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Margaret Leary Discusses Her New Book: "Giving It All Away The Story of William W. Cook and His Michigan Law Quadrangle"
Learn more about the history of the Michigan Law Quadrangle when retired Law Library Director and author Margaret Leary discusses her book "Giving it All Away: The Story of William W. Cook and His Michigan Law Quadrangle." This fascinating book not only illuminates a critical chapter in the history of the University, but sheds light on the development of laws pertaining to corporations and the communications industry. This event, co-sponsored by the Washtenaw County Historical Society, will feature a book signing and books will be on sale.The donor of the four architecturally outstanding buildings that are the Michigan Law Quadrangle, Cook decided to give his alma mater not just the finest physical facility of any existing law school, but to donate permanent resources that would permit the law school to engage in ground-breaking legal research. Providing these gifts to the law school proved tempestuous, protracted, and eventually very litigious and the drama included many influential players over two decades.Author Margaret A. Leary was director of the Law Library from 1984 until her retirement in 2011. She worked to build the comprehensive library collection to support current and future research in law and a wide range of disciplines and also developed strong services to support faculty research. She received a BA from Cornell University, an MA from the University of Minnesota School of Library Science, and a JD from the William Mitchell College of Law.
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T?bingen's Mayor For Building and Development Cord Soehlke Discusses Small-Scaled, Mixed, Diverse: The T?bingen Way Of Urban Development
Learn more about our German Sister City! A strong connection and friendship has existed between Ann Arbor and T?bingen, Germany for nearly half a century. Founded in 1965, this official partnership has been followed by many official and private contacts between the citizens of both cities.T?bingen's Mayor for Building and Development, Cord Soehlke will bring some of the T?bingen's planning and building successes experiences to Ann Arbor! Cord Soehlke has been part of T?bingen's development projects during the last 14 years and will discuss the city's goals, ideas and experiencesDuring the last fifteen years, T?bingen has converted many former industrial or military used areas into lively and attractive neighborhoods. The French quarter, the Loretto and the Muhlenviertel are now characterized by a mixed use, a colorful architecture and a high impact of private building groups. For this success the City of T?bingen received numerous awards and distinctions - the German Urban Planning Award 2001 - the European Urban Planning Award 2002 and the National Award for Integrated Urban Development and Building Culture 2009.
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Our Water, Our Future: A Local Panel
March 22 is World Water Day. As clean drinking water becomes increasingly hard to find in many places around the globe, it makes sense to look closely at our local water supply and to consider the issues that may affect it in the futureJoin us for this special discussion (originally scheduled for February) as Professor Mike Wiley of the UM School of Natural Resources moderates a panel of local water experts, who will discuss the challenges facing our local water systems and what their organizations are doing to plan for the future. Issues affecting the future management of storm, drinking, ground, surface, and wastewater will be discussed.Panelists include: Harry Sheehan, Senior Environmental Manager, Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Council (storm water); Molly Wade, Unit Manager, Water Treatment Services, City of Ann Arbor (drinking water); Matt Naud, Environmental Coordinator, City of Ann Arbor (ground water); Laura Rubin, Executive Director, Huron River Watershed Council (surface water); Earle Kenzie, Unit Manager, Waste Water Treatment Services, City of Ann Arbor (waste water).This event is co-sponsored by the University of Michigan's Winter 2011 LSA Theme Semester on Water.The City of Ann Arbor has provided this CLARIFICATION TO PANEL Q&A DISCUSSION:"The City has never detected 1,4 dioxane at the City's drinking water intake.Low levels of 1,4 Dioxane have been measured in the water leaving the wastewater plant NOT in any drinking water source.A jar test study completed several years ago indicates that the water plant may be able to remove very low levels of 1,4, dioxane."For questions about this, contact Molly Wade at 734-794-6426 or mwade@a2gov.org
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The Ann Arbor Connector Public Information Meeting: What Could The Future Hold For Transit Options In Ann Arbor?
The Ann Arbor Connector Feasibility Study is one step in the planning process where several local organizations are working collaboratively, thinking and planning for our future transportation systems. The Study Management Committee includes representatives from the City of Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Transit Authority, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the University of Michigan. This public information session will highlight the various transit technologies that may be feasible for the greater Ann Arbor area including bus, bus rapid transit, streetcars, light rail transit and personal rapid transit technologies. Attendees will have ample opportunity to ask questions of the project team, who will be available following the formal presentation.
