GREEN SPACE: MOCAD exhibit spotlights architectural design and sustainability
Firms included in exhibition, listed here
Friday, July 30, 2010
Hamilton Anderson Associates
Had work in the 2008 show at MOCAD: CONSIDERING ARCHITECTURE: SUSTAINABLE DESIGNS FROM DETROIT
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Detroit Historical Society
Detroit Architectural History Collection
http://www.detroithistorical.org/main/collections/collections.aspx
http://www.detroithistorical.org/main/collections/collections.aspx
Monday, July 26, 2010
Newark Architectural History Resources
Maps
Transit Reports
Government Documents and Master Plans
Books and eBooks
Articles
HABS and HAER
National Register of History Places Inventory
ArchLib MetroFile
Newark airport . . . (8 articles)
Newark baseball stadium . . . (36 articles)
Newark Central Ward (downtown) . . . (45 articles)
Newark factories . . . (7 articles)
Newark history and preservation . . . (13 articles)
Newark housing . . . (24 articles)
Newark Ironbound . . . (6 articles)
Newark miscellaneous . . . (21 articles)
Newark North Ward . . . (4 articles)
Newark revitalization . . . (47 articles)
Newark riverfront . . . (13 articles)
Newark South Ward . . . (3 articles)
Newark sports arena . . . (84 articles)
Newark Westside Park . . . (1 articles)
Transit Reports
Government Documents and Master Plans
Books and eBooks
Articles
HABS and HAER
National Register of History Places Inventory
ArchLib MetroFile
Newark airport . . . (8 articles)
Newark baseball stadium . . . (36 articles)
Newark Central Ward (downtown) . . . (45 articles)
Newark factories . . . (7 articles)
Newark history and preservation . . . (13 articles)
Newark housing . . . (24 articles)
Newark Ironbound . . . (6 articles)
Newark miscellaneous . . . (21 articles)
Newark North Ward . . . (4 articles)
Newark revitalization . . . (47 articles)
Newark riverfront . . . (13 articles)
Newark South Ward . . . (3 articles)
Newark sports arena . . . (84 articles)
Newark Westside Park . . . (1 articles)
Newark visit ideas
A friend of my father's: Kathe Newman
Kathe Newman is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, a member of the Graduate Faculties in the Department of Geography and an affiliated member of the Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University. Dr. Newman holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School and University Center at the City University of New York. Her research explores how and why cities change and how those changes affect people of color, women, and the poor. She is particularly interested in how capital flows transform urban places. He research has explored gentrification, foreclosure, urban redevelopment and community participation. Dr. Newman has published articles in Urban Studies, Urban Affairs Review, Shelterforce, Progress in Human Geography, Housing Studies, GeoJournal, and Environment and Planning A.
Kathe Newman is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, a member of the Graduate Faculties in the Department of Geography and an affiliated member of the Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University. Dr. Newman holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School and University Center at the City University of New York. Her research explores how and why cities change and how those changes affect people of color, women, and the poor. She is particularly interested in how capital flows transform urban places. He research has explored gentrification, foreclosure, urban redevelopment and community participation. Dr. Newman has published articles in Urban Studies, Urban Affairs Review, Shelterforce, Progress in Human Geography, Housing Studies, GeoJournal, and Environment and Planning A.
Foreclosure map of Cleveland
Friday, July 23, 2010
Blueprints for a Better 'Burb
"Suburb" has outlived its usefulness as a descriptive term --and as a model for future planning.
Re-defining the suburb and examining target elements for better development. Features entries to "Build a Better Burb," a competition for Long Island.
Re-defining the suburb and examining target elements for better development. Features entries to "Build a Better Burb," a competition for Long Island.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Shrinking Cities
Detroit tags
Blots
Cleveland tags
International research network (examination of European cities, an interesting follow-up to the Talking Cities reading)
Blots
Cleveland tags
International research network (examination of European cities, an interesting follow-up to the Talking Cities reading)
Interboro Partners: Improve Your Lot!
With the Improve Your Lot! project (above), begun in 2004 as a winning entry in collaboration with the Center for Urban Pedagogy in the Shrinking Cities competition, Interboro and the center studied empty residential lots in Detroit and the homeowners who not only remained but spread out and occupied abandoned adjacent lots. The firm documented the practice, seeing it as positive. (In this instance, a homeowner maintains a garden on the neighboring lot, which is owned by a billboard company, and uses discarded signs as ground cover for her plants.) As advocates, Armborst, D'Oca, and Theodore continue to educate the Detroit community on ways of achieving landownership.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Artspace
Artist Live/Work Opportunities: Founded in 1998, ArtSpace-Cleveland is dedicated to developing and sustaining affordable living and workspace in a community setting.
ArtSpace-Cleveland helps artists find spaces to live and work -publishes a quarterly newsletter - meets monthly with artists, non-profit organizations,and building owners - researches zoning and building codes to facilitate affordable space development - maintains a database and website - provides building owners with information on the needs of artists - conducts an annual trolley tour of artist live-work studios
ArtSpace-Cleveland works in partnership with The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the St. Clair Superior CDC, Dominion East Ohio, the Cuyahoga Community Land Trust, COSE Arts Network and Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Sponsors include the city of Cleveland, Forest City Enterprises and the Ohio Arts Council.
