Dan Dare or Dan Daren’t
Austin Williams | 3 October 2008 Whatever happened to the jet-pack; the monorail; the personalised Lear jet; Maglev taxis; automated highways; long-haul flights by space shuttle? All of these strange and wonderful transport ideas were commonplace Utopian ambitions for the future as seen by the Sixties’ generation. Most of them were even technologically possible back then. Today, if there is ever mention of anything so fanciful, it...
What did regeneration ever do for us?
Austin Williams | July 2008 At a preview of the British Museum exhibition on the life and times of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, one architecture critic claimed that Hadrian was the first ‘urban regenerator’ because of his involvement ‘in the minutiae of neighbourhood politics.’ That critic may not have intended to portray one of the greatest imperial adventurers as little more than a parish councillor, but these days, we shouldn’t be...
The Pessimists: Putting the brakes on India and China
Austin Williams | 15 May 2008 Notwithstanding the fact that the president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, Clyde Prestowitz, says excitedly that visiting China is ‘always an epiphany’ (1), in general, when considering the Chinese ‘economic miracle’ (2), the West has developed a nagging cynicism about that country’s rapid rate of development. Undoubtedly there are clearly arguments needed against what political...
Ken’s war economy
Austin Williams | 30 March 2008 Ken, the consummate political hack, has learned that you only need to mention carbon emissions these days and it is enough to stifle criticism. What better way to create the mandate for any old restrictive policy, rubbishing your opponents and getting away with it. Claim that you are campaigning against climate change and, it seems, you are above criticism. Well pardon me if I don’t play ball. Firstly,...
Dictionary of Environment and Conservation
‘Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation’ by Chris Park; Oxford University Press, 2008. 522pp. Reviewed by Austin Williams | March 2008 The first word in the Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation is “aa” – a Hawaiian word, pronounced “ah-ah”, defined here as volcanic lava rock. This opening definition seems to be there solely to distract the reader from the banality of...
Article for “The Tablet”
Austin Williams | 1 March 2008 Today, Malthus is making a comeback. Even in polite conversation, it is mainstream to suggest that we are using up limited resources and that humanity’s survival relies on reducing consumption. Guardian journalist Madeleine Bunting says that there are simply ‘too many people’. The Optimum Population Trust states that: ‘population limitation should…be seen as the most cost-effective carbon offsetting...
Facts About London
Austin Williams | December 2007 South Bank The Hayward Gallery is named after Sir Isaac Hayward, former leader of the London County Council. It was opened on 9th July 1968… the same day that former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio was born. Bridges The Millennium bridge from Tate Modern to St Pauls is 325metres long although its central span is just 144metres and is suspended by tensioned cables that sag by 2.3m. When it opened on...
Moving India
Austin Williams | November 2007 The Indian railway holds misty-eyed memories for hardened travellers, but even for those who have never ventured to the continent it symbolises both the history and mystery of that vast country. With 39, 500 miles of passenger rail – twice the length of the British rail network – India still recalls the era of steam trains, tea and tiffin. In his ‘Great Railway Bazaar’ travel writer Paul Theroux...
More than Bricks and Mortar
Dave Clements | November 2007 In a speech given at Battle of Ideas 2007, Dave Clements argues that housing has become a vehicle for contemporary prejudices, anxieties and orthodoxies about how we live. The figures … The government’s plan is to build three million homes by 2020 The annual target is to build 200,000 homes a year We are already falling short by around 30,000 a year The target will increase to 240,000 a year from 2016...
London Property Review
Austin Williams | 14 October 2007 The architects of David Cameron’s so-called eco-house predict that ‘sustainability will be the critical word in architecture over the next 20 years.’ This is undoubtedly true. The problem is that sustainability is actually going to be the death of architecture. The editor of Environmental Building News is currently promoting the idea of ‘Passive Survivability’; Nick Rosen, author of ‘How to Live...
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