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THE NEW URBAN CORRUPTION: SELLING OFF PUBLIC ICONS AND PUBLIC SPACES
DC CITY DESK - The battle to have identifiable and attractive libraries
in several neighborhoods - not swallowed up in office or condo
development - is being treated as a strictly local issue. It isn't. It
is a citywide problem stemming from the contempt political leaders have
for the citizens in contrast to their ever growing obeisance to robber
baron contributors. What is at stake here is the preservation of local
public icons - libraries, schools, fire stations etc - in the face of
runaway corrupt development plans.
This is not just another problem for our neighborhoods or for DC. Never
in history have politicians treated the symbols of community with such
utter disrespect. These buildings should be places of public honor and
not jammed into a high rise like they were just another coffee shop.
What's next? Will Mayor Fenty replace parks by putting grass on
rooftops? Pave over the Anacostia for a new town, reducing it to the
world's largest sewer?
Stay tuned.
[Yesterday, we mentioned the possibility that Mayor Fenty might start
selling off city parkland. Turns out it's not a joke. It's already
happening in Detroit]
http://prorev.com/2007/10/dc-tuesday_30.htm
ZACHARY GORCHOW, DETROIT FREE PRESS - One-quarter of Detroit's 367 parks
could be sold under a proposal designed to help the city shed dozens of
its smallest and most worn-down parks in an effort to aid others and
position the land for redevelopment. More than half of the 92 parks are
less than an acre in size -- so called pocket parks -- tucked in
neighborhoods. Some have swing sets, jungle gyms, slides and benches.
They make up 124 acres of the city's roughly 6,000 acres of parkland.
Many of those neighborhoods are no longer dense in population and are
dominated by urban prairies as the result of demolished homes,
conditions Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration cites in its
proposal. The plan to sell off city parkland has generated relief among
some neighbors hoping to see the lots improve and anger among those who
say the city is getting rid of precious assets. . .
The scope of the proposal has alarmed members of the City Council, which
must approve land sales. "It looks like every park in the city, every
small park, is on here," Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said at a
meeting last week as he examined the city's list. "If we sell
everything, we'll look up one day, and there won't be any place for kids
to play for recreation.". . .
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/NEWS01/710260392/1003
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE NEW URBAN CORRUPTION: SELLING OFF PUBLIC ICONS AND PUBLIC SPACES
DC CITY DESK - The battle to have identifiable and attractive libraries
in several neighborhoods - not swallowed up in office or condo
development - is being treated as a strictly local issue. It isn't. It
is a citywide problem stemming from the contempt political leaders have
for the citizens in contrast to their ever growing obeisance to robber
baron contributors. What is at stake here is the preservation of local
public icons - libraries, schools, fire stations etc - in the face of
runaway corrupt development plans.
This is not just another problem for our neighborhoods or for DC. Never
in history have politicians treated the symbols of community with such
utter disrespect. These buildings should be places of public honor and
not jammed into a high rise like they were just another coffee shop.
What's next? Will Mayor Fenty replace parks by putting grass on
rooftops? Pave over the Anacostia for a new town, reducing it to the
world's largest sewer?
Stay tuned.
[Yesterday, we mentioned the possibility that Mayor Fenty might start
selling off city parkland. Turns out it's not a joke. It's already
happening in Detroit]
http://prorev.com/2007/10/dc-tuesday_30.htm
ZACHARY GORCHOW, DETROIT FREE PRESS - One-quarter of Detroit's 367 parks
could be sold under a proposal designed to help the city shed dozens of
its smallest and most worn-down parks in an effort to aid others and
position the land for redevelopment. More than half of the 92 parks are
less than an acre in size -- so called pocket parks -- tucked in
neighborhoods. Some have swing sets, jungle gyms, slides and benches.
They make up 124 acres of the city's roughly 6,000 acres of parkland.
Many of those neighborhoods are no longer dense in population and are
dominated by urban prairies as the result of demolished homes,
conditions Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration cites in its
proposal. The plan to sell off city parkland has generated relief among
some neighbors hoping to see the lots improve and anger among those who
say the city is getting rid of precious assets. . .
The scope of the proposal has alarmed members of the City Council, which
must approve land sales. "It looks like every park in the city, every
small park, is on here," Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said at a
meeting last week as he examined the city's list. "If we sell
everything, we'll look up one day, and there won't be any place for kids
to play for recreation.". . .
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/NEWS01/710260392/1003
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