Anyone who has picked up a greeting card, coffee mug, or calendar in the past 100 years or so can recognize the sentiments of any number of great American environmentalists: Whitman and his yawp, Thoreau and his deliberateness, Frost and his serene decisiveness. We know the exhortations of Carson, Leopold, Emerson, and Abbey. John Muir, John McPhee, and Barry Lopez are known to have taken a few strolls through the chestnuts.
History / Preservation
New Deal Legacies Endangered
Buildings and homes built as a product of the Works Progress Administration of the 1930s are being torn down at a rate that some find unsettling.
International Herald Tribune
Glimpsing into New Orleans' First Master Plan
The master plan will replace an outdated, complex zoning law and address urban housing, wetlands preservation, and transit, among other things. New Orleans is finally "poised for sustained growth," according to the plan's lead consultant.
The Times-Picayune
D.C. Thwarts Apple Store
The Old Georgetown Board, the design review board of Washington, D.C.'s historic district, has voted a third time to reject Apple's bid to tear down the current building and put up one of their iconic Apple Stores.
National Trust For Historic Preservation
Town Chooses Between History and Housing
Some Chelmsofrd, MA residents think gutting their historic town halls--one vacant for 20 years--to bring in much-needed affordable housing units is a great idea. But some still find the idea of marring such architectural icons unacceptable.
Lowell Sun Online
Friday Funny: Historic, or Just Plain Lewd?
Hoare Road, East Breast, and North Piddle are actual place names that get a chuckle out of most people. But when it comes to the more "aesthetically unsuitable" names, feelings are divided.
The New York Times
Comeback for Little Rock's Little Rock
The rock after which Little Rock, AR is named will be excavated to cap off the revitalization of the city's riverfront. No one knows how much of the rock, estimated to be 300 million years old, is left, which raises the question: Is it worth it?
The Wall Street Journal
A Historic District, In Name
This piece from Preservation magazine looks at how historic districts in Portland fall short in preventing incompatible uses.
Preservation
Coney Island Brings in Residences and Retail
Highlights of the Coney Island revival plan include new housing, shops, and recreational facilities--which some say have no place in the historic amusement district.
New York Daily News
Beijing Disappearing
Wrecking crews continue to clear the old hutongs of Beijing, replacing them with modern streets and skyscrapers. Meanwhile, a handful of scavengers work to save pieces of history from the wreckage.
The New York Times
Creating Sustainability in Oregon
The master plan for Salem, Oregon's Pringle Creek Community is ambitious, says Jim Fitzsimons, incorporating mixed-use, sustainable development with the community-enhancing aspects of old city neighborhoods.
Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments
'Distinctive Destinations' for 2009
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released their annual dozen 'distinctive destinations', vacation spots that rank high in authenticity, beauty, and of course, preservation. Franklin, Tennessee is one of the lesser-known locales.
preservationnation.org
Mapped History of Manhattan's Waterways
Interactive maps of Manhattan from 1865 and 2008 are overlayed in this piece from The New York Moon that discusses the history of the island's waterways.
The New York Moon
Can Brutalism Clash with Religious Exercise?
A Washington, D.C. church contends that its current facility, a historic Brutalist buildling, interferes with its theology and should be able to replace it with something more "welcoming" and fitting with "the scale of the community."
The Christian Science Monitor
Preserving Cuba's Urban Quality
As U.S.-Cuba relations evolve with a new presidential administration, author Richard Louv argues that officials should be careful about relying on commerce to save the country's decaying urban areas without preserving them.
Citiwire
Water City Design - Copenhagen and Vancouver
Fri, 01/09/2009 - 14:20
In 2008 I took a wonderful trip to Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Malmo, Sweden. Although the occasion involved invitations to speak on Vancouver's waterfront achievements and challenges, it was really an opportunity for me to learn from these dynamic cities, and see the best and worst of European waterfront design and master-planning.
Art Invades New Delhi, Comments On Changing City
Public art installations around New Delhi highlights the challenges of preserving India's heritage amidst development. 'We ask people to think about constructing a modern city and the accompanying extinction and loss,' says artist Ravi Agrawal.
Washington Post
Re-Creating Historic Places - But Why?
Plans to construct a replica of a German palace in Berlin are being met with confusion and derision. It's a project that many critics say has no point.
International Herald Tribune
