Skip to main content

Featured Post

Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park infographics: what's built/what's coming/what's missing, who's responsible, + project FAQ/timeline (pinned post)

A busy week of panels on Jane Jacobs and modernism

Upcoming this week are a series of panels regarding urbanism. Descriptions below are taken from the official announcements.

Tuesday

Tuesday, November 27, 6:30 pm
The Oversuccessful City, Part 1: Developers' Realities
At the New York Times Stage Auditorium, 620 Eighth Ave

There are economic realities that underlie development and change in the city, all the more so in flush times. In facing the challenges of the growing city, New Yorkers need to consider these truths and their implications. This, the first of two panels on what Jane Jacobs called "oversuccess," will consider these issues primarily from the developer's perspective — with the objective of opening up a conversation about economics, land value and other issues that shape the city.

Charles Bagli of the New York Times will lead a panel featuring Eugenie Birch of the University of Pennsylvania, Carlton Brown of Full Spectrum NY, Douglas Durst of the Durst Organization, and Greg O'Connell of Kings Harbor View Associates exploring the reality for developers in contemporary New York City. Sponsored by the Municipal Art Society. Tickets required.

Wednesday

Wednesday, November 28, 6:30 pm
Modernism and the Public Realm: Planning and Building in New York
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue

Has modernism in architecture and urban design failed our cities? That is the contention of the latest book by Harvard sociologist, critic, and author Nathan Glazer, From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture’s Encounter with the American City (Princeton University Press, 2007). Hilary Ballon, architectural historian and curator of Robert Moses and the Modern City, moderates a discussion with Glazer, Municipal Art Society President Kent Barwick, and urbanist Fred Siegel, senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and columnist for the New York Post. Co-sponsored by the Municipal Art Society, in conjunction with its exhibition Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York. Reservations/tickets required.

Thursday

Thursday, November 29, 7-9 p.m.,
Changing Perspectives on Preservation: A Panel Discussion
Sponsored by the Municipal Art Society, at 457 Madison Avenue.

This panel will explore the theme of changing perspectives on preservation from the 1940's and 50's -- when hundreds of potential landmarks were demolished in the absence of protection mechanisms, to the present -- when many of the buildings that replaced them are now themselves of interest for landmark designation.

Panelists include Hilary Ballon, architectural historian and Associate Vice Chancellor for New York University Abu Dhabi; Thomas Mellins, architectural historian, writer, co-author of New York 1880, New York 1930 and New York 1960, and Curator of Special Exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York; and Anthony Wood, Executive Director of the Ittleson Foundation, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University, and founder and chair of the New York Preservation Archive Project, and author of the new book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmarks. (Corrected) Free to members, $10 to nonmembers.

Comments