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Why the public hates publicly funded art

By on March 14, 2008 in Architecture, City culture, Downtown, Harrison Square

(Jon) If public art has the power like no other to “brand” a city — think of the Eiffel Tower and the Gateway Arch — then why is the public so often against the expenditure?

Dan on Cyburbia thinks it may be the style of art that’s been typically commissioned in the last half of the 20th century:

“Since about the late-mid 20th century a popular form of public art has emerged that I will call ‘amorphism’ that can be found in cities all over the world. It’s difficult to describe, but much like pr0n, you know it when you see it.

“Given that most people prefer their art to have form why have so many formless works been selected/commissioned? Do various governments have a desire to appear cutting edge/avant garde/futuristic and feel the art helps convey that impression? How are most selection committees formed?”

To bring the issue to Fort Wayne: Could much of the disagreement with Harrison Square have to do with distrust of the city’s ability to build something iconic?

I am thinking of the “amorphic” red steel artwork beside the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the name of which escapes me. (Could someone could post a name and even better a link to a photo?) I heard stories that when it was reported the structure was sinking into the ground, a radio station encouraged listeners to drape their bodies all over it, to hasten its sinking?

On the other hand, I’m also reminded of our beautiful Allen County Courthouse, one of the best example of beautiful and functional public art anywhere. What was the spirit of those hardy Fort Waynians, and can it be recaptured?

Please comment here, but also take a minute to read the Cyburbia post and view the great examples.

Author’s photo on Flickr

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A suburban Subway on an urban street

By on February 10, 2008 in Architecture, City culture, Downtown, Urbanism

“Urbanism starts with the location of the parking lot.” — David Sucher

(Jon) When the downtown Fort Wayne Subway shop was torn down to make way for Harrison Square, it was a safe bet that it would rebuilt nearby.

And with the recent emphasis on downtown renewal, this property at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Clinton Street was a prime location for a great, urban-looking business.

Alas, we have this suburban Subway, smack in the middle of downtown.

Oh, I’m sure it’ll be a great-looking building, and far better looking than its previous one. But an opportunity was wasted, and I don’t know why the city didn’t make the case for Subway to locate its restaurant on the property in a way that reflected its urban setting.

In other words, to make this Subway’s site plan more urban, move the building to the corner and the parking around the back.

Here’s an admittedly simple graphic by David Sucher that shows what I’m talking about:

If the Subway had been located right on the corner, downtown Fort Wayne would have taken a step toward being a more walkable neighborhood. It’s too bad that this simple idea wasn’t considered before the building went up.

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The happy city

By on February 8, 2008 in City culture, Neighborhoods, Urbanism

(Jon) How about some urban policies that are focused not only on economics, but on happiness?

An article in enRoute magazine opens with a Paris street that’s been buried in sand and turned into a city beach. And that’s not all:

All through the city, pavement has been wrested away from private cars and converted into sandboxes, plazas, dance floors and bike paths. Paris has joined a global movement that seeks to change not just streets but the very soul of urban spaces. Its adherents believe that cities can become engines not just of economic growth. But of happiness.

Paris is only one example:

The charge is being led by some of the world’s toughest towns, places like Bogotá, where happiness theory led one mayor to transform roads into parks and pedestrian “freeways,” and Mexico City, whose mayor is investing in urban beaches and bikeways in order to change the citizens’ gloomy outlook. Now the movement is spilling over to wealthier cities too. Seoul has ripped out a downtown freeway to make room for parks and streams. London has put the squeeze on cars with its now famous congestion charge.

Sadly, there are no photos with the article, but you can read it all here.

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41 books to read in 2008

By on January 1, 2008 in City culture, Culture

(Jon) My first New Year’s resolution is:

Stop buying books.

I have enough books on church, culture, cities and community on my shelves to last me at least through December. And they all came highly recommended by those who have a love for the city. Take a look:

Here’s what I’ve read in 2007 or earlier but hope to restudy in 2008:

And beyond actually reading them and understanding them, I intend on commenting on them here at The Good City. Good grief!

