City Life

  • New York to host a Mamdani supermarket sweep

    It’s not certain, but a definite idea of Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Mayor, to provide cheaper if not free groceries at limited locations for local citizens is said to be nearing completion in its preliminary planning stages.

    It’s essentially the state of affairs in a City that has pelted its incumbents with the fruit and veg of public opinion as much as rocked the vote in recent years.

    The progress of any idea is not easy there, particularly considering “90% of it is b-ll”, so said a former City worker to me, tired of his career, even after twenty years out “and firmly retired”. He had the impression that old ideas were the best ones, in particular because they stayed around for long enough to still be considered.

    Anything ‘new’ has a to cut it first to then find a place later. Such may be Mamdani’s fate. He seeks to ‘pop up’ stores in quick time – to roll out a policy for the poorer or more disadvantaged locally before it gets buried in bureaucracy.

    It’s a tough ask. The local groceries business is brutal. Just ask the Jewish business owners, who say the City authority has not been in contact with them a single time since some of them opened.

  • The look of a city is only the start of it

    The London we know of is made up of much of the subjective experience that we get of it. The rest is what we can see, and what others can tell us about what they know of. It’s known as the vibrancy of modern cities, and it makes people happier.

    A shot of an open carriage and two horses on Westminster Bridge, in central London.

    The fact is, though, that unhappiness can be a factor in some people’s experiences of it. This is shown in their reaction to current events and the people that populate it. It may not be a protest today, but it can be a comment that’s negative.

    The other point of modern life is that people talk about living it. This brings out opinions. It brings out perspectives. It brings out the views that we don’t all share. This livens up most places with discussions that make memorable moments.

  • Functionality only goes so far

    London prides itself on having a good way of organising its affairs. The unique Tube structure. The roadways that are kept open long after their historic inception. The many residential neighbourhoods that stay safe and reasonable to live in. These are all indicators that our capital is a national treasure in itself.

    Two ticket machines at St. James’s Park station in the City of Westminster, in London.

    However, the debates about its infrastructure stretch far into the lives of those that use it, and they have valid points to make. The plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street is another chapter in its storied history of response to public concern. It’s the type of local democracy people want. A politics that reflects all of our needs, all of the time.