basis_on which to build

As a result of our meeting and some reading:

The Heights of Buildings Act of 1910 is a follow up to the original Heights of Buildings Act of 1899. The original restricted the heights of any type of building in Washington D.C. to be less than the United States Capitol building (which rises to 288 ft). In 1910 the new law changed the restriction to limit a building's height to the width of the street on which a building fronts.

• current arguments for keeping the limit:

skyscrapers ruin the view, block daylight from the streets
lower buildings preserve the city's "charm"

• skyscraper "firsts" that have been well received:

-"The Gherkin" (30 St. Mary Axe) _ London
center of the financial district

-Chicago plans on creating the "Chicago Spire"
largest and tallest residential building in the world
effort to remain the capital of mid-America

• why we should get rid of the limit:

_to save green space, the only place to go is up
_a skyscraper can be signage, a signifier that says "city"
_solve problem of much needed housing and works space