In certain subcultures, it’s become a meme. But it took me a little while to catch on. Only after driving past this curiosity for three consecutive days did I realize what it was. It’s not exactly showy, but that’s the point. Look slightly to the left of the center of this photo, and it should
Even if it’s not a commissioned piece like the mural from my previous post, the landscape of artistic expression in Detroit is rich. Since such a huge portion of it comes in the form of graffiti—which is almost always by definition an act of vandalism—it’s understandable that my opening sentence might carry a whiff of
Urban murals, once a rarity outside of a few pioneering cities such as Philadelphia, have emerged in the last decade or so as a sine qua non for any big-city civic art initiative. Philadelphia might still be the national (or even global) leader through its Mural Arts Program, but many other cities are trying to
My latest post is up at Urban Indy. It scrutinizes a small park on the near northside of Indianapolis–a park so unremarkable that most of the city’s residents have probably never heard of it. Wedged between the Fall Creek Place neighborhood and its namesake Fall Creek, Kessler Park is hardly an unattractive park. Clean, easily
Forgive the hiatus. I just relocated to the city featured in this article. Set in metro Detroit (the first, no doubt, among many), it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really demand a long introduction or exposition. From the outside, this unusual shopping center looks like it’s on the fritz: No signs above any of
Downtown hotels seem can’t seem to get a break. No matter how valiant the effort of local economic development directors in attracting that major chain (Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental) and no matter how unorthodox the architects’ designs, the closeted coterie of urban advocates never hesitate to lob their Molotov cocktails at the final proposal. I’m guilty
In the previous section of this three-part article, I began exploring some of the affordable housing initiatives of St. Louis that have helped it, to some extent, stem its precipitous decline, particularly in comparison to Detroit, its peer city in terms of population loss. If this survey (you could almost call it “home tour”) seemed
It should come as no surprise that a prolonged period of economic doldrums often fosters a collective hesitation. We’ve witnessed it for the past year with the sharp retreat of consumer spending coupled with job losses, in which the cause-effect nexus is just about as chicken-and-egg of a phenomenon as we’ll hopefully ever see. But
In certain subcultures, it’s become a meme. But it took me a little while to catch on. Only after driving past this curiosity for three consecutive days did I realize what it was.
Even if it’s not a commissioned piece like the mural from my previous post, the landscape of artistic expression in Detroit is rich. Since such a huge portion of it comes in the
Urban murals, once a rarity outside of a few pioneering cities such as Philadelphia, have emerged in the last decade or so as a sine qua non for any big-city civic art initiative.
My latest post is up at Urban Indy. It scrutinizes a small park on the near northside of Indianapolis–a park so unremarkable that most of the city’s residents have probably never heard of
Forgive the hiatus. I just relocated to the city featured in this article. Set in metro Detroit (the first, no doubt, among many), it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really demand a long
Downtown hotels seem can’t seem to get a break. No matter how valiant the effort of local economic development directors in attracting that major chain (Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental) and no matter how unorthodox
In the previous section of this three-part article, I began exploring some of the affordable housing initiatives of St. Louis that have helped it, to some extent, stem its precipitous decline, particularly in
It should come as no surprise that a prolonged period of economic doldrums often fosters a collective hesitation. We’ve witnessed it for the past year with the sharp retreat of consumer spending coupled
