Monday, May 28, 2012
Liverpool, NSW, 1964
Is inequality making us sick?
Traditional growth strategies are often mischaracterized as economic development. Identifying binding constraints—those factors, circumstances, or characteristics that, when removed, will likely have the highest positive impact on economic growth—neglects the potential discrepancy between growth and genuine economic development. In developing societies, the impact of the early stages of economic growth on quality of life indicators, life expectancy, and measures of wellbeing are profound. The somewhat crude ‘rising-tide lifts all boats’ theory of economic progress is more or less accurate in the developing world. However, as economies mature, there are diminishing returns. In rich, developed market economies, like Australia’s, there is an end to what raising material standards can do. Within the Australian context, removing binding constraints won’t as a rule yield the kinds of positive externalities that are associated with corresponding activities in developing societies. Accordingly, I'm interested in the constraints that, when removed, will yield the greatest positive impact on social wellbeing? There is mounting evidence suggesting that the ‘binding constraint’, as it were, or underlying factor that impacts and can explain almost every social problem common in developed societies (from reduced life expectancy, drugs, crime, to homicide rates and obesity, etc.) is inequality.
Australia is one of the most unequal societies in the world
Little Rock urban revitalization
Taken in front of the Little Rock River Market, across from the Main Library
This weekend I participated in an 'idea generation meeting' about current and future revitalization efforts on Main St. I was only there for the first part of the 3 hour event, which asked the 25-30 participants to imagine how we can make the "world's coolest Main Street." It was only slightly discomfiting to listen to a group of middle-aged white people talking about making Little Rock cool. Mostly it was really heart-warming.
The event was facilitated by Clinton School students who used a number of creative activities (drawing from 'liberating structures' methods) to structure the program. One of the first activities asked each of the participants to pick from a list of archetypical urban characters and imagine, from that perspective, what advancements or developments to the urban landscape they'd most value. Among student, police officer, small-business owner, and others, the list also included homeless person.
Examining Main St. revitalization from the perspective of a homeless person seems particularly relevant