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MARIAL CENTER COLLOQUIUM Parking Lot Nation -- the Coming End of Suburbia Wednesday, October 29, 4 - 6 p.m. The MARIAL Center Emory West, 4th Floor, Room 415E James Howard Kunstler, author of "The Geography of Nowhere" and "Home from Nowhere," is an outspoken critic of sprawl, contemporary urban planning, and modern architecture. His latest book, "The City in Mind," rankled Atlanta's movers and shakers after he declared the growing city a "gigantic hairball." "The City in Mind" tells the story of urban design and how the architectural makeup of a city directly influences its culture as well as its success. It is a wide-ranging study of cities here and abroad, an inquiry into what makes them great (or miserable), and in particular what America is going to do with its mutilated cities. In his investigations, he discovers American communities in the Sunbelt and Southwest alienated from each other and themselves, Northeastern cities caught between their initial civic construction and our current car-obsessed society, and a disparate Europe with its mix of pre-industrial creativity, and war-marked reminders of the twentieth century. Post World War II America has become an entity that has given up quality in design for sheer volume to such a degree that even the native inhabitants are unable to decipher the nature of their home. The lack of honoring public space in America has led to the creation of spaces which are not worth caring about, and eventually won’t be worth defending. This philosophy is quite opposite to the historical record of using buildings and design to create an echo of a culture and a way of life. Recovering our communities will require bringing back the civic traditions of our past and altering our current structures to reflect integrity in aesthetics and function. Kunstler has made presentations to numerous colleges and universities, professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He is also the author of eight novels. His articles
appear regularly in The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly,
Slate, and Metropolis Magazine. He has been a reporter
for several metropolitan daily papers and an editor with Rolling
Stone. He has appeared on TV's Nightline, Dateline,
and in numerous documentaries about the predicament of American
cities and suburbs.
DIRECTIONS TO THE MARIAL CENTER The MARIAL Center is located on the 4th floor of the main building of Emory's Briarcliff Campus, 1256 Briarcliff Road. There is ample parking close to the building. Alternatively, you may take the Emory shuttle (Route A). The Emory shuttle (Route A) provides transportation from the main campus to the MARIAL Center every 20 minutes (a 5-10 minute ride). For the shortest travel time, board the shuttle in front of the B. Jones Center or at the corner of Dowman and Fishburne (across from Glenn Memorial) at approximately 4, 24, and 44 minutes after each hour. A complete schedule and the route map are available on the web at http://www.epcs.emory.edu/AltTransp/route-a.htm Please tell the receptionist at the front window
that you are here for the
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