A neighborhood's conversion from affordable to gentrified begins with simple and subtle changes often mistaken as beautification projects. However most often these are markers that precede considerable infrastructure and demographic seismic shifts to come.

The following work by Dr. Paul Tinari was awarded the prestigious “Professors Prize for an Essay in Natural Philosophy” at Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario.

Chances are very good that 9 out of 10 employed professional engineers who are reading this article will be downsized or made redundant by their present employers within the next 10 years. Harsh circumstances will force engineers to re-invent their careers as independent, entrepreneurial consultants who must focus on competing for clients by use of aggressive creative thinking techniques. Traditionally, high levels of creativity and innovative idea generation have not been seen as central to the engineer's role. How the outside world sees engineering and engineers can in part be seen by looking up "Boring" in the Yellow Pages. A common entry is: "Boring - See Engineering".