A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation related stories from around the web and in the news. Click on the title of each story to jump through to the original article/blog post.
Moving on from Gentrification to Shared Neighborhoods – HuffPost
This article asks, “Can you have revitalization, reinvestment, renewal without some level of gentrification?” The answer is, probably not, but the author does offer, if not a solution, a compromise. “Shared neighborhoods” (called “economic integration” elsewhere), is the concept of carefully planning and managing the revitalization of economically depressed areas so the result is a mixed income neighborhood that is able to retain some of its original residents.
Rio’s Shanty Towns See Rapid Gentrification – NPR
Inside Rocinha favela Rio de Janeiro brazil 2010. Image via Wikipedia.
New policing policies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil intended to clean up the cities notoriously dangerous favelas has quickly led to new businesses (restaurants, yoga!), residents (mostly foreigners), tourism (boutique hotels, travel guides!), and rising property values (from $2,500 to $75,000 for house in 6 years!) . This unchecked gentrification (in contrast to the article above) is already displacing long time residents. If you are interested in learning more about other unintended consequences of Rio’s new policies, check this story as well, also from NPR.
New Mexico Atari Dump, A Midden of Video Games, To be Excavated – Western Digs
“How old do remnants of our material culture have to be before they’re considered artifacts? If you’re a gamer, not very old at all.
This week, Canada-based game developer Fuel Industries got approval from the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico, to excavate the site of the so-called Atari Dump — a desert landfill where the famous video game manufacturer Atari buried hundreds of tons of broken and outdated merchandise in 1983. For gamers, the Atari Dump is the stuff of lore…”
Coolest Tree House Ever Has Salvaged Historic Elements – houzz
Best. Tree. House. Ever. Image via Houzz
I would like think this tree house is nurturing a love for history and historic preservation in a generation of kids! Click through for more photos and a description of this 100 sq ft beauty!
The Fight Over Gezi Park – Tom King
Image via Tom King
King weighs in over the controversial development in Istanbul that has caused wide spread protest and media coverage this week. “The proposal, we’re told, is to use the site [of Gezi Park] to build a replica of the long-ago (1940) demolished Taksim Military Barracks, which will be used as a shopping mall. ” And developers are twisting historic preservation ordinances to make it happen.
