Wednesday, August 31, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING - 6


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

The Trust says the legislation would:

• Lessen the rule that lowers tax benefits dollar-for-dollar according to the amount of credit taken when using the historic rehab credit.
• Increase the rehab credit rate to 40 percent for smaller projects in which the qualified rehabilitation expenditures do not exceed $2 million. This would target the incentive to “main street” type developments in which rehab credit costs are currently prohibitive.
• Permit the 10 percent credit to be claimed with respect to residential rental property. It is currently prohibited for projects that include dwellings.
• Change the definition of “older building” from “built before 1936” to any property “fifty years old or older.”
• Ease the rules governing non-profit deals so that more community-oriented projects may move forward.
• Boost by 130 percent the qualified rehabilitation expenditures on which the rehab credit can be claimed for buildings located in certain disinvested neighborhoods, difficult to develop areas and census tracts with high poverty rates.
• Remove the recapture clause -- requiring the payback of tax credits upon conversion of a tax credit property into a condo development -- to broaden the tax credit's use to condominium developments and in so doing, provide new support for the revitalization of urban neighborhoods nationwide.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING - 5


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

Using historic tax credits, Denver-based Mercy Housing retained original materials and features wherever possible and added new materials that blend with the area’s character.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation -- working with leading preservation organizations, developers, the financing community and tax credit users – has crafted “the Community Restoration and Revitalization Act.

The legislation, with sponsorship in the U.S. House and Senate, “is a package of amendments that would further the mission of the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit by spurring greater investment in smaller commercial projects and Main Street type properties in older neighborhoods – particularly where there is a critical need for housing and neighborhood reinvestment,” according to a briefing released by the Trust.

The idea is to make it easier to combine the rehab credit with the traditional Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to create projects that save historic structures while creating affordable rental units.

Monday, August 29, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING - 4


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

In less than two years, the Friedman and Dublin team worked its magic and a new developer -- Eagle Point, a Maine firm with strong ties to St. Louis -- was in place. The $12 million dollar rehabilitation construction is well under way with completion expected by year end and residents moving back into an exquisitely-restored historic building by early 2008.

Encouraged by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, some areas are using historic tax credits as a way of preserving affordable rental housing.
Mercy Housing in Savannah received the Trust’s prestigious National Preservation Honor Award for creating 70 units of affordable housing in buildings that were historic, but rapidly deteriorating.

According to the trust, Heritage Corner was originally constructed as housing for low-income workers in the early 1900s in what is now known as Savannah’s Cuyler-Brownsville Historic District -- one of the city’s oldest and poorest neighborhoods. Before Mercy Housing’s purchase and restoration, Heritage Corner families struggled with blight and overcrowding.

“Heritage Row, a continuous block of buildings constructed in 1912, was also in need of considerable rehabilitation to make them habitable,” a Trust press release states. “Where apartments once were unheated and raw sewage often ran through courtyards, residents now enjoy comfortable homes with modern conveniences, playgrounds, a community garden – and even a new branch library.”

Sunday, August 28, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING - 3


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

The building had not fulfilled its affordable housing tax credit requirements of 15 years as low income housing before being allowed to charge market rate. If affordable rates had not continued, the owner would have faced procedures to recapture the Low Income Housing Tax Credits he had used to finance the project.

Friedman, who has experience in affordable housing, historic renovation and traditional development, teamed with Dublin Capital to secure: housing assistance credits through a nonprofit corporation, tax exempt bonds, city lien forgiveness plus federal and state LIHTC. The project was structured to also benefit from federal historic tax credits plus state of Missouri historic tax credits.

Friedman and Dublin contracted for a market study and appraisal and assembled a development team including a general contractor, architect and local legal counsel. Friedman and Dublin also assembled a group to provide the debt and equity needed to purchase the property plus additional land for adequate parking.

“Since the Winston Churchill House had Section 8 tenants, the development chose to find alternative housing for the residents during the gut rehab and pay the difference in rent. Friedman Group, working with a local project manager, assisted in relocating the qualified tenants,” explained Friedman, who also maintained a strong community relations campaign with city alderman and mayor’s office, a Congressman’s office, the police department, community religious groups and neighborhood associations.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING - 2


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

With construction costs and land prices soaring, developers of affordable rental housing are constantly pressed to make the numbers work.
In St. Louis, the Friedman Group, Ltd. and Dublin Capital, lobbied policymakers, layered financing and launched an uphill yet successful battle to clean up and preserve a rapidly deteriorating 115-unit affordable rental building.
Eric Friedman, president of the Friedman Group and the St. Louis Association of Realtor’s Commercial Division Realtor of the Year, created a case study on the salvation of the Winton Churchill Apartments.

“An ongoing problem for the property was crime, which amounted to more than 300 police calls each year. In addition to safety problems, the apartments were only about 40 percent to 50 percent occupied and many of the tenants were not paying rent,” Friedman said. “The owner of the 115-unit building had renovated the property in 1995, but was facing increasing pressure from the City of St. Louis, the police department and community leaders to make further changes.”

The question for the owner was how to proceed in solving the problem? At that point, Friedman Group, Ltd. and Dublin Capital were asked to step in and provide expertise and solutions. The two firms and owner decided to search for a buyer/developer who would be able to rehab the building and continue providing affordable housing.

Friday, August 26, 2011

TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING


TAX CREDITS CREATE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING

By Steve Wright

In the never ending search to preserve and create more affordable rental housing, developers and nonprofits are finding ways to use more than the traditional Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to get deals done.

Since 1986, the federal LIHTC Credit program has provided financing opportunities for developers to build units for low income renters.

In return for building affordable, investors receive a credit against their federal income tax liability. The program leverages roughly $6 billion in annual investment that produces more than 125,000 affordable apartments each year.

