Given the size of modern cities in the urbanising age, it is beyond the perceptual capacity of most people to develop a good knowledge about the beauty and ugliness of the city at every street corner. Correspondingly, for planners, it is also difficult to accurately answer questions like ‘where are the worst-looking places in the city that regeneration should give first consideration’, or ‘in t...

The recent attacks on expatriate hawkers, by their South African counterparts in the streets of Johannesburg, has revealed the vicious xenophobia which lies under the surface of our "rainbow" nation. According to the South African street traders, "illegal" foreigners pose unfair competition to their trade, in an economically adverse climate and should be deported. Migration has been with us for...

*The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia or the Federal Reserve System. he severity of the recent economic downturn raises questions about the role of financial markets in modern market economies. Why did rising defaults in a relatively small portion of the U.S. housing market cause a financial crisi...