While proponents for the preservation of Paul Rudolph's Orange County Government Center won a reprieve last week, Anthony Paletta is more concerned with the types of civic architecture the Rudolph building's critics would hope to construct.
By a narrow 11-10 vote last week, the Orange County Legislature rejected a proposal to demolish the Brutalist Center, built in 1967. Paletta celebrates the decision as "a clear victory for our culture." His good cheer about the fate of the Rudolph building, however, did not prevent him from lamenting the general state of civic architecture in the U.S.
"I had the good fortune to see the Rudolph building for the first time last week, and I could not help but wonder: Have any of the disgruntled –those who called it 'ugly,' 'a monstrosity,' and 'so out of place'-seen the county office buildings we have put up lately? Have any of these critics ever been, even remotely, diverted by a DMV waiting room?"
"In recent years, civic architecture has relentlessly inclined towards mediocrity or worse. County office buildings may be the worst of a bad lot, marooned between design competitions that occasionally produce state or federal buildings of distinction and the sort of local pride that seems to avert miserable town halls. These buildings seem to fall in an almost inevitable middle-range of civic apathy; you enter them only to renew a driver's license and have about the same reaction to their aesthetics as when you see a distant relative at an occasional wedding."
FULL STORY: Saving Rudolph in Goshen

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie