I’ve been pleased to see the discussion of “small city/small town” urban
renewal on the listserv, but I think it is inappropriate to speak of the age
of urban renewal or its implications in the past tense, as communities
throughout New York State continue to make poor decisions regarding
irreplaceable architectural resources in their downtowns.

Catskill, in Greene County, for example, recently lost a full block of
National Register-listed buildings for the construction of a new County
Office complex and parking on Main Street, rather than seeking a better
integrated design. Schenectady continues to lose significant architecture
and Main Street commercial density to block clearing exercises in “new is
better.” While none of this is on the scale of  the classic 1960s urban
renewal  efforts, it is just as appalling to lose the resources to
shortsightedness and the presumption that newer is better.

Daniel Mackay