Research Roundup
June 6–June 19, 2009
Tools for the future:
1. The City in 2050 is an initiative of the Urban Land Institute, a real estate industry think tank with outposts around the world. The key theme of the project is that "Major forces will influence urban growth over the next 40 years, including energy prices, climate change, technology, and the globalization of capital. As the world's population also grows from 6 billion to 9 billion people, with the majority living in urbanized communities, more choices will face us at all levels. From policy makers, to young people entering careers, to investors choosing portfolios, societies will not adopt one urban model, but many." The website includes a "framework" of urban stressors—climate change, infrastructure needs, water shortages, energy costs, population trends, the competition for capital—and "blueprints" for rethinking the urban environment. A good companion to How much U.S. metros will grow, a special report from Bizjournals that includes "population projections for the nation's 250 largest metropolitan areas, looking as far ahead as 2025." (Their first prediction: NYC will remain the largest conurbation.)
2. Beyond Current Horizons—a collection of futurist scenarios on education from the United Kingdom. Includes the Vision Mapper, a toolkit of "of inspirational materials and practical activities to support long-term planning in education."
3. The slogan on the website of the Association for Strategic Planning is "think ... plan ... act."
The near future:
1. "Exhibitions axed as recession bites"—Jason Edward Kaufman and Martin Bailey of The Art Newspaper explore the short-term impact of the economic downturn on museum exhibitions.
2. Charitable giving was down in 2008 and does not look to improve in 2009, according to new research from the Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University: "Charitable giving in the United States fell to an estimated $307.65 billion in 2008, a drop of 2 percent from 2007. For more details, see the story from the Philanthropy News Digest.
3. Business strategist Peter Schwartz offered the graduating seniors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute his Top 10 Long-Term Challenges, starting with the need to "create long-term solutions to meet our energy demands sustainably." The other nine focus on sustainability, economic growth, and the wise use of technology.
4. On June 2, government officials and museum leaders in Scotland held a summit on the future of museums in that country.
Social Trends, etc.:
1. Social and Demographic Trends from the Pew Research Center. Social trends from "Family and Relationships" to "Race and Ethnicity" to "Leisure" and "Work."
2. Beth Miller, "The audacity of baby boomers: As retirement, recession collide, their goal remains to make a difference," Delaware Online (June 14, 2009). A close look at baby boomers in retirement—including a few who decided to become museum volunteers.
Other articles, essays, and recent items of interest:
1. Who Should Pay the Costs of Climate Change? (from Stefan Deeran in the BNET blog). "Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum released a report last month claiming that each year climate change disasters already kill over 300,000 and cost $125 billion." Who should pick up the tab? Should it be insurers, polluters, the developing world, or someone else?
2. Michele Zanini, "‘Power curves’: What natural and economic disasters have in common," McKinsey Quarterly (June 2009). "Parallels between the failures of man-made systems, such as the economy, and of similarly complex natural ones offer fascinating food for thought." Worth the hassle of a free registration to read the full essay.
3. Digital Culture & Education is a new peer-reviewed journal "devoted to analyzing the impact of digital culture on identity, education, art, society, culture and narrative within social, political, economic, cultural and historical contexts."
4. Education historian/reformer Diane Ravitch says it's Time to Kill 'No Child Left Behind'.
5. Scientific research shows that people who go to art museums live longer. (Unfortunately, there's fine print attached: Although the data show some connection between participation in a wide range of cultural activities and longevity, it is not possible to prove a causal link. The data "suggest that further longitudinal research is warranted.")
Refresh and Reflect:
1. Put A Cork In It! 25 Creative Works of Cork Art and Design (from WebUrbanist).
2. 10 scientific objects that changed the world—"To mark its centenary, the Science Museum in London had its curators select the ten objects in its collection that made the biggest mark on history."