Rebuilding Kigali

OZ Architecture from Boulder Colorado just got the commission [bugmenot for password] to draw up a new master plan for the capital of Rwanda. Like many people, I hadn't realized that the 1994 genocide was taking place largely in a city. It's been more 10 years now since that tragedy, and they're ready to start seriously reshaping Kigali.

This looks like a very interesting and significant project. So far they are preparing plans for a new hospital, educational facility, and airport. Eventually they will begin work on a new central business district that is close to the airport and the old city center.

Wikipedia on Kigali.

Urban Photo

Really great photography site. Don't miss the 'Urban China' and 'Chicago in 38 Frames' features. The Chicago pics are really excellent - even the more postcard-ish pictures feel inspired and original (I've seen enough postcards of Chicago to know the good ones...)

Has the time come?

Everybody who has had the endurance to keep up with all the junk I've thrown up on the internet in my lifetime knows there is one terribly consistent theme: change.

Toponymy needs a new direction - some kind of purpose, focus. Let's face it, this website is a real mess.

So, if you have any suggestions about what I should put up here on Toponymy - let me know. I'll try to coalesce your ideas into something coherent and legible. In the meantime I might start another side project. Don't hold your breath.

RETURN

Yeah, it's been a while since you last heard from me. And, I can't promise my return will be anything but fleeting. In any case, here are a few little nibbles from the past weeks.

This guy's globes are amazing. And he was born in Dortmund, who would've guessed. The name is Igno Günther.

Perhaps the Duck Billed Platypus is some kind of repository of obsolete evolutionary improvements that other mammals have shed. I was unaware it had the keenest electroperception sense of any mammal. (Yes, that means it uses electricity to locate prey.)

Currently, Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay is practically vacant. It's purpose as a military base has expired and there have been few serious proposals to develop it. Until now. A group has laid out a plan for 20,000 residents to live there in a car-free district that is powered by renewable energy sources. SF seems like the perfect political environment for an idea like this to get support. Let's hope it happens.

All I've got to say about this is yikes. Urban Renewal Zimbabwe style.