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Government Announces Campaign to Save Historically Bad Places

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U.S. Government Announces Campaign to Save Historically Bad Places

 http://www.pps.org/blog/april-fools-2015/#disqus_thread

By Project for Public Spaces on  Apr 1, 2015 | 5 Comments

Failed Public Spaces like Empire State Plaza are in danger nationwide.

 

Albany, NY – Standing amidst acres of granite paving and empty benches, with four imposing grey towers behind her, United States Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced plans this week for a set of important amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act.

“Many people are not aware that awful spaces like Empire State Plaza are under serious threat across the country. Our new Failed Public Space amendment is designed to protect these spaces, and to ensure that future generations of Americans can continue to not use them.”

The National Historic Preservation Act, passed in 1966, was created to “to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.” The act did not take into account the need to eventually protect the empty, soulless, windswept public spaces, and the mind-numbingly monotonous suburban developments that were being built at the time.

“The way that these plazas inhibit the natural human instinct to connect with others is a unique part of our cultural heritage, and it is as worthy of preservation as the Petroglyphs on Indian God Rock or Jefferson’s home at Monticello,” said National Register program manager Paul Loether. “We need to guarantee that these places not be experienced in the way they were intended to not be experienced.”

City Hall Plaza Boston

Lost tourists enjoy the unique desolation of Boston’s City Hall Plaza

 

Along with Empire State Plaza, the Failed Public Space amendment will protect City Hall Plaza in Boston, Pershing Square in Los Angeles, and the grounds of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

“I was pleased to see the inclusion of my Guggenheim on this list,” commented renowned architect Frank Gehry. “I designed the area around the museum to be so off-putting and isolating that not a single pitiful human soul could interrupt the ultimate artistry of my masterpiece.”

When asked about the inclusion of foreign sites on the list, Loether responded: “Well, in a way, aren’t all bad public spaces American? Unfriendly, uncomfortable, and unloved public spaces are an important part of our cultural identity at home, and around the world.”

Loether went on to explain the importance of protecting these absolutely god-awful voids: “The Department has been tracking a worrisome trend – communities are organizing to transform these national treasures into places where people actually want to be.”

bilbao_spain_guggenheim_03_xlarge

Locals contemplate the power of emptiness in front of the Guggenheim Bilbao

 

Rogue activists, sometimes referred to as Placemakers, have been staging interventions in these wastelands—transforming them into hotbeds for such historically inaccurate activities as kissing, smiling, mingling, putting feet in fountains, and generally having fun.

Most alarmingly, many of these groups are using techniques that don’t permanently alter the physical space, leaving the Department with limited means to protect failed spaces from their most stubborn obstacle: people.

“It turns out you can ruin everything that is so wonderful about the emptiness of a place like City Hall Plaza by pulling up some food trucks, putting out umbrellas, and reminding people that they might want to be there. Before this amendment, there was nothing we could do to stop it,” commented Secretary Jewell.

“We’re facing a situation in Columbus, Ohio, where librarians are starting to use their failed plaza for storytime. How is anyone going to sense the intended loneliness and despair of a place when it is filled with the laughter of children?” she added.

The Failed Public Space amendment is one of several the Department is proposing to protect vulnerable icons of our 20th century approach to public spaces, city planning, and transportation. Jewell is gathering support on Capitol Hill so the Department can move quickly to protect key areas of auto-oriented sprawl and sidewalk-free residential development.

Pershing Square

“This is where I go to be by myself,” commented a regular visitor to Pershing Square, Los Angeles.

 

Senator James Inhofe is a vocal early supporter of the proposed amendments. “Many of our spaces should stay unused, void of pleasure and shared value. This is an important legacy of America, and a legacy that we have successfully exported abroad. They are as worthy of preservation and subsidy as Corn Flakes, the NFL, and fossil fuel dependence,” said the Senior Oklahoma Senator and Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

The Department of the Interior is launching a social media campaign to build support for the amendments. They are encouraging citizens to post pictures of failed public spaces and terrible development patterns with the tag #SaveFailedSpaces.

Secretary Jewell closed her remarks with a stark image and a call to action. “When I imagine my grandchildren walking or biking to meet friends and neighbors at Pershing Square–instead of driving quickly past it–I know we have to act immediately and decisively.”

 
Apr 1, 15 1:43 pm

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