ArtSpace-Cleveland helps artists find spaces to live and work -publishes a quarterly newsletter - meets monthly with artists, non-profit organizations,and building owners - researches zoning and building codes to facilitate affordable space development - maintains a database and website - provides building owners with information on the needs of artists - conducts an annual trolley tour of artist live-work studios
ArtSpace-Cleveland works in partnership with The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the St. Clair Superior CDC, Dominion East Ohio, the Cuyahoga Community Land Trust, COSE Arts Network and Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Sponsors include the city of Cleveland, Forest City Enterprises and the Ohio Arts Council.
MOCA: There goes the neighborhood
Past exhibition: There Goes the Neighborhood explores the evolution of communities here and abroad. The exhibition focuses on how architecture and landscape embody a neighborhood's past, present, and potential future. The work on view examines places amid growth or decline, sites that hover somewhere between construction, deterioration, and renewal. The artists reveal how physical sites symbolize the human experience of change, whether simple or complex, invited or forced. Linking actual and anticipated shifts in communities across the globe, There Goes the Neighborhood emphasizes the evolving structures and compositions of neighborhoods in the twenty-first century.
The exhibition features artists from different regions and cultures who are responding to shifts in communities around the world. Some focus on particular sites. Representing blighted neighborhoods in New Orleans, Cleveland, and Leipzig, the works of Willie Birch, Amy Casey, and Clemens von Wedemeyer uncover political issues embedded in the architecture of these places. Eva Struble and Dionsio Gonzà lez focus on marginalized Spanish, Brazilian, and Vietnamese communities and their complex relationships within their regions. Leslie Grant and Nina Pessin-Whedbee, with support from Carolyn Strauss of slowLAB and artistic contribution by Leah Beeferman, examine the Domino Sugar Factory and its evolving neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
The exhibition features artists from different regions and cultures who are responding to shifts in communities around the world. Some focus on particular sites. Representing blighted neighborhoods in New Orleans, Cleveland, and Leipzig, the works of Willie Birch, Amy Casey, and Clemens von Wedemeyer uncover political issues embedded in the architecture of these places. Eva Struble and Dionsio Gonzà lez focus on marginalized Spanish, Brazilian, and Vietnamese communities and their complex relationships within their regions. Leslie Grant and Nina Pessin-Whedbee, with support from Carolyn Strauss of slowLAB and artistic contribution by Leah Beeferman, examine the Domino Sugar Factory and its evolving neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
Partners of Building Cleveland
Park Works: Whether ParkWorks is reclaiming neighborhood parks, creating gathering spaces downtown, envisioning a more vibrant future for University Circle or promoting the development of public spaces, we are enhancing the economic strength and quality of life for all Clevelanders.
Cleveland Public Art: Cleveland Public Art is dedicated to improving the quality of life and enhancing the economic competitiveness of Cleveland and its surrounding communities through the highest quality, site- specific public art and creative urban design. By actively engaging the public, designers, artists and decision makers, we work collaboratively to create unique places that revitalize neighborhoods and transform the way people see and experience the city.
AIA Cleveland: Perhaps some events on the calendar could prove as interesting visit activities?
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability: E4S is a diverse network of over 7000 leaders who are putting the principles of sustainability to work for their businesses and the region. E4S Network started in 2000 with the classic entrepreneurs and has attracted the entrepreneurial thinkers, the change agents from business, government, academia and non-profit sectors of our community.
Green City Blue Lake: Sustainability in Northeast Ohio
Ohio City Near West Development Corp: Ohio City Near West Development Corporation is a non-profit organization overseeing the community development activities in Ohio City, one of Cleveland's oldest and most diverse neighborhoods. This culturally rich community is located just across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland, and is home to more than 15 ethnic groups representing over 10,000 people.
On this site you'll find information on OCNW and its programs, as well as details on neighborhood events.
Wendy Park Foundation: Wendy Park is a 22-acre park that runs along both the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio.
Cleveland Public Art: Cleveland Public Art is dedicated to improving the quality of life and enhancing the economic competitiveness of Cleveland and its surrounding communities through the highest quality, site- specific public art and creative urban design. By actively engaging the public, designers, artists and decision makers, we work collaboratively to create unique places that revitalize neighborhoods and transform the way people see and experience the city.
AIA Cleveland: Perhaps some events on the calendar could prove as interesting visit activities?
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability: E4S is a diverse network of over 7000 leaders who are putting the principles of sustainability to work for their businesses and the region. E4S Network started in 2000 with the classic entrepreneurs and has attracted the entrepreneurial thinkers, the change agents from business, government, academia and non-profit sectors of our community.
Green City Blue Lake: Sustainability in Northeast Ohio
Ohio City Near West Development Corp: Ohio City Near West Development Corporation is a non-profit organization overseeing the community development activities in Ohio City, one of Cleveland's oldest and most diverse neighborhoods. This culturally rich community is located just across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland, and is home to more than 15 ethnic groups representing over 10,000 people.
On this site you'll find information on OCNW and its programs, as well as details on neighborhood events.
Wendy Park Foundation: Wendy Park is a 22-acre park that runs along both the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit
http://mocadetroit.org/
Currently on Display:
Highly esteemed and critically acclaimed Belgian artist Jef Geys (b. 1934) will present a new body of work specifically based on Detroit entitled Woodward Avenue. Geys rarely exhibits in the United States, making this project a remarkable and unique opportunity for visitors to engage with the artist’s extraordinary work, which encompasses conceptual approaches, educational activities, experiments and cooperative formats. Woodward Avenue is both an expansion and a departure from his Quadra Medicinale project, an interdisciplinary exhibition presented at the Belgian Pavillion at the 53rd Venice Biennale. For the Detroit project, Geys asked Dr. Ina Vandebroek, an ethnomedical research specialist, to collect weeds at twelve intersections along Woodward Avenue beginning at Cadillac Square, in the heart of the city of Detroit, and ending at Saginaw Street, nearly 30 miles north in the neighboring city of Pontiac. Woodward Avenue’s installation includes the collected and dried plant specimens with their corresponding scientific descriptions, photographs and specific maps. The exhibition also features two new films that record an ethnobotany workshop with traditional health practitioners run by Dr. Vandebroek in Bolivia. A special edition of the “Kempens Informatieblad” (Kempens Information Journal) will accompany the exhibition, as well as public programs and workshops that are an integral part of this art project.