The federal government allocates LIHTC to each state based on population, with the current allocation at approximately $2 per person. Each state’s housing finance agency sets priorities then holds an annual competitive process to award the credits to the projects that best meet the priorities.

Investors use the tax credits to reduce federal tax liability. They often receive additional benefits of meeting local regulatory requirements and community development goals.

Low income tax credits typically cover about half of an affordable rental building’s total financing. The other half usually comes from city and county portions of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME or Community Development Block Grant money, plus state or local bond money and housing trust funds.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 551 THROUGH 600


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 551 THROUGH 600

551. Volcan Poas/Barquero

552. Nicaragua y sus gentes/Molina and Curado

553. Colonial Latin America/Burkholder & Johnson

554. The Faces of Honor: Sex, Shame and Violence in Colonial Latin America/Johnson & Lipsett-Rivera

555. Starck/Taschen (UK-Boisiere)

556. Starck/Taschen (US)

557. Margaret Bourke-White Photographer/Callahan

558. Images of America: Akron/DeMali Francis

559. Cleveland Cemeteries: Stones, Symbols & Stories/Vigil

560. Cleveland Metroparks/Matowitz

561. Rubell Family Collection: Not Afraid/Coetzee

562. Art Basel Catalog 04/Hatje Cantz

563. Basquiat Catalogue from Brooklyn Museum Show

564. What Great Paintings Say: From the Bayeux Tapestry to Diego Rivera/Hagen

565. Dore Treasury/Stevens

566. Dore’s Illustrations for Don Quixote/Dore

567. Dore’s Spain/Dore

568. Marchel Duchamp/Prestel

569. Bosch: The Complete Paintings/Bosing (large Taschen)

570. Bosch: The Complete Paintings/Bosing (small Taschen)

571. Bosch Gallery Guide Prado Museum/Luces

572. Velazquez/Micheletti

573. Velazquez Gallery Guide Prado Museum/Serraller

574. Goya/Abbruzzese

575. Miro/Mink

576. Espange/Hurlimann

577. L’Espagne/Wolgensinger

578. Ronda/Justel (in Spanish)

579. Breve Historia de Carmona/Garcia-Salguero (in Spanish)

580. Seville/Olmedo

581. Seville, Italica and Carmona: Yesterday and Today/Abad

582. Costa del Crime/Clarkson

583. Cadiz

584. Mijas

585. Antequera

586. Marbella-San Pedro de Alcantara

587. Malaga Cathedral

588. The Cathedral in Seville

589. From Arcos to Ronda Around the Gaditans Highlands: The White Towns Route/Perez Regordan

590. New Orleans Cemeteries/Brock

591. New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead/Florence

592. Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Journey through the Cities of the Dead/McElroy-Arrigo

593. Architectural Standards book from Patricia

594. City Walks: Architecture New York/Walker
595. Miami/architectural trading cards

596. New York/architectural trading cards

597. Chicago/architectural trading cards

598. New York Pops Up: 8 Vintage Die-Cut Postcards/Metropolitan Museum of Art

599. Breakfast at Brennan’s: and Dinner, too/Brennan


Books most wanted:

