The City of Miami is headed no-where regarding
its future said Ronald Hofsteider, an environmental science professor at the
University of Miami. "Though Miami
has come a long way in history, the future seems very bleak," he added.
At a symposium held at the University of Miami
to discuss the past, present, and future of Miami, four professors tried to
answer the question, "What will the city consist of during the year
2000?" These professors included
George Hernandez, a professor of architecture, who currently runs his own firm
in Coral Gables; George Wilson, assistant professor of sociology; Fred D' Aguiar, a local writer and film
producer, and Ronald Hofsteider.
Hernandez whom has been in Miami since 1962,
expressed his views by saying, "Cities should be built around
infrastructures. Building a city is
building a future."
Hernandez , who submitted drawings for the
Brickell Bridge, which is located in downtown Miami, is a firm believer in this
philosophy. Though his exact plans for
the bridge were not used in its construction, he did see his plans as a start
for the city. The point he stressed most
frequently was using structures of buildings to tell stories of the city's
history. This means designing noticeable
objects on buildings that relate to the city.
Although Hernandez argued his points
distinctly, Wilson totally disagreed.
Wilson said cities revolve around racism, and how can we look toward the
future if we have no idea of where we've come?
"In order to understand our future, we
must first be aware of the immigration that is taking place now," Wilson
said. "Miami has the highest level
of immigrants and is the best place to study immigration in the world. Everyone knows that there is a strong barrier
of racism throughout the U.S., but how can we put this behind us in order to
move toward the future?" Wilson added.
Jim Hanan, class of '62, summed up, saying,
"We all must practice what we preach.
There is no need to discuss any matters of our future if we don't plan
to act."
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