Brackish, green water fills the reflecting pool at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. Two of the three pumps that circulate it have stopped working. The third hasn't been turned on since last year. The fountain's iconic metal columns are dry and a bronzy tinge can be clearly seen — which is surprising, because they're stainless steel.

The Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation, which has lobbied strenuously to preserve Peavey Plaza's mid-1970s design, on Wednesday released what it called a "new design concept" that differs dramatically from the one that was approved by the Minneapolis City Council and the Mayor last November.

For Fort Worth’s spectacular modernist urban parks it is the best of times, it is the worst of times.

We've already covered what is probably the most expensive house in DC that isn't on the market (the residence for the Italian Ambassador), but now you can learn a few things about Italian design in the Nation's capital as a part of What’s Out There Weekend from May 19-20.