I found the suicide stories and the context parts to be some of the most compelling. We tend to evaluate everything based on outcomes (which is important), but it shed light on the notion that outcomes are often inseparable from the contexts in which they occur.
I also thought the Brock Turner stuff was really compelling. While it doesn’t exonerate him, it does provide a lot of context for how complicated consent can be in settings where alcohol is consumed in such massive quantities.
I suspect most of us would have a hard time confidently saying we would act on a significantly higher moral ground had we and the other person consumed the levels of alcohol they consumed.
I realized that I was so utterly clueless about my state and OKC that I can’t even really judge his angle. But, If everything he said is true about the great annexation and the urban renewal plan, then yes. Those plans were 100% attempts at vain glory driven by megalomaniacs. My impression of OKC has developed over the last 20 years or so since the MAPS program, which seems to be a big improvement.
That was pretty much my take as well. Being from Tulsa, I’m not as familiar with OKC and its history, so there was a lot of eye opening stuff in there. His description of walking through OKC pretty much aligned with what I’ve seen of parts of the city when I’ve visited in the past, but to be fair, I think you’d find similar landscapes in many large US cities.
I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary shots taken at the beginning of the book about OKC. Those toned down as the book went on. As a Tulsan, I definitely had moments of “Hey you can’t say that about OKC, only I can say that about OKC!” Of course, he’d say the same or worse about Tulsa. The rest of the picture was pretty accurate, I thought.
As much as anything, it made me want to read more about what “Urban Renewal” has done to cities. It seems like it has been a disaster everywhere. It is clearly a part of why OSU-Tulsa and 244 are where they are.
Having just read this, and The Power Broker being seared into my mind leads me to believe that a lot of the problems were caused by autocrats who did what they thought was best without considering the people who would be most affected. This seems especially true of where highways go.
If you look at a map of Memphis, you’ll notice the interstates surround it…but don’t go through it. I’ve heard it wasn’t built through because it would’ve messed with the zoo, specifically.
Jacobs took Robert Moses head on and that’s why NYC is so vibrant today without highways slicing it up. Places like Tulsa just tossed highways through areas like the Greenwood and essentially ruined any chance of a long term revival naturally happening.
