Shaw Loves Blogs

The neighborhood blog directory outside.in has announced Shaw has the second most active neighborhood blog community in the country. Although DCist had a short item I thought it was worth noting the news. They claim their rankings are based on “total number of posts, total number of local bloggers, number of comments and Technorati ranking for the bloggers.” The top neighborhood was Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. Interestingly, most of the top 10 are older urban neighborhoods experiencing revitalization, including neighborhoods in New York, Boston, Chicago, Portland (OR), San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I first described Shaw’s blogging renaissance in January, and several new blogs have popped up since then. The exciting blogging action has even inspired envy from other bloggers around town. Gallery Place Living pondered a second home in Shaw, and one well known blogger nearly in Columbia Heights claimed residency.

On that topic, what are the boundaries of Shaw? While there are never hard and fast rules about neighborhood boundaries, history provides some guidance. The Shaw neighborhood was first defined when planners used the boundaries of the Shaw Junior High School to define an urban renewal area for redevelopment efforts. Our very own Mari from In Shaw unearthed the map above, dated 1973. If anything, since then the boundaries have become restricted as other neighborhoods have developed identities.

Fixing Mount Vernon Square

This post is adapted from a class project I completed recently

In the film Enemy of the State, two characters decide to rendezvous in Washington, D.C.’s Mount Vernon Square. However, instead of using Washington’s square, the filmmakers opted to shoot the scene in a square of the same name located in Baltimore. While I don’t know the actual reason for this decision, I think it could have been caused by the architectural form of the square.

While both are similar in size and share the presence of a church building, we will see that Baltimore’s square is much more clearly defined in space, and would certainly have made a more visually satisfying backdrop to an urban rendezvous. Before turning to the topic of how Mount Vernon Square could be improved, let’s take a look at a three dimensional analysis.

I will analyze the square and its surrounding blocks through two approaches: creating a three dimensional model of the buildings present that give the square its form, and a second model to show the negative spaces or voids.

Now let’s take a look at Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Square.

A variety of architectural styles itself does not prevent the creation of a unified urban fabric. However, when these styles speak in a different language in their dialogue with their neighbors and the street, the result can be an intelligible cacophony. This is the case for Mount Vernon Square, where as a result of the highly contrasting forms and styles, each building speaks as an individual. Let us take a walk around the square, examining the architecture of what we find.

This early 20th Century building (left) was built to serve as the central office for a labor union. The zero setback from the street creates a sharply defined street wall and understated architectural style. While this style of architecture works well in context with similar buildings, here it stands alone on a nearly empty block, facing blocks with quite different forms and architectural styles. Instead of “reading” as a contributor to a larger street or block, this building comes across as an awkward anachronism, a solitary reminder of a previous urban logic.

The Carnegie Library is designed in the Beaux-Arts style, echoing other monuments to City Beautiful Elsewhere in the city. However, it is a proud civic building without a civic use, as it has not housed the library since the 1960s.
Today the building is used as offices for cultural organizations and for special events. Like an old man all dressed up and nowhere to go, the building’s elegant architecture has been stripped of both visitors and its functional meaning.

The Washington Convention Center is probably the must-discussed building on the square. Its design was the result of a contentious public process. The original massing caused one member of the National Capital Planning Commission to characterize the design as a “battleship” plowing into Shaw, and in response to neighborhood concerns the design was modified to minimize the overwhelming height and size through both architectural techniques, sinking it into the ground, and including retail space at the street level. While the high perforated façade may create visual interest, the multiple indentations and projections do not clearly define the square. Instead of serving pedestrians and public space, the structure seems scaled to the tour buses and tractor trailers that deliver goods and visitors to the cavernous convention floor.

If Mount Vernon Square is underutilized, thanks in part to a poor sense of urban space, how might it be improved?

1. Improve the physical definition of square. At the core of it, Mount Vernon Square is not clearly defined as architectural space. While this is the most important flaw, it is potentially the most difficult to fix. New construction at the northwest corner should match the existing building in setback and scale, and serve to define the streets. New construction at the northeast corner, where today there is a small parking lot, should both define the streets and also clearly articulate reflect the overall square shape of the space, including a generous flat face facing the square. The small parks at the east and west sides should be re-designed to be better integrated with the central green space

2. Improve design to accommodate and encourage pedestrian use. Although located near heavily trafficked pedestrian destinations, the square does a poor job of serving their needs and attracting and retaining pedestrian users. 8th Street should be opened to automobile traffic, and changes made to the ground floor retail to make it more visible to passing pedestrians. The pathways and paved spaces around the library building could be re-designed to create a shaded plaza and convenient walkways reflecting current pedestrian patterns. The traffic pattern could even be evaluated to see if additional on-street parking could be allowed to create a buffer between the heavy flows of traffic and plaza.

