The downtown area today has precious few places to park a car (and the civic architecture is most charitably described as mediocre).

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But the most persuasive argument for the lasting power of strong architecture is the Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island, designed 40 years ago by Louis Kahn.

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Besides the rotunda honoring the life and achievements of Jackie Robinson, the architecture and masonry of the ball park closely resembles Ebbets Field.

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Planning mistakes from the past, such as the Market building on the Green and the Trinity Centre car park, should be redeveloped with high quality contemporary architecture and urban landscaping that contributes to the cityscape, improves connectivity, and conveys civic ambition and pride.

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In green design news, a new architecture competition challenged designers to transform the Costa Concordia shipwreck off the coast of Italy into a new seaside park.

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