Downtown is growing but fragile, according to Eugenie Ladner Birch in the Journal of the American Planning Association (Winter). “Only seven cities (Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk, San Francisco, and Seattle) had downtown growth rates that exceeded those of their MSAs [Metropolitan Statistical Areas] in the 30-year period” from 1970 to 2000. She notes that Chicago’s downtown population grew from 56,048 in 1990 to 72,843 in 2000–one-seventh of the city’s population growth in that time and the largest numerical increase of any downtown in the country.
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I don’t know what art is, but I know what my dog likes. Artist Todd Slaughter would like people to contribute “distinctive pet-chewed items” for possible use in an exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. According to his January 8 press release, “The only submission requirements are that the objects are interesting to the pet-owner, and not much larger than a bread box,” and that they arrive by March 8. Information at www.slaughter@columbus.rr.com.
Too much football can cause non sequiturs. Lead paragraph of a story in the Munster, Indiana, Times (January 29): “The Minnesota Vikings had the ‘Purple People Eaters’ in the 1960s, and now the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore has been invaded by the purple loosestrife.”