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 501 THROUGH 550


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 501 THROUGH 550

501. Esquinas de Buenos Aires/von Wartenber&Vaca

502. Buenos Aires Los Cafes/Sencilla Historia

503. Buenos Aires:Imagnes de Coleccion

504. Postales de Buenos Aires/Gobierno de Ciudad de Buenos Aires

505. The Authentic Bars, Cafes & Restaurants of Buenos Aires /Kogan

506. Recoleta Cemetery/Buenos Aires

507. El Tigre: Su Casco Su Delta/Ferreira&Mendioroz

508. Montevideo: Capital de Uruguay/Ciudad de Cara al Mar

509. La Colonia del Sacramento/Agrigento Ediciones

510. Cartagena de Indias/Rouilard

511. Cartagena Morena/Diaz

512. Cartagena 100/Hoyos

513. Cartagena de Indias: Ayer y Hoy/Devesa

514. Cartagena/Hormaza

515. Cartagena de Indias: Panoramic Vision from the Air/Hoyos & Villegas

516. Cartagena Forever/Diaz

517. All Cartagena de Indias/Sangiao Le Danmat

518. El Templo de Dan Pedro Claver en Cartagena/Aristizabal

519. La Popa: Resumen Historico/Cardona

520. El Color De Bogota
521. Bogota/Rojas

522. Guia Bogota Centro Historico/Escovar

523. Guia del Cementerio Central De Bogota/Elipse Central

524. Salmona/Mundo

525. Mirando Pa’ Ariba en Mi Viejo San Juan/Ramirez Castellano

526. Old San Juan: El Morro San Cristobal/Graetz & Wilson

527. San Juan: 75 Color Photos/Drenth

528. San Juan Puerto Rico National Historic Site/Parks Service

529. La Ciudad Amurallada: Santo Domingo Colonial/Pena

530. Balcones de la Ciudad Primada: Santo Domingo/Portillo

531. Guia de Monumentos y Lugares Dominicanos/Carias

532. Guatemala: Faces of the Earth/Perkins

533. Guatemala in Pictures/Kusch

534. Antigua Guatemala/Cattelan

535. Antigua Guatemala/Cattelan

536. Atitlan/Cattelan

537. Atitlan-Chichicastenango/Janson

538. The Maximon Deity: Indignous Santeria in Guatemala/Alfaro&Rendon

539. Antigua for you/De Koose

540. Antigua Guatemala: The City and its Heritage/Bell

541. Lent and Holy Week in Antigua/Bell

542. Canonizacion del Hermano Pedro de San Jose Batencur

543. Tras los Pasos del Hermaon Pedro/Garcia de Cuevas

544. El Hermano Pedro un hombre de Dios/Pilon

545. Tikal: An Illustrated History of the Ancient Maya Capital/Montgomery

546. Tikal: A Handbook of the Ancient Maya Ruins/Coe

547. Guatemal: National Park Tikal/Gonzalez

548. The Complete Illustrated History: Aztec & Maya/Phillips

549. Guanajuato Mexico/Stampa

550. Costa Rica/Jadine

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 451 THROUGH 500


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 451 THROUGH 500

451. A Day in Toledo/Vidal

452. Spanish Journey/Blake

453. Art and Architecture of Spain/Altet

454. Traditional Houses of Rural Spain/Laws & Bernosa

455. Iberia Villages: Portugal & Spain/Carver

456. Spain: A Phaidon Cultural Guide in Color/Mehling

457. Spain: Culture and Passion/Bourbon

458. Espana en sus Castillo/Diaz-Plaja

459. The Life and Death of the Fighting Bull/Suarez & Marks

460. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain/Stewart

461. Moorish Architecture in Andalucia/Barrucand & Debnorz

462. Moorish Style/Danby

463. Moorish Spain/Fletcher

464. The Alhambra/Irwin

465. Ornament and Design of the Alhambra/Jones

466. Tales of the Alhambra/Irving

467. Spanish Homes/Espinosa de los Monteros

468. Spanish Splendor/Junquera y Matos

469. The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain/Palmer

470. Art & Architecture Andalusia/Konemann

471. Andalusia/Fuare-Sappa

472. The Cave at Nerja

473. Julio Romero de Torres – pintor 1874-1930/Garcia de la Torre

474. Cordoba

475. Cordoba Yesterday and Today

476. The Mosque

477. The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba

478. Marruecos y Espana: una historica comun

479. Granada and the Alhambra/Sanchez

480. Granada: a different perspective/Sanchez

481. Albaicin y Sacromonte/Bustos

482. Islamic Tiles/Porter

483. Udeba and Baeza: World Heritage Cities

484. La Alpujarra

485. Las Alpujarras y Sierra Nevada

486. All Sevilla/ Editorial Escudo de Oro

487. All Granada/Editorial Escudo de Oro

488. All Cuenca/Editorial Escudo de Oro

489. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain/Stewart

490. Lorca’s Granada – A Pictorial Guide/Gibson

491. Madrid – Una Historia en Comunidad/Aznar

492. Prado Madrid: Great Museums of the World/Mondadori

493. The Prado/Blanch

494. Madrid from End to End/Aldeasa

495. Picasso’s Guernica/Oppler

496. Librerias de Valor Patrimonial de Buenos Aires/Gobierno de Ciudad de Buenos Aires

497. El Teatro Colon/Ediciones Maizal

498. Buenos Aires/Ediciones Maizal

499. Old Buenos Airs Photographs/Viejero

500. Bares de Buenos Aires/Mirre

Monday, August 22, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 401 THROUGH 450


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 401 THROUGH 450

401. Chicago Yesterday/Gingko Press

402. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

403. The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893/Applebaum

404. Frank Lloyd Wright/Hart


405. Detroit Disassembled/Moore
406. Yesterday’s Detroit/Angelo

407. Detroit Then and Now/Gay

408. Detroit Across Three Centuries/Bak

409. Art Deco Detroit/Binno

410. Arches & Canyonlands National Parks/Leach

411. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park/Markward

412. Sedona: Treasures of the Southwest/Bryant

413. Cinema Southwest: An Illustrated Guide to Movies and Their Locations/Murray

414. Vitruvius: The Ten Books On Architecture/Morgan (translation)

415. Le Corbusier/Jenger

416. Paris/Atget

417. Neon World/Sprengnagel

418. Entertainment Destinations/Pegler

419. Pop Architecture/Kanner Architects Los Angeles

420. This Way – Signage Design for Public Spaces/Trulove

421. Streetscapes – Facades, Entrances, Storefronts/Pegler

422. A Guide to the Architecture of London/Jones-Woodward

423. Panoramas of London/Moore and Lloyd

424. Antoni Gaudi/Zerbst

425. Complete Works Gaudi/Kliczkowski

426. Antoni Gaudi/Feierabend

427. Antoni Gaudi/de Sola-Morales

428. Gaudi/Tarrago

429. Guadi/Masini

430. The Last Civil Work of Gaudi: La Pedrera Case Mila/Fundacio Caixa Catalunya

431. Jose Luis Sert: 1901-1983/Roviera

432. Josep Lluis Sert/Joan Miro: Duets/Bonet

433. Jose Lluis Sert (American Architects)/Rockport

434. Barcelona: Arquitectura Moderna 1929-1979/Ajuntament de Barcelona

435. Un Passeig pel Cementiri de Poblenou/Ajuntament de Barcelona

436. Barcelona/Bachrach

437. Barcelona: Ciudad y Artuitectura/Montaner

438. Barcelona Art Nouveau/Permanyer&Levick

439. Inside Barcelona/Botey & Aprahamian

440. Barcelona the Great Enchantress/Hughes

441. Barcelona/Hughes

442. Guia de la Barcelona Accesible/Rovira-Beleta & Folch

443. White Paper on Accessibility – Investigative Study 1998-1999/ Rovira-Beleta Cuyas

444. Cadaques/Triangle

445. All Montserrat/ Editorial Escudo de Oro

446. Girona/Editorial Escudo de Oro

447. Jewry Guide of Girona/Alberch Fugueras

448. Tarragona: Human Heritage/Triangle

449. Tarraco: Archaeological Visual Guide/Virtual Reconstruction of the City and Its Surroundings

450. Madrid & Toledo/Chueca Goitia

Sunday, August 21, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 351 THROUGH 400


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 351 THROUGH 400

351. Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles/Ward-Silver

352. Daylight Noir: Raymond Chandler's Imagined City/Corman

353. A Photo Tour of Los Angeles/Hudson

354. LA Lost & Found: An Architectural History of Los Angeles/Kaplan

355. Los Angeles Architecture: The Contemporary Condition/Steele

356. 24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles/Coleman & Spurrier