Woodward Avenue is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and curated by Luis Croquer, Director and Chief Curator.
This exhibition is made possible in part through the generous support of Flanders House, promoting the arts and culture of Flanders (Belgium) in the United States.
Currently on Display:
Highly esteemed and critically acclaimed Belgian artist Jef Geys (b. 1934) will present a new body of work specifically based on Detroit entitled Woodward Avenue. Geys rarely exhibits in the United States, making this project a remarkable and unique opportunity for visitors to engage with the artist’s extraordinary work, which encompasses conceptual approaches, educational activities, experiments and cooperative formats. Woodward Avenue is both an expansion and a departure from his Quadra Medicinale project, an interdisciplinary exhibition presented at the Belgian Pavillion at the 53rd Venice Biennale. For the Detroit project, Geys asked Dr. Ina Vandebroek, an ethnomedical research specialist, to collect weeds at twelve intersections along Woodward Avenue beginning at Cadillac Square, in the heart of the city of Detroit, and ending at Saginaw Street, nearly 30 miles north in the neighboring city of Pontiac. Woodward Avenue’s installation includes the collected and dried plant specimens with their corresponding scientific descriptions, photographs and specific maps. The exhibition also features two new films that record an ethnobotany workshop with traditional health practitioners run by Dr. Vandebroek in Bolivia. A special edition of the “Kempens Informatieblad” (Kempens Information Journal) will accompany the exhibition, as well as public programs and workshops that are an integral part of this art project.
Woodward Avenue is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and curated by Luis Croquer, Director and Chief Curator.
This exhibition is made possible in part through the generous support of Flanders House, promoting the arts and culture of Flanders (Belgium) in the United States.
Detroit artist, Scott Hocking
Detroit artist Scott Hocking builds massive sculptures out of recycled materials in abandoned auto factories and empty neighborhoods, taking photographs before the structures get torn down. His photographs will be shown at 2739 Edwin Gallery in Hamtramck.
Westown Community Development Corp
Terrible website, but here's their contact information in case we want to schedule a visit... may be worthwhile based on their support of public art projects, per other sources.
Cleveland Skyscrapers
One of the seemingly few resources on architecture in Cleveland...
http://clevelandskyscrapers.com/
http://clevelandskyscrapers.com/
Building Bridges, Cleveland Mural Project
Katherine Chilcote (artist mentioned in WSJ article) directs this organization. This link lists partners of that organization, which may prove fruitful for the visit to Cleveland, etc.
Artists vs. Blight
The trend of artists buying foreclosed homes and moving to cities like Cleveland and Detroit.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123992318352327147.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123992318352327147.html
Concordia
Concordia is the planning firm selected to execute the master plan for New Orleans: http://www.concordia.com/
Citizens say "yes" to UNOP
Recovery Czar
Citizens say "yes" to UNOP
Recovery Czar
Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association
New Orleans Neighborhood Association, activities, art projects, etc.
The Urban Conservancy
http://www.urbanconservancy.org/
Dedicated to research, education, and advocacy that promote the wise stewardship of the urban built environment and local economies
Dedicated to research, education, and advocacy that promote the wise stewardship of the urban built environment and local economies
Asking "What's the Plan?" for New Orleans
Worldchanging article weighing the different approaches to rebuilding New Orleans.
Stay Local New Orleans
Stay Local! is a city-wide initiative for creating strong economies based on locally owned and operated businesses. We encourage consumers to shop locally and help independent businesses compete more effectively.
Solar Panels in the Lower Ninth Ward
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2007/03/greening-the-future-of-new-orleans-47637
New Orleans social clubs
Steve Inskeep tours the flooded Ninth Ward with Ronald Lewis, president of a social club called The Big Nine. These kinds of organizations are hallmarks of New Orleans' African-American community. Since Katrina, they've tried to keep scattered members in touch and regain their voice as their city considers its future.
Ronald Lewis is one of the "characters" in Dan Baum's Nine Lives.
Ronald Lewis is one of the "characters" in Dan Baum's Nine Lives.
The Right to Return
PBS Videos with [former] residents of the Lower Ninth Ward: http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/special/righttoreturn.html#
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EFD81730F93BA15756C0A9619C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EFD81730F93BA15756C0A9619C8B63
Mid-City Neighborhood Org./ Plan
One of the most prominent neighborhood rebuilding plans: http://mcno.org/about-mid-city/plan/
Broadmoor Improvement Association
One of the most active Neighborhood Associations in New Orleans, their website includes video interviews with residents on current issues, etc.
http://www.broadmoorimprovement.com/
http://www.broadmoorimprovement.com/
Touro Bouligny Neighborhood, New Orleans
Neighborhood Association: http://tourobouligny.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Katrina Cottages: Andres Duany
http://www.katrinacottages.com/plans/index.html
Katrina Cottages were originally conceived as Tiny Cottages to replace FEMA trailers with sturdy, permanent structures worthy of being kept for a hundred years or more. But they have grown beyond that original goal. Because the original goals of the Katrina Cottage movement were broad enough (deliver high-quality architecture appropriate to the regional conditions, climate, and culture that can be delivered using the five principal methods: manufactured, modular, kits, panelized, and site-built,) they easily included other building types. Today, many building types can be delivered the Katrina Way if the buildings are small enough and meet other state and local requirements (see Architectural Registration section below.)
