On Sunday, the city sealed off Broadway to traffic at Times Square and at Herald Square, from 35th to 33rd Streets, where it intersects with the Avenue of Americas. On Monday, which was Memorial Day, the Times Square Alliance, a group that represents local businesses, set out 350 lawn chairs and 26 chaise longues where cars had previously held sway.It is such a dramatic turn that Playbill has also posted a photo gallery. But this is going to require some changes to the virtual versions of Times Square in virtual worlds like Google Earth:
An estimated 32% of American children are overweight, and physical inactivity contributes to this high prevalence of overweight. This policy statement highlights how the built environment of a community affects children's opportunities for physical activity. Neighborhoods and communities can provide opportunities for recreational physical activity with parks and open spaces, and policies must support this capacity. Children can engage in physical activity as a part of their daily lives, such as on their travel to school. Factors such as school location have played a significant role in the decreased rates of walking to school, and changes in policy may help to increase the number of children who are able to walk to school. Environment modification that addresses risks associated with automobile traffic is likely to be conducive to more walking and biking among children. Actions that reduce parental perception and fear of crime may promote outdoor physical activity. Policies that promote more active lifestyles among children and adolescents will enable them to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. By working with community partners, pediatricians can participate in establishing communities designed for activity and health.The statement is accompanied by a graphic from DPZ illustrating the role of neighborhood design in walkability. The ASLA has already responded with a supporting comment that urges strong support of Complete Streets legislation.
The American Society of Landscape Architects applauds the addition of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to the growing chorus of advocates recognizing the connections between human health and the design of our built world. Outdoor spaces that encourage physical activity, increase human interaction and offer beautiful, secure environments increase our physical and mental health.In the meantime, take a kid to a playground and in just 30 years they'll tell their therapist that they wish they could thank you.
Regrettably, the last lines of Witold Rybczynski's Slate piece on the memorial rang very true. Some of trees are already failing and a few light bulbs were temporarily out. Hopefully these can be addressed, because this is an important memorial at an important place.
“His work always came out of the earth,” Ms. Lambert said. “He didn’t start the way most architects started. He actually started off with the earth, the landscape, and made something that inhabited the land.”
It seems likely that other local papers will also feature their favorite entries on this list in the coming days. Keep your eyes open, and visit these special places while you still can."People don't realize how historic and how neat that house is, what an asset it is," Garrett said. "It's just so damn old and there's so much inside the house hidden amongst not just the junk, the furniture and old clothing that was left laying around, but inside remodeling that was done over the years. You can get down into the skeleton of that house and find that original building, and that's irreplaceable."
The Department of Geography at the University of Iowa is accepting applications for graduate student research positions. These positions are available beginning as early as the Fall of 2009 and offer a unique opportunity to participate in large interdisciplinary NSF funded projects focused on the application of agent-based models to land use decision-making. Skills in geographic information science and computer programming are required.
Research assistantship stipends start at >$19K for a 12 month appointment, with health benefits and tuition scholarships.
For more information please contact, David Bennett, david-bennett@uiowa.edu, Department of Geography, The University of Iowa, 319.335.0158.
Beyond 2009, the reality of the past 20 years of falling birth rates, coupled with the inexorable shift to a higher percentage of knowledge-based jobs, means that there will be good jobs coming available over the next 2-4 years, particularly for the college classes of 2009.
A frequent reader asked what to see between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I waited a bit late to post them so these are rushed. Some are old favorites and some are things I haven't yet visited.
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Santa Monica and Venice Beach
Nómadas Outdoor Services is seeking a GIS/cartography intern to design cartography for the 2010 edition of the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race. The candidate must be able to independently design maps of Patagonia that racers will use to navigate for mountain-biking, kayaking, and trekking in a 10-day adventure race. The successful candidate must be able to work independently with a diverse staff including many non-English speakers.More details at the GIS Jobs Clearinghouse.
More than a simple internship, this project will provide the applicant with a rewarding experience at the end of the world in a multicultural and dynamic team.
Avalon
Cape May
Cape May Point
Stone Harbor
The Wildwoods
Driving makes sense if there is an easy place to park your car. So reducing the available parking is key.Some of them are trying out how to get our current world to work better, while others are trying look past new urbanism for the next planning approach to livable neighborhoods.
If you are tired of reviewing the textbook and need something different to do, why not spend 20 minutes trying out the NJ DEP's iMap. Look at the wetlands in the Pinelands or the land uses in the Meadowlands or Sites on the Known Contaminated Sites List near your home or school.
