Maria Sykes worries that the world is becoming âa bit homogeneous.â
It seems that as places grow together, they also grow more similar. So in Green River, her home since 2009, she co-founded an organization dedicated to preserving the uniqueness of the southeastern Utah oasis: Epicenter.
âEvery city in the world can improve,â says Sykes, who serves as Epicenterâs executive director. âI donât think that Green River is exceptional in that it can benefit from architecture design and care.â
Before settling in Green River, Sykes earned her degree from Auburn Universityâs School of Architecture and worked in Atlanta, Ga. Then the 2008 recession hit, and she found herself in Green River working on what would become the townâs community center. A summer visit to the town then suddenly turned into 12 years.