357. Hollywood Babylon/Anger

358. Architecture and Its Photography/Schulman

359. Photography at Night/Newman

360. American Architecture: A Vintage Postcard Collection /Malderen

361. Las Vegas: Vintage Graphics From Sin City/Heimann

362. Modernist Design 1880-1940/postcard book

363. The Story of Architecture of the 20th Century / Tietz

364. America’s Forgotten Architecture/Wrenn & Mulloy

365. America’s First City-St. Augustine’s Historic Neighborhoods/Harvey

366. Flagler’s St. Augustine Hotels/Graham

367. Flagler’s Magnificent Hotel Ponce De Leon/Graham

368. St. Augustine Impressions/Helfrick

369. Cuban Miami/Levine and Asis

370. Cubantime/Balido/Guerrero

371. Greater Miami: Sprit of Cuban Enterprise

372. Havana USA/Garcia

373. Cuba Style-Graphics from the Golden Age of Design/Levi&Heller

374. Cuba – The Special Period/Friedman

375. Pacheco’s Art of the Cubans in Exile/Pacheco

376. Havana Deco/Alonso, Conteras & Fagiuoli

377. Cuba: 400 Years of Architectural Heritage/Carley & Brizzi

378. Havana – Districts of Light/Telleri

379. La Habana – arquitectura del siglo XX/Rodriguez-Navarro

380. Havana/Miranda

381. La Isla Grande Cien Viajas Postales De Cuba/Hernandez-Orizzonte

382. Cuba The Elusive Island/Giovan

383. Cuba 1902-2002 Un viaje a traves de postales/Cepero

384. Fleeing Castro—Operation Pedro Pan/Triay

385. The Pride of Havana—Cuban Baseball/Gonzalez Echevarria

386. Suburban Nation/Duany Plater-Zyberk

387. The Celebration Chronicles/Ross

388. The New Urbanism: Toward An Architecture of Community/Katz-Scully

389. Seaside/Brooke

390. The Great Reset/Florida

391. Original Green/Mouzon

392. Building Through Time: the Making of a School of Architecture/University of Miami

393. Architecture—The Natural and the Man Made/Scully

394. The Lewis Mumford Reader/Miller

395. The Wealth of Cities/Norquist

396. Home from Nowhere/Kunstler

397. Architecture; Choice or Fate/Leon Krier

398. They All Fall Down: Richard Nickel's Struggle to Save America's Architecture/Cahan

399. AIA Guide to Chicago

400. Lost Chicago/Lowe

Saturday, August 20, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 301 THROUGH 350


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 301 THROUGH 350



301. Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery: New York Burial Treasure/Richman

302. Brooklyn Stoefrnts/Lacy

303. Coney Island: The People’s Playground/Immerso

304. Coney Island Lost and Found/Denson

305. Coney Island: Portraits of American – The Museum of the City of New York/Berman

306. Coney Island: 32 Picture Postcards

307. New York: A Photographic Album/Kogan

308. The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950/Ultan

309. The Bronx: It was Only Yesterday 1935-1965/Ultan

310. The Bronx Then & Now/Samtur & Jackson

311. Intersections: The Grand Concourse at 100/Bessa

312. The Neighborhoods of Queens/Copquin

313. Skyscraper Rivals/Abramson

314. The Skyscraper book/Terranova

315. Weegee’s New York Photographs 1935-1960/Schirmer

316. Las Vegas The Success of Excess/Anderton and Chase

317. Las Vegas Then and Now/Chung

318. Fabulous Las Vegas in the 50s/Basten and Phoenix

319. Learning from Las Vegas/Venturi, Brown and Izenour

320. The Function of Ornament/Louis Sullivan

321. Louis Sullivan/Prophet of Modern Architecture

322. Deco Landmarks: Art Deco Gems of Los Angeles/Schwartzman

323. Architecture Tours L.A. Guidebook: Hollywood/Massino Smith

324. Architecture Tours L.A. Guidebook: Downtown/Massino Smith

325. Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles/ Roderick & Lynxwiler

326. Lloyd Wright: Architect/ Gebhard & Von Breton

327. Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis/Hess & Danish
328.

329. The Architecture of Entertainment: LA in the Twenties/Winter-Vertikoff

330. Los Angeles Architecture & Design/teNeues

331. Los Angles: Improbable City/Halpern

332. Kesling Modern Structures – Popularizing Modern Design in Southern California 1934-1962/Pascal with Shulman & Sadofski

333. Imagining Los Angeles – Photographs of a 20th Century City/LA Times

334. Frank Lloyd Wright/Hollyhock House and Olive Hill/Smith

335. The Watts Towers of Los Angeles/Whiteson

336. Los Angeles/Stahr

337. Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies/Banham

338. LA Deco/Breeze

339. LA Courtyard Housing/Polyzoides

340. Art Deco Los Angeles/Pildas

341. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles/Gebhard
342. Los Angeles/Visalli

343. California Crazy & Beyond/Heiman

344. Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture/Hess

345. Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture

346. Los Angeles Then and Now/Lord

347. Hollywood Then and Now/Lord

348. Hollywood Now and Then/Jezek

349. Deco & Streamline Architecture in LA: A Moderne City Survey/McMillan

350. Los Angeles in the Thirties: 1931-1941/Gebhard-Von Breton

Friday, August 19, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 251 THROUGH 300


