Wondering why this didn't hit the list already -
Reminds me a bit of that old quote from Martin Niemöller: 

When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not
concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and
therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the
industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned.
Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church—and there was nobody left
to be concerned.

geoff carver - SUNY buffalo
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www.thunderbirdsonline.com


-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 03:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ArchTheoMeth] NYTimes.com Article: The Road to Preserving History


This article from NYTimes.com 
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Anybody have any further details on this bill?

Best, MEH

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The Road to Preserving History

November 12, 2003
 


 

Tucked inside federal transportation law is a small phrase
that has done a fairly heroic job of protecting some of the nation's most
important historic areas for almost 40 years. These few words in the 1966
Department of Transportation Act say that a federal highway project cannot
destroy any historic area if there is a "prudent and feasible alternative."
These words have blocked, for example, highways from paving parts of the
French Quarter in New Orleans and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. 

But as Congress begins negotiating a new transportation
bill, the Bush administration and the highway lobby are
trying to weaken those protections in the name of "streamlining" the process
of building the nation's roads. 

Instead of acting as a powerful deterrent against building roads through
national treasures, the administration's proposal would rely on
transportation agencies to decide what is historic. The agencies would then
consult with communities over a site's importance. That sounds a lot like
the old-fashioned way of building an interstate highway - the "decide,
announce and defend method." Consultation with property owners or
communities would end up being a weak defense against the big bulldozers run
by the highway crowd. 

Beyond the obvious need to preserve historic sites for
local communities, saving historic treasures can also help economic rebirth.
Retaining a community's local color keeps one shopping mall from looking the
same as the next. In central Georgia, for example, residents of Macon have
been fighting a plan to put a road through the ancient Indian mounds called
the Ocmulgee Old Fields. The fields, part of the Muscogee, or Creek,
heritage, deserve to be part of the Ocmulgee National Monument near Macon.
If the law is changed, it is not clear that those who want preservation will
have an important voice in the decision. 

Irritated motorists caught in traffic jams may think the
answer is more roads, and they certainly have friends in Congress. But those
same motorists, if asked, could hardly want the roads of the future to
destroy what is left of their nation's past. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/12/opinion/12WED3.html?ex=1069624163&ei=1&en=
71e882184c3ce550


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