Posts tagged infrastructure

“America has been strong because, despite its flawed system, people built toward the future in the 1840s, and the 1930s, and the 1950s. During just the time when Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park, when Theodore Roosevelt set aside land for the National Parks, when Dwight Eisenhower created the Pentagon research agency that ultimately gave rise to the Internet, the American system seemed broken too. They worked within its flaws and limits, which made all the difference. That is the bravest and best choice for us now.”

Let’s hope.

From James Fallows’ “How America Can Rise Again” in the latest Atlantic Monthly.

“KFC is becoming the first fast-food giant to get into the pothole-fixing advertising world. In five major U.S. cities, a man dressed up as Colonel Sanders, and a more pothole-knowledgeable professional crew, will fix up the streets, but not without leaving a mark. “Re-Freshed by KFC” will be printed over the late hole in an eye-catching, but non-permanent, street chalk. According to KFC, there’s an estimated 350 million potholes on U.S. roads. And think of how many times you choke on fried chicken when driving over them! The city is happy, the people driving by subconsciously swerve to the nearest KFC, and a man in white wearing a head-protecting construction worker helmet stands in the middle of street.”

reblog from Serious Eats