3. Create programming to better utilize square space. Like some of the city’s other public spaces, the square could host public events, particularly at times when there is less commuter traffic on neighboring streets like weekends or evenings.

Here’s what kind of buildings could enhance the square.

The neglect of public open space is by no means limited to Mount Vernon Square. I have previously written about the widely varied fate of the city’s multitute of small triangle parks, which are split up between various city and federal agencies. There are two initiatives underway to improve the quality of public spaces in the city. The National Park Service has launched an effort to create a plan for the National Mall to enhance the visitor experience and plan for future growth. Another effort called CapitalSpace was recently announced to oversee all of the city’s parks and public open space. This long-overdue initiative is a joint project between the D.C. Office of Planning, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, National Park Service and National Capital Planning Commission, and together the groups hope to create an action agenda to “establish a coordinated, connected citywide system of parks” that serve all neighborhoods. I hope these two programs result in increased attention to the city’s many public spaces.

Analyzing D.C.’s Inclusionary Zoning

After years of wrangling between affordable housing advocates, policy wonks, and real estate interests, D.C. has finally adopted a commonly-used approach to creating affordable housing.

Known as “inclusionary zoning,” the policy requires developers include units reserved for low and moderate-income families when developing large residential projects. In exchange, developers are allowed to increase the density of the project to offset the cost of these affordable units. One of the most well-known programs in the country is run by Montgomery County, Maryland, which has a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit Program that has created over 13,000 moderately priced units of housing since 1974. Inclusionary zoning policies create affordable units integrated into larger projects, without getting the government involved in owning property. For years, real estate interests have resisted such a policy in D.C., complaining as recently as last October such a policy constitutes a “development tax” and would depress development in the District.

The D.C. Office of Planning put together a very detailed presentation last fall to explain how the program would work. The following slides are from the presentation, however I suggest viewing the entire document via the link below. In D.C., the policy has been adopted in a way where it applies to roughly 37% of the city.

Unlike Montgomery County, in D.C. the units must be reserved for qualifying individuals in perpetuity. Of the area where the policy applies, 19% falls within historic districts. Some have raised concerns suggesting the inclusionary zoning policy and the historic districts might conflict, however the Office of Planning points out that the historic districts contain few parcels large enough to trigger the inclusionary zoning law. They also point out that if they law was triggered, it would simply require narrower rowhomes, similar in size to many historic rowhomes in the city.

Here are a couple examples of how the law might work for projects in different zones:

The D.C. Office of Planning estimated the program could create over 100 units of housing a year reserved for people below the area’s median income, currently around $90,000 for a family of four. However, because the enabling legislation only recently took effect, many of the specifics about how the program will be carried out (my understanding is that it will be the D.C. Housing Authority) remain unclear.

Resources

> DC Office of Planning Inclusionary Zoning Presentation (PDF) (10/07)
> W. Post: “Inclusionary Zoning Program Is Approved”
> Washington Business Journal: “Mapping a disaster area: You are here” (7/14/06), “Affordable housing debate moves back, forward” (10/13/06)
> DC Council: Inclusionary Zoning Implementation Act of 2006
> DC Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
> Washington Regional Network: D.C. Campaign for Inclusionary Zoning
> Fall 2005 Student Report on Montomery County MPDU Law

Although I have done my best to be accurate in this post, it is based on my analysis of technical documentation of a complex, evolving policy. Anyone aware of inaccuracies should post a comment.

APA Conference

I will be in Philadelphia this weekend from Friday, 4/13 to Monday, 4/16 to attend the American Planning Association 2007 National Planning Conference. I will be attending the “Revolutionize Citizen Participation Using Internet Technology” session on Saturday and the student reception that evening, as well as a variety of other sessions. Let me know if you will be there.

Urban Planning and Web 2.0

I thought I would note I’ve posted an article about potential applications of Web 2.0 technologies in the field of urban planning to the Planetizen blog:

Planetizen: How Can Planners Use the Web?

I’ll keep a running list of my posts to Planetizen in the column on the left.

‘It’s Fun To Be In the O-R-D-E-R’

For those accustom to my usual topics about urbanism and D.C., permit me a brief digression about a University of Michigan “leadership” society with a controversial history, that recently re-named themselves from Michigamua to The Order of Angell.

