CNU New York

Lecture: International Urbanism

Wednesday, July 13, 6-8pm
RSVP HERE http://bit.ly/jfRYPL

CNU New York invites you to a three-part lecture on International Urbanism. Significant new communities continue to develop around the world. Projects from the design firms of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Cooper Robertson, Marc Wouters, and KPF feature work in China, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. The discussion will include the ways plans adapt to issues of local culture, climate, local technology and give each community unique character. Sustainable design practices that range from transportation strategies, energy production, water management, and ecology will also be discussed.

Speakers:
Paul Whalen of Robert A.M. Stern Architects will discuss a community in Xiamen, China.
Marc Wouters, Architect and Urban Designer, will discuss a sustainable village near Prague.
James von Klemperer of KPF Associates will present New Songdo City in South Korea.

Date:            July 13, 2011
                    Lecture will start promptly at 6:30pm.
                    Refreshments served

Admission:  CNU Members- free
                    Non-members- $3
                    Students- free

 Location: Mohawk Showroom
  71 West 23rd Street (at 6th Ave), 18th Floor, NYC

 AIA Credits: Pending

Special Thanks to The Mohawk Group for their generous support

6/28 The Agile City: Skyscraper Museum Lecture

On June 28, 6:30pm to 8:00, the Skyscraper Museum will host the James S. Russell Book Talk, on THE AGILE CITY: Building Well-Being & Wealth in an Era of Climate Change (Island Press 2011).

The gallery & exhibition are open for viewing beginning at 6 pm. RSVP to programs@skyscraper.org (be sure to mention the lecture in your RSVP).

More info at the Skyscaper Museum's website:

In a very short time the developed world has realized that global warming poses real challenges to the our future. The Agile City engages the fundamental question: what to do about it? Journalist and urban analyst James S. Russell argues that we’ll more quickly slow global warming—and blunt its effects—by retrofitting cities, suburbs, and towns. The Agile City shows that change undertaken at the building and community level can reach carbon-reduction goals rapidly.

James S. Russell is the architecture columnist for Bloomberg News. He has written about cities, architecture, and environmental design for more than 20 years.

There's a rich roster of events at the Skysraper Museum all summer, including another book talk not to miss on July 21 about architectural photography.  The Museum is at the edge of the acclaimed New Urbanist development Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan. Directions here.

Tactical Urbanism Heralded on Grist

Tactical Urbanism has been gaining some great press lately.  Grist, a web-based environmental news and commentary site has a recent article written by Sarah Goodyear.  In "The new New Urbanism: Fast, nimble, flexible, and tactical," Goodyear writes about CNU-19, newer efforts New Urbanism has been focusing on, and of course Tactical Urbanism.

Read the article in full here.

Tactical Urbanism is a working project of The Street Plans Collaborative (an urban planning & advocacy firm) and NextGen (a group of next generation New Urbanists).  The project encompases strategies by individuals, local community groups & municipalities.  Focus is on incremental, small-scale improvement; positioned well within the current economic environment.  More information and a download of Volume 1 are available at The Street Plans Collaborative.

6/17: "Battle for Brooklyn" Theatrical Premiere

BATTLE FOR BROOKLN to have U.S. theatrical premiere; opens June 17, 2011.

On the heels of the June 15 UNITY 4 community meeting, comes an exciting new film on the same topic.  Urbanists and New Yorkers on each side of Kelo, grab your popcorn & head out to either of these moviehouses!

Cinema Village | 22 East 12th Street | BUY TICKETS 

indieScreen | 285 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg, Bklyn | BUY TICKETS

“The movie…has heart, soul and chutzpah…Feisty but fairly reported…The time line that drives ‘Battle for Brooklyn’ makes it as urgent as any Hollywood thriller.”
— Joe Neumaier, The New York Daily News

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Watch the interview on ABC's "Up Close with Diana Williams."

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN, the controversial documentary by acclaimed filmmakers Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley (Horns and Halos) about one Brooklyn neighborhood’s enduring battle against the corporate developers and political backers of the Atlantic Yards project, will have its theatrical premiere in New York City on June 17th at both Cinema Village in Manhattan and at indieScreen in Brooklyn.

“Nothing depicts the borough’s backbone with more personality and urgency than “Battle for Brooklyn” … Seven years of footage is edited into a crisp, dramatic and narrator-free 93 minutes, focusing on the remarkable story of neighborhood activist Daniel Goldstein, the last resident in a Pacific Street building marked for demolition through eminent domain.”
— Steve Dollar, The Wall Street Journal 
 
“A thoroughly engaging look at the infuriating erosion of individual rights in the interest of corporate concerns and political maneuvering.”
— Basil Tsiokos, Indiewire 

“Don't miss “Battle for Brooklyn”...a cautionary tale for all cities.” — Roberta Gratz, author of The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN  2011, 93 min., U.S.  Directed by Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley.  Producer: David Beilinson. Associate Producers: Adam Galinsky and Susan Littenberg.  Cinematographer: Michael Galinsky. Editor: Suki Hawley.  Original Music: David Reid and Derek Bermel. Additional Music: Tristeza, Jason Angola and Work Clothes. Additional Photography: Tracy Collins and Jonathan Barkey.

June 15: UNITY 4 Community Meeting

UNITY 4 Community Meeting - We Can Do Better Than an Arena, A Big Parking Lot

Wednesday, June 15, 7pm
at Atlantic Commons, Brooklyn
388 Atlantic Avenue (between Hoyt and Bond)

This event is a Community Meeting about Atlantic Yards - nestled between downtown Brooklyn and leafy Brownstone neighborhoods - where a large sports arena development is currently under construction.  The community group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn will present an alternative plan named UNITY 4, which is available in detail at unityplan.org.

From UNITY 4's website:

"Forest City Ratner is constructing the arena, but the rest of the demolished 22 acre site is a big question mark...except for enormous "interim" surface parking lots. We, as a community, need to fix this future for the coming decades.

In order to plan, set a better framework, and change the dynamic for the future development of the site Councilmember Letitia James, Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) invite you to UNITY 4, a community meeting on Wednesday, June 15th to discuss the community's plans for the Atlantic Yards site, with the UNITY Plan and its principles as a jumping off point."

The meeting will include a presentation by UNITY Plan designers and architects Marshall Brown and Ron Shiffman, a discussion of the current and future status of the site and Q&A with a panel including elected officials. Your ideas, thoughts and input will be invaluable to the meeting."

Image courtesy DDDB / UNITY 4