Category Archives: Urbanism and planning

Review: “If Venice Dies”

Posted on October 29, 2016 by David Brussat

By the time I was half finished reading If Venice Dies, I was proclaiming its virtues to anyone who would listen. It was to be another of my bibles. But, although the book, by Italian art historian Salvatore Settis, starts … Continue reading →

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More on Poundbury alive

Posted on October 27, 2016 by David Brussat

A few days ago, in “Poundbury a tourist mecca?,” I posted on Sophie Campbell’s brave article in the Telegraph. I applauded a piece written by someone disinclined to like Prince Charles’s idea of a town, but who found it largely … Continue reading →

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Poundbury a tourist mecca?

Posted on October 22, 2016 by David Brussat

A day or so ago there were comments on my post about Venice having too many tourists, which led to the question of whether tourists would press a bit less on places like Venice and Paris if new places were … Continue reading →

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Cry for Palmyra, not Paris?

Posted on October 6, 2016 by David Brussat

Far be it from me to wish people would shut up about Palmyra and cry for Paris instead. For one thing, Paris isn’t anywhere near as close to death as Palmyra and other archaeological sites in the ISIS cross-hairs. But … Continue reading →

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Notre Dame’s 6-10 charrette

Posted on October 5, 2016 by David Brussat

Here are the boards – images reflecting thoughts thus far – of the charrette or brainstorming session on the 6-10 connector and Route 195 land issues, hosted last month by Prof. Philip Bess and his graduate students from the School … Continue reading →

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Paris, in danger, needs you

Posted on September 26, 2016 by David Brussat

Here is a video, “SOS Paris: Notre capitale a besoin de nous,” running four and a half minutes of mostly still shots adding up, in a most piquant manner, to the danger facing Paris if its mayor has her way. … Continue reading →

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Lovely Rita, meter maid!

Posted on September 18, 2016 by David Brussat

Parking meters on blocks of shops in Providence are not only purging business. It seems as if lovely Rita the Meter Maid may be going the way of the Dodo. I hope not. Friday I drove downtown to shoot the … Continue reading →

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Milwaukee’s I-195 success

Posted on September 15, 2016 by David Brussat

Milwaukee once had a host of beer plants, including Schlitz, Pabst and Blatz, along the Milwaukee River to which hops, malt and other ingredients were shipped in and beer was shipped out by train. The beer factories closed, the Beer … Continue reading →

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I-195: Subdivide & conquer

Posted on September 14, 2016 by David Brussat

Joel VanderWeele, an architect at Union Studio in downtown Providence, has posted an excellent essay – “The I-195 Land: Subdivide & Conquer” – on the firm’s “unofficial blog.” It is about the development of the vacated Route 195 land on … Continue reading →

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Build the boulevard anyway

Posted on September 8, 2016 by David Brussat

Governor Raimondo has stepped into the debate here in Providence over how to rebuild the aging 6-10 Connector, which carries traffic into downtown from parts west. The state originally wanted to build a complex version of Boston’s Big Dig, but … Continue reading →

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