American cities used to have a their unique character manifested in their busy culturally-identified neighborhoods with their own local economies, with significant city industries contributing jobs, revenue, and long-term stability to the manufacturing and warehouse sectors of a city.  New York for example was a place of the highest culture, the highest business standards, and the most advanced artistic and business innovations; the city represented the apex of achievement in most fields of endeavor in the business and cultural communities.  To have “made it” meant that one “made it” to and “made it” in New York City.  Detroit and Cleveland — once major American cities — boasted fragmented but vibrant immigrant neighborhoods dominated by world-class manufacturing companies.  New Orleans, once a great port city, with a French, Creole, African, Caribbean, and Southern culture, is now mired in crime and poverty, its culture submerged by crushing city poverty and corruption.  San Francisco, which still thrives as a tourist, technology, and GenX mecca, boasting stunning topography, is perennially in financial crisis with a growing crime rate, and a homogenizing retail culture of mid- to high-end chain stores, rather than sophisticated boutiques of years past.

Cars have allowed citizens to live outside cities and commute in for work.  Cities need to compete with suburbs to make cities attractive places to live and work.  Cities do this by allowing for vibrant economies, maintaining high educational standards in city schools, making the city neighborhoods safer than suburban neighborhoods, and not burdening the citizens with higher taxes than their suburban competitors. Failing in any of these areas will mean a weaker community less able to compete with neighboring cities and suburbs.  Cities once tried to compete with suburbs by taking over private bus lines and making them city services, subsidizing them to attract people to come into the city for shopping or work.  Now those transportation services continually run deficits, are a drain on city and county resources, and are dominated by entitled, inflexible unions.

City populations are increasing dominated by those who need city services: social services, the criminal justice system, the elderly needing the city health services, etc.  City services are costly requiring not just the services — usually 24/7 — but also increasingly-expensive city workers with escalating health care and pension costs.  Without an attractive city bringing in new tax revenue, city expense increases are on auto-pilot.   Unions smother city service bureaus with process and cost.  Detroit due to departures of businesses, soaring crime rate, and failing schools, saw its city population drop back to where it was in 1910, losing 40% of its peak city population, but it is still struggling to shrink its city services proportionally to the population.

Can American cities reverse course and make themselves places where people want to do business, want to live, want to create, and want to interact?  Can cities rebuild and rediscover their strengths?  The answer is yes, but not in ways most politicians and city planners think.  Cities have to reduce spending on rules and personnel that deter businesses and creativity and devote those resources to policing, strengthening schools, and weaning city populations off public services.  In other words, cities need to foster and encourage private market activity and self-reliance, then city neighborhoods will strengthen organically, and the city will develop hubs and neighborhoods with thriving local communities.  Rather than throwing tax incentives at a big new convention center to bring in outsiders to spend a few days at a convention in the city, cities should focus on the quality of the life in that city and the quality of economic life. Can a builder build a house in the city as inexpensively as in the suburbs?  Can a developer built a retail shop as inexpensively as in the suburbs.  

Improving schools and lowering crime will make a neighborhood attractive and increase property values.  That will naturally result in long-term higher tax revenues for the city with any increase in tax rates.  The city needs to hold the line on increasing city costs, outsource more functions, simplify city rules so not as many city officials and functionaries are needed for the city to function.  Cities should get more efficient.  Business lower the cost of doing the same task each year with newer technology, better training, a higher-skilled workforce.  Cities need to do the same.

The American city renaissance is right around the corner, if only the city fathers will follow the directions.

Learn a Trade

In the past most students out of high school were encouraged to learn a trade.  Some were taught to 

Image by Center for Jewish History, NYC via Flickr

become farmers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians.  Many women were trained as cosmetologists, some men became barbers while others, chefs. 

Nowadays, trades are attracting persons with community college degrees.  But the problem remains how does a person receive such experience?  They will have to go on internships where they receive on-the-job training.  Such an opportunity is over a period of time whereby such a student will become proficient in their particular trade.

Students at Universities

Students at universities that major in certain disciplines generally receive a higher standard of education than those in some community colleges.  These students not only earn undergraduate degrees but may go on to have a graduate education.  At times the system does not work that well, for some students may receive advanced qualifications but  lack in experience.  A good school will be sure that both theory and practice are adequately integrated in their programs.

Take for example, a student who is training to be a journalist, that individual should be exposed to those media in which he is expected to work.  He should receive work experience at a newspaper, radio, or TV station in entry level positions.  At those media outfits he should be given the opportunities to participate in different positions throughout the company.

It must be emphasized that during this process, a student will be able to see where he best fits in.  He may find that he likes it best working as a web designer, writer, editor, or producer.  Like any trade or profession, a student may move up the organizational chart based on his ability.  For instance, he might discover that he may have an excellent voice and projects well on camera.  Such a person may therefore be tapped as being a reporter and later grows in his job to become an anchor.

