A post over on Dwell has an interesting take on the fact that Obama’s an urbanite president who plans to maintain his home in South Chicago — extra security will lead to increased pedestrianization that could (!) trickle down to affect people living in other cities as well.
“How ironic would it be, however, to find that, for all of our calls to pedestrianize parts of the city, it takes the security of a president to make such urban interventions finally happen? In other words, what if Obama’s most immediate impact on urban policy in the United States is simply to make people realize that pedestrianization isn’t such a bad idea, after all?”
We wouldn’t mind some extra non-automotive traffic space here in New York, and we’re pretty sure our friends in other cities feel the same way. Any readers who live around Hyde Park want to let us know how this urban experiment works out? What kinds of security measures are already going into effect to keep the Secret Service smiling?