Close readers of the local media will know that Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster will be on a sabbatical from the paper over the next year as he attends Harvard University as part of a Loeb Fellowship. In the video above, you can check out a presentation Lamster made to kick off his fellowship.
Those familiar with Lamster’s writing will be familiar with his portrayal of Dallas as “Paradox City,” a place characterized by confidence and insecurity; wealth and poverty; racial, political, social and urban divisions; and a complicated relationship to its own history and image. The best part of the talk, though, comes when Lamster calls out his hosts for their role in making Dallas what it is today:
“These ideas of building a city like this – getting rid of this downtown – these ideas came from Harvard in many ways,” he tells the students attending the Graduate School of Design. “This philosophy of modern planning was very much driven here. In fact, many of the planners who actually were responsible for this actually came from the GSD. I could tell you their names. I won’t because who cares.”
