Notable Blog Additions: ArtsBlog, Martin Prosperity Institute, MayorTV, Museum 2.0, Nathan Kensinger Photography and Hudson Valley Ruins

I've made a few additions to the notable blog list on the left sidebar:

ArtsBlog - which is maintained by Americans for the Arts.

The Martin Prosperity Institute - which is not really a blog but the new, cleverly designed web site of the world’s leading think-tank on the role of sub-national factors - location, place and city-regions - in global economic prosperity. Led by Director Richard Florida, the Institute takes an integrated view of prosperity, looking beyond economic measures to include the importance of quality of place and the development of people’s creative potential. The Institute conducts relevant research to shape debate about economic prosperity and to inform private, public and civic decision-making at the highest levels. Headquartered in downtown Toronto, the institute is affiliated with the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

The home page of the web site has a standard navigation bar at the top, above a typical, visually interesting downtown street scene. The navigation links appear as signs on various shops, so the "About" section becomes "About Cafe."

MayorTV - MayorTV, a project of The Nation and the Drum Major Institute, is a challenge from the America's mayors to the 2008 Presidential candidates to start talking about cities and urban policy. Eighteen videos have been posted so far, presenting the views of the mayors of the New York State cities of Buffalo (Byron Brown) and Rochester (Bob Duffy) as well as Salt Lake City, Miami, Baltimore, Atlanta, Gainesville, Denver, Boston, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Trenton, Scranto, Lexington, Richmond, Albuquerque, Nashville and Honolulu. In these punchy video interviews, the diverse and influential group of mayors give their prescription for an agenda that supports American cities, and thus America at large.

The result -- MayorTV.com -- offers surprising insights into presidential politics, priorities and the candidates themselves.
Calls for a national urban policy – and urban policy in general – have been made by such organizations as the Brookings Institution, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, CEOs for Cities, the Institute for Smart Growth, the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, the Creative Class Group (Richard Florida), the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and other groups that understand the economic benefits of urban revitalization (and constraints imposed by economic distress) and are heavily involved and invested in the revitalization of urban areas. In addition, others are documenting the untapped demand for basic goods and services in urban markets, including Harvard University Professor Michael Porter, founder of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, and Inc. Magazine’s Inner City 100, a national listing of 100 of the fastest-growing companies located in America’s inner cities.

For additional resources, see:

• NY Times Leading Editorial, February 19, 2008
  and the U.S. Conference of Mayors response
• U.S. Conference of Mayors-sponsored Tufts University panel on Urban Issues in the 2008 Presidential Campaign
• Planetizen's recent post "Cities: The Missing Presidential Campaign Issue" by Randall Crane.

Museum 2.0 - Maintained by Nina Simon, this blog "explore the ways that the philosophies of Web 2.0 can be applied in museums to make them more engaging, community-based, vital elements of society." Ms. Simon, a museum consultant, defines "Web 2.0" as "not just a buzzword; it’s a definition of web-based applications with an “architecture of participation,” that is, one in which users generate, share, and curate the content. The web started with sites (1.0) that are authoritative content distributors--like traditional museums. The user experience with web 1.0 is passive; you are a viewer, a consumer. Web 2.0 removes the authority from the content provider and places it in the hands of the user. Now, you are a participant. You determine what’s on the site, and you judge which content is most valuable."

She believes "that museums have the potential to undergo a similar (r)evolution as that on the web, to transform from static content authorities to dynamic platforms for content generation and sharing...that visitors can become users, and museums central to social interactions. Web 2.0 opens up opportunity, but it also demonstrates where museums are lacking." The intention of the Museum 2.0 blog is to explore these opportunities and shortcomings with regard to museums and interactive design.

Nathan Kensinger Photography and Hudson Valley Ruins - A blog and a web site that focus on industrial archeology in New York City and, obviously, the Hudson Valley. Both sites have great photographs of, and information about, industrial buildings and heritage. Nathan Kensinger is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and location scout.

The Hudson Valley Ruins web site "provides a record of historic and distinctive architecture threatened by development, vandals, and time and exposure to the elements" and is intended to "be a catalyst for efforts to save the neglected historic structures of the Hudson Valley region of New York State." It also includes photographs of buildings that have been restored. The site is maintained by Thomas Rinaldi and Thomas Yasinsac, authors of Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape.

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In addition, others are documenting the untapped demand for basic goods and services in urban markets, including Harvard University Professor Michael Porter, founder of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, and Inc.