The context of Iran. The unique elements of planning practice and structure in Iran. History, institutions, organizations. An attempt to look inside the "Black Box". Assets and liabilities.
An idea whose time has come, in light of all the paranoia and ill will that continues to surround foreign relations in this region.
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Stumbled on the concept of Anarchic Geography.
The map is a device of power. What happens when this device is purposely redirected, hacked mischievously or stolen outright?
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The June 12 Election has sparked a crisis in our country. As events unfold, one thing is certain: No one knows how this will actually play itself out. There are too many variables and too many unknowns. There will be speculation, rumor, and assertion about what happened, what is happening, and what will happen. Like everyone else, I'm trying to make sense of unpredictable and inexplicable realities. But everything I think appears in my head surrounded by a host of disclaimers, skepticism, anxiety, righteousness.
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"The Pirate Party" of Sweden is growing in popularity. Its platform: "to reform copyright law, abolish the patent system, and strengthen the right to privacy."
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Is there more polygamy in the USA or in Iran?
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Here's a whirlwind tour of "
Greater Iran" - regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence.
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This gapminder graph illustrates the correlation between improved health (as measured by greater life expectancy) and Income Per Person (gross domestic product per capita) of a country. Of interest in this graph: In general, first, health improves, then wealth:
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Iran, as a country, does not appear to be innovative or inventive. Let's not even compare it to America or Japan. Let's compare it to Uganda. Using "patent applications" as a measure of innovation, and using
UN data current through 2002, we see that Iran, a middle income country with a population of almost 70 million, had, in 2001, applied for 993 patents (their maximum, by that date), while Uganda, a poor country with a population of 24 million, applied for 150,408 patents. Big difference.
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The recent media storm over the sentencing of
Roxana Saberi to 8 years in prison draws our attention to the plight of prisoners world wide, and to planning issues related to justice systems and prisoners.
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The BBC reports the
world's major rivers are drying up.
On their
world map of future water stress, we see that most of Iran is facing "extreme stress", and the rest is either "high stress" or unknown.
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It's not how much rent you pay for your apartment. Rent-seeking, in the words of The "
Economist" is:
Cutting yourself a bigger slice of the cake rather than making the cake bigger. Trying to make more money without producing more for customers.
"The Cake", here, of course, refers to collective resources or benefits.
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In
Public Finance, we read that
Views of how government should function in the economic sphere are influenced by ideological views concerning the relationship between the individual and the state. Political philosophers have distinguished two major approaches [Organic and Mechanistic].
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It's been raining in Shiraz! Is it enough to turn Shiraz into a lush paradise? To stave off drought and destruction?
You may ask "
How much rain has fallen?", but the more important question is: "What happens to the rain
after it falls?"
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Happy Nowruz to all!
Nowruz celebrates the first day of Spring, the change of season, the new year.
Every nowruz, each Iranian household sets their
haft-sin table, complete with a plate of grass (sabzi).
Compare this to the tradition of people in Christian countries who celebrate their seasonal holiday by
cutting down an entire tree.
The major environmental differences between east and west are embodied in these two traditions.
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Nowruz 2009, US President
Barak Obama wished Iranians a happy Now Ruz.
He also gave Iranian leaders some "choices". A move that will, no doubt, inspire an immediate "Tu quoque" reflex and be dismissed.
What is "tu quoque", how does it kill conversation, and how might a Foreign Policy Museum on the Washington Mall change that? Let's explore.
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My Mom sent me a link to this website featuring
historic postcards from America. "Take a look at the
aftermath of the Collinwood school fire (March 4, 1908)," she said. "We were just talking about it."
This website triggers a few planning issues:
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Taking stock of your present reality...
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I have here a letter from my American grandmother, dated 28 years ago. In it, she writes about the birds she saw when she visited Shiraz. Many of these birds still grace the skies, trees and rooftops of Shiraz today.
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Thanks to Shideh and Shawhin and their
Tehran Shake website, for pointing out this sobering video. (Trouble viewing it here? Try this
direct link to the video). The video raises many issues.
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Skies are hazy and there's a surreal glow around the city. Why?
A massive dust storm blew through Iraq and over the Persian Gulf on July 1, 2008. A NASA satellite captured
this image the same day. July 2,
the storm continues.. ُ
What causes these dust storms? How do they affect Iran and the region? What measures can be taken to mitigate their damage?
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ُThe building permit process can affect the development of a community, city, country. It is a key interface between the plans made for the community as a whole, and the implementation of those plans on a project by project basis. It is our intention to clarify the permit process in Iran, to study the process in other areas, to identify innovative best practices to recommend to our nation's municipal leaders.
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I think it was Rumi (and correct me here!) who said:
گاو در بغداد آيد يك زمان
او رود از اين كران تا آن كران
از همه عيش و خوشيها و مزه
او نبيند جز دو پوست خربزه
Which means, of course: A cow came to Baghdad for a time. It went from one (riparian?) coast to the other. From all the luxuries, delights and tastes to be had, it saw naught but two melon rinds.
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