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The National Mall Design Competition
The National Mall is a mile long stretch of open space between the Lincoln Memorial and the US Capital building in Washington DC. The Mall is flanked by museums and other monuments and is the most popular tourist destination in the United States. More than 24 million people visited the Mall last year. The Trust for…
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What the Federal Government is doing about Climate Change (surprise, it’s not nothing!)
On the current national political scene, climate change is either a punchline or a footnote. However, behind the rhetoric over the economic impact of curbing greenhouse gas emissions and hidden by the debate over the causes and implications of this year’s record temperatures, climate change adaptation planning is actually happening, even at the federal level.…
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Are Mumbai’s floor area regulations restricting its development? Some lessons from New York City.
Mumbai is undergoing a crisis in optimal allocation of its restricted land resources to improve the health, safety, and quality of life of its 12 million residents. In a paper titled “Mumbai FAR/FSI Conundrum, The perfect storm: the four factors restricting the construction of new floor space in Mumbai”, Alain Bertaud examines the existing housing…
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Public Art
The phenomena of art being created and displayed in public places like airports, train stations, entrances to public buildings whose sole purpose is for people to enjoy is quite new. Art in the public sphere has always existed; for more than three millennia obelisks or triumphal arches were built in public squares as monuments to the rulers. In the Middle Ages, temples and churches were…
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What does a library say about its community?
WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER In a previous post I wrote about an upcoming book and event series that discusses open spaces and what the Occupy Wall Street Movement has taught us about the utilization of spaces during times of protest. Whether one agrees with the politics of the movement or not, there are many potential…
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What Makes Paris Look Like Paris?
Recently on this blog we have talked about the cognitive mapping of a city, exploring how individuals see and record their own neighborhoods. As I write this I can’t help but recall Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City. He analyzed the organization of cities and subsequently pointed out the way we navigate through these spaces.…
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Homes for Artists
WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER In New York, gentrification has often occurred due to creative professionals and artists moving into neighborhoods that have been neglected by real estate interests and making them attractive due to their sweat investments and cultural programming of the area. Usually this results in more affluent populations moving in and displacing the…
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Château de Chenonceau, France
The Château de Chenonceau located outside Tours, France is probably one of the smallest of chateaus in France, but what it lacks in size it makes up in its beautiful location. It spans the River Cher in the Loire Valley. It was built in the early 15th century as a small manor house, and then was expanded…
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Walkers (the living non-zombie ones): part 3
WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER Walkers: part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 Here we are back to Sam and his no-nonsense, telic walking style. In the first post of this series I came up with 3 questions that Sam needed answers to in his day to day life. This post will attempt to address the…
Disclaimer: All content, including blog posts and tours, reflects my personal views and experiences. Nothing here should be interpreted as representing the views of any current or former employer.