A6824: Reading New York Urbansim
Brian McGrath with Victoria Benatar, Instructors
New York City is used as a text to read late 20th century
global culture. It assumes that the technological and social change
which is reshaping the urban environment challenges the ability of
urbanists to keep pace with the fluidity of the city. Recent global
shifts areexamined in relation to theories and representations of the
city and also as localized specific spaces within the New York
region. The repercussions of recent economic transitions are
strikingly evident throughout New York City, where changes in
domestic, work and market places have dramatically altered our sense
of self, place, city and region. The course entails investigations of
these urban forces and mutations through computer generated
visualizations and models. New and alternative maps of the New York
City region are constructed through the representation of oneÕs own
experience of urban space. The semester is structured around digital
exercises which are reviewed at weekly tutorials. Material is also
presented in the form of electronic Òpin-upsÓ with invited guests.
Assignments also include short readings and the study of visual
references as well as independent site visits. The course is intended
to equip students with computer skills and a background knowledge of
the New York region as preparation for the A4005 Urban design Studio
II.
A 4714 Legislating Aesthetics
Dennis Ferris, Instructor
The last century of land use regulation in the United States
represents a history of the legitimization of the publicÕs evolving
aesthetic values. Aesthetic regulation of real property, land,
buildings and other structures and assorted features, was initially
sheltered under the guise of safety or decency. Height limits for
buildings were rationalized in terms of fire safety. Roadside
billboards were banned because they fostered indecent behavior. With
legitimization, aesthetically based land use legislation has
multiplied and become bountiful. Zoning regulations, always
aesthetically biased, have continued to break new ground, most
radically in downtown San Francisco and more recently in Times
Square. Historic preservation, previously of limited significance in
land use regulation has become a major factor in development
decisions. Environmental regulations are embedded with aesthetic
concerns. But issues and controversies (both practical and
conceptual) abound. The purpose of this seminar is to define and
explore these issues by evaluating case law, and case studies of
actual legislation, including the tangible results. The seminar
begins with the New York City regulations and processes and then
relates them to such issues as freedom of speech, the right to
property, the ÒtakingÓ question, the ÒbeautyÓ question, process
values and the ConstitutionÕs explicit support of cultural pluralism.
It ends with an analysis of the design implications of aesthetic
regulations for buildings for midtown Manhattan, for the entire city,
and for the region.
rap9@columbia.edu
-For admissions
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-For comments
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