I’ve just begun Life Together because I felt I needed some more spiritual sustenance. But do you have any suggestions on what I should pick up next? Any books on my bookshelf that you’ve already read and would recommend?

– Jon Swerens · photo by austinevan on Flickr

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Read ‘The Three Rules,’ and tell the author what you think

By on November 28, 2007 in Architecture, City culture, Downtown, Neighborhoods, Urbanism

To those who love our city, here’s your assignment:

First: Understand The Three Rules.

David Sucher loves cities. He hopes to foster what he calls “urban villages,” cities that are vibrantly urban but yet also in some way cozy and neighborly. Kinda like what many of us want in Fort Wayne.

His Three Rules are his attempt to help urban planners consider site plans as the key to urban vs. suburban:

If the problem is to create a walkable, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood, much of the answer is architectural. Actually, it is not so much “architectural” in the usual sense of the word, for it ignores style. Site plan trumps architecture.

The Three Rules, in brief, are:

  1. Build to the sidewalk (i.e., property line).
  2. Make the building front “permeable” (i.e., no blank walls).
  3. Prohibit parking lots in front of the building.

Second: Download and read Chapter 3 of “City Comforts.”

In this 11-page chapter of his book, he expands on the rules and gives examples, photos and sub-rules.

Download the chapter here (PDF).

If you love cities, you’ll find this chapter all too short. You’ll probably want to buy the whole book sometime, but for now, stay on topic.

Third: Tell the author he’s full of it.

Really. Sucher has the crazy idea in his head to expand the chapter on The Three Rules into an entire book. But he wants your advice:

Praise it if you like but I am even more interested in hearing the reasons why I am full of it, why the “Three Rules” is naive, incomplete, simple-minded and overall just plain wrong and/or misleading. Let me have it. Bring it on, in the words of our bumbling leader. Tell me in as much detail as you are able why I should drop this project immediately and not embarrass myself any further by my clueless rantings.

So be sure to leave some comments at his blog (feel free to jot them here, too) when you’re done reading his chapter.

The prizes

If he really, really likes your critique, he’ll give you a book. If you convince him that he’s out of his mind and he drops the project completely, he’ll buy you dinner at a restaurant of your choice — in Seattle, naturally.

Now, if you win dinner with Sucher, I’ll want to see the photos. And you’ll have to take a ride on the Bainbridge Island ferry for me. But in the meantime, read, consider, discuss and distribute his short chapter. I believe Sucher has a lot to say to Fort Wayne at this juncture in our urban history.

– Jon Swerens 

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Pigeons… in Fort Wayne?

By on November 28, 2007 in City culture, Downtown

Not sure if this is a problem in the Fort, but it caught my eye because on my street in NYC we had a Pigeon Lady who almost daily fed these beguiling birds, no doubt to the consternation of her neighbors.

Anyway, are there any pigeons in Fort Wayne? Though I wouldn’t feed them, I’d sure like to see them…

– Scott Greider

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Car trouble

By on November 14, 2007 in City culture, Transportation, Urbanism

If you want to feel how desperately dependent on the automobile you are, simply arrange for your only vehicle to break down.

This happened to me and my family recently, and suddenly, getting a daughter to a distant doctor, getting a dog to the vet, and getting groceries became either difficult or impossible.

At least for us, this was not a new feeling. Back when we were living in western New York State on a newspaperman’s salary, we could not afford both food for a growing family and a car. So we had to rely on walking and an inadequate transit “system,” which in its entirety consisted of one small bus making one circuit around town once an hour.

James Howard Kunstler, in his admittedly caustic book “The Geography of Nowhere,” identifies three groups of people would are discriminated against in an automobile dominated society:

  • The poor, because they can often not afford a car.
  • The young, because a parent has to drive them everywhere.
  • The old, because once they lose the physical ability to drive, they are helpless.

