Defunctland, a YouTube channel that usually focusses on producing video essays about discontinued amusement park attractions, has been branching out a bit lately. Their latest video is about the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and the collaboration between New York city planner Robert Moses and Walt Disney. Related: Defunctland’s video on the the invention of …
Author Archives: Andy McMillan
At The Drive In
If you’re in Portland and you’re missing going to the movies, some good news! The Hollywood Theatre has set up a drive-in at the Portland Expo Center, screening classic films like The Thing, Raising Arizona, and Mad Max: Fury Road. Tickets went on sale this morning at $35 per car. The NW Film Center has …
Replacing the Burnside Bridge
Multnomah County has been continuing to share details on their replacement for the Burnside Bridge, with the latest concept images showing how pedestrians and cyclists might be physically separated from vehicular traffic. Although the project is still a year away from the design phase—and construction likely won’t start until at least 2024—there will be regular …
Seoul’s Green New Deal
Seoul has approved their own version of the Green New Deal, a $2.1 billion commitment to reducing carbon emissions, which includes banning vehicles with internal combustion engines from the city beginning 2035.
Caste
My copy of Caste, Isabel Wilkerson’s new non-fiction tome on how racial discrimination and segregation shaped America, is due to be delivered tomorrow. I haven’t been this excited to read a book in a very long time. Well, excited might not be the right word. Her last book, The Warmth of Other Suns—which tells the …
Sabotaging the USPS
Republicans have long had it out for the United States Postal Service, given their propensity to privatize vital public services, but now they have a new reason to double-down in the midst of a pandemic: impeding our ability to safely vote by mail. Postal workers interviewed by Vice believe current Postmaster General (and, surprise surprise, …
Spotting Caro
If you’re a journalist or political commentator, it’s really very important that everyone know you’ve read The Power Broker. There’s even a Twitter account dedicated to spotting Robert Caro books in the background of video call interviews.
Going Dutch
A map of cycling infrastructure in western Europe reveals just how far ahead the Netherlands is from the rest of the world.
Reimagining the Brooklyn Bridge
A design contest to reimagine the Brooklyn Bridge has published their finalists, many of which share a vision of phasing out car lanes, prioritizing public transit, and restoring the original pedestrian promenades. The contest is no guarantee any of these projects will actually be built, but with New York finally making real progress to open …