Where are we? Blogging about place - News Articles

An Article from NYT about Architectural Preservation in Beijing

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:51:00 -0400

The following was posted by Xiaolu Xu, one of my students and a native of Shanghai, who is studying development and historic preservation in her home city this summer; I included an image of a hutong neighborhood from the New York Times article that she cited:

With the advent of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the world is paying more attention to not only the impressive economic achievements of China, but also every facet of the city, such as the disappearance of historical architecture that once helped in defining the culture of the city.

A recent New York Times article on this topic can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/design/27ouro.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&oref=slogin.

Suburban tide ebbing?

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:05:00 -0400

The suburban ideal that arose in the twentieth century has in large part been dependent on the automobile and, by extension, affordable gas. The recent hike in gas prices may be doing what decades of criticism of the social and ecological costs of suburban sprawl may have failed to do: end, or at least slow, the tide of suburban sprawl that has been devouring our open space, contributing to climate change, and ruining our cities. See the article in yesterday's New York Times, "Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs," by Peter S. Goodman: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/business/25exurbs.html?ex=1215057600&en=56789d1b23fed0f4&ei=5070&emc=eta1 .

Capitalizing on Cod - How the Market Perception of Place Influences Consumers

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:40:00 -0400

The Phantom on the Menu: Chatham Cod

The New York Times recent ran an article on the misrepresentation of food items on the menu's of upscale New York restaurants. In question is the origin of where codfish is caught. While menu's adverstise white flakey filets as "Chatham Day Boat Cod," the origin of the fish is likely Gloucester or New Bedford, especially during the months that Cod is not harvested by Chatham's fishing fleet. It is interesting how the idea of aparticular place can affect how consumers percieve the value of a fish. While the fish that is served is fresh, it seems that the public values something about the community of Chatham more than the fish. I'd be surprised if someone could actually tell the difference of what port the fish came through. Do certain characteristics of community make you more or less likely to purchase a particular product, all else being equal?

Authoritarian Efforts Toward an Amazonian Working Landscape

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:12:00 -0400

The Brazilian government has recently begun working towards a new “Plan for a Sustainable Amazon (PAS),” which acknowledges the necessity for both acts of founding and preservation in the inhabited and ecologically critical region of the world. As Harvard law professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the man spearheading the PAS project, accurately notes, “The Amazon is not simply a collection of trees…it’s a group of people: 25 million Brazilians.”

The plan, in theory, seeks to promote the individual and collective environmental stewardship amongst the residents of the Amazon, who are driven toward deforestation by global economic forces. This is accomplished through economic incentives for residents who learn about environmental conservation and pledge to stop deforesting their land, as well as those who take part in sustainable-use activities.

While this may sound like a promising initiative, there are those who critique it as an authoritarian attempt to impose specific land-use activities, however environmentally-conscious as they are, on a wide range of land and cultures. Additionally, the emphasis on economic reinforcement techniques may not truly establish an ethic of use within the Amazonian people.

The project is a unique and promising direction for government-sponsored conservation efforts; the success of the PAS may be revealing as to the potential for such policy implantation elsewhere.

See the May 15 BBC article for more information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7399109.stm

A Place to Park

Wed, 14 May 2008 19:16:00 -0400

Here is an interesting article that talks about the development of garages as places. It is a Canadian article, but applys to our American garages as well. It is interesting to think about the development of a garage. Originally barns or other spaces were altered to allow a car inside to protect it from the elements. But, with the advancements of car exteriors, such protection from the elements is not needed as much. Yet, we still have 1, 2, 3, and even more, car garages. It is a testament to the reliance of our culture on our cars and a representation of the importance of cars that our society creates.

But there also has been the development of the garage into another place. No longer is it necessarily used to house a car, but rather for a work room, storage, or a gym (like pictured below). It is also a genderized place, as the article mentions: a male-dominated space. The author writes, "He notes that in the traditional sense, the garage is male territory. Women tend to allow freedom of the space to the male. Men, as the hunter-gatherers of the family, tend to fill up garages with their finds." But, he argues, women use it as well, mostly as a last resort to get things out of the house they do not want before they eventually make it to the dumpster.

