Broadway's New Agreement

Lou Kahn wrote, “The street is a room of agreement.” Today, New Yorkers can celebrate a new agreement for Broadway.

After a test period, and despite less impressive improved traffic-flow than initially hoped, New York City has wisely agreed to make the plazas around Times Square and Herald Square permanent. The plazas, in addition to better bike lanes and pedestrian improvements, have converted Broadway to a truly multi-functional street befitting the 21st century city.

This democratizing of Broadway represents the forward-thinking planning enabled by Mayor Bloomberg's administration - the progressive DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn - but also their willingness to involve truly thoughtful planners, such as Denmark's Jan Gehl. Bravo Broadway.

Manhattan Traffic Experiment Gets Permanent Run (NYTimes)

Photo credit: Sean Marshall / Creative Commons License

PhotoFriday

This week's winter storm on my block in Fort Greene.

International Responses to Haitian Earthquake

By now you have surely heard about the extraordinary devastation in Haiti. Beyond the people's immediate needs there are many questions about how a recovery and rebuilding effort will transpire. Among these choices about higher quality building techniques and creating functioning infrastructure will come difficult decisions about heritage. In order to respond to these issues, and provide necessary interim support, the leading international cultural heritage organizations are on the ground.

The World Monuments Fund has established an Earthquake Recovery Fund in an effort to help develop a response. On their donation page, select "Earthquake Recovery Fund in Haiti" in the Please Use My Donation menu.

While you're at WMF, look over the article about the Gingerbread Houses of Bois Verna. The dispatch provided by Conor Bohan there is striking. Many are badly damaged, while others remain. He says, "Luckily a few of these beautiful buildings seem to have escaped unscathed. If a preservation effort was important before January 12th, it is now essential, to conserve those precious few that are left standing."

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organziation is also on the scene, largely focusing on rebuilding the nation's educational infrastructure. UNESCO is also conducting a needs assessment related to damage to museums, archives and libraries. UNESCO's director general has appealed to the UN to call for a ban on trade of Haitian artifacts for fear of the country's movable cultural heritage being stripped and dispersed. To donate to their efforts, click here.