The future of the cultural commons looked dim in December 2002: Napster had been shuttered a year earlier, while record labels treaded warily into selling DRM-locked music online. The FCC dismantled regulations forestalling the consolidation of media ownership. And as the housing bubble inflated, privatization — of media, public space, scientific and technological research, even the military — became the watchword of the day.

The 2012 Presidential Election has come to its merciful end, and one of the most compelling stories arising in its wake is the increasing influence of data science in elections and society.

Would you rather watch cat videos or read Nate Silver’s latest election projections? Snack on traditional frosted flakes or ones dusted with maple and apple flavoring? Use a smartphone with a 3.5” or a 4.25” screen? And do these largely arbitrary decisions really improve our quality of life?

You don’t need to be an urbanist to know that Los Angeles’s infatuation with the car comes with significant cost. Spending a couple hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405 will suffice. Due to demographic, cultural, and economic shifts in the city, there’s increasing support for an overhaul of its long-beleagured public transit system.