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 251 THROUGH 300

251. New York: An Illustrated History/Burns

252. Gotham Restored: The Preservation of Monumental New York/Rudnick

253. Urban Castles: Tenement Housing and Landlord Activism in New York City 1890-1943, Day

254. Changing New York/Abbott

255. New York in the Thirties/Abbott

256. New York in the Forties/Feininger

257. New York to Hollywood: The Photography of Karl Struss

258. New York’s Architectural Holdouts/Alpern and Durst

259. The Chrysler Building/Stravitz

260. Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City/Bascomb

261. New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan’s Significant Buildings
and Landmarks/Gray

262. The Art of Rockefeller Center/Roussel

263. New York Landmarks/Burnham

264. Manhattan Lightscapes/Lieberman

265. One Thousand New York Buildings/Brockman & Harris

266. Manhattan: An Island in Focus/Rajs

267. Manhattan/Suares

268. The Destruction of Lower Manhattan/Lyon

269. Life on the Lower East Side/Dans

270. Beaux Arts New York/Lowe

271. The WPA Guide to New York City

272. The Mythic City: Photographs of New York by Samuel H. Gottscho, 1925-1940/Albrecht

273. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York/Caro

274. The Death and Life of Great American Cities/Jacobs

275. Our Crowd/Birmingham

276. Invisible New York: The Hidden Infrastructure of the City/Greenberg

277. Subway Style/Giovannini

278. Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City/Toth

279. 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment
Building/Gross

280. When The Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age/Kaplan

281. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America/Von Drehle

282. Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration, and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties/Bayer

283. Art Deco/Duncan

284. Art Deco Cut & Use Stencils / Mentzen

285. Movie Palaces: Survivors of an Elegant Era/Pildas

286. Popcorn Palaces/Wilhelm and Kinerk

287. The American Diner/Witzel

288. Car Hops and Curb Service/Heiman

289. Radios: The Golden Age/Collins

290. Route 66/Witzel

291. The Empire State Building Book/Goldman and Velenti

292. New York Deco/Breeze

293. New York Architecture: A history/Berenholtz-Johnson

294. New York 1930/Stern, Dilmarting and Mellins

295. Robert AM Stern/Selected Works

296. Inside New York: Discovering Classic Interiors/Friedman-Berenholtz

297. Lost New York in Old Postcards/Kennedy

298. Manhattan Memories: A Book of Postcards of Old New York

299. Brooklyn: A Journey Through the City of Dreams/Stonehill-Morrone

300. Brooklyn Then and Now/Reiss

Thursday, August 18, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 201 THROUGH 250


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 201 THROUGH 250

201. American Art Deco/Weber

202. Art Deco: Flights of Artistic Fancy/Sternau

203. Essential Art Deco/Zaczek

204. Art Deco/Young Mi Kim

205. Florida The Sunshine State/Libero

206. Florida’s Vacation Lands/Photo-Memories

207. Up for Grabs-Through Time and Space in the Sunshine State/Rothchild

208. Classic American Railroad Terminals/Holland

209. Florida’s Great Ocean Railway: Building the Key West Extension/Gallagher

210. Flagler/Akin

211. The chosen instrument: Pan Am, Juan Trippe, the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur/Bender

212. The Highwaymen/Monroe

213. Undying Love/Harrison

214. Key West & The Florida Keys/June Keith

215. Kick Ass/Hiaasen

216. Knight/Whited

217. Flagler: Rockefeller Partner and Florida Baron/Akin

218. Money isn't important: The life of Maurice Gusman/Erlich

219. The Corpse had a Familiar Face/Buchanan

220. Sins of South Beach/Daoud

221. Miami’s Criminal Path Uncovered/Bustos&Yanez

222. Mob Over Miami/McPhee

223. Get Me Ellis Rubin/Rubin-Matera

224. Kathy: A Case of Nymphomania/Rubin & Smitten

225. Bay of Pigs -- An Oral History of Brigade 2506/Triay

226. Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story/Wyden

227. Rediscovering Art Deco USA/Capitman, Kinerk, Wilhem and Juster

228. A Journey Through American Art Deco/Zignani, Franci, Mangaroni, Zago

229. The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America/Gebhard

230. A Guide to Art Deco Style / Van de Lemme

231. Art Deco Style/Hillier-Escritt

232. Art Deco Style/Brunhammer

233. Art Deco: An Illustrated Guide to the Decorative Style 1920-40/Van de Lemme

234. Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s
and 1930s / Bayer

235. Art Deco Sourcebook/Bayer

236. The Machine Age In America 1918-1942/Wilson, Pilgrim & Tashjian

237. Terra-Cotta Skyline/Tunick

238. Streamline American Art Deco Graphic Design/Heller and Fili

239. Designing Modernity: 1885-1945/Kaplan

240. What Style Is It – A Guide to American Architecture/Poppeliers&Chambers

241. Architecture Styles Spotter's Guide: Classical Temples to Soaring Skyscrapers/Cunliffe and Loussier

242. Essential Art Deco/Zaczek

243. Depression Modern: The Thirties Style in America/Greif

244. Art Deco New York/Lowe & Lowe

245. New York Deco/Gerenholtz

246. AIA Guide to New York/White & Willensky with Leadon

247. The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City that Arose with It/Sparberg Alexiou

248. New York City: A State of Mind/Moyer

249. Colors of New York/Dailey

250. New York: The Growth of the City/Howard

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 151 THROUGH 200


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 151 THROUGH 200

151. Castles in the Sand: the Live and Times of Carl Graham Fisher/Mark Foster

152. Miami A CityLife Pictorial Guide/Biondi-Arruza

153. Old Miami Beach A Case Study/Raley and Polansky

154. Miami Airport/Morton

155. Miami Alive/Blum

156. Coral Gables An American Garden City/Behar and Culot

157. Coral Gables, the City Beautiful Story/Standiford

158. Merrick Memories/City of Coral Gables

159. Coral Gables Charrette Report/City of Coral Gables-UM Architecture Skl

160. The Living Traditions of Coconut Grove/ UM Architecture School

161. Coral Castle: The Mystery of Leedskalnin and His American Stonehenge/McClure and Heffron

162. Vizcaya/Littlefield

163. A Journey Through Time, a South Dade Photographic History/George

164. Little Havana Walking Tour/George

165. Little Havana (Images of America)/George

166. Miami Memories: A Midcentury Journey/Martin, Skinner, Wolfgang-Price

167. Miami: A Backward Glance/Murrell

168. Christo: Surrounded Islands/Sopies-Volz

169. Between Two Towers: The Drawings of the School of Miami/Scully

170. A Guidebook to New Urbanism in Florida/FAU

171. Greyfields into Goldfields/CNU

172. Beyond the Box: Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Miami and New York

173. Hialeah Park-A Racing Legend/John Crittenden

174. Key Biscayne: A History of Miami’s Tropical Island and the Cape Florida Lighthouse/Blank

175. Cedar Key Florida: A History/McCarthy

176. Roadside Paradise -- The Golden Age of Florida Tourist Attractions: 1929-71/Breslauer

177. Weird Florida: Your Travel Guide to Florida’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets/Carlson Sceurman Moran