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary this year of Henry Hudson's voyage to our shores, the Henry Hudson 400 New York Foundation is holding the international H209 Forum on September 9-10 at Liberty Science Center where Dutch and American environmental, planning and engineering experts, and decision and policy makers will explore how the 21st century water challenges facing today's cities can be tackled for a sustainable future.
The centerpiece of this forum is our New Generation Competition that invites undergraduates, including 2009 graduates, in marine and environmental studies, engineering, oceanography, urban design and planning, policy planning, and public health, to come up with innovative solutions to the issues involved with Sustainability for Coastal Cities.
The winners will receive cash prizes, internships at major water companies, and be invited, all expenses paid, to attend H209 where they will present their solutions and have terrific networking
opportunities.
Details are on our website at www.henryhudson400.com.
But the piece is already a classic. It has the gravity of Ms. Lin’s commemorative sculptures and the sociability of the earlier “wave” pieces, which lent themselves to picnics, play and privacy. And, more immediately than almost any of her other outdoor projects, it is inextricable from nature, which is where, as I say, all her art starts.The opening of the new sculpture is accompanied with a special exhibit called Maya Lin: Bodies of Water that will last until November. (Mapped)
There is going to be a public NJN RECEPTION AND SPECIAL SCREENING of Bonaparte’s Retreat a new film by Eric Schultz Friday, May 15th at 5
pm. Bordentown Branch Library, 18 East Union St., Bordentown, NJ.
Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited so please reply by May 12th online at njn.net or call (800) 882-6622.
Bonaparte’s Retreat tells the story of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s older brother, who escaped to America after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, and settled in Bordentown, N.J. An influential diplomat, at one time King of Naples and of Spain, and among his brother’s closest advisors, Joseph came to love the freedoms of America but decried its lack of culture. For over 17 years, he lived in a magnificent estate on the Delaware River, where he designed elaborate gardens, entertained the leading figures of the day, surrounded himself with the largest, most important collection of European fine and decorative art in America and helped to shape the cultural tastes of our new country.
Funding for this State of the Arts special was provided by the N.J. State Council on the Arts, the N.J. Council for the Humanities, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Bonaparte’s Retreat airs on NJN Friday May 22 at 8:30 pm. Encore performance Wednesday May 27 at 11:30 pm.
This publication "highlights the cultural imprint of Asian groups on the built environment of the United States." Includes an introductory essay that summarizes Asian cultural heritage in the U.S., an annotated list of historic properties related to Asian cultural heritage, examples of historic places that interpret aspects of Asian heritage for the public, and a bibliography. Includes properties in Minnesota, Hawaii, Alaska, California, and other areas. From the National Park Service (NPS).
African Reflections on the American Landscape/ /summarizes highlights of the scholarship presented at the conference, “Places of Cultural Memory:
African Reflections on the American Landscape,” which was held May 9- 12, 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia. It represents a follow-up to the conference because it illustrates ways in which this scholarship can be applied to historic preservation/cultural resources stewardship work.
What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than by looking at some good Mexican work. While you could go back and look at the classic works like Plaza Hidalgo (a PPS Great Space) or works by modernist designers like Luis Barragan, you should really take some time to look forward. Mexico is becoming a hot design spot.
On Monday night, join world-renowned architects Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves for a discussion of their personal book collections and the books that have most influenced their work. Interviewed by MAS Chairman, David Childs, this is sure to be a lively conversation and is a rare opportunity to see and hear these influential architects in person.The event kicks off Unpacking My Library, an exhibition by the MAS bookstore, Urban Center Books, of New York architects and their books. The first of ten in a series, the exhibition documents Peter Eisenman’s relationship with books by combining an interactive exhibit visually scanning the bookshelves, with a video interview, and more. With a different architect every month, the exhibition continues through 2010 with Michael Graves, Toshiko Mori, Stan Allen, Liz Diller and Ric Scofidio, Michael Sorkin, Henry Cobb, Steven Holl, Bernard Tschumi, and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.
Support generously provided by Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown.
An Evening with Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves
Monday, May 4, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., at the Municipal Art Society of New York
$25, $15 MAS members. Purchase tickets online or call 212-935-2075.
1st Place Most Unique
1st Place - Best Overall Non-DEP
1st Place - Best Software Integration
1st Place - Best Newbie
3rd Place - Best Scientific Application by the New Jersey Academy of Science
