What I'm Reading: Hope and Sorrow
Hi everyone,
I've read a couple of interesting pieces recently that I wanted to share with you.
The first is the New York Times piece, The Architect Who Made Singapore’s Public Housing the Envy of the World. The article discusses the work of Liu Thai Ker, the urban planner responsible for designing one million units of public housing in Singapore. I was struck by the philosophy behind the massive investment. The poor weren't warehoused in segregated enclaves with limited amenities.
From the article: "With some research, [Liu] decided the new Singapore would include highly self-sufficient neighborhoods with schools, shops, outdoor food stalls and playgrounds."
"Mr. Liu also wanted to avoid the kind of public housing he had seen in the United States and Europe, where apartments face one another with a central corridor with little light. People with low incomes were living cheek by jowl, creating what he called 'a concentration of poverty.'"
Liu also insisted on avoiding segregation of ethnic groups, who were historically involved in conflict. To the surprise of his critics, the integration worked.
So many social problems that seem insurmountable are solvable. They require consistent political will and a commitment to genuinely seeking a long-term solution, instead of quick fixes that won't last.
Singapore isn't perfect, but its approach to public housing provides so many valuable lessons for improving the lives of families in poverty.
The second article traverses completely different territory. Rolling Stone Magazine did a six-month investigation into Sean "P. Diddy" Combs that uncovered harrowing details of his decades-long campaign of abuse and violence. The saddest thing about the piece, Bad Boy for Life: Sean Combs’ History of Violence, is that it demonstrates how many opportunities there were to stop Combs before he amassed all the wealth and power he did. Notably, while attending Howard University (where he gained a reputation for throwing parties), he attacked a female student in public and beat her with a belt. If more of these abusive, violent men were dealt with appropriately in college, might the world be a better place?
It's a difficult read, but I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about how such a person gains and maintains power. Abusers like Combs need enablers, and that's the story behind the story. People at Howard liked going to his parties, and people in the clubs liked dancing to the records he produced. He created and gave people access to vast amounts of social capital. That made him more valuable than his victims, who were thrown to the wolves.
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Thanks for reading!
Kitanya