Archinect - News

Why the National Register of Historic Places lacks a diverse history

2021-01-08T14:04:00-05:00

Less than 8% of sites on the National Register are associated with women, Latinos, African Americans or other minorities. [...] The reason for this underrepresentation is an overly technical, legalistic approach to determining what merits designation.

Sara Bronin, a University of Connecticut Law School professor specializing in historic preservation law, penned an LA Times op-ed about the technical hurdles that have hindered many non-white historic sites to be designated for the National Register of Historic Places.

"Preservationists have started to see past the formalities that have too long prevented us from recognizing diverse histories," writes Bronin. "But we must go further to tackle the legal structures that devalue the stories we all need to hear."

Read also V. Mitch McEwen's latest op-ed on Archinect: Form Follows Fascism Redux.

The Chicano Moratorium and the Making of Latino Urbanism

2020-11-18T15:01:00-05:00

In 1970, Los Angeles was a sort of modern utopia-in-progress. At the same time—and for the first time, really—Mexican Americans were becoming an economic, cultural and political force. East Los Angeles became the center of the Chicano Movement, Whittier Boulevard its bustling “Main Street.”

Los Angeles urban planner, artist, community activist, and educator, James Rojas pens a brief history of "Latino Urbanism" tracing through his own life, the community, and the physical space of East Los Angeles. Mr. Rojas coined the word Latino Urbanism and a strong advocate of its meaning, using community gatherings and discussions via his artfully created wood blocks as buildings enabling non architects create imaginary city blocks, civic centers and neighborhoods under his story telling guidance..

"In the late 1960’s, Frank Villalobos, Raul Escobedo, David Angelo, and Manual Orozco, a team of young architects, urban planners, and landscape designers, formed a community design center called Barrio Planners. This politically active group focused their practice on building a Chicano utopia, designing El Mercado as a community event space based on the design of a market in Guadalajara, Mexico. El Mercado was financed through a community collective and was originally designed as a tw...

Latino Placemaking: How the Civil Rights Movement Reshaped East LA

2014-03-25T15:08:00-04:00

Latino Placemaking goes beyond creating great public spaces. It also includes cultural identity, which is shaped by needs, desires, and imagination. The Latino quest for cultural identity parallels the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, which has its genesis in protests – many of which were carried out in public spaces.