internship_summer_2007_01

well, its summertime. this summer, my last as a student, i am working in washington d.c. while i consider this 'north' it is in many ways a southern city, especially when considered relative to other nearby cities....new york, philadelphia, even baltimore is much more "northern." it mainly has to do with the people. there are people in d.c. from everywhere, but it seems that a lot of people are from the south.
so far this summer i have been exposed to a lot of large scale mixed use land development projects. it is interesting and in many ways working with these large scale developers is an effective way to change things for the better. big-idea philosophies can affect the system drastically or incrementally, either way "progress not perfection" as they say. the company i am working for seems to have a good balance of looking out for the client as well as the environment and coloquial aesthetics of particular regions or neighborhoods.
this summer i have already had the opportunity to visit and learn about one of the most interesting and progressive urban environments of the south, nashville. nashville has a civic design center which has established a 'plan' for future devolopment and infill. it has been incredibly effective in establishing progressive best practices that the community and developers have a stake in, because the development of the plan was done in a grassroots cooperative between planners, community groups..public and private. anyway i will post some images from the trip as well as the results of the charrette/workshop i took part in there. until next time...change the word...either yours or mine.