Andres Duany's firm: http://www.dpz.com/company.aspx
Katrina Cottages were originally conceived as Tiny Cottages to replace FEMA trailers with sturdy, permanent structures worthy of being kept for a hundred years or more. But they have grown beyond that original goal. Because the original goals of the Katrina Cottage movement were broad enough (deliver high-quality architecture appropriate to the regional conditions, climate, and culture that can be delivered using the five principal methods: manufactured, modular, kits, panelized, and site-built,) they easily included other building types. Today, many building types can be delivered the Katrina Way if the buildings are small enough and meet other state and local requirements (see Architectural Registration section below.)
Andres Duany's firm: http://www.dpz.com/company.aspx
Bywater Neighborhood Association
http://bywater.org/
Maps, Culture, Architecture, and News by and for the Bywater neighborhood in New Orleans.
Maps, Culture, Architecture, and News by and for the Bywater neighborhood in New Orleans.
Blog: The Third Battle of New Orleans
Maps/ Demolition/ Photos blog
http://thethirdbattleofneworleans.blogspot.com
Richard Campanella Methodology:
http://thethirdbattleofneworleans.blogspot.com/2005/11/richard-campanella-methodology.html
http://thethirdbattleofneworleans.blogspot.com
Richard Campanella Methodology:
http://thethirdbattleofneworleans.blogspot.com/2005/11/richard-campanella-methodology.html
Digital Sanborn Maps
password required - anyway we can get our hands on one? It seems like a Proquest account would work.
http://sanborn.umi.com/
http://sanborn.umi.com/
Modular homes in the Lower Ninth
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1184745937164230.xml&coll=1
"For the first time in almost two years, a new house is rising on Tennessee Street, the stricken heart of the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood smashed flat by Hurricane Katrina.
Smelling of new paint and fresh caulk, the pioneer home is the first permanent structure anywhere along a six-block street of naked slabs and untended weeds.
But within three weeks, the gray, three-bedroom, 1,700-square-foot modular home being erected on Darryl and Elvina Sims' lot will be ready for a family willing to breath life into ground zero."
"For the first time in almost two years, a new house is rising on Tennessee Street, the stricken heart of the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood smashed flat by Hurricane Katrina.
Smelling of new paint and fresh caulk, the pioneer home is the first permanent structure anywhere along a six-block street of naked slabs and untended weeds.
But within three weeks, the gray, three-bedroom, 1,700-square-foot modular home being erected on Darryl and Elvina Sims' lot will be ready for a family willing to breath life into ground zero."
CCRA
The Central City Renaissance Alliance (CCRA) is a neighborhood association that serves one of the largest communities in the city of New Orleans and also partners with other neighborhood associations within Central City borders. CCRA grew out of a community planning initiative commissioned in 2003 by the City of New Orleans and the Ford Foundation and led by Concordia Planning, LLC. With additional support from other local and national philanthropic partners, more than 200 residents, stakeholders and municipal partners worked together for 18 months in an authentic dialogue that involved sharing ideas, concerns and strategies to develop the Central City Community Plan.
http://www.myccra.org/#
http://www.myccra.org/#
Time for better railroads in Michigan?
http://mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17433
Detroit, the only large American city without an urban rail system, now has several long-postponed commuter rail projects in development. And, after proposing serious cuts in support to Amtrak passenger rail in the state last year, Governor Jennifer Granholm’s latest budget proposes full funding for the current passenger rail system.
Detroit, the only large American city without an urban rail system, now has several long-postponed commuter rail projects in development. And, after proposing serious cuts in support to Amtrak passenger rail in the state last year, Governor Jennifer Granholm’s latest budget proposes full funding for the current passenger rail system.
Detroit Urban Caucus/ land use reform, 2004
http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16730
2004 Interview: Senator Samuel ‘Buzz’ Thomas, who supports land use reform, hopes the Urban Caucus will keep the state focused on reviving its many troubled cities.
2004 Interview: Senator Samuel ‘Buzz’ Thomas, who supports land use reform, hopes the Urban Caucus will keep the state focused on reviving its many troubled cities.
Detroit Farm to School Conference
Local food movement in Detroit, national conference to be held in Detroit
http://mlui.org/blogs/?p=1253
http://mlui.org/blogs/?p=1253
Orleans Parish Data & Information
http://www.gnocdc.org/orleans/index.html = Pre-Katrina data for New Orleans (2000).
http://www.gnocdc.org/ = current data including reference maps, population breakdowns, job statistics, blight
http://www.gnocdc.org/ = current data including reference maps, population breakdowns, job statistics, blight
Preservation Resource Center
This is the National Trust's local offshoot in New Orleans. They have a library and exhibition space in the Warehouse District, and their website includes a comprehensive and interactive map of their restoration projects.
http://www.prcno.org/neighborhoods/neighborhoodmap.php
http://www.prcno.org/neighborhoods/neighborhoodmap.php
Gulf Coast Recovery/ Preservation
Includes updates in the New Orleans preservation scene, as well as important efforts including saving Charity Hospital
http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/gulf-coast-recovery/
http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/gulf-coast-recovery/
Dan Baum/ New Yorker blog
An amazing blog with vibrant stories of Dan Baum's experiences in New Orleans, post-Katrina. Includes interviews that contributed to his book, NINE LIVES.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/neworleansjournal
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/neworleansjournal
Rebuilding Together: Resources
http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/section/resources/
Rebuilding Together is the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. Our network of more than 200 affiliates provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes
of low-income Americans.
