Planning Commissioners Journal

Art & Soul in Planning

The Orton Family Foundation has done some terrific work in Vermont, Colorado, Maine, and other parts of the country in engaging citizens in local planning. A recent project of theirs in the small town of Starksboro, Vermont, is especially interesting as it uses storytelling and art as key elements in the planning process. Take a look at this short video. For more on the Starksboro project.

For more on the importance of the arts to local planning, see Ric Stephens' short article, "Where's Art in Planning" (free pdf download) from the Fall 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal.

Take a look also at our new Resource page on Art in Planning. It's a work in progress, and we'd welcome your suggestions for additional links or resources to cite.

Art, Traffic Calming, & Community

Is it possible to combine art, traffic calming, and community involvement? The answer in Ocean City, New Jersey, is a resounding "yes" -- as you'll see in this interesting 10 minute video. To learn more about Ocean City's Community Art Projects. Our thanks to Bryan Davis of the Chittenden County (Vermont) Regional Planning Commission for alerting us to this video. If there are any online videos you'd like to alert us to, email us at: pcjoffice@gmail.com

Walking through Pilsen

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville: You never know what you'll encounter in Pilsen -- a Chicago neighborhood I visited last month. The street art (in at least one case encompassing the exterior of an entire house) often involves political or religious themes of particular importance to the neighborhood's many Hispanic residents.

Murals can strengthen communities -- something I highlighted in a blog post last Summer while visiting the small town of Ely, Nevada. Take a look at some of the other Pilsen murals. This highly visible art seems to attract not just amateur photographers (like myself) but film crews, like the one we happened on while walking through the Pilsen neighborhood on a hot Friday afternoon.

Pilsen is one of a number of neighborhoods that make Chicago truly a mosaic of a city. For more on Pilsen's history.

What's Round, Weighs 250 Pounds ...

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

What's round, weighs 250 pounds, and plays a vital role in our cities and towns? Want another hint? It can be found just about everywhere you walk or drive. If you haven't guessed (or peeked at the photos), I'm talking about the ubiquitous manhole cover.

Yet it's worth giving them a moment's thought. Consider that besides being functional parts of a city's infrastructure, they can also be works of art. Certainly that's the case throughout Japan, where cities have their own distinctive manhole cover designs, and in other countries as well.

The top two manhole covers above are from Japan. Photos of many more of the remarkable Japanese manhole covers can be viewed on Flickr. See also the blog post, Street Art & Railway Melodies of Japan. I took the photo of the cover on the left in Acre, Israel (north of Haifa).

Even in the U.S., people are recognzing that manhole covers can add a bit of "art" underfoot. Denver, Colorado's Lower Downtown Historic District uses a quite distinctive manhole cover design (below left). And consider this comment from Ketchum, Idaho: "How can we make art part of our infrastructure?" asked Claudia McCain, a member of the Wood River Arts Alliance ... "Manhole covers, sidewalks, grates -- they can be made more attractive, exciting and inviting." See "Ketchum's Creativity Creates a Stir" (Idaho Mountain Express, March 21, 2007).

But also consider that manhole covers and other street gratings have a long and proud heritage, dating back to the middle of the 1870s. You might have a part of the 19th century in your own city or town.

Take a look, for example, at this 1895 Sewer Dept. manhole I came across while visiting the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

As Rob Goodspeed notes in a posting about D.C.'s manhole covers and grates, "beauty aside, to the informed reader manholes can tell a story about the history and function of the modern city."

Message on a Pole

I did a double-take when I passed this utility pole a block from my home last week (hit your browser's refresh button to re-run the photo sequence).

Photo taken on North Prospect Street, in Burlington, Vermont. I have no idea who put this worn and faded poster on the pole, or why. Is this graffiti, public art, or something else?

But seeing this poster did get me thinking about how we "communicate" with each other in our neighborhoods -- and how that's changing. More on this in my next post.

Taking Liberties

I'm taking the liberty of sharing a couple of photos -- and an interesting story -- with you.

Above, Lady Liberty in Dubuque, Iowa's Washington Park.To the right, another replica Lady Liberty that I photographed -- in this case, in front of the Finney County Courthouse in Garden City, Kansas. (Incidentally, this Courthouse has another claim to fame, it was the location of the 1960 murder trial of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, recounted in Truman Capote's remarkable book, In Cold Blood).

But back to the Lady Liberties. What's the story about the origins of these 8 foot 4, copper-clad replicas?

Too Much Traffic in Your City?

If that's the case, you might want to consider installing one of these traffic signals!

It's actually (if you haven't guessed) a sculptural work -- by Pierre Vivant, installed in 1998 on London's Canary Wharf. It apparently replaced a dying plane tree. This photo is posted on Flickr -- if you search Flickr using the keyword "canary wharf tree" you'll find a number of other images.

I saw one web site raise a concern (facetiously?) that this kind of art might be illegal in Massachusetts, as being a "hoax device." But surely this is not an "infernal machine" -- needed for a hoax device to be illegal under Massachusetts law!

CHAPTER 266. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

Chapter 266: Section 102A1/2. Possession, transportation, use or placement of hoax devices ...

The Fountain of Time

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Public art can enhance our lives -- and our cities. That's certainly the case in Chicago. 

I had some time while in Chicago a couple of weeks ago for the Greenbuild Conference to visit with my daughter. One thing we did was to go to Washington Park not far from the University of Chicago campus to see Fountain of Time, a magnificent sculptural work completed by Lorado Taft in 1922.

Made of reinforced concrete, Fountain of Time had deteriorated over time. But the city recently completed a major restoration of the sculpture.

It's a dramatic and moving work -- based on poet Henry Austin Dobson's line: "Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go."

Lorado Taft studied at the University of Illinois, and then at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. While best known for his book, The History of American Sculpture, Taft also sculpted a number of large-scale pieces.

[The photo of Taft on the right, from the University of Illinois web site, was taken in 1929.]

His last major design was the Pioneers and Patriots sculptural groups for the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, dedicated in 1932. Taft died four years later.

Note: public art, besides bringing us pleasure, knowledge, and emotional connections, can also bring other benefits. Take a look, for example, at the Project for Public Spaces' web page: How Art Economically Benefits Cities.