Clark Art Lecture on Social Inequality and Urban Planning

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Sunday, April 7 at 11 am, the Clark Art Institute hosts a lecture by Giuseppina Forte, professor of architecture and environmental studies at Williams College, who discusses her new book project, "The Self-Built City: Material Politics and Ecologies of Difference in São Paulo," and questions how a built environment predicts social inequity. 
 
The free talk is presented in the Clark's auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.
 
Forte's book project chronicles the forces shaping urban ecologies, from self-built homes to infectious diseases, and how colonial structures solidify sites of difference. From her experience as a visiting researcher at the University of São Paulo, Forte speaks with a rich collection of oral histories and archival research. The talk is presented as part of the programming for the Clark's Paper Cities exhibition.
 
Giuseppina Forte holds a Ph.D. in architecture from UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on urban history and theory, with a specialization in global metropolitan studies. With a transnational perspective gained from living, researching, and practicing architecture on three continents, Forte brings cross-cultural competency to her work. She has collaborated closely with historically underrepresented populations in cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City, Paris, San Francisco, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
 
Free. Accessible seats available.

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Williamstown Planners Green Light Initiatives at Both Ends of Route 7

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Jack Miller Contractors has received the town's approval to renovate and expand the abandoned gas station and convenience store property at the corner of Sand Springs Road and Simonds Road (Route 7) to serve as its new headquarters.
 
Last Tuesday, the Planning Board voted, 5-0, to approve a development plan for 824 Simonds Road that will incorporate the existing 1,300-square-foot building and add an approximately 2,100-square-foot addition.
 
"We look forward to turning what is now an eyesore into a beautiful property and hope it will be a great asset to the neighborhood and to Williamstown," Miller said on Friday.
 
Charlie LaBatt of Guntlow and Associates told the Planning Board that the new addition will be office space while the existing structure will be converted to storage for the contractor.
 
The former gas station, most recently an Express Mart, was built in 1954 and, as of Friday morning, was listed with an asking price of $300,000 by G. Fuls Real Estate on 0.39 acres of land in the town's Planned Business zoning district.
 
"The proposed project is to renovate the existing structure and create a new addition of office space," LaBatt told the planners. "So it's both office and, as I've described in the [application], we have a couple of them in town: a storage/shop type space, more industrial as opposed to traditional storage."
 
He explained that while some developments can be reviewed by Town Hall staff for compliance with the bylaw, there are three potential triggers that send that development plan to the Planning Board: an addition or new building 2,500 square feet or more, the disturbance of 20,000 square feet of vegetation or the creation or alteration of 10 or more parking spots.
 
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