Introduction 00: Why the Substack?
Where government and urban planning collide.
So, why is it that this Substack exists? Simply, there is too much I want to talk about that a tweet thread cannot fix, and a video would not do justice. Not in 10 minutes, certainly not in 60 seconds.
What you can expect to find going forward in this newsletter is a regular piece on something either related to the Government Explained Youtube channel, policy, or urban planning. Some pop culture might sneak in, or history, we’re all complex humans. There may be a concept I want to discuss that I can’t quite figure out how to make a concise video out of, or a policy proposal I find interesting at some level of government.
They say if you want to learn how to write well, write often. I want to take that advice to heart and provide you all with something that can get a conversation going in this little slice of the Internet which pines after sensible policy and accessible urban places.
I want to showcase all the interesting governmental and urban-positive things going on in the Global South, in China, Eastern Europe, places that a typical North American audience lacks access to.
Africa is a vast continent, with a lot of potential. Kigali's Unique Bike-Share Program, as detailed in this article, shows us that the concept of a bike share system is being adopted in a fast-growing African nation.
Who knew South Korea had a Ministry of Gender Equality? I sure didn’t, until it is now under threat of being disbanded. What kind of work did it do, and what were its goals?
As a companion piece to this first post, you will find a link to a piece in a short series I will be producing, in which I reflect on my earlier content. This first piece is about my very first video, which focussed on an element of Mainland China’s government, their autonomous provinces. If all this sounds interesting to you, please feel free to subscribe and share this around.