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<br /> <br />50 Planning June 2005 <br /> <br /> <br />Glorious experience. For a few short weeks in <br />February, New York's Central Park was glori- <br />ously transformed by Christo and Jeanne- <br />Claude Javacheffs "Gates" project (News, <br />April). <br />My experience with this unique couple <br />dates back 30 years, when I was an under- <br />graduate at the University of Illinois and saw a <br />film documenting "Running Fence," an early <br />Christo project in California. I was awestruck <br />both by its beauty and by its creators' <br />commitment. <br />Only recently did I realize how many simi- <br />larities there are between the creators of <br />"Gates" and planners. Some of them: <br />· Engaging the public. Christo and Jeanne" <br />Claude see each artwork as a process through <br />which they engage the community and de" <br />mocratize conversations about the public realm. <br />.. Navigating the approval process. The two <br />spend more time securing the approvals nec- <br />essary to implement their projects than they <br />do on the art itself. In the same way, planners <br />often spend far more time on winning ap- <br />proval for their plans than on writing them. <br />· Building support. Both a provocative art <br />installation and the adoption of a plan chal- <br />lenge the status quo. It's not easy to orches- <br />trate the political and technical support needed <br />to refute opponents. <br />.. Ephemeral nature. The "Gates" is meant <br />a moment in time. Similarly, some of <br />most successful plans define watershed mo- <br />ments in an area's development. <br />I hope that other planners enjoyed <br />"Gates" as much as I did and that they <br />nize in their own craft many of the <br />that make this work so magnificent. <br />Bradley H. Winick, AICP <br />Senior Urban Designer <br />JJR <br />Chicago <br /> <br /> <br />Good issue. Just wanted you to know <br />found the March issue very interesting. <br />wide range of short subjects will be <br />C. Bickley Foster, AICP <br />Foster 6- Associates <br />Wichita, Kansas <br /> <br />Add maps. "Racing Toward Diversity" <br />ruary) would have been easier to <br />had included a map showing New <br />Newark, the interstate <br />Maplewood. <br />Matthew S. Balling, AICP <br />Senior Planner <br />Genesee County Department of Planni <br />Batavia, New York <br />