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The video has a sense of humor. Rex could be the new John Candy. (Mmmm... candy corn, tootsie rolls...Never mind.)
 
Merry Christmas! Heading to my parents' house soon to hopefully unwrap some more architecture books! =)
 
I got two books about Robert Moses - Power Broker and Robert Moses and the Modern City.
 
^^Not. While it has a lot of activity, it lacks the...I don't know how to describe it, but it lacks like the important stuff. Yeah that's terrible way of describing it.
 
KentXie said:
^^Not. While it has a lot of activity, it lacks the...I don't know how to describe it, but it lacks like the important stuff. Yeah that's terrible way of describing it.
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No streetwall. No ground floor retail. Designed to keep you there.
 
There's been talk recently of having a "student village" in Boston, similar to what's being proposed for Fitchburg.

The concept makes sense but I don't know if it would work in reality, basically because I can't think of any place you could find 200 acres of empty land. Yes, the Seaport District is the logical space but is it the best and highest use of that land to hand it over to residential development to a certain sub-group of people? I think not, it's too close to downtown so its use should be financial w/ some high-end residential.

Other options would of course include Allston-Brighton where I think I remember something being prop... oh, never mind.

Barry Bluestone at Northeastern mentions the village being further out, the idea being that grad students (potentially the target market) aren't as eager to be right next to their schools (the data backs him up on this).

The housing couldn't be specific to students, only, I don't think (even though the reverse, banning students, is legal). So, if you have it in too "popular" an area, young professionals, etc., would move in, defeating its purpose.

FSU president backs student housing district
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Kevin Doherty, kdoherty@sentinelandenterprise.com

FITCHBURG -- Fitchburg State University President Robert Antonucci is on board with a proposal to create a student housing district downtown.

"It's a very good concept," Antonucci said Tuesday.

The plan would provide more off-campus student housing that is "safe and up to code," Antonucci said.

City officials are moving forward with plans to create a 224-acre Student Housing Overlay District in the urban renewal district, which stretches from Kimball Place to Sawyer Passway, aimed at cracking down on illegal student lodging in the university neighborhood and boosting Main Street businesses by steering more students downtown.

A public hearing on the student housing district will be held during Thursday's City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m.

With a yearly average of 150 to 200 students on a waiting list at FSU for on-campus living in a dormitory, the proposed student housing developments would allow "private, regulated, student housing that protects the students and residents," said Ryan McNutt, chief of staff for Mayor Lisa Wong during a recent interview.

There is some misconception that the student housing district will create additional student housing specifically for the university, Antonucci noted.

"We can't guarantee that our students will go there, but if developers provide good, safe housing, we can recommend the housing to our students and sort of them guide," Antonucci said. "It's been our experience that if the apartments are in close proximity to the campus, such as apartments on Highland and Myrtle avenues, it will attract students."

An overlay district allows an additional zoning use to be added to a designated area without changing the original zoning.

The district, supported by the city's Planning Board, would allow developers to build more dense student apartment buildings in select areas if they agree to incorporate stricter regulations, such as fire extinguishers in the halls and overnight maintenance.
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Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_17014924#ixzz1AIsvncQq
 
Oh no, I've seen and stayed in "student villages" in Europe, and they're miserable places. Think vertical housing projects meet frat house. They're always on the cheapest land at the absolute edges of cities, too - not the most fun places to be when you're in college, and not conducive to students doing anything but throwing wild house parties to have fun.

We're much better off having a sprinking of student housing throughout the city, not only enlivening its streets and allowing the student population to assimilate into day to day city life before they graduate. Of course, it would help if we built enough of it to keep down rents...
 
Some good news from the less talked about side of Boston sports ... The Country Club in Brookline has been awarded the 2013 US Amateur Championship. Obviously an elite club both in terms of its membership and facilities, it's hosted several other major events including five previous US Amateurs, three US Opens and the 1999 Ryder Cup. Perhaps as it was in the 80's this can be a trial run for a future US Open.
 
czsz said:
We're much better off having a sprinking of student housing throughout the city, not only enlivening its streets and allowing the student population to assimilate into day to day city life before they graduate. Of course, it would help if we built enough of it to keep down rents...
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Yup.
 
That would be cool if the US open came around here. Wasn't the 99 Ryder cup and epic come from behind victory for the US?
 
that's a truly odd thing to run on a science-oriented station (Learning Channel)
 
The basic premise isn't that bad. A show actually dedicated to showing people how to be better consumers (or more so, how to better manage their personal finances) could a great, educational show.

I just don't think this is that show.
 
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