“What will an extra eighth of a cent buy you? Bumping up sales tax in San Antonio from 8.125% to the 8.25% maximum allowed by the state, which every other major Texas city reached between 1978 and 2003, will bring in an estimated $31 million in annual revenue. The city would use this revenue, along with up to $11 million in annual matching funds from the state for at-risk students, to roll out Pre-K education over eight years. The projected annual contribution is $7.81 per household.”
San Antonio’s Mayor has recently taken on a bold initiative to fund pre-kindergarten education through a sales tax increase. And despite these uncertain economic times, it is being widely supported by politicians and citizens. Check out our latest post.
“Cities are man made creations, but they function like an ecosystem. A skyscraper changes more than the skyline. A road brings more than transport alternatives. A community garden contributes more than just a bunch carrots. Developing a better understanding of the interconnected nature of urban environments allows us to design cities that are more efficient, more liveable, and more sustainable.”
“The notion of sleepless nights spent toiling over the design of a hypothetical museum or even the genuine article of a micro design-build project does little to enliven an understanding of the underlying and surface complexities that run constant in the shaping of the urban realm.”
I’ve written an article on how colleges and universities need to change their approach to urban design education for the latest issue of Emerging Students magazine. And now I’ve got 25 copies of the magazine to give away for free! Click this link and enter the code BIGCITY at the checkout.
“These are stories they can easily relate to. There is always something to be learned in Shakespeare and if I can encourage youngsters to master these texts, they could take it wherever they want. For example, many say they want to be lawyers, and in Zimbabwe to be accepted at university to study law you must have studied English literature. So this is one the reasons why I am doing this. I teach at a number of schools in the city of Bulawayo and the response has been great.”
This Big City is an award winning social media organisation sharing ideas for sustainable cities in English, Chinese, Spanish, French and Italian. Our Tumblr is all about short form ideas, and is curated by Editor in Chief Joe Peach.