An Early Summer Update

No-Go Zone at Citifield

Admittedly, it's been a bit too long since I've posted here. In that span several changes -- some minor, some a little more than minor -- have taken place, and this summer is shaping up to be a doozy. So, perhaps a brief update is in order.

Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream opened without a hitch at the MoMA in February and has since been extended into August. The catalog (designed by the ever-fantastic MTWTF*) is now available at the museum and online. In response to some of the early discussion surrounding the show, I wrote this piece for the Metropolis P/O/V blog in March about the need to think bigger, more strategically, and more structurally.

[*Also, a couple months ago I had the very fun opportunity to provide "additional editorial support" (as the colophon states) for this delightful read enabled by a fellowship created by Glen Cummings at MTWTF.]

Despite incredible effort and remarkable work, the first half of the year saw the scaling back of Urbanscale. As I wrote at the end of 2011, working with Adam, Jeff, JD, and Mayo was an invaluable learning experience with long-term payoffs, many of which I can already see forming.

There are several other irons in the fire these days. In a bit of follow-up work on the Foreclosed project, I've returned to the Buell Center through the summer. Work at NYU is moving steadily along, and a handful of exciting new projects have me considering cities and technologies I've thus far not had real opportunities to engage. This month, I'll be getting a new grant proposal out the door and speaking on design and technology for social change. If all that weren't enough, please expect updates regarding PRE-Office and a possible new organization as the summer unfolds. I realize I've offered no concrete specifics here, but with any luck there will be plenty of details to disclose on these and more before the end of the summer.

Lastly, baseball season is in full swing, and with a month left before the All-Star break it seems that 2012 might be the season no one saw coming. We've seen the Os on top and the Yanks at the bottom of the AL East. We've seen 19-year-old Bryce Harper (big fan here) steal home plate after being intentionally plunked in a blatant act of hazing. (And last night getting his first walk-off win?!) As sometimes shocking as the MLB has been so far this year, the icing on the cake was being told at Citifield, after the seventh inning, that management would rather have an almost fully empty section visible on television than allow paying customers the opportunity to upgrade their seats. So much for Pareto.

Happy summer...more to come soon.