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Usually the Economist does better at making such articles at least appear to have a veneer of substance, even if lacking, while this piece is just bare as lacki
by arminiusreturns 6y ago
Usually the Economist does better at making such articles at least appear to have a veneer of substance, even if lacking, while this piece is just bare as lacking it completely.
> Urban scholars like Richard Florida and Edward Glaeser (who spoke about the future of cities at Policy Exchange, a British think-tank, this week) are busy trying to work out whether the rise in home-working that has occurred during the covid-19 pandemic will endure when the virus ebbs. If it does, many service jobs in cities, from baristas to taxi drivers, will disappear. Public-transport systems will struggle. The value of city-centre property will tank. The shed boom makes that outcome more likely.
What a tenuous attempt at tying sheds to job loss and city center value reduction with no rationale whatsoever given. Where is the study on this topic? None is referenced or linked. The scholars referenced aren't given any context about their background, nor their current positions or research.
> This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Spread of the shed"
Perhaps they should have stuck with the print title instead of the vapid clickbait we were given. I'd say the Economist should know better, but they've been a shadow of their former selves for quite a long time now.
Found while searching one of the scholars referenced:
"It is impossible to predict in advance which changes will stick, and how much and to what extent our cities and suburbs will ultimately change. Such ventures in futurism are always a fool’s game. But it is safe to say that the changes that will persist are those that make our cities safer, healthier, and more efficient." - Richard Florida
- rwmj 6y agoThe article in the print magazine is a quarter or third page sidebar, hardly meant to be substantial.
- netizen-9748 6y agoThen why write it at all?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- benmller313 6y agoMagazines are full of interesting side bars and short, non substantive bits, mixed in with longer full articles. It makes reading them very enjoyable.
- rootsudo 6y agoI really enjoyed your reply, I giggled, I laughed and I agree. I wouldn't have been able to reply in such a non-sarcastic way and serious way as you did, though.
- rwmj 6y agoBecause if the magazine had only lengthy, heavyweight articles fewer people would buy it, I guess. An editorial decision.
- WWWWH 6y agoBecause print magazines have a mix of content of different lengths and different purposes. A short article presenting an unusual stat providing a different perspective on a current topic doesn’t appear completely unreasonable.
- npsimons 6y agoIt reeks of NIMBYism, of the sort of HOA backing busybodies who dread "sheds" will cause their property values to plummet. Fuck them.
- DanBC 6y agoAlso, maybe it'll mean those dormitory towns and villages will get new businesses that serve coffee and food.