Rebuilding Together believes in a safe and healthy home for every person. This means that we believe disabled and aging homeowners should be able to remain in their homes for as long as possible. We believe that homeowners displaced by natural disaster will get back into safe housing with help from the community. We believe that our nation’s veterans with disabilities deserve safe and accessible homes. Rebuilding Together believes we can preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities by providing free home modifications and repairs, making homes safer, more accessible, and more energy efficient.
As the economic pressure on low-income families grows, more and more families are placed in the position of choosing between vital necessities and essential home repairs and modifications.
Rebuilding Together is the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. Our network of more than 200 affiliates provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes
of low-income Americans.
Rebuilding Together believes in a safe and healthy home for every person. This means that we believe disabled and aging homeowners should be able to remain in their homes for as long as possible. We believe that homeowners displaced by natural disaster will get back into safe housing with help from the community. We believe that our nation’s veterans with disabilities deserve safe and accessible homes. Rebuilding Together believes we can preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities by providing free home modifications and repairs, making homes safer, more accessible, and more energy efficient.
As the economic pressure on low-income families grows, more and more families are placed in the position of choosing between vital necessities and essential home repairs and modifications.
Stories archive of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University and the University of New Orleans organized the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank (HDMB) in partnership with national and Gulf Coast area partners. HDMB was awarded the Award of Merit for Leadership in History, and is the largest free public archive of Katrina and Rita with over 25,000 items in the collection.
http://hurricanearchive.org/
http://hurricanearchive.org/
YatPundit blog
http://www.yatpundit.com/
YatPundit is the nom-de-blog of Edward Branley author, computer consultant/trainer, and procrastinator extraordinare.
YatBazaar's mission is to bring New Orleanians together in an on-line community to discuss/chat/argue/plan/dream/socialize. In short, it's a NOLA neighborhood!
YatPundit is the nom-de-blog of Edward Branley author, computer consultant/trainer, and procrastinator extraordinare.
YatBazaar's mission is to bring New Orleanians together in an on-line community to discuss/chat/argue/plan/dream/socialize. In short, it's a NOLA neighborhood!
Metro Blogs
http://detroit.metblogs.com/
http://neworleans.metblogs.com/
"What is Metroblogging?
Metroblogging started off as a more locally focused alternative news source in Los Angeles and has turned into the largest and fastest growing network of city-specific blogs on the Web. We got sick of reading local news that was syndicated from the other side of the country, or was just repurposed national chit chat that had nothing to do with our city. We created our first blog as a throw back to the days when a local news paper focused on local issues, and you could walk down to the corner coffee shop and chat up the reporters whose column you read earlier that day. This idea didn’t stay in one city for long and before we knew it there were Metblogs in Chicago, Portland, Karachi, and Vienna. Today there are over 50 Metblogs in countries all over the world. Local politics, event reviews, lunch recommendations and ways to avoid that big traffic jam downtown. If it’s happening in our cities, we’re on it.
We are bloggers first and foremost, and we love our cities. Even the parts we hate."
http://neworleans.metblogs.com/
"What is Metroblogging?
Metroblogging started off as a more locally focused alternative news source in Los Angeles and has turned into the largest and fastest growing network of city-specific blogs on the Web. We got sick of reading local news that was syndicated from the other side of the country, or was just repurposed national chit chat that had nothing to do with our city. We created our first blog as a throw back to the days when a local news paper focused on local issues, and you could walk down to the corner coffee shop and chat up the reporters whose column you read earlier that day. This idea didn’t stay in one city for long and before we knew it there were Metblogs in Chicago, Portland, Karachi, and Vienna. Today there are over 50 Metblogs in countries all over the world. Local politics, event reviews, lunch recommendations and ways to avoid that big traffic jam downtown. If it’s happening in our cities, we’re on it.
We are bloggers first and foremost, and we love our cities. Even the parts we hate."
Jeff Lamb blog
"New Orleans 19th century historic vernacular architecture"
A relatively comprehensive blog on what's going on in New Orleans: culture, rebuilding, preservation, through photos and videos.
http://jefflamb.wordpress.com/
http://jefflamb.wordpress.com/renew-new-orleans-architectural-historic-survey/
A relatively comprehensive blog on what's going on in New Orleans: culture, rebuilding, preservation, through photos and videos.
http://jefflamb.wordpress.com/
http://jefflamb.wordpress.com/renew-new-orleans-architectural-historic-survey/
New Orleans Neighborhood Associations
A list of neighborhood associations across New Orleans, and links to their individual pages
http://neworleanswebsites.com/cat/co/c-ncg/c-ncg.html
http://neworleanswebsites.com/cat/co/c-ncg/c-ncg.html
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Water Treatment
River Rouge Auto Plant underwent a big water treatment project
recently, might be of interest:
http://www.mcdonoughpartners.com/projects/view/ford_rouge_center_landscape_master_plan
recently, might be of interest:
http://www.mcdonoughpartners.
