In yesterday's column, David Brooks interpreted the recent Pew survey on how Americans feel about where they live. They, apparently, love sprawl.

The first thing they found is that even in dark times, Americans are still looking over the next horizon. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would rather live in a different type of community from the one they are living in at present.

Second, Americans still want to move outward. City dwellers are least happy with where they live, and cities are one of the least popular places to live. Only 52 percent of urbanites rate their communities "excellent" or "very good," compared with 68 percent of suburbanites and 71 percent of the people who live in rural America.

Third, Americans still want to go west. The researchers at Pew asked Americans what metro areas they would like to live in. Seven of the top 10 were in the West: Denver, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, Portland and Sacramento. The other three were in the South: Orlando, Tampa and San Antonio. Eastern cities were down the list and Midwestern cities were at the bottom.

Brooks then deduces that the absence of Chicago and New York on the list means that even the Americans who say they want to live in cities don't really want to live in cities—they want to live in car-y suburbs. (And rounds out the fantasy with a rhapsody about the garages of Denver and Seattle: "These are places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garage — filled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment.")

San Francisco's Streetsblog calls bullshit:

In today's Times, the nation's most famous sprawl apologist cites a recent Pew study to argue his case... One could just as easily spin cherry-picked Pew data to argue against the Brooks point of view:

* Americans are all over the map in their views about their ideal community type: 30% say they would most like to live in a small town, 25% in a suburb, 23% in a city and 21% in a rural area.

See, most Americans would prefer to live in a city or small town. I could say that they hunger for walkability and "dense community," but I won't, because the Pew study is not a useful barometer of American preferences for urban form and transportation options.

The findings are a little baffling. Orlando? San Antonio? And Phoenix? What, exactly, do Americans like so much about these cities? Are they just feeling cold?

(And if you haven't read Salon's hit on Brooks for calling lobbyists "experts" and wearing beltway-blinders, "incapable of finding fault with political power," you might enjoy it.)

Photo from Rich Lem Flickr.

Home Alive is a great organization. But after 16 years teaching self-defense classes, it’s suspending operation at the end of the month. There’s more info in this online-only story. Directors seem to have remedied some financial mismanagement issues. But there’s another reason why the organization is on the rocks now:

Historically, Seattle’s music community provided much of Home Alive’s funding. The office’s walls are papered with posters from past benefit concerts. “Income like that should be icing on the cake, but instead it’s been the cake for so long,” says Alexander, who adds that the benefit shows started to wane a few years ago. “For people committed to throwing [benefits] these days, Home Alive may not be on their short list.” Moreover, the withering economy drags on all nonprofits’ fundraising.

Behold, a group of sports fans has stepped up to the plate. “We heard through the grapevine that Home Alive was in need of help,” says Kevin Zelko. Gorilla Football Club, a group of liberal soccer watchers, is throwing a benefit party from 8 p.m. to midnight on February 26 at Shorty’s [corrected date], 2222 2nd Avenue. “Let's fill a jar full of cash to send to them,” says the Facebook invitation page. They’re gonna have a raffle for tickets at Neumos and some other neat stuff.

I just got the text of Mayor Greg Nickels's State of the City Speech, which I wasn't able to attend due to deadlines (we put the paper out on Tuesdays), an inauspicious location (the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club) and the fact that in going to these things for the last eight years, I've just about reached my tolerance for Nickels's stilted speaking style. In keeping with Nickels's focus on numbers in this year's speech (419,000 potholes filled!), I'm going to break his speech down for you by the numbers:

Total number of words in speech: 4,345

Number by which that exceeds the first State of the City speech delivered outside City Hall, in 2007: 1,389.

Number of times Nickels used the word "strong" to describe the condition of the city: 6.

Number of times he used the same word two years ago: 8.

Number of weather metaphors ("storm clouds gathering," "weather the storm," etc.) I noted before I stopped counting: 6.

Number of Clinton-esque shout-outs to people sitting in the audience, not counting council members and Nickels's wife, Sharon: 7

Number of city council members whom Nickels did not mention by name: 3 (McIver, Licata, and Drago)

Uses of the word "dream": 3

Uses of the word "jobs": 12

Number of years during Nickels's eight-year tenure that the mayor has mentioned the Alaskan Way Viaduct in the State of the City: 5.

Most recent year in which he did so: 2006.

Years in which Nickels has not mentioned potholes or the "Pothole Rangers": 2 (2002 and 2007)