Also this issue:

IndependencePall
-Howard Altman

The Kvetch Games
-Bruce Schimmel

Unjust Justice
Why Commonwealth Court's decision is flawed and outrageous.
-Angel L. Ortiz

Pipeline Dreams

Letters to the Editor

September 19-25, 2002

slant

Introducing CitySpace

New feature debuts offering a critical, informed look at design, architecture and the hows and whys of growth.

by William P. Becker

Most of us spend the majority of our time surrounded by things that are designed and built by people. In contrast to the natural environment -- which, depending on your personal belief system, was either designed by a higher power or just evolved on its own -- the rooms, buildings, streets, neighborhoods, cities and towns in which we live and work are the products of human endeavor. They have tremendous impact on each of us, for better or for worse. Products of good design have the power to promote a sense of well-being and to inspire and support the activities of daily life. Products of poor design have the opposite effect, depressing our emotions and inhibiting our activities.

This stuff doesn't get there by accident. Someone, somewhere, sometime decides what to build, what it should look like, what it should be made of, where it should go, how big it should be, and who gets to go in it. It affects not only the owner of it, but everyone who comes in visual or physical contact with it. Imagine if someone was designing the very air we breathe (maybe they do -- see smog, etc...). Well, if it's that important, maybe we should have more say over what gets built, to be sure that we get more good design and less bad design. If only we could tell the difference!

Philadelphia City Paper, and the members of the Design Advocacy Group, believe that one of the best ways to help everyone appreciate what constitutes design quality is by taking a critical look at some real life examples. Through this new weekly feature -- called CitySpace, debuting this issue <link here> we will try to share with you not only what we like, but why we like it. We will write about the best and the worst of what is already built in the Philadelphia region, and what is still on the drawing boards. We hope we can show you why design quality is not an arcane issue to be debated by an effete elite, but instead an important issue in which we all have a vested interest.

We look forward to discussing with you questions such as: Why should the public care where the new sports stadiums are located? Is there a way to build new parking garages in Center City without destroying the quality of the environment they are being built to serve? What makes walking on Pine Street or Spruce Street from river to river such a wonderful experience? Why has it been so difficult to get anything built at Penn's Landing? Should we rebuild city neighborhoods to look more like the suburbs? Are the plans under consideration for both sides of the Schuylkill at 30th Street good ideas? Did LOVE Park need fixing, and was that the right fix? Is the proposed Convention Center expansion a good idea? Stay tuned.

William P. Becker is a founding member of the Design Advocacy Group, is a registered architect and a principal of Becker & Frondorf, a professional firm that provides project management and construction cost consulting services. If you would like to respond to this Slant or have one of your own (850 words), contact Howard Altman, City Paper executive editor, 123 Chestnut St., third floor, Phila., PA 19106 or e-mail altman@citypaper.net.