178. Roadside History of Florida/Waitley

179. Vanishing Florida: A Personal Guide to Sights Rarely Seen/Warner

180. Our Florida: Heritage of the Sunshine State in Stores and Photos/Dregni

181. Florida Frenzy/Crews

182. Florida Architecture: A Celebration/Baily, Greer & Howey

183. Miami’s Parrot Jungle and Gardens/Gittner

184. Black Miami in the 20th Century/Dunn

185. Casa Florida : Spanish-Style Houses from Winter Park to Coral Gables/Sully

186. Florida Modern : Residential Architecture 1945 - 1970/Hochstim

187. Key West Houses/Linsley-Aron

188. The Houses of Key West/Caemmerer

189. Over Key West/Feil

190. Key West: History of an Island of Dreams/Ogle

191. Key West Gardens and Their Stories/Frawly-Holler

192. American Urban Typologies: Key West/Valle

193. The Florida Keys: Key Largo to Key West/Howard

194. Classic Cracker: Florida’s Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture/Haase

195. Guide to Florida Historical Walking Tours/Sandler

196. Art Deco 1910-1939/Benton, Benton and Wood

197. The Decorative Thirties/Battersby

198. The Art Deco House/Tinniswood

199. Pueblo Deco/Breeze

200. American Art Deco: Modernistic Architecture and Regionalism/Breeze

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 100 THROUGH 150


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 100 THROUGH 150

101. The Everglades: River of Grass/Stoneman Douglas

102. Everglades / Caulfield

103. Everglades: The Park Story/Robertson

104. Okeechobee: A Modern Frontier/Janosky

105. Florida: The American Guide Series/Federal Writers Project (WPA)

106. Greater Miami South Florida and The Keys/Travelog Series (1964)

107. To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A./Dash Moore

108. Jewish Life in Florida/Green&Zerivitz

109. A Sculpture of Love and Anguish : The Holocaust Memorial, Miami Beach, Florida/Treister (ordered from B&N)

110. Gimpses of South Florida Hisotry/McIver

111. The Florida Hurricane & Disaster: 1926/Reardon&1992/Kleinberg

112. Miami: The Way We Were/Kleinberg

113. My Love Affair with Miami Beach/Nagler-Singer

114. Miami Beach: Photographs of an American Dream/Scheinbaum

115. Mimo: Miami Modern Revealed/Nash & Robinson

116. Designing the Good Life: Norman M. Giller and the Development of Miami Modernism/Giller &Giller Nelson

117. The Most of Everything/Mehling

118. Billion Dollar Sandbar/Redford

119. Hub Dir In Budt/Laurence

120. Miami Poppycock/Bodek (Halmark Press)

121. City on the Edge, Miami/Portes

122. Miami Metro: The Road To Urban Unity/Wolff

123. Historic Downtown Miami/Junior League

124. From Wilderness to Metropolis/History of Architecture of Dade County

125. The Miami River and Its Tributaries/Gaby

126. Home on the River: The History of Miami River Residential Development/Broton

127. The Commodore’s Story – The Early Days on Biscayne Bay/Munroe

128. The Forgotten Frontier – Through the Lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe/Parks

129. Miami 1909 with Excerpts from Fannie Clemons’ Diary/Peters

130. Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts/Florida Theme Issue

131. Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts/American Hotels Issue

132. Miami Beach in Vintage Postcards/Kennedy

133. Miami in Vintage Postcards/Kennedy

134. Miami 21 Postcards/Browntrout

135. Wish You Were Here: a tour of America’s Great Hotels During the Golden Age of the Picture Postcard /Zaid

136. Florida Sights and Scenes of Miami/Cummings

137. Art + Architecture = Miami/Dunlop

138. Arquitectonica/Dunlop

139. Miami and South Beach Florida A Photographic Portrait

140. Miami Beach in 1920 – The Making of a Winter Resort/Lavender

141. Miami Beach Deco/Rose

142. Miami: A Sense of Place/Miami CVB

143. The Life and Times of a Deco Dowager: The Edison Hotel/Berson

144. Yesterday’s Miami/Smiley

145. Historic Photos of Greater Miami/Bramson

146. From Sandbar to Sophistication: The Story of Sunny Isles Beach/Bramson

147. South Beach: Faces and Facades/Chase

148. Miami in Our Own Words – Celebrating the First Hundred Years: The Voices and Faces of Miami Past, Present And Future/Miami Herald

149. Miami Beach, a History/Kleinberg

150. Fabulous Hoosier: A story of American Achievement/Jane Fisher

Monday, August 15, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 51 THROUGH 100


