Featured Article
City for Sale again? Or an Opportunity for Real Discussion?
DAGspace articles are designed to be the personal view of their authors. We look for insightful opinion pieces which will open our eyes to things we hadn't noticed before, propose solutions to problems we need to fix, or share treasures about this city which will make us all proud. Submit an idea that you would like to write about to David Brownlee.
May 2013
City Council President Darrell Clarke has proposed selling space on digital billboards mounted on city property to raise revenue for the city. While the details of the advertising signs has yet to be determined, his bill currently before City Council specifies that these new signs will not be... continue reading >>>
March 2013
It is not saying anything profound to observe that the private real estate market in Philadelphia does not generate new, high-profile construction at the same rate as it does in New York, or even in Chicago, which was a forest of construction cranes last time I visited.
There is doubtless a... continue reading >>>
March 2013
The applause for Philadelphia’s new zoning code has barely died down among planners, architects, developers, neighborhood organizations, and everyone interested in a clearer, fairer, more consistent process for building buildings in Philadelphia. But already City Council has introduced a rush of... continue reading >>>
November 2012
There is an old saying that “actions speak louder than words.” If that is true, the City Planning Commission is shouting “We will never change.”
When Michael Nutter was running for mayor he strongly criticized past city administrations for not planning the city’s development. He said: “The... continue reading >>>
September 2012
It’s hard to see Falls Bridge (1895) as anything but awkwardly proportioned. Like a body builder who worked only his upper chest and arms to the neglect of his lower body the bridge just looks wrong. There seems to be more steel above the roadway than whatever could be below. Moreover, most of... continue reading >>>
September 2012
Is it ambition, optimism, or just plain panache that motivates one to imagine a façade as a sign? Not a postmodern gesture, winking at its irony, so much as a heartfelt, naïve effort to take advantage of the entire façade to increase business. There looks to be beautiful architecture behind the... continue reading >>>
September 2012
In March the City Planning Commission adopted a much-heralded master plan for the central Delaware waterfront. This well-thought-out plan establishes guidelines for preserving the best existing features and details how new development can create an exciting future for the city’s waterfront.
... continue reading >>>
August 2012
Some photographs suggest stories. Their allure is invested in the stories that are implied by the images. As I considered this notion two well known photographers came to mind: Henri Cartier-Bresson and Diane Arbus. Though I won’t pretend to know their... continue reading >>>
July 2012
It’s safe to assume we’re not unveiling a profound observation in noting how the new Barnes Foundation on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway has “done something” for the Parkway. But it’s worth re-energizing the historical context of what that “something” is for the people of Philadelphia, not to... continue reading >>>
June 2012
I’ve been involved in several discussions lately about preservation and design, and have started to wonder why we talk about preservation and design, as if the two are separate fields of endeavor. Why preservation and design, with the hidden implication that this really means preservation or design... continue reading >>>
