some reason that Richard Scarry was English, but a quick trip to <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_scarry" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia</A> shows he was from New England. The form of development there has always been more urban, similar to how it is in England.Sean Tubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12703508034749435266noreply@blogger.com