Health Professions

In the health professions, doctors in medical schools go through thorough medical training.  Unlike family practitioners, some doctors become specialists.  They are assigned to hospitals where individuals become cardiologists, urologists, psychiatrists, or neurologists.

They spend a number of years working in their specialty and are in high demand.  Most work for hours and hours in reputable hospitals where they are assigned, are on call, and get little sleep each night.  Many patients want  experienced surgeons when they are about to undergo an operation. 

Transportation

In transportation most drivers and pilots have to have the necessary certification required for these jobs.  Some have to clock a certain amount of hours before they are allowed to carry passengers.  In these professions, safety is a prime consideration.  Such individuals that drive buses, trains, are captains of ships, and fly planes take their responsibilities seriously.  They know that if there is an accident, hundreds or even thousands of people could die or be injured.  

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Many professions call for experience of various kinds.  It is obvious that in most cases some amount of education is necessary.  Whether individuals are in the trades or professions like journalism, medicine, or transportation, their commitment is tremendous.  Through their experience they are able to serve society to the best of their ability and in the process save lives.

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Cities are made more livable in many ways with the help of Mass Transit. For instance, working as an alternate to automobiles, mass transit functions to curb the undesirable results produced by automobile jam, excessive energy usage and other associated environmental emanations. As a result, it plays important role in keeping the check on factors that are responsible for producing bad effects on public health.

There are many others wide variety of less apparent benefits that Mass Transit provides because of its ease of access and economical rates. Mass transit provides number of advantages to the labors, employers and state at the same time. Labors find it easy to travel for going and getting back from work. Employers get workforce that is more accessible and for the state level it minimizes and assists in unemployment issues for people stay employed in more numbers, if they are getting easy access with economical rates for reaching their working places.

Mass transit is a great way of providing benefits to the old people, handicapped or to people who have low income resources, young people and many others alike, who depend totally on this source of transport. On one side where Mass transit provides transportation means to the people of the society who are less advantaged, whereas on the other side it provides opportunities to the people of the society to participate in the communal activities thus enhancing its liveliness. Mass Transit is also a great way of providing considerable support to the economic feasibility of a city because it provides transportation means to the tourists and visitors. This way it plays another big role in supporting civil and communal behavior in a city.

It is not surprising that Mass Transit services are rendering huge benefits to the society in very economical prices as compared to using your own vehicle for transportation purposes. Without Mass Transit, it would be hard living healthier lives in the world, since it saves us from many troubles which we would be facing like global warming and emission of poisonous gases in the environment.

By Muhammad Irfan Zafar

Content Writer

Physical Geography:

As we all know, physical geography is basically the study of the surface of the earth that includes plains, mountains, rivers and oceans.  The knowledge of this particular aspect of geography allows people to intelligently plan on suitable places where they can live, build factories, as well as farm and grow different crops to the maximum advantage.  It sis divided in several branches, namely, geomorphology that deals with: l) land formation, volcanic action and erosion, 2) mathematical  measurements of the earth, dealing with  the earth’s imaginary lines, namely meridians and parallels, the former being the circles going through the North and South Poles, and the latter being the circles that are parallel to the equator.  Based on these lines, we can measure longitude and latitude. On the basis of such measurements, we can locate spots on the globe.

There is also other branches of physical geography, namely oceanography, the study of seas, tides and currents; meteorology, the study of weather; hydrography, the study of bodies of water; and climatology, the study of climate.

Economic Geography:

This aspect of geography covers the importance of lifestyle that includes industry, agriculture, exploration of minerals, the growing of crops, distribution of raw materials, planning of cities and towns, as well as needs relating to transportation and trade. These, in turn, have allowed the supplementation of further studies, such as building roads through mountains, bridges over water, as well as farming in lands that are hilly, including the ability to build dikes and dams, as well as the necessity of irrigation.

Political Geography:

This branch of geography concerns the man-made divisions of the earth that include their boundaries and governments, separating countries and cultures. There is presently a new kind of political geography, known as geopolitics on the basis of which, the application of a particular method is used to ascertain the trend of politics globally.

Each of the above geographies cannot be isolated from one another, and as time goes by, depend on one another in areas of international and national importance.

Transportation in the near future.