I know it is thought to be a conservative value to oppose subsidies for public transit, forcing things like train lines and city bus companies to fend for themselves. But cities and states remain committed to spending billions building new highways and interchanges to support an urban culture in which an automobile is a necessity for everything in every day life.

We put all of our eggs in one basket, and now there is no wonder why there are no trains leaving from the Baker Street station. We’ve starved every other mode of transportation to feed our appetite for the automobile. I’m glad I will be buying another minivan, but our community is poorer for not having more options for moving people around.

– Jon Swerens 

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Voter Turnout…

By on November 8, 2007 in City culture, Elections

… needs to be higher than this if we’re to have a good city! Thanks to Charles Langley for providing the numbers.

First District:
11,669 voters on Election Day
Total Residents: 42,164
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 27.7%

Second District:
9,696 voters on Election Day
Total Residents: 41,109
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 23.6%

Third District:
8,812 voters on Election Day
Total Residents: 42,888
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 20.5%

*Fourth District:
10,794 voters on Election Day
Total Residents: 41,593
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 26.0%

Fifth District:
6,225 voters on Election Day
Total Population: 41,749
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 14.9%

Sixth District:
4,646 voters on Election Day
Total Population: 42,114
Percentage of Residents who Voted: 11.0%

Average Percentage of District Residents Voting: 20.6%

* Denotes first city election for Aboite residents.

Rachel commented over on Charles’ post that this doesn’t reflect non-citizens and those under 18. True, and those numbers would be nice to see, also (I think the newspapers ran them). But still, this comparison is not without value: an overwhelmingly small percentage of the total population is calling the shots. Sure, the outcome might have been the same had more people voted. But that doesn’t change the fact that 8 out of 10 people you pass on the street (or in your car) on a daily basis didn’t exercise the right many around the world still die to gain. Amazingly disappointing.

- Scott Greider 

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How not to fix your city

By on November 3, 2007 in City culture, Harrison Square, Urbanism

Richard Florida of “creative class” fame links to The Where Blog, where Brendan Crain looks at five common mistakes made by businesses looking to be innovators. Crain then turns around and applies these myths to how we go about fixing cities.

Below are the five “innovation myths” with an excerpt of Crain’s comments, applying them to cities. All of these are related to the myth of the silver bullet — one shining project that will rescue the business, or city:

• Over-reliance on high-profile, “sexy” projects

Big projects can be important to cities, but it’s even more important to pay close attention to what trade-offs will need to be made in terms of basic services (transit ain’t the only thing hurtin’ in Chicago) in order to pull off a good piece of stunt urbanism. Millennium Park is an innovative piece of landscape architecture, but as an urban regenerator it’s as archaic as they come.

• Unhealthy fascination with unique, charismatic civic leaders

… (I)t is important to remember that the best and most innovative mayors from the past … were willing to take risks; that is to say that great mayors have often made names for themselves by bucking trends and trying new ideas that were responsive to their specific cities than following standard procedures being cut-and-pasted into other cities.

• Misapplication of other cities’ approaches

… (I)t is often assumed that because Idea X worked in City Y, it will be equally successful in City Z. This is absurd. … The misapplication of this lesson would be for a flat city to assume that building a cable car would be a good idea since it worked in Medellín (pictured).

• Descent into a cycle of self-recrimination

Untold energy is put into trying to make the city cooler and more attractive to young people. Meanwhile, (Pittsburgh’s) draconian tax system that discourages start-ups … go unchanged because Pittsburgh fails to realize that music festivals and extensive bike paths aren’t going to save them.

• Resignation to superficial changes

Cities have a long and storied history of believing in the power of cosmetic changes only to be let down by the results. A phenomenon that you might call Trinket Urbanism had a death grip on North American cities until relatively recently as every city rushed to have their version of one-off amenities built in other cities.

Most Harrison Square supporters seem to already realize that even if successful, Harrison Square is no “silver bullet.” That’s good, and I really hope for its success.

But the way to retain young business people can be as simple as making it easy to start a small business.

– Jon Swerens · Photo by (sean) on Flickr 

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