I believe that a city lives or dies by how much people can move in and out. About four years ago, I reflected on the idea of being an American Expat in America. That idea is that despite the fact I was no longer an active member of my hometown or any town, I could… Continue reading On Mobility and American Expats in America
Year: 2015
Reflections on the Fifth Anniversary of the Black Urbanist, from Kristen
I am Kristen Jeffers. I call myself the Black Urbanist. I started doing so five years ago today (October 16, 2010), because I felt like not enough conversations on the built environment, on civic spaces, on transportation, were actually including people like me (Black, young, woman, cisgender, straight, U.S. Southeastern, Christian) in conversations as a… Continue reading Reflections on the Fifth Anniversary of the Black Urbanist, from Kristen
From an Ambassador to Kansas City (Excerpt from Triad City Beat Fresh Eyes Column)
Roughly six weeks ago, after loading almost all of my worldly possessions into a moving truck, relatives helped me pack the rest into two cars and we departed our southwest Greensboro home at about 5 a.m., navigating the freeways past my father’s gravesite at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, on a hill created due to… Continue reading From an Ambassador to Kansas City (Excerpt from Triad City Beat Fresh Eyes Column)
You Need a New Airport Kansas City, Get Over It.
I’ve been in Kansas City for just over a month. While I didn’t arrive by plane this time, all the other times I’ve come and gone from KC, have been through the Kansas City International Airport. Only once have I driven myself to said airport. I’ve parked at the B-11 post, the one that gives… Continue reading You Need a New Airport Kansas City, Get Over It.
Place in A Time of Terror and Inequality
This post took so long to write. I wrote about two versions of it. Maybe you’ll see them in the next volume of essays. Maybe they’ll be here. Ultimately, it gets down to how place and motion matter in a time of heightened instances of tragedy, terror and oppressive power driven by fear. How can… Continue reading Place in A Time of Terror and Inequality
The Lost Corners of Suburbia
Belk at Four Seasons Mall IHOP on Hillsborough Street Two Guys Pizza on Hillsborough Street Wachovia at Spring Valley Plaza All these things used to be on the corner of something. All these places are places I made memories in. All of these places are gone or soon to be gone in their current forms.… Continue reading The Lost Corners of Suburbia
The #CNU23 Post You’ve Been Waiting For
It’s another day in the world of urbanism. It’s a day when I feel like all of my friends are being heard and getting stuff done and getting money and doing whatever they want to do, many live from the 23rd Congress for New Urbanism in Dallas. That’s what makes it an interesting, invigorating, fabulous… Continue reading The #CNU23 Post You’ve Been Waiting For
Five Ways to Do Urban Stadiums and Arenas Right
A major battle going on in placemaking circles is that of sports teams and sports venues. How should they be financed? Should they be in open fields or should they take up blocks of downtown districts? What happens to the displaced homeowners and renters? What happens when they fall into disrepair? Who should pay… Continue reading Five Ways to Do Urban Stadiums and Arenas Right
How to Make a Men’s NCAA Basketball Bracket, if You Are a Tobacco Road Urbanist
Sports build community. From pride-of-their-suburb Little League teams, to pulse-of-their-city World Series pendant holders to that proud handful of farmhouses who raised that NASCAR driver, sports makes a community. I grew up in a pre-Carolina Panthers, original Charlotte Hornets, retiring Richard Petty, saying hello to Stormy, but never to a Major League Baseball team of… Continue reading How to Make a Men’s NCAA Basketball Bracket, if You Are a Tobacco Road Urbanist
The Game of Life Plans (and City Planning)
Lately I’ve been playing a ton of board games and doing puzzles. Granted, who hasn’t received a note from a friend asking them to play some sort of online puzzle game on Facebook. And yes, you can politely say no. Unless you see some benefit, like I did back a few years ago when I… Continue reading The Game of Life Plans (and City Planning)