Visualizing Public Policy. The Center for Urban Pedagogy has announced a call for designers for the next round of Making Policy Public. This year’s fold-out poster designs will cover policy briefs on:

• Preserving public parks and historically safe spaces for LGBTQ teens in the context of rapid privatization of public space.
• Enabling public housing residents to become active participants in critical decisions about the developments where they live.
• Educating the public about the redistricting process and reforms that can make it less subject to political manipulation.
• Helping youth and their families navigate the juvenile justice system.
• Visualizing market forces along the tomato supply chain that give rise to sweatshop working conditions in the Florida tomato industry.

See this previous Making Policy Public brief on street vendor regulations in New York City.  ¶

Типографика и национализм. My essay on Typography and Nationalism, first available in English and Italian, is now available in Russian.  ¶

A Flash of Memory. Designer Issey Miyake on surviving the atomic bomb at Hiroshima: “I have never chosen to share my memories or thoughts of that day. I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy. I gravitated toward the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic.… But now I realize it is a subject that must be discussed if we are ever to rid the world of nuclear weapons.”  ¶

Public Architecture. A San Francisco-based design firm that: “Puts the resources of architecture in the service of the public interest. We identify and solve practical problems of human interaction in the built environment and act as a catalyst for public discourse through education, advocacy and the design of public spaces and amenities.” Also: “Rather than waiting for commissions that represent well-understood needs and desires, we take a leadership role, identifying significant problems of wide relevance that require innovative research and design.… We don’t just do our own projects; we encourage architecture firms nationwide to formalize their commitment to the public good.”  ¶

Brazil's racy telenovelas inspire drop in birth rate, rise in divorce. From the UK Telegraph: “A study of population data stretching back to 1971 has revealed that Brazil’s popular and often fanciful soap operas have had a direct impact on the nation's divorce and birth rates, as the main channel that broadcast them gradually extended its reach across the country. According to the report… the rate of marriage break-up rose and the number of children born to each woman fell more quickly in areas receiving the TV Globo signal for the first time.… ‘We find that exposure to modern lifestyles as portrayed on television, to emancipated women’s roles, and to a critique of traditional values, was associated with increases in the share of separated and divorced woman across Brazil’s municipal areas,’ the report's authors said. What is more, they added, ‘Women living in areas covered by the Globo signal have significantly lower fertility.’”  ¶