All Posts Tagged With: "Community"

The Friends of Druid Hill Park work to "protect and maintain its magnificent woods and arbors, to preserve its historic monuments and buildings, and to reinvigorate the park as a central recreational, cultural and educational institution." Meetings are held monthly, where events like clean-up day and group gardening are coordinated. Contribute today and become a part of this thriving initiative.

Now on view in the courtyard of PS1 Contemporary Art Museum in Queens, NY is Public Farm 1. The winners of the ninth annual MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program were Amale Andraos and Dan Wood of WORK Architecture Company. The design is something PS1 has named "a flying carpet farmer’s market."

Viewing this piece myself I was reminded of James Wines’ SITE projects for the BEST stores done during the early 80’s, which questioned the role of architecture and ecology in a suburban setting. Although I would have loved to see Public Farm 1 in front of a Walmart this project focused more on the role of ecology and self-sufficency in an urban setting. To highlight this idea I was fortunate enough to see the garden with one of the biggest bank buildings in the U.S. as its backdrop. The courtyard also housed a number of live chickens, the roof of which collected rainwater and a solar PV system which powers fans, lights, your cell phone and that’s not all.

Baltimore Nia is an expressive, barefooted, dance/fitness practice with a wholesome focus on body, mind and spirit. Nia creates weight loss while providing the proper weight maintenance. This form of dance also improves muscle tone, calms the mind and relieves stress. Created by Carlos Rosas and Debbie Posas in 1983 Nia, is now brought you by Megan Charles Founder and instructor of Nia Baltimore. You can get involved through classes located at 3000 Chestnut Ave. on the first Sunday of every month, beginning in January.

The Neighborhood Design Center works throughout the Baltimore and Prince George’s County area helping residents, small non-profit organizations, and community development corporations do what they typically otherwise couldn’t: improve their communties. These communities many times are seeking to improve blocks and homes, renovate parks and school grounds, reclaim abandoned structures for new community uses, improve neighborhood commercial districts, etc., but simply lack the means. The Neighborhood Design Center helps by offering multiple free services: conceptual building and site plans, preliminary feasability studies and cost estimates, neighborhood master plans, and community development guidance. As the center itself is a non-profit, it does all this by mobilizing volunteer architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers, and other design professionals who donate their professional services to help neighborhoods in their initial revitalization efforts. Through their work the center hopes to strengthen community participation in neighborhood improvement efforts, educate the public about the value of good design, and serve as a catalyst for increased investment in neighborhood development.

Baltimore Bird Club is a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society, the Baltimore Bird Club provides a series of links on its website — other local birding groups, birding blogs, interactive games, and issues of the club’s downloadable newsletter.

One Less Car is an advocate for safe and effective transportation alternatives in Maryland. They accomplish this through education, lobbying, and facilitation between communities, governments, and state and local representatives. Their website is a great resource for finding cycling clubs, stores, maps and trails, and commuting and mass transit options. At One Less Car, they believe that people walking, biking, and using public transportation (essentially: people interacting), are all indicators of a healthy, working city.

Since 1989, Trees for the Future has been helping communities around the world plant trees, through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and country programs. Focusing on developing countries, they equip rural communities with the knowledge and materials necessary to turn degraded lands and farms into sustainable production. Since their inception a decade ago, they’ve planted around 50 million trees in Central America, Africa, and Asia. For a list of projects, resources, or information on how to get involved, visit their website.