ruminations about architecture and design

Sunday, December 4, 2011

a conundrum--semi-urban style

A doomed building in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Every once in a while I come across an optimistic article about how small cities in the U.S. are poised for a resurgence by serving as an anchor for small entrepreneurs and start-ups. I think it's a pipe dream. These articles don't look comprehensively at the nearly intractable problems in place like Fitchburg, Detroit, Flint, Leominster, Baltimore, Camden, etc.... Development dollars, when not flowing to greenfields on the periphery of established population centers, don't have any incentive to try to revive places that got off the progress train in the 1950's. It's sad, but without some major demographic and economic changes, places like this are headed for an inevitable destruction that the people of Angkor Wat could relate to in a very real and historical way.

1 comment:

  1. Hey, I don't know if you take requests, but would you consider waxing about the Carpenter's Union building in Dorchester right off of 93? I'm never sure how to feel about it and would like to hear your thoughts.

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