re: A society on the verge of a meltdown

An interesting though brief and not terribly surprising Spiegel Online analysis of the London riots in the context of the globally yawning and still-growing wealth gap. While the US certainly isn’t Germany, much of what the commentator says rings true here. That we haven’t had demonstrations (or riots) decrying the gross polarization of wealth and opportunity in this country can only be attributed to the social passivity bred from our post-World War II consumption economy. But as that go-go economy is replaced by a slow- or no-growth one, the stupor that derives from mindless, credit-based consumption evaporates and all that remains are stark class divisions with little or no hope for that we once knew as American Dream.

When shall we take to the streets—actually or metaphorically—to demand better of our society? As the Tea Party demands less and less government at the expense of the disappearing middle (and burgeoning lower) class, Republicans cheer and Democrats, zombie-like, capitulate. But even the wealthy are starting to get a bit worried. Warren Buffet’s recent New York Times opinion piece implored for the federal government to begin taxing the super-rich who have benefited from our social and political economies. Could he be a  bit worried that things are getting a bit out of control? Have the rich been a bit too conspicuous in their consumption? Are the rest of us starting to notice? And what happens if the current trends continue and next year we find that the top 400 wealthiest Americans continue to be taxed at rates less than those paid by those of us who earn an infinitesimal fraction in payroll income of their annual return on equity investments. Is the time approaching when we determine that enough is, indeed, enough?

Climate survey: What about those geographical black holes?

If you look at the 6 December data I reported from the national Planners Climate Change Mitigation Survey (see my earlier post), you’ll no doubt remark that it appears as if a significant portion of the country (and of the country’s planners) are under- or unrepresented in the survey results. How could this possibly be?

Planners Climate Change Mitigation Survey: Update

On 1 October 2010, Jeff Howard (my advisor) and launched the first nation-wide survey of city and regional planning professionals specifically examining their perspectives on and experiences related to climate change mitigation planning in their communities of practice. As part of my dissertation research at the University of Texas Arlington School of Urban and Public Affairs, the Planners Climate Change Mitigation Survey (PCCMS) was designed to assess the capacity of American planners and the planning institution to meaningfully address the challenges posed by a destabilized climate.

The survey was initially targeted on members of the American Planning Association and was announced in the 1 October edition of the online newsletter, Interact. In subsequent weeks I expanded my invitations to APA groups on facebook and LinkedIn, and the PLANET listserv for academic planners. I also directly solicited participation and support from APA chapter presidents throughout the United States. On 6 December I took a cut of the data in order to begin preliminary analysis. (The survey remains open and may be accessed at Planners Climate Change Mitigation Survey. It requires less than 20 minutes to complete, and you may remain entirely anonymous.) I will produce an executive summary of the survey results in early 2011.

Given membership figures from APA and the professional networks to which the survey was announced, I estimated a target population exceeding 40,000 planning professionals. Regrettably, I have received only slightly more than 1700 responses. Of more concern, however, is that many regions of the United States remain poorly represented or entirely unrepresented in the survey results. The following graphics provide some idea of the distribution of the responses.