Manhatta Project image of the island in 1609.Here is a fascinating project I saw on "A Daily Dose of Architecture" of a reconstruction of Manhattan in its pre-urban appearance. The Manhatta Project [click to read] is worth taking a serious look at. Here is More [click to read] from 'Daily Dose of Architecture.
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Of course my interest is in why this is so appealing to us. Makoto Fujimora has talked about the concept of a garden city. In Genesis man first communes with the Divine in a perfect garden setting. I'm typing this while looking out on our back yard, graced by two Japanese Maples that remind me of two trips to that beautiful land. Does Manhatta resonate with some inner yearning? I think so! The Japanese love their gardens and even manage to shoehorn them into downtown Tokyo and Osaka. Their countryside is beautiful and inspiring.
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I did some work for the World Development Endowment Fund when they wanted to envision a utopian sort of city. I looked for my inspiration to Fujimora, Genesis, Isaiah 60 and Revelation: 21 -22. There seems to be no discord between city and garden in the New Jerusalem and My Vision [click to view] for the WDEF attempts to reconcile the two as well.
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