Trash Art
Heidelberg Project is an ongoing folk-art/trash sculpture installation
covering several blocks of vacant land. I think it's one of the most
visited tourist sites in Detroit. They also have social
programs/agenda.
http://www.heidelberg.org
covering several blocks of vacant land. I think it's one of the most
visited tourist sites in Detroit. They also have social
programs/agenda.
http://www.heidelberg.org
Recovering Parks and Gardens
Community gardens -- they are everywhere, in all sizes, mostly DIY.
There are now proposals for large-scale urban agriculture 'for-profit'
production....Hantz farms is one that's in the works (backed by the
CEO of a giant corporation ....the city is a little skeptical).
There are now proposals for large-scale urban agriculture 'for-profit'
production....Hantz farms is one that's in the works (backed by the
CEO of a giant corporation ....the city is a little skeptical).
SHAR, an addiction rehab organization is proposing another large-scale
operation on abandoned lots, it's called Recovery Park.
http://recoverypark.org
operation on abandoned lots, it's called Recovery Park.
http://recoverypark.org
Trees in Detroit
'Greening of Detroit' -- organization that works primarily to plant
trees in the city. I think they are using vacant lots as nurseries
and then distributing the trees amongst the neighborhoods (lining
streets, parks, etc)
http://www.greeningofdetroit.com/
trees in the city. I think they are using vacant lots as nurseries
and then distributing the trees amongst the neighborhoods (lining
streets, parks, etc)
http://www.greeningofdetroit.
Detroit Food Bank
Earthworks Urban Farm -- food bank (capuchin soup kitchen...dating
back to WW1 I believe, that's now taken over by foodie-activist types
that have expanded the growing operation into a bunch of vacant lots
on the Eastside....it has a really nice presence in the neighborhood
(visually) also feeding and employing locals).
http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/
back to WW1 I believe, that's now taken over by foodie-activist types
that have expanded the growing operation into a bunch of vacant lots
on the Eastside....it has a really nice presence in the neighborhood
(visually) also feeding and employing locals).
http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/
Public space in Old Detroit
Dequindre Cut -- old rail-line turned into a bike/pedestrian path.
http://www.detroitriverfront.org/dequindre/
There is also a riverfront trail/park system that is expanding through
mostly brownfields and empty lots.
http://www.detroitriverfront.org
http://www.detroitriverfront.
There is also a riverfront trail/park system that is expanding through
mostly brownfields and empty lots.
http://www.detroitriverfront.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wall Street Journal article
[NOTE: Karen Gadbois, who is quoted in the article and is the person behind the blog www.squanderedheritage.com, will be a panelist at Rising Tide II, August 24-26, 2007]
Katrina Survivors Face New Threat: City Demolition
Some Salvaged Homes End Up on Condemned List; Ms. Debose’s Due Process
RICK BROOKS August 9, 2007; Page A1
NEW ORLEANS — IdaBelle Joshua worked hard to take care of her two-story house in the Lower Ninth Ward, even after Hurricane Katrina flooded it up to the roof and exiled her 150 miles away.
She spent $5,000 to have the brick house gutted, $275 to clean it and then went to City Hall on July 5 to make sure 2611 Forstall St. wasn’t on a list of derelict properties here facing demolition because of storm damage. Two city employees assured her that the house was safe, she says.
Two days later, her nephew called. He had gone by to mow the lawn. But the house where Ms. Joshua and her late husband had raised three children was gone. It had been knocked down by the city. Since then, she has been trying to get an explanation, but with no luck.
“I’m a 79-year-old senior citizen, crippled and can’t travel, and I can’t pay anybody,” she says. “I will be dead and gone by the time I get any recourse from the city. It’s a travesty.”
Nearly two years after Katrina, city officials are toughening enforcement of an ordinance giving them the power to bulldoze homes and businesses that remain smashed, moldy or abandoned. Last month, the city published more than 1,700 notices filling 25 newspaper pages in the Times-Picayune. The tiny print announced that the properties had been classified as a “serious, imminent and continuing threat to the public health, safety and welfare” — and would be demolished after 30 business days.
City officials, trying to step up the struggling city’s comeback, have said they plan to flatten 10,000 hurricane-ravaged properties this year.
But the bulging list of doomed buildings includes some that weren’t damaged much by Katrina or that have already been significantly repaired — with building permits to prove it. Often, these property owners don’t even know they’re on the demolition list, because warning letters that are supposed to be mailed to them never arrive. City officials also are required to post a sign at every property on the list, but some owners say that hasn’t happened.
The result is a bewildered scramble to save historic narrow shotgun houses, Creole cottages and a hodgepodge of other buildings officially deemed unsalvagable. Owners race to City Hall, send pleas to preservationists and erect “DO NOT DEMOLISH!” signs that they hope will look convincing to bulldozer crews. For many, the effort comes on top of months spent wrestling with soaring insurance costs, searching for a building contractor and the frustrating slog of post-Katrina life in the still-devastated city.
Conspiracy theories are swirling, including the claim that tracts of land are being lined up for real-estate developers to buy on the cheap. City officials deny that, and no evidence of sweetheart deals has emerged. Still, New Orleans does have a financial incentive to speed things up: After this month, the city may have to start putting up its own money for demolitions; for now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency directly picks up all the costs. Razing a house costs $6,000 to $10,000.
“Was I supposed to get some kind of notice?” Mary Harrison said into her cellphone last week, after stepping outside the city’s housing department where she was trying to get some answers. She had heard from a neighbor that a demolition notice appeared for the house she is renovating with her husband, Donald, a prominent jazz saxophonist. It already has a new roof, and they’re working on the wiring and plumbing.
