*Bruce McLaughlin writes in:
"The San Francisco Chronicle took note of vacant lots created by new building projects that have stalled out after tearing down the old building on the site. They asked some design organizations to come up with plans to turn these vacant lots into public spaces inexpensively."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/06/MNUG18GIBE.DTL
"The designer's suggestions are here:"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/06/MN3618FSTQ.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/06/MNCG18HIGB.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/06/MNCG18HIIK.DTL
Bruce McL.
(((Nice contemporary-urban rhetoric here from the San Francisco Chronicle:)))
"Kuehl and her compatriots were one of three teams approached by The Chronicle and asked to craft visions of how San Francisco - and, by extension, other cities - might deal with collateral damage from the recession: empty lots where approved towers are stalled by a lack of demand and/or financing. Some are trash-collecting scars; even the well-kept ones make everything nearby seem less secure.
"The responses are as varied as the sites - a brick-strewn pit, an immaculate patch of gravel and the Fremont Street slope - but each shows imagination and nerve.
"The pit becomes a town fair where San Franciscans learn how to fix their city. The gravel patch is reconceived as a metaphorical lakebed. On Fremont Street, native grasses emerge from rubble while vines shroud idle cranes.
"The other common trait: They all are designed to be in place for years, not decades. These aren't artistic attacks on growth; rather, they make the case that land has cultural resonance apart from real estate trends. There's potential "in the meantime." ((("Favela Chic.")))
"What follows was not endorsed by any developer or politician. No team fine-tuned a budget or ran the details by liability attorneys. ((("Favela Chic ++")))
"These visions are meant to inspire and provoke..."
(((I wonder what they plan to do with empty newspaper offices.)))
(((PS: like that San Francisco stuff? You'll love this Belgian stuff:)))
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/06/18/urban-camping-by-importexport/
