BEAUTY NEWS & VIEWS
Can Beauty Bring Us Together?
December 6, 2018
First, a confession: with the exception, at the age of 18, of a brief flirtation with Barry Goldwater’s presidential candidacy, my politics have leaned decidedly Left. My father, on the other hand, was a conservative Republican all his life, even voting for Donald Trump only two weeks before his death. Needless to say, we had our arguments, loving if sometimes heated, but we always agreed on one thing: the importance of beauty in our lives. He found it, especially, in flowers: his garden was magnificent, and he had one of the largest fuchsia collections in the world… Keep Reading
Nature in the City Map Review- San Francisco, California
September 2, 2018
Traveling to a big city you’re likely to visit the main tourist spots- picturesque landmarks, historical buildings, the center of downtown. In San Francisco, CA, some of the most popular spots include the painted ladies houses, Golden Gate Bridge, bright cable cars, Alcatraz, and Fisherman’s Wharf.
You know those pamphlet stands (often in gift shops) that feature all of the tourist attractions of an area? The tours, the local restaurants, the main scene. One type of attraction they nearly always lack is a map that focuses on nature.
Nature in the City is an exception. Based out of San Francisco, they have designed a double-sided map of the Golden City that highlights green spaces and where to find local wildlife.
A California City That's Taking Beauty Seriously
July 26, 2018
Bob Sampayan believes in the transformational power of beauty. Now in his sixties, Sampayan is the mayor of Vallejo, California, a primarily working-class city at the north end of San Francisco Bay that once built ships for the American Navy and for two brief periods in 1852 and 53, was the capital of the state. Vallejo has been called “America’s most diverse city.” A Brown University study found its population to be one-quarter white, one-quarter African-American, one-quarter Hispanic, and a final quarter Asian or Pacific Islander. Continue Reading Here
America’s Infrastructure Should Be Beautiful
February 23 2018
“If anything can save the world,” North Face and Esprit founder Doug Tompkins once said, “I’d put my money on beauty.”
This year, as part of a new campaign called And Beauty For All, we’re challenging NLC and its member communities to put that hypothesis to the test.
We believe that, as our cities work on the theme of infrastructure development in 2018, a comprehensive vision is essential. To that end, And Beauty For All seeks to bring Americans together to restore our environment and revitalize our cities and towns...Continue Reading Here
A National Beautification Campaign Revitalized Communities in the '60s and Could Again Today
"If anything can save the world, I'd put my money on beauty," once declared Doug Tompkins, conservationist and founder of the global clothing giants, The North Face and Esprit. The beauty he meant was not the garments he sold, but the natural beauty of the Earth, and the beauty of well-designed human environments. In this polarized time, can a campaign for beauty help bring Americans together? I think so...Keep Reading.