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Nationally-Known Architect Fritz Haeg Discusses His Book 'Edible Estates: Attack On The Front Lawn'
Nationally-known architect Fritz Haeg is the recipient of Avalon Housing's 2008 Community Stewardship Award. As part of their activities surrounding Mr. Haeg, he will visit AADL to discuss his work and book Edible Estates: Attack On The Front Lawn. The Edible Estates project proposes the replacement of the domestic front lawn with a highly productive edible landscape. It was initiated by Haeg in 2005, with the planting of the first regional prototype garden in the geographic center of the U.S., Salina, Kansas. The event will include a book signing and books will be for sale. Cosponsored by Avalon Housing.Fritz Haeg studied architecture in Italy at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia and Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his B.Arch. He has taught in architecture, design, and fine art programs at CalArts, Art Center College of Design, Parsons, and the University of Southern California. In 2006 he initiated Sundown Schoolhouse, the self-organized educational environment originally based in his geodesic dome in Los Angeles.
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Zoning Changes for Downtown Ann Arbor with City Planner Wendy Rampson
Downtown Ann Arbor is about to experience change: the City Council is poised to adopt the first major zoning changes to downtown Ann Arbor since 1966. Ms. Rampson will review the history of downtown planning and zoning in Ann Arbor and provide an overview of the draft zoning and parking amendments recently recommended by the Planning Commission. These zoning changes seek to implement the community vision for downtown developed in 2006 with the assistance of Calthorpe and Associates. Better known as the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) initiative, this implementation effort has been guided by citizen advisory committees and the City Planning Commission since early 2007.
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Germany's Greenest Mayor, Boris Palmer, Discusses Climate Change and Ann Arbor's Sister City of T?bingen
Boris Palmer is Germany's rising "green" star -- one of the future leaders of their Green Party. The 35 year-old mayor of T?bingen, a city rich in history, host to a famous European university and sister city of Ann Arbor since 1965, will visit Ann Arbor from May 10 - 16. He will head a delegation of T?bingen citizens here to learn about Ann Arbor's environmental politics and continue support for artists' exchanges between the two cities. During his first year in office, Mayor Palmer started an unprecedented climate protection campaign at the local level. Hear his ideas when he discusses climate change and the city.
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Lecture: Urban Planning Consultant Robert Gibbs Discusses Retail Economics and Downtown Ann Arbor
Mr. Gibbs, considered a leading urban planning consultant by many mayors, architects and shopping center developers, will discuss how downtown businesses can adopt some of the same business principles that have made malls so successful. This is the second of five public lectures by leaders in the modern movement to revitalize American cities. The series is cosponsored by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Strategy Steering Committee.Robert Gibbs, of Gibbs Planning Group in Birmingham, MI, has been profiled in such publications as Atlantic Monthly, Consumers Reports, the New York Times, Urban Land Institute and the Wall Street Journal. He has devoted the last twenty years to developing innovative, yet practical, methods for applying current trends in residential and commercial development to more than 300 town centers and historic cities across North America, the Pacific Rim, and the Caribbean.For more information about this series, or for community visioning project updates, visit a2gov.org/downtown.
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The Design Police: Regulating the City without Stifling Creativity
This last in a series of public lectures concerning the future of downtown Ann Arbor, will center on urban planning and feature a lecture by Brenda Scheer. A panel discussion will follow, with local architect Damian Farrell, planner Megan Gibb and developer Bernie Glieberman. Moderated by UM Architecture Dean Douglas S. Kelbaugh, the panel will discuss types, as well as pros and cons, of design guidelines and codes. The series is cosponsored by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Strategy Steering Committee.Both suburban sprawl, with its arterial strips and endless cul-de-sac subdivisions, and urban blight, with its hollowed out urban centers, have degraded the physical environment of our communities. Many communities have tried to resist and reverse this trend with design guidelines and codes. Come join this community discussion. For visioning project updates, visit www.a2gov.org/downtown.
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UM Professor of Law Rick Hills Discusses Housing and Zoning
At this third in a series of public lectures to create a vision for downtown Ann Arbor, Rick Hills, UM Professor of Law will discuss the history of zoning, suggesting how traditional ordinances can interfere with vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtowns. The series, featuring highly respected leaders in the modern movement to revitalize American cities, is cosponsored by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Strategy Steering Committee.From its inception in 1916, zoning ordinances have been used primarily for two purposes -- to protect neighborhoods from change of any sort and to segregate low-value uses from high-value uses. Traditional zoning ordinances tend to prevent policy-makers from increasing the residential densities of downtown retail areas, even when the overall population of a commutershed radically increases. The zoning process also tends to privilege the opponents of change, giving them powerful legal weapons to prevent the increased densities and mixed uses that promote livable downtowns.Mr. Hill will outline how reforms of the zoning process can go a long way towards creating downtown districts where people can both live and work in a socially lively, culturally rich setting.For more information on this community visioning project, visit www.a2gov.org/downtown.