“Facadism: When Architects are Forced to Design New Buildings Behind Existing Facades,” Core 77
It’s a pet peeve of preservationists: satisfying a historic preservation desire by leaving the front of a historic structure while building something completely different behind it. Someone thought this was a good idea and some planning departments went along, perhaps to keep both growth advocates and preservationist happy. In fact, the trend has left both sides unsatisfied, writes Rain Noe in Core77. —Peter Callaghan, state government reporter
“Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton,” The New York Times
Dolly Parton has seen a resurgence in relevance lately, with a new Netflix show based on her songs and as the subject of the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America” (which I highly recommend). In divided times, one thing Americans seem to agree on — young, old, gay, straight, Republican, Democrat — is a love for the down-home, bottle blonde country pop star who’s made a career of avoiding categorization and relating across cultural divides. Maybe there’s a Thanksgiving lesson in there somewhere. —Greta Kaul, data reporter
“Cancer Cloud,” The Oregonian
Public housing authorities across the U.S. are not testing homes for the radioactive gas called radon, leaving low-income people exposed to cancer. A wide-ranging investigation by The Oregonian and other partners, which included the newspaper handing out tests to residents. —Walker Orenstein, workforce and environment reporter
“33 Ways to Remember the 2010s,” The New York Times
From the rise of the duck face to a list of this decade’s most popular podcasts, here’s what the New York Times thinks we should remember about the 2010s. “This was a decade when the culture wars, that staple of the 1980s and ’90s, came roaring back, and it began with a very predictable rerun,” one contributor says. —Jessica Lee, local government reporter