Usually not included in the total square footage of a house on the market, it is interesting to note the importance of the garage as a place within in the home and its importance in our society.

autos.canada.com/news/story.html

"The Office" and Scranton

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:25:00 -0400

So I was reading through some of the other posts, and I saw the one about Syracuse and the loss of an architecture school, so it got me thinking about Scranton, my home town, and what was happening there. Since the premier of "The Office," the "coolness" level of my hometown has definitely gone up. I went on to the city's website and read articles about Scranton in the Times and the Washington Post, where I found this one about Scranton and "The Office." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR2007092501819.html The article talks about what is real in the show and what is not, and how the writers admit that what is real in Scranton is a lot of times more funny than what they could have come up with about it. It also talks about the revitalization that Scranton is going through right now, and the proposed tourist attraction of a tour of Scranton, highlighting "The Office" hotspots. Scranton as a place is changing, revitalizing the outside of its downtown, but also becoming more renowned for its real and fantastical appeal on "The Office."

Disaster and Displacement in Myanmar

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:31:00 -0400

This story seems to fit in appropriately on the heels of our discussion about Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast displacement. One week after Cyclone Nargis battered Myanmar and left tens of thousands dead, some 1.5 million survivors are left with essentially nowhere to go and nothing to eat. Earlier today, the United Nations officially lifted barriers to aid, but that which is scheduled to come into Myanmar is deemed "woefully disproportionate to the needs of survivors." Because of the slow response, the country is at a heightened risk of epidemics such as cholera and malaria, malnutrition, and starvation. To read the full article from today's edition of the New York Times, click on the following link: www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/world/asia/09myanmar.html.

On a more positive note, have a wonderful Class and Charter Day.

Net Neutrality

Thu, 08 May 2008 02:43:00 -0400

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080506-senator-to-isps-think-twice-about-net-neutrality-or-else.html

Senator Ron Wyden recently delivered a speech to ISPs (Internet Service Providers) asking or rather telling them to "think twice" about net neutrality. The internet has become something of a philosophical haven for those who fight for an ultimate forum for freedom of expression. Although this freedom might be infringed upon or fluctuate depending on the country, the disbanding of net neutrality will segregate the internet monetarily. Each voice will have a price tag on it and visibility or popularity of a website will not have just to do with its content, but with the amount of money the creator was willing to pay for his or her webpage. For those of us who use the internet on a regular basis, if net neutrality was destroyed the internet if it can be defined as a place would be changed forever. And for some, the change might be so drastic that the internet for them is no longer a place, rather, a space that companies are able to have their websites prominently displayed and the common internet user or blogger silenced.

Jaguar population threatened by immigration fence

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:23:00 -0400

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/05/jaguars.fence/index.html

The idea of building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border has been controversial from the start, but now there are new questions being raised about the impact the fence could have on wildlife. Jaguars are known to populate northern Mexico, but it is only in the past couple of decades that they have been seen in the hills of southern Arizona, now thought to be a breeding ground for the endangered population of roughly 120 Jaguars. Conservationists are becoming very concerned that the fence, which is built in the path of the Jaguar crossing from Mexico to the U.S., would limit the growth of their population and would propel the species towards extinction. This issue is extremely relevant to our society’s conception of place. Humans have constructed real borders, establishing places in what were once just spaces. Jaguars see no distinction between the land north and south of the border, however we protect this distinction through a process of founding borders which has now been elevated to the building of fences. In order to build the fence the Department of Homeland Security has already waived 30 environmental laws. Conservationists argue that the fence will have a dramatic affect on the regions wildlife without actually achieving its objective; Mountain lion tracker Jack Childs has pointed out that “A fence like that is going to inhibit wildlife movements and migrations back and forth. It’s not going to effectively stop human traffic. They’ve got wire cutters and torches.” The building of the fence has raised many questions about place, and we must now focus on wildlife concerns in that space as well the human and political questions.

Belated Post #2 [just learned how to admin] - Baseball and the magic of places

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:57:00 -0400

This story is a few weeks old but was particularly amusing at the time. A Boston construction worker working on the new Yankee Stadium buried a #34 David Ortiz jersey in the cement under a future restaurant concourse, presumably to curse the Yankees. In response, Hank Steinbrenner is filing a lawsuit, has defamed the offending party in several media venues, and used expensive GPR techniques to search for additional Red Sox paraphernalia.

