Scott Doyon
Considering Community in the Face of Tragedy
Something terrible happened in my neighborhood.
The specific details of the incident have been covered elsewhere and are not especially relevant to my point here so I’ll spare you the rehash. Suffice it to say that, during what was reportedly a messy divorce, one of my neighbors killed his five year old son rather... Continue Reading
Category Planning and Design
Innovation on the Road to Oblivion?
Context is everything.
The New York Times reports with unease that the FDA has approved statin drug Crestor’s use in a preventive capacity for those not currently diagnosed with cholesterol problems.
The degree to which this represents innovation in medicine is a topic to be debated elsewhere. What matters to me is... Continue Reading
Category Planning and Design, Public Policy
How Trying Too Hard Messes Up Main Street
In taking on the foibles of our built environment, author James Howard Kunstler makes a point of noting that he’s neither an architect nor planner. Instead, he’s the everyman, and his profession is dutifully pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.
I’m in a similar position. I’m not an architect or planner... Continue Reading
Heaven Help Us: Ambitious Project Both Reaffirms, Tests Faith in Sustainable Future
I was a post-Vatican II, suburban Catholic.
For anyone of shared experience, that typically meant attending a church that was designed and built to serve the rapidly growing, happy motoring suburban leisure class. Equal parts woody earth tones and ample parking, it was a transient testament to our nation’s awkward... Continue Reading
Community and Charity: Bold Action Inspires a Closer Look
You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. – Mark 14:07
I’m not sure Jesus could see all the way to the 21st century.
If he could, he may have been more inclined to offer, “You’ll always have the poor, but there are plenty of ways to avoid their unpleasantries. And... Continue Reading
Category Planning and Design, Public Policy
Mouzon Green Home Design Featured in WSJ
Contrasts “Original Green” vs. “Gadget Green”
Even before green building gathered momentum, Miami architect Steve Mouzon was determined to change the focus of the discussion. Green shouldn’t be just about the individual house in the here and now, he argued; it has to be about the broader community over time. Continue Reading
Category Architecture
Tags mouzon, SmartDwelling
What We’re Reading: A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development
It probably won’t surprise most folks that the pursuit of more traditional (and sustainable) urban patterns is often thwarted by… lawyers! But here’s a refreshing change: Two of them – Dan Slone and Doris Goldstein, with Andy Gowder – have just released A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for... Continue Reading
Category Legal, Planning and Design
Preservation Through Beauty
A recent New York Times article, examining struggling efforts to preserve the architecture of the New Deal, raises an interesting question: Why do some attempts at preservation capture broad-based attention and support while others wither away as fringe acts of desperation?
The answer might have a lot to do with beauty. Continue Reading
Category Architecture