(Read this first: http://socyberty.com/crime/lets-take-a-step-in-a-new-direction/ ) Never before in the history of mankind have we been so mobile. We have buses, trains, planes, boats and automobiles to get us where we are going in a hurry and human powered craft such as bicycles and skateboards that can get us there… Albeit not as fast. Trips that took us six months one hundred fifty years ago now can be done in a day. Our roads are now paved with asphalt and concrete instead of dirt, allowing ground speeds of up to 250 miles per hour, but usually closer to 75. Lame ass speed limits. We can get far quickly these days, but most of us don’t need to, instead just needing to get to the grocery store to pick up dinner or going to work in the morning. For these short trips most of us rely on our cars, which are rather unreliable. These rolling death traps are powered by explosions that emit noxious gases that pollute our air. They’re built to only last as long as it takes for the warranty to expire, which is well before the time it takes to finish paying the damn thing off. It hurts me so to put cars down like that as cars are my passion in life but because of the money system things in our lives that should last forever are designed to break down forcing us to buy newer versions, especially cars. In order to keep cars somewhat affordable cheap, heavy and fragile building materials are used to manufacture them instead of light and durable materials that would last a lot longer and reduce fuel consumption. Cars do exist that are made well out of these good materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber, but they cost more than ten years of the average workers pay and so are only available to the very wealthy. Eliminating money would eliminate the incentive to use cheap shitty materials and would bring high automotive technology to the masses. Free energy would allow us to run our cars on electricity alone, eliminating a source of pollution. Easy solutions such as universal, easily changeable battery packs would eliminate the problem of slow recharging that has kept electric cars on the fringe. Can you just imagine for a moment a car, perhaps a large luxurious sedan, that runs silently and can drive through a brick wall with barely a scratch to show for it? This is very possible with technology we have today but as long as we have money it will be just beyond our reach. But never mind that for now, there are other things to discuss regarding transportation in the very near future. As we move around to neighborhoods that are closer to our places of work the need for a car on a daily basis will diminish to where it will be far more practical to utilize an alternate form of transportation. Many more people will simply choose to walk to work. Others will get a nice bicycle to ride to work or even skate to work. Many people will choose to not even own a car, instead just borrowing a friend or neighbors car if they need to. But the thing I really see happening is a mass migration to small electric personal vehicles such as scooters, motorcycles and Segways. These are great fair-weather alternatives to a full-size multipassenger car or truck. For foul weather there will be small single passenger enclosed vehicles that have easily changeable wheels depending on the outside conditions. Most people will have one of these usually for the winter or for when the rain just won’t let up. Imagine a La-Z-Boy inside an egg with four motorcycle wheels attached to it. Might as well be comfy. I won’t bother getting into anti-grav cars for this article. I will cover that some other time. Now, how will the lack of cars on the road and the prevalence of small single passenger vehicles affect road building? I imagine car lanes will reduced in number as they are needed less and to make room for bicycles and Segways. Wider roads may be turned into boulevards with grassy islands in the middle. It’s possible that skyways will be built in larger cities to handle the increased bicycle and Segway traffic. Remember the game F-Zero and the recharging lanes? Maybe we could build something like that into the roads and receiving studs into our tires? Of course by we I mean our robots… Anywho. In most cities and towns the overall reduction in traffic will mean some of the roads can be shut down altogether like in grid neighborhoods where four blocks can be merged into one. The closed roads can be turned into park land, making for a more pleasant area. More trees can be planted along the streets, beautifying them. Community gardens could even be planted in these areas. Alleyways could become the new streets in these neighborhoods with cross streets separated by three or more blocks. Children would be safe to play in the front yard/park again. Imagine it, if you will.

It’s fun to read of ancient times, or even modern-day Harry Potter types of transportation – flying on a broom, a stick, or even a magic carpet.  But, do we really want precious scientific research, and the funds that go along with it, to be spent on proving a plastic flying carpet can be built?

That’s exactly what a researcher at Princeton University has done, but don’t give up your car or more traditional forms of transportation just yet because the laboratory invented carpet is a piece of plastic about four inches square.  You may fit a few of your pet fleas on it but that’s about it. So, why bother building such a device?  Does it advance science and the human condition by some order?  Not really.

Mini-Carpet

And how fast can this plastic carpet go?  About a centimeter a second for now.  But, these high-flying scientists are hoping they will be able to get the thing up to a meter per second.  Now, isn’t that blazing speed?  Of course, you won’t be able to try it out because it can’t fly any farther than the limited area of the research table inside the lab.

Do you think this type of research is a little off base?  You’d be in good company if you did. Even one of the researchers professors at Princeton says he thought it seemed “foolhardy.”  That might be an understatement.  And how long did this foolhardiness take to bring to fruition? Two years.  Can we all agree that was a wasted two years that could have been spent more fruitfully – say, by determining the average length of a peanut?

Off to Mars for Testing?

Not to be dissuaded from conducting such useless experiments again, the nascent Alladin is already working on a larger version of his pint-sized carpet.  This one would be solar-powered and be able to fly over long distances.  One slight problem that has already developed is that such an aircraft would need a wingspan of 50 meters just to carry one person.  Don’t rush to buy tickets just yet.  Unless you want to embark on Mars where, the researchers say, their little high-flyer would undoubtedly work because of the Martian atmosphere might be conducive to such aircraft.

