IN BRIEF LINKS : Interesting articles that relate to the built environment
Our rural landscape is a fiction – The Guardian
Jonathan Meades writes “Landscape is created by humans and the English have transformed theirs over the last half-century. Despite the spread of roads, industrial estates, science parks and housing estates of an architecture almost as execrable as France’s, the English landscape is increasingly infected with the artificial perfection of Georgian parkland whose purpose was to delight the eye: cows and sheep were theatrical props.” Read more….
From the Ground Up – Metropolis Magazine
Marc Kristal looks at “An award-winning planning study for Lower Manhattan may act as a model for future development…….. The 41-acre area, named Greenwich South by the Alliance for Downtown New York, the business-improvement organization that dreamed up the project, has the kind of pros and cons that can be found in any major city. “ Read more…..
MIT to build wind turbine on its campus – boston.com
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will erect a wind turbine on its campus by the end of the summer after the City of Cambridge approved the project Tuesday. Read more…..
Cityscape impact fee on outdoors ads – Focus Taiwan
“The Taipei City government approved Tuesday a draft law on cityscape management that would charge large, outdoor advertising billboards an installation permit fee and an annual “cityscape impact fee” equal to 2 percent of their operating costs.” Read more…..
How to make urban alleys work – Crosscut.com
Mark Hinshaw writes “Urban alleys in Seattle may soon be making a comeback, thanks to a recent design competition that highlighted how safe, active, and delightful they could be with the right design talent, programming. and management.” Read more…..