No one at City Hall could confirm that Mrs. Harrison’s house might be flattened, even when she pointed to the address on a page from the city’s Web site. Then she called FEMA, which reviews demolitions in certain historic areas. That was of no help, either. “They can’t find me on the list to take me off,” she said with a sigh.
It isn’t unusual for cities to knock down neglected properties as a last resort, and New Orleans has long gone after some of its most dilapidated housing. But the current get-tough approach, enacted by the City Council in February, streamlined the process.
“We get horror stories all the time,” says Robert Brown, president of the Preservation Resource Center, which promotes historic architecture. The group mails green “DEMOLITION ALERT” postcards to people on the demolition list, leading to frantic calls from some people who had no idea there was a problem. Karen Gadbois, who wondered why houses in her neighborhood with little damage were listed in the paper, has taken up the fight on a blog called “Squandered Heritage.” She drives around in her green Honda Element, eyeballing houses and trying to track down their owners.
Eric Oliver Person, a lawyer, says one woman he represents but wouldn’t identify claims her house in New Orleans East was knocked down by mistake. Acorn, an advocacy group, says it knows of at least three such cases.
“Of course, you’re going to have mistakes, but now it’s clear that we’ve got to slow things down,” says Stacy Head, a member of the City Council. She plans to complain about the snafus at a council meeting today.
Brenda Breaux, chief deputy city attorney, acknowledges some people have slipped through the cracks. But owners need to show they’re repairing — not just complain — to get off the list. “We don’t want to demolish anything if the owner is taking action. But the onus is on the property owner,” she says.
Michael DeZura, 37, was having lunch in Houston last month when a friend called with news that workers were disconnecting the electricity and gas lines to a brick building he owns. It is boarded up but has a new roof. The stained-glass window on the second floor, part of a traditional St. Joseph altar used by the Italian family that lived there and ran a grocery store downstairs, survived Katrina intact.
“If I didn’t know anyone who lived in the area, this building would be down,” Mr. DeZura says.
William and Shirley Colomb spent a sweltering night camping out in their Italian Renaissance Revival house in Broadmoor, which has no electricity and was inundated with 7½ feet of floodwater. The only light in the kitchen comes from two candles in a small glass.
Mrs. Colomb, 73, says they had to stay overnight after arriving June 14 to see yellow crime-scene-style tape giving demolition crews “right of entry” to the house where Mr. Colomb, 83, grew up. “I could just see a wrecking ball coming to get all this,” she says. After neighbors intervened, the Colombs were told by a FEMA employee at City Hall not to worry, she says.
For many, though, getting off the demolition list is an exercise in futility. Owners are told to object in writing, but the city hasn’t spelled out its rules for granting a reprieve — or proof a house is safe from bulldozers. Ms. Breaux says the city is about to put more information on its Web site, including a search engine so owners can keep track of their property’s status. Officials also plan to increase staffing in the City Hall department in charge of demolitions.
After $90,000 in post-Katrina repairs, the granite kitchen countertops at Chanel Debose’s house at 3519 Washington Ave. are gleaming again. Workers just scraped the front porch for a new coat of paint. But her house also wound up on the demolition list.
When the storm hit, Ms. Debose and her husband rescued about 25 people in his fishing boat before giving it away and trudging out of the city on foot. She is angry that anyone trying to save New Orleans could have so much trouble fighting city hall.
“There’s no due process here,” she says. “It’s their process.”
Write to Rick Brooks at rick.brooks@wsj.com
Common Knowledge/City-Works
www.squanderedheritage.com www.nobrokenwindows.com
Some Salvaged Homes End Up on Condemned List; Ms. Debose’s Due Process
RICK BROOKS August 9, 2007; Page A1
NEW ORLEANS — IdaBelle Joshua worked hard to take care of her two-story house in the Lower Ninth Ward, even after Hurricane Katrina flooded it up to the roof and exiled her 150 miles away.
She spent $5,000 to have the brick house gutted, $275 to clean it and then went to City Hall on July 5 to make sure 2611 Forstall St. wasn’t on a list of derelict properties here facing demolition because of storm damage. Two city employees assured her that the house was safe, she says.
Two days later, her nephew called. He had gone by to mow the lawn. But the house where Ms. Joshua and her late husband had raised three children was gone. It had been knocked down by the city. Since then, she has been trying to get an explanation, but with no luck.
“I’m a 79-year-old senior citizen, crippled and can’t travel, and I can’t pay anybody,” she says. “I will be dead and gone by the time I get any recourse from the city. It’s a travesty.”
Nearly two years after Katrina, city officials are toughening enforcement of an ordinance giving them the power to bulldoze homes and businesses that remain smashed, moldy or abandoned. Last month, the city published more than 1,700 notices filling 25 newspaper pages in the Times-Picayune. The tiny print announced that the properties had been classified as a “serious, imminent and continuing threat to the public health, safety and welfare” — and would be demolished after 30 business days.
City officials, trying to step up the struggling city’s comeback, have said they plan to flatten 10,000 hurricane-ravaged properties this year.
But the bulging list of doomed buildings includes some that weren’t damaged much by Katrina or that have already been significantly repaired — with building permits to prove it. Often, these property owners don’t even know they’re on the demolition list, because warning letters that are supposed to be mailed to them never arrive. City officials also are required to post a sign at every property on the list, but some owners say that hasn’t happened.