So, here we have the perfect solution.  We pack these researchers off to Mars where they can experiment to their hearts content. And we’ll be free to not have them spending time and money devising things no one needs or wants.

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·        Respect other riders’ personal space. Some people may feel uncomfortable when you are too close.

·        Keep your knees together. It saves more space and looks more respectful.

·        Try to bring minimum luggage. It reduces space and minimizes the chance of hitting other riders.

·        Use headphones when you listen to music. Keep the volume at a reasonable level.

·        Wait for departing riders to get off the train before you board.

·        Try to shower before using the bus. Nobody wants to smell body odor.

·        Hang on to a pole if you are standing. You might end up on another rider’s lap.

·        Offer your seat to elderly people or others in need.

·        Keep your cell phone on vibrate. Nobody wants to hear multiple ringtones go off. If you must use it, keep your conversations brief and quiet.

·        Cover your cough or sneeze. Wear a mask.

DO NOT

·        Stare at other riders. It is disrespectful.

·        Consume messy food or drink. It may cause a spill, or worse, splatter onto other riders.

·        Shout or talk very loudly. It disturbs other riders.

·        Take up multiple seats for baggage or reclining. Be considerate of riders looking for a seat.

·        Attempt to board a train after the doors close.

·        Occupy the aisle seat and make people climb over you to get inside.

FEMA offers many different types of emergency help in disasters when a major area is affected. They must have an ok from the states governor in order to move in and take over the care and handling of residence and property. Following is a list of services FEMA offers after a storm or disaster.

1. Temporary housing in the form of tents, campers, trailers or small mobile homes until other means of living can be provided for. They are meant as a temporary means for a family or individuals. They are not built for long term use and should be abandoned as soon as proper housing is available.

2. Cash grants for temporary housing such as mortgage or rent of another property. This is for the rental of a local apartment, home or investment of campers and tents.

3. Uninsured personal needs. You need to apply for this benefit and you must be uninsured. It is to apply toward transportation needs, funeral cost, medical needs and medication, clothing, food and other quick needs.

4. Removal of rubble from private property. If it is determined to be a health hazard to surrounding areas and needs to be removed right away, you may qualify for this service.

5. Legal aid for low income. This is to provide legal counseling in respect to income loss, provisions, damage without proper coverage and state help.

6. Crisis counseling for individuals who are having trouble coping with loss of personal and private property, fear of continuing storms or disasters and loss of loved ones and pets.

The FEMA sites provides information regarding the care of pets during a disaster and what to do.

The site provides a lot of information on different types of disaster that can happen.

They provide short courses on fire disaster, terror attack, flooding, tornado disaster, evacuation and finding emergency shelter.

Other articles by this author.

http://gomestic.com/emergency-preparation/putting-together-your-speedy-emergency-earthquake-kit/http://socyberty.com/people/retiring-to-costa-rica/http://sherrie-taylor.quazen.com/shopping/20-great-buys-at-a-dollar-store/http://socyberty.com/economics/surviving-the-coming-second-great-depression/

            Sure, more public transportation would be nice, but what about all the taxes that go with it? Aren’t residents already taxed enough? This is Idaho, after all, and if someone wants to have more public transportation, then why don’t they just move to a state where people are willing to pay the high taxes, like Oregon? Besides, it’s not even the right time to be having this conversation. The state has record high unemployment and it’s hard enough to make ends meet with the taxes we already have. If anything, we should be lowering taxes to help paychecks go a little further. Is this what you’re thinking?

            Many residents in the valley would agree with you. Who in this valley doesn’t want to see everyone’s buck stretch a little further? Usually, when politicians raise taxes it’s hard to see where all our hard earned dollars are going. There’s definitely no reason to have a tax if residents aren’t going to be able to see a benefit. 

            But, what if a tax could actually save us money? The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho cited a study in their recent report that said people in communities with high quality public transportation actually save about $660 every year. Imagine yourself, sipping your latte and reading the paper on your way to work with a $660 check in your pocket, while someone else does the driving. And, instead of grinding through bumper-to-bumper traffic, your driver is cruising down a clear road because the rest of your neighbors left their cars at home and joined you. This could be your life if you actually had that bus stop you could walk to.

            True, it will cost money to get that bus stop to your house and there will be growing pains, but maybe it’s worth it. Times are tough right now, and everyone is always waiting for it to get better, but no one actually knows when that day will come. It might take a lot longer than any of us expect. Boise is a great place to live and that’s not changing anytime soon, which means more people are going to come, whether we like it or not. Since more people means more headaches on the road-and there are already enough-maybe we should start to think about making the situation better instead of waiting for it to happen. Maybe now is actually a good time to make transportation more available to all of us. It’s certainly at least worth considering.