This week we briefly touched on the topic of the history of New York’s Central Park in the course I am a teaching assistant for here at the University of Maryland. Although the course is in Landscape Architecture and we examined Frederick Law Olmsted’s design, I thought it was important to mention a bit of […]
Urbanism and Silicon Valley
This week the Times’ Randall Stross examined the persistent creative fertility of San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, concluding It’s Not the People You Know. It’s Where You Are. It turns out close physical proximity makes it easier for entrepreneurs to get venture capitol, find employees willing to work for equity shares, and even get a law […]
Where Is the Convention Center’s Retail?
Three years after the opening of the new Washington Convention Center, only three businesses are open among the building’s 11 community retail spaces on 7th, 9th, and N Streets — Abou Master Goldsmith, Capitol Business Center, and Enterprise Car Rental. In addition to the three open business, four more have signed leases but have not […]
Are You ‘Carfree’?
Since 1960, the U.S. Census has asked American households to report on their “long form” the number of cars or light trucks “kept at home for the use of members of your household.” In the 2000 Census, 10% of households nationwide reported not having any vehicles available and 34% reported having only one available. The […]
Detroit Plans Airport City
But will the aerotropolis be ‘cool’? Cities have always developed around modes of transit, whether they were key crossroads, strategic port harbors and rivers, or major railroad depots. Why not around airports? That question is being asked more often as the volume of air travel continues to increase and airports and the land around them […]
Researching My House’s History
Last summer I decided to research the history of my house in downtown Washington, D.C. The house is located on the 900 block of Q Street Northwest in the historic neighborhood of Shaw. My block is located within the limits of Pierre L’Enfant’s original street plan for the city which ended around present-day U Street. […]
Is it Gentrification if the Lots Are Empty?
Inspired in part by Mr. Kennicott’s article, I decided to take a little tour of the Mount Vernon Triangle area, where a number of large condominium projects are either under construction or planned. See the entire set here.