Fresh Loaf

Mike Dobbins

Transit and mobility wonks itching for something to do early this evening are in luck.

At the Technology Square Barnes & Noble at 6:30 p.m., Georgia Tech professor Mike Dobbins will sign his new book Urban Design & People.

Why are we so giddy about this event? Dobbins is one of the metro Atlanta’s smartest — and wittiest — transportation and urban planning maestros. He’s also one of the few people not afraid to speak his mind about the Beltline or the importance of affordable housing.

In the recently published book, the a former Atlanta planning commissioner offers a common-sense look, complete with historical examples, at the process behind creating public spaces. Dobbins also places a strong emphasis on the important role communities play in making those decisions. It’s an excellent primer for planners and laypeople alike, told by a narrator with nearly 40 years experience in his field. (You can read a chapter from the book here.)

(Courtesy Georgia Tech)

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Architecture magazine Metropolis this month profiles the effort by Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts to raze — or is it renovate? — the historic Atlanta-Fulton County public library located downtown.

The library, completed in 1980, is the final work of famed Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and considered a masterpiece. The architecture community, enraged by the idea, wants to preserve the building.

From the magazine:

Having secured $85 million last November through a bond referendum, Pitts hopes to incorporate retail, dining, and performance space into a high-visibility property. An early choice was a site facing Centennial Olympic Park, a tourist destination bordered by such attractions as CNN Center, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola. But opening a new main branch would mean abandoning the existing one—a design that many argue is already a world-class piece of architecture.

It’s an excellent article and worth your time. Read it in full at Metropolis’ site.

To read more about or to join the preservation effort, visit local artist Max Eternity’s website.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

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