When discussing a place it is easy to forget that the bundle of human relationships enabled by a locale are at least as important as the physical dimensions. In this case, the Yankees are moving from a storied national monument to a relatively new and profane stadium (in the parking lot). The fact that the place associations, rivalry, and history of the House that Ruth Built are being lifted wholesale onto the new park foregrounds the role of people in place. Also it shows how brutish Hank Steinbrenner is and how superstitious baseball fans can get.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/04/14/ny_yankees_remove_buried_red_sox_jersey/

Belated Earth Day Post

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:30:00 -0400

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/22/food.biofuels/index.html

A lot of this course relates to how people are becoming alienated from the places in which they live. Well what if that place is a planet? Earth is final starting to glimpse its biological carrying capacity, and here are the first externalities. The UNWFO, which is a special agency devoted to combating hunger (Oftentimes ineffectively, such as by airdropping pork products onto Muslim strongholds in Somalia), has noted a recent link between the growth of biofuels and the soaring cost of world food, with concomitant increases in violence and human misery. The modernist shift towards limitless growth and control of the last 100 years has been sustained in part by the perceived limitless of space on Earth, but crisis’ like this suggest we’ve exhausted that space. (Of course we could get rid of absurd subsidies for corn farmers to switch to energy farming and switch to algae production for biodiesel, which is 100x more efficient)

Tibetan Uprising

Thu, 01 May 2008 19:00:00 -0400

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456954/html/nn0page1.stm

In many regards, the recent uprising movement led by Buddhist monks in Tibet is a defense of a cultural Tibet which is in jeopardy of disappearance. The Tibetan monks and native people of the greater Tibetan region are acting (violently, at times) to preserve Tibet as an autonomous region within China.

China has defended their actions of suppressing the movement on the grounds that Tibet has benefitted greatly from the increased contact with mainland China. Indeed, it is indisputable that economically Tibet has experienced great expansion in recent years; concomitantly, Tibet has seen a large influx of non-Tibetans (Han Chinese and Hui Muslims) who have altered the physical and economic landscape.

Tibetans are struggling to maintain the place they have known for centuries. While their violent actions of preservation through destruction are potentially counterproductive, a consideration of the fragility of their culture and place is valuable in understanding the current conflict.

For a compilation of news articles on the issues, see http://www.truthout.org/TibetUnderSiege.shtml.

Keeping a College Town Hip

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:31:00 -0400

There is something vibrant and exciting about college towns and culture capitals. This something often spurs economic development. While cities tend to welcome such development, there is often a tension present between those who seek to capitalize on the local culture and found new institutions (or new outposts of national/international institutions) and those who want to preserve the culture that develops.

One city that is not surprisingly dedicated to preserving its creative core is Berkeley, California. This article, published yesterday describes the challenges and efforts the city is making to ensure the continuation of cultural production in West Berkeley.

Land Use Contributing to Food Crisis

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:56:00 -0400

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/22/food.biofuels/index.html

The Executive Director of the UN World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, is warning that the allocation of land use to produce biofuels is contributing the the problem of world hunger. Land capable of food production is instead being used for biofuel production leading to rising food prices, violence, and an increase in world hunger particularly in poorer regions. Critics of biofuel production has also said that people in Asia, Africa, and South America are being displaced from their lands to make room for biofuel growth areas. Sheeran has called the problem of rising world hunger "a tsunami that respects no borders." This problem is not just affecting isolated places but entire regions typically located in the poorest parts of the world. This is an interesting problem because it is causing us to weigh the option of a cleaner fuel source against food price increases and world hunger. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said "We must also do more to explore the links between climate change and food and particularly their impact on the livelihoods and vulnerabilities of the very poorest who are likely to be most affected by climate change." Brown said the EU would change biofuel target levels if it is shown the land use has a significant affect on prices and hunger. This all brings up the crisis of place that exists for the poor. Climate change will cause desertification and other problems in these areas that will lead to displacement and hunger... but one of the solutions to climate change will also lead to displacement and hunger in these areas because of the allocation of land use.

News of the 'Cuse

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:16:00 -0400

In case you missed it, there was an interesting story in last week's Times about the dean of the architecture school over in Syracuse and his efforts to revitalize the city's urban core.

While it can sometimes be tempting to think of Syracuse as simply a post-industrial wasteland, articles like this suggest that it has an interesting heritage and a great deal of untapped potential. While Syracuse looks to mammoth malls like Destiny USA for its salvation, it might do well to consider the significant architectural heritage in its own backyard.
-JKO