

Urban landscape
The Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia is a trendy and popular destination for sidewalk dining and people watching. Colley Avenue is home to numerous restaurants, shops and the NARO Expanded Cinema, the beloved art repertory theater. Some of the old building facades were seemingly last renovated in the 1950’s. There is, of course, a Starbucks, and more recently, Chipotle Grill, but most of the businesses are still locally owned. A watering hole for the nearby university and medical school students, the area is a throwback to 1950’s Norfolk with a kitschy vibe.








There are many old colonial-stile homes in the Centro Histórico of Mérida, Yucatán that have been renovated by extranjeros (foreigners), but the often abandoned or still occupied homes of the local people offer a glimpse of the former splendor of this historical city. The changing colors of many of the homes, over decades, have faded and blended into the soft tropical colors of the Yucatán. It is these architectural details that I choose to photograph.
The city of Mérida, having realized the significance of the historical center, in the past few years has begun a revitalization program that offers assistance to home owners in the renovation of the facades of their homes, and most recently has announced a plan to repair the crumbling sidewalks throughout the center.