Author Archives: Richard Shearmur

Masdar City: a partial eco-neighbourhood?

What is Masdar City? Masdar City is a well-hyped suburban development close to Abu-Dhabi airport, about 30 minutes from the (rather amorphous) centre of the metropolitan area. It is hyped as : “A ground-breaking sustainable urban community and a world-class business free zone and technology hub, with innovation in [its] DNA. Driven by the UAE’sContinue reading “Masdar City: a partial eco-neighbourhood?”

Trump’s is smaller

During my short stay in Abu-Dhabi I was fortunate to visit a huge1 , outrageous, and rather beautiful (in its excess), building. It is the Qasr al Watan, UAE’s presidential palace, reserved for official functions: it is a working palace, completed in 2017. After being driven across acres of lawn – itself an indulgence inContinue reading “Trump’s is smaller”

Some thoughts on visiting Abu-Dhabi

Last week I was guest of a foreign university in Abu-Dhabi, participating in a conference on urban-planning and development. Before accepting the invitation, I had misgivings about going. The United Arab Emirates are undemocratic, run by a monarchy made wealthy by the considerable oil reserves in their territory. Their foreign policy in Sudan is questionable,Continue reading “Some thoughts on visiting Abu-Dhabi”

Carney ignores his own advice, or how to fuel discontent

When one looks back, in a few months or years, and attempts to understand how Carney’s liberal government so utterly failed, the Air Canada strike will probably be part of the story. After slashing the carbon tax — against the well thought-through but manifestly vacuous arguments set out in his book — Carney is nowContinue reading “Carney ignores his own advice, or how to fuel discontent”

Genocide and innovation: why innovate?

Israel as a cluster of innovation As an urban planner and economic geographer whose research focusses on the geography of innovation in Canada and other countries of the global north, my professional interests do not typically intersect with Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, nor with its murderous occupation of the West Bank. I am aware,Continue reading “Genocide and innovation: why innovate?”

Registre des loyers: théorie et idéologie

Un principe qui sous-tend le droit et les marchés: l’accès à l’information Il y a un principe de base qui sous-tend deux domaines, l’économie et le droit. En économie, il est bien reconnu que, pour qu’un marché fonctionne de façon efficiente, tous les acteurs doivent avoir accès à l’information. Si l’information est asymétrique, si certainsContinue reading “Registre des loyers: théorie et idéologie”

Selective outrage in Canada

The killing of any innocent person is a tragedy. It is not enough for the pepetrator to unilaterally decree the person’s guilt for the tragedy to disappear. Starvation and slaughter cannot be justified Thus, the Israeli government’s starvation and slaughter of Palestinian people has no justification, despite claims by Deputy Knesset speaker Nissim Vaturi: “ThereContinue reading “Selective outrage in Canada”

Mark Carney’s book: second-best Values

I have just finished reading Mark Carney’s dense and fascinating book, Values: an Economist’s Guide to Everything that Matters, 456 pages of well-argued, interesting, but not necessarily riveting prose. He first provides a well documented history of the connection between finance, currencies and value, where ‘value’ has two meanings: value (as in market value) andContinue reading “Mark Carney’s book: second-best Values”

Comment ne pas obtenir un check-up médical de routine au Québec…

… il suffit de suivre les instructions. Pourquoi ce coup de gueule ? Je relate ci-dessous une simple expérience quotidienne avec le système de santé québécois, expérience partagée par beaucoup de concitoyens. Évidemment, ça me met en colère. Ça doit mettre beaucoup de gens en colère…. Mais ces colères partagées sont sournoises et dangereuses. NousContinue reading “Comment ne pas obtenir un check-up médical de routine au Québec…”