Austin has been listed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of 100 communities most rapidly losing historic buildings to teardowns. Neighborhoods named specifically are East Eleventh Street, Fairview Park, Travis Heights, and Hyde Park. (Fairview Park runs from South Congress east to Blunn Creek; Travis Heights, from Blunn Creek east.) Architect and urban theorist Andres Duany writes in this month’s Metropolis about dwellings that are affordable because they’ve not been subject to standards imposed when a mortgage is taken out. He writes specifically about New Orleans, but there’s also much housing stock in Austin that has remained affordable because it’s long since been paid up and has passed through inheritance to the second, third, and even more distant generations. This era now seems to be drawing to a close here in Austin. Duany emphasizes the importance of affordable housing as a factor contributing to a city life enriched by the arts. >>> The art director for Metropolis magazine has recently left that job and moved to Austin, but where she’s landed remains a bit of a mystery. The magazine reports that Nancy Nowacek is “busy renovating her new cottage and pursuing a slew of projects.” Since TexMo recently lost its art director to Wired, maybe that’s where she’s headed. >>> Austin market-research firm Perceptive Sciences, whose clients are reported to include Eastman Kodak, Dell, and Diebold (these are pluses?), garners three paragraphs in the February 26 issue of Business Week (“Trimming the Fat from Technology,” byline Elizabeth Woyke, page 14; scroll down; free registration may be required to view).