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 51 THROUGH 100

51. Morris Lapidus Architect of the American Dream/Duttmann and Schneider

52. Too Much is Never Enough/Lapidus

53. Casas/Trelles Cabarrocas Architects

54. Mizner’s Florida/Curl

55. Marion Manley: Miami's First Woman Architect/Lynn and Penabad

56. Landmark Architecture of Palm Beach/Hoffstot

57. Art Deco of the Palm Beaches/Koskoff

58. Once Upon a Time – The Story of Boca Raton/Johnson & Shapiro

59. The Season: Inside Palm Beach and America’s Richest Society/Kessler

60. Boca Rococo: How Addison Mizner Invented Florida’s Gold Coast/Seebohm

61. Tropical Splendor/Haddon

62. The Architecture of Leisure/Braden

63. Paul Rudolph -- The Florida Houses of /King-Domin

64. The Sarasota School of Architecture/Howey

65. Sarasota Modern/Weaving

66. The Lives of an Architect/Fauve

67. Quintessential Sarasota – 1920s-1950s/Lahurd

68. The Grand Tour – Traveling the World with an Architect/Seidler

69. Architect and Engineer: A Study in Sibbling Rivalry/Saint

70. Neurtra/Lamprecht

71. R.M. Schindler/Steele

72. Modernism Reborn: Mid-Century American Houses/Webb

73. Classic Modern Homes of the Thirties: 64 Designs by Neutra, Gropius, Breuer, Stone and Others (Modern House in America)/Ford

74. Miami USA/Muir

75. South Beach: Art Deco To Contemporary Architectural Photographs/Clemence

76. Discovering South Beach Deco: Walking Tours in the Miami Beach Art Deco District/Beaubien

77. Miami and the Siege of Chicago/Mailer

78. Miami/Didion

79. Over Miami/Gleason

80. Mostly Sunny Days/Miami Herald Salute to South Florida’s Heritage

81. Miami Interiors & Architecture/Florida Design

82. Miami: City of the Future/Allman

83. Life on the Hyphen—The Cuban-American Way/Firmat

84. Cuba Confidential/Bardach

85. This is Cuba—An Outlaw Culture Survives/Corbett

86. Castro’s Cuba, Cuba’s Fidel/Lockwood

87. Going to Miami: Exiles, Tourists, and Refugees in the New America/Rieff

88. Miami Now!: Immigration, Ethnicity, & Social Change/Grenier & Stepick III

89. Woggles and Cheese Holes, The History of Miami Beach's Hotels/ Kleinberg

90. Miami Beach Memories: A Nostalgic Chronicle of Days Gone By/Biondi

91. Highway A1A: Florida at the Edge/Hiller

92. In the Spirit of Miami Beach/Leddick

93. Miami Beach (Scenes of America)/Kennedy

94. Cool Spots: Miami/South Beach/Teneues

95. Icons: Miami /Taschen

96. Tropic of Cracker/Burt

97. Becalmed in the Mullet Latitudes: Al Burt’s Florida/Burt

98. Dreamers, Schemers and Scalawags: The Florida Chronicles
Volume I/McIver

99. Totch: A Life in the Everglades / Brown

100. Tales of Old Florida/Oppel&Meisel

Sunday, August 14, 2011

THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 1 THROUGH 50


THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM BOOK LIST EVER -- 1 THROUGH 50

1. Historical Sketches and Sidelights of Miami, Florida/Cohen
2. The Making of Miami Beach 1933-1941/LeJeune/Shulman
3. Miami/Weisdorf
4. Hollywood Florida/Wilpon
5. Deco Delights Preserving the Beauty and Joy of Miami Beach Architecture/Capitman and Brooke

6. Tropical Deco The Architecture and Design of Old Miami Beach/Rizzoli

7. Miami/Visalli

8. Miami/Howard

9. Miami/Stortini (Whitecap)

10. The Life and Times of Miami Beach/Armbruster

11. South Beach/Wisser

12. South Beach Style/Brooke

13. Building Marvelous Miami/Patricios

14. Saving South Beach/Stofik

15. Miami City-Ciudad plus Façade of Ocean Drive/Between 5-15 streets

16. Miami Ciudad-City 2007

17. Miami Trends and Traditions/Schezen and Dunlop

18. Miami: Mediterranean Splendor and Deco Dreams/Dunlop

19. The New Cities: Modern Cities/Lejeune

20. Miami Tropical: Architecture and Urbanism in Las Americas/Aula 3

21. Miami Hot and Cool/Cerwinske and Brooke
22. Miami, Architecture of the Tropics/Culot, Lejeune
23. Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods/Matkov
24. Miami City of Dreams/Maltz
25. Miami, the Magic City (Urban Tapestry Series)/Veciana-Suarez
26. Miami, the Magic City/Parks
27. Miami, The Magic City: Images of America/Bramson
28. Miami Beach: Images of America/Bramson
29. Boulevard of Dreams: A Pictorial History of Biscayne Park, Miami Shores and North Miami/Bramson
30. Miami Architecture: An AIA Guide Featuring Downtown, the Beaches, and Coconut Grove/Shulman, Robinson & Donnelly
31. Stucco and Pastels: Scenes and Structures along Miami's Allapattah Rail/Mindheim
32. Miami Interiors/Taschen
33. Miami Houses/Reschke
34. Moon Over Miami/Jack Kofoed
35. The Florida Story/Kofoed
36. Miami The American Crossroad/Parks and Bush
37. Miami Memoirs/John Sewell (new pictorial edition by Arva Moore Parks)
38. Memories of Old Miami/Frazure&Smiley
39. Miami: Oasis/Guerrini
40. Romer’s Miami
41. Miami Beach: Blueprint of an Eden: Lives Seen Through the Prism of Family and Place/Doner-Wolfson-Gordon
42. Miami Gateway to the Americas/Gonzalez-Pando
43. South Beach Deco – Step by Step/Chase & Russell
44. A Walking Tour of Lincoln Road, South Beach/Plotner
45. Ocean Drive Guidebook: Ask a Local/Plotner
46. Miami Then and Now/Parks (2003 Version)
47. Miami Then & Now/Parks (1993 Version)
48. Miami in the Spotlight/Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
49. Miami The Sophisticated Tropics/Beebe
50. Historic Landscapes of Florida/Ceo and Lombard

Saturday, August 13, 2011

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DESIGN FOR ALL FOUNDATION

The multiligual Francesc Aragall runs Design for All Foundation from beautiful Barcelona.