The result is a bewildered scramble to save historic narrow shotgun houses, Creole cottages and a hodgepodge of other buildings officially deemed unsalvagable. Owners race to City Hall, send pleas to preservationists and erect “DO NOT DEMOLISH!” signs that they hope will look convincing to bulldozer crews. For many, the effort comes on top of months spent wrestling with soaring insurance costs, searching for a building contractor and the frustrating slog of post-Katrina life in the still-devastated city.
Conspiracy theories are swirling, including the claim that tracts of land are being lined up for real-estate developers to buy on the cheap. City officials deny that, and no evidence of sweetheart deals has emerged. Still, New Orleans does have a financial incentive to speed things up: After this month, the city may have to start putting up its own money for demolitions; for now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency directly picks up all the costs. Razing a house costs $6,000 to $10,000.
“Was I supposed to get some kind of notice?” Mary Harrison said into her cellphone last week, after stepping outside the city’s housing department where she was trying to get some answers. She had heard from a neighbor that a demolition notice appeared for the house she is renovating with her husband, Donald, a prominent jazz saxophonist. It already has a new roof, and they’re working on the wiring and plumbing.
No one at City Hall could confirm that Mrs. Harrison’s house might be flattened, even when she pointed to the address on a page from the city’s Web site. Then she called FEMA, which reviews demolitions in certain historic areas. That was of no help, either. “They can’t find me on the list to take me off,” she said with a sigh.
It isn’t unusual for cities to knock down neglected properties as a last resort, and New Orleans has long gone after some of its most dilapidated housing. But the current get-tough approach, enacted by the City Council in February, streamlined the process.
“We get horror stories all the time,” says Robert Brown, president of the Preservation Resource Center, which promotes historic architecture. The group mails green “DEMOLITION ALERT” postcards to people on the demolition list, leading to frantic calls from some people who had no idea there was a problem. Karen Gadbois, who wondered why houses in her neighborhood with little damage were listed in the paper, has taken up the fight on a blog called “Squandered Heritage.” She drives around in her green Honda Element, eyeballing houses and trying to track down their owners.
Eric Oliver Person, a lawyer, says one woman he represents but wouldn’t identify claims her house in New Orleans East was knocked down by mistake. Acorn, an advocacy group, says it knows of at least three such cases.
“Of course, you’re going to have mistakes, but now it’s clear that we’ve got to slow things down,” says Stacy Head, a member of the City Council. She plans to complain about the snafus at a council meeting today.
Brenda Breaux, chief deputy city attorney, acknowledges some people have slipped through the cracks. But owners need to show they’re repairing — not just complain — to get off the list. “We don’t want to demolish anything if the owner is taking action. But the onus is on the property owner,” she says.
Michael DeZura, 37, was having lunch in Houston last month when a friend called with news that workers were disconnecting the electricity and gas lines to a brick building he owns. It is boarded up but has a new roof. The stained-glass window on the second floor, part of a traditional St. Joseph altar used by the Italian family that lived there and ran a grocery store downstairs, survived Katrina intact.
“If I didn’t know anyone who lived in the area, this building would be down,” Mr. DeZura says.
William and Shirley Colomb spent a sweltering night camping out in their Italian Renaissance Revival house in Broadmoor, which has no electricity and was inundated with 7½ feet of floodwater. The only light in the kitchen comes from two candles in a small glass.
Mrs. Colomb, 73, says they had to stay overnight after arriving June 14 to see yellow crime-scene-style tape giving demolition crews “right of entry” to the house where Mr. Colomb, 83, grew up. “I could just see a wrecking ball coming to get all this,” she says. After neighbors intervened, the Colombs were told by a FEMA employee at City Hall not to worry, she says.
For many, though, getting off the demolition list is an exercise in futility. Owners are told to object in writing, but the city hasn’t spelled out its rules for granting a reprieve — or proof a house is safe from bulldozers. Ms. Breaux says the city is about to put more information on its Web site, including a search engine so owners can keep track of their property’s status. Officials also plan to increase staffing in the City Hall department in charge of demolitions.
After $90,000 in post-Katrina repairs, the granite kitchen countertops at Chanel Debose’s house at 3519 Washington Ave. are gleaming again. Workers just scraped the front porch for a new coat of paint. But her house also wound up on the demolition list.
When the storm hit, Ms. Debose and her husband rescued about 25 people in his fishing boat before giving it away and trudging out of the city on foot. She is angry that anyone trying to save New Orleans could have so much trouble fighting city hall.
“There’s no due process here,” she says. “It’s their process.”
Write to Rick Brooks at rick.brooks@wsj.com
Common Knowledge/City-Works
www.squanderedheritage.com www.nobrokenwindows.com
Newark Projects
Meier
Teachers Village is not only the most impressive of several new initiatives in Newark, but also the most dramatic example yet of what is shaping up to be a significant and hopeful trend in architecture. After a long period in which America’s greatest talents seemed to work almost exclusively at the service of the wealthy, there are signs that their efforts are trickling down to other segments of society. In New York, for example, Annabelle Selldorf, best known for the exacting precision of her gallery designs and loft renovations — and for revamping the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel — is about to break ground on a recycling plant on the Brooklyn waterfront; she may soon start work on another in the Bronx. Michael Maltzan, the architect behind the Museum of Modern Art’s temporary home in Queens during its last renovation, as well as homes for major art collectors, recently completed his second housing project for the homeless in six years, and is now working on his third.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Mid-Century Architecture at Risk in New Orleans
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/080226nola.asp
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