The Ann Arbor blog Left Behind in the Fishbowl has posted what appears to be a copy of lyrics of a song written to be used during initiation rituals by Michigamua/Order of the Angell, titled “YMCA (Pride 2008)”. Whether or not the document is authentic of a sophisticated parody, it makes for hilarious reading.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about Michigamua/Order of the Angell because they just inducted new members. Readers of this blog will know I think the group should be abolished since it is a shameful blemish on the history of the University of Michigan, but I won’t belabor the point. I think my views are a quite reasonable conclusion based on my research. It seems some basic history is a good starting point.

1. At its founding, the group created an elaborate invented mythology using their views of Native American culture, which they proceeded to use for nearly 100 years.
2. For 90 years of their history most internal communication (including all newsletters) was in a stylized speech (see below for examples)
3. The group first admitted women in 2000
4. The organized had privileged space in the Michigan Union from the 30s until 2000, had close relationships with administrators for many years, and even at one point had a special university account for their finances. For years, they used university property outside downtown Ann Arbor for special events.
5. They agreed to abolish all references to native American culture in 1989, however the tower occupation revealed numerous objects and a wigwam retained by the organization

Whether it is even possible — or even desirable — to whitewash this history with a quick name change I think is an open question. This is not to mention the appropriateness of having such a group with such an elitist past (and present) claiming to act “for Michigan.”

Here are the new members, from the Daily:

“Pride of 2008″
-Sarah Banco - Women’s soccer
-Lindsey Cottrell - Women’s soccer
-Steve Crompton - Dance Marathon
-Lindsay Davis - Women’s golf
-Alessandra Giampaolo - Softball
-Sam Harper - College Democrats chair
-Michael Hart - Football
-Jen Hsu - Co-chair of the Michigan Student Assembly’s LGBT commission
-Nellie Kippley - Women’s gymnastics
-Matko Maravic - Men’s tennis
-Doug Pickens - Baseball
-Randal Seriguchi - VP of the National Pan-Hellenic council, MSA
-Sejal Tailor - Multicultural Greek Council president
-Alex Tisdall - ROTC
-Tyrel Todd - Men’s wrestling
-Alex Vanderkaay - Swimmer
-Zack Yost - MSA president
-Michael Cromwell - A capella
-Nicole Wojcik - Marching Band
-Anup Shah - IASA
-Rohan Patel - Dance Marathon
-Kelly Sanderson - Women Engineers
-Gervis Menzies - Residence Hall Association

Here’s some images I pulled from my collection:

Newsletters from the 1940s

Class of 1966

Induction ritual photo and account from 1960s

This letterhead was used well into the 1970s. Ironically, this copy contains notes from a meeting where negotiations with Native American students was discussed.

Note, donations from this 1980s fundraising letter are payable to a “University of Michigan — Michigamua Account”

Objects discovered in the “wigwam” during 2000 Student of Color Coalition occupation.

Recent News
> Michigan Daily: “After seven years, group recognized by ‘U’ once again”
> Michigan Daily: “The secret society that lived: New name alone can’t cover blemishes of a shady past”
> Michigan Daily: “Jim Toy Viewpoint: To build a bridge” (Community member describes why he is working with group)

Resources
> Native American Student Association — Michigamua “Guide to Understanding”
> The Order of Angell Maize pages entry
> The Order of Angell website
> Michigamua Members: 1999-2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 (For previous years just drop me a line, I have a printed directory going all the way back to 1902)

More
> Previous Michigamua Posts

Describing D.C.’s ‘National Security Sprawl’

To Deborah Natsios, the September 11, 2001 attack on Washington ushered in a new epoch of national security sprawl. She traces the evolution of “war sprawl” in the region: the city’s circumferential Civil War forts, suburban WWII facilities, Cold War beltway and missile placements, and exurban defense industry office campuses.

In Natsios’ account, the September 11 attack “inaugurated a new chapter in a regional history,” extending far beyond the downtown security bollards. The attack transformed “sprawl’s unpredictable legacy of subdivisions, culs-de-sac, big-box retailers, parking lots, fast-food franchises and high-tech corridors” into a “battlespace” subject to aggressive home raids and panoptic schemes of advanced electronic surveillance.

Leftist jargon aside, the article’s history and intriguing graphics make it well worth a perusal.

> National Security Sprawl by Deborah Natsios, from Architectural Design, Nov/Dec 2005, pp. 80-85.