The organization is a wealth of knowledge about design for people with disabilities.

His Flag Cities program has encourage municipalities all over Europe to adopt a code of conduct for improving mobility and livability for disabled people.


http://designforall.org/

Friday, August 12, 2011

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US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL AND LEED

Is there green washing going on? Sure.

Has green building become as fad as popular with celebrities and giving their kids weird names? Yep.

Is there any doubt that we can't keep producing sprawl with throwaway strip malls, housing, etc.? Absolutely.

That's why we need LEED-certification and why everyone should bookmarke the U.S. Green Building Council's website.



http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988

Thursday, August 11, 2011

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Doug Farr is one of our favorite preservationists.

He's also a quote machine for contenct-hungry smart growth journalists.

Farr is one of the leaders in the Green Architecture movement, helping to form what is now the standard measure for sustainability -- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

And just how does he call his website the Farrside without upsetting Gary Larson (even with that extra R)?!

FARR ASSOCIATES -- Architecture Planning Preservation
http://www.farrside.com/Default.aspx

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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DUANY PLATER-ZYBERK AND COMPANY (DPZ)

Andres Duany is a smug SOB.

Arrogant too.

But when you give birth to a movement, we suppose you're allowed to let your ego get in the way of things.

Duany's also a rock star when it comes to entertaining audiences -- both experts and lay persons -- with anecdotes and a comic sense of timing that turns potentially bland planning into a life process seemingly as essential as breathing.

Lizz Plater-Zyberk is the more softly spoken of the pair.

But she's brilliant and somehow manages to lead the University of Miami's School of Architecture as dean for nearly a decade, while also continuing to develop the New Urbanism.

Together, the pair created Miami 21 -- the form based code adopted by our folkloric hometown.

http://www.dpz.com/

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

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J A I M E C O R R E A A N D A S S O C I A T E S
Architectural Design • Regulations • Urban Design


Jaime Correa is one of the most down-to-earth, self-depricating brilliant people you will ever find.

Besides holding a professorship at the University of Miami, Correa is active all over the globe in advocating for properly-scaled urban design.

http://correa-associates.com/

Monday, August 8, 2011



SETH HARRY & ASSOCIATES, INC. Architects and Planners

The world needs more Seth Harrys.

He is more than an architect.

He is more than a town planner.

He is an expert at urbanism who also is a gifted artist that pains haunting watercolors of main streets, town centers and other elements of good planning.

Seth also is a gentleman who always has time for writers, students, fellow urbanists, etc.

His undertanding of retail and the changing urban economy is better (and much more eloquently spoken) than the most PHd economists.

http://www.sethharry.com/

Sunday, August 7, 2011

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MUSEUM OF DISABILITY

The Museum of disABILITY History is dedicated to advancing the understanding, acceptance and independence of people with disabilities.

The Museum's exhibits, collections, archives and educational programs create awareness and a platform for dialogue and discovery.

The online site is a great reference point.

The Buffalo-based bricks and mortar museum is an unsung hero.

http://www.museumofdisability.org/home.asp

Saturday, August 6, 2011

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THE CRESPOGRAM REPORT

He's a probably poco loco.

He admits upfront that he's a former bank robber who has made his share of mistakes.

And he's on the money more often than all of Miami's supposed best print and electronic reporters combined.

Henry Crespo, you might not be Miami's most lovable, but you are its most in-the-know.

You are a must-read by the politicians that loath you, and an essential site bookmarked by the rest of use who wade through you foul language and obsessions to get the best breaking news in town.

http://www.thecrespogramreport.com/

Friday, August 5, 2011

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TRANSIT MIAMI

Transit Miami has some of the great city's best young thinkers and advocates analyzying policy, calling out politicians and raising awareness of this mega region's need for more fixed rail transit, bike lanes, safe streets, etc.

http://www.transitmiami.com/

Thursday, August 4, 2011

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TERRAIN -- A JOURNAL OF THE BUILT & NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Terrain Editor-in-Chief Simmons B. Buntin works tirelessly to produce this "twice yearly online journal searching for that interface—the integration—among the built and natural environments, that might be called the soul of place."

We quote:

"It is not definitely about urban form, nor solely about natural landscapes. It is not precisely about human culture, nor necessarily about ecology. It is, rather, a celebration of the symbiosis between the built and natural environments where it exists, and an examination and discourse where it does not."

"The literary, journalistic, and artistic works contained with Terrain.org are of the highest quality, submitted by a variety of contributors for a diverse audience, including some of the finest material previously appearing in Terra Nova: Nature & Culture. The works may be idealistic, technical, historical, philosophical, and more. Above all, they focus on the environments around us—the built and natural environments—that both affect and are affected by the human species."



http://www.terrain.org/

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

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SMART GROWTH AMERICA

Smart growth is about Main Street.

Smart growth is about an easier commute.

Smart growth is about properly budgeting our shrinking federal, state and local revenues to make sure we enhance communities that promote quality of life and transit options -- not sprawl and unstainable lifestyles.

http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

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STREETSBLOG

Above all else, Streetsblog is the defender of the pedestrian.

It carries news stories about truck drivers, motorists and others who selfishly fly through crosswalks and bump over curbs, seneselessly killing pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchair users and others.

The site also has a lot of information on turning streets into more livable places.

http://www.streetsblog.org/

Monday, August 1, 2011

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WALK FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES

We quote:

"Walk Friendly Communities is a national recognition program developed to encourage towns and cities across the U.S. to establish or recommit to a high priority for supporting safer walking environments."

"The WFC program will recognize communities that are working to improve a wide range of conditions related to walking, including safety, mobility, access, and comfort."

http://www.walkfriendly.org/index.cfm