All posts by Kristen Jeffers

Kristen Jeffers has always been interested in how cities work. She’s also always loved writing things. She went off to a major state university, got a communication degree and then started a more professional Blogger site. Then, in her graduate seminar on urban politics, along with browsing the urbanist blogosphere, she realized that her ideas should have a stronger, clearer voice, one that reflects her identity as a Black southern woman. And with that The Black Urbanist blog was born. Seven years, one Twitter account, one self-published book, two podcasts and a litany of speeches and urban planning projects later, here we are.
Cities, Cityreads, Links, Rail, Transportation

Placebook: This is MY STATE.

 

So whose state has grown steadily for 10 years? MINE!

I apologize in advance for those of you who will hear these guys in your head all day.  I just wanted to rub in this article, from Slate, on how my state, MY STATE, the state of my birth, my childhood, my family and friends, my higher educations, my coming of age and my career both on and off this page , that do I sometimes want to leave, has actually gained population 10 straight years in a row. Granted, this news is not from the Census, but it’s not that far off from what they said.  Also, DC is the only other area that’s grown for ten years straight. Considering that’s the only other place I want to live right now…read as you will. And read these things too while you are at it:

Some people are urbanist rockstars. Maybe that’s just because they are my friends in the business and good writers as such, but that just makes me love them more when they come back. Chuck Marohn is one of our best grassroots writer/placemakers we’ve got going. Sure, he does have a few official letters by his name, but it’s really what’s happened with Strong Towns, the evolution of his blog into a series of live conversations, thought leadership, books and a 501c3 membership nonprofit. Read this and see why he keeps us thinking, on our toes and pushes all of us to write better. (And makes some of us blush when he says similar glowing things in front of ones current and future mayor and people who don’t always understand why she’s doing what she’s doing for her city).

André Darmanin, is a similar sort. Although we’ve never had the honor of meeting in person, I know if I ever venture to Toronto, I will have a good time and we will discuss the mess out of progressive planning. He’s also been with me from the beginning, when this was a side piece of my original public blog Waxing Philosophical. He’s finally got a recurring column at Global Toronto. In this particular piece, he’s talking about how craft breweries are a key piece in a lot of downtown and neighborhood renovations. I can pinpoint our own Natty Greene’s as being a key driver of our revitalization in Greensboro.

The City of Raleigh (which I claim just as much as Greensboro because it’s our state capital and where I did my undergrad) is one of the best run cities in America. I like to think that director of planning (and mentor and friend) Mitchell Silver has something to do with that too. They also just passed a uniform design ordinance, bringing a more urbanist-leaning zoning code to one of our largest and most sprawling cities.

And then there’s Gabe Klein. Bikeshare rockstar. You have to thank him for both Capital Bikeshare and for Divvy. This article (behind partial paywall) is mostly about how he did the later.

Also, who doesn’t love a place-based comeback story. Here’s the latest initiative to come to Braddock, PA, a town famous for having a savior figure (who lives in a church basement non the less) . Even though there are critics that say  that these changes are not enough or the changes are one-sided, I like this initiative because it’s truly taking what’s already there and making something of it, this time with the gardens, food and willing workers who are already in training.

And it’s always good to see something in New Orléans come back to life. Especially if it’s the first full-service grocery owned by and catering to African-Americans in the area. It also originally opened in that very spot in 1938 and sells not only the normal stuff, but stuff true to New Orléans. It was also a community gathering place and people are eagerly awaiting its return, under its same ownership

Moving on, I do agree, Facebook is a good place to learn where people are moving. A few years ago with an older version, I used to click on the old stats page to see how many of my friends were from a certain area, dorm, etc.

It is also intriguing to see how migration patterns threaten established views of who belongs and what makes a person a part of a place, in other countries. In this case, we have  France.

What is it like for someone who’s from South Africa, and used to a halfway decent metro system, plus closer to the European and Asian masterpieces, to navigate some of our complicated rail transit systems? Here’s your answer. In addition, The new DC metro cars look nice and spiffy and they are finally going under testing in the DC area.

We now know the top-10 shipping container homes worldwide. Would you live in one by choice?

And finally, when is gentrification, gentrification?

Try to stay out of the polar vortex if you can folks!
Book Club, Cities, DC, Durham, Greensboro, Links, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Wishes

Placebook: Wishes for 2014

Window at Scuppernong Books, January 5, 2014.
Window at Scuppernong Books, January 5, 2014.Photo Credit: Kristen Jeffers

Good Monday morning everyone! I hope you had the weekend you needed to have. I hope that weekend includes not being frozen. I spent my weekend mostly at home, but I got out and introduced a friend to Scuppernong Books. Scuppernong has inspired one of my wishes for 2014 for great places, which are here.

Once you are through with my wishes and are all thawed out, check out a few more things that are worth reading:

Even though he didn’t make every Metro station,  I commend the effort of the Metro Nomad, Stephen Ander. His original plan is here and you can click on Metro Nomad to find out how he actually did.

San Francisco and Minneapolis-St. Paul are booming and their surrounding communities are adjusting.

Cleveland meanwhile has adopted a more economically and ethnically diverse way of attracting new people to the area.

This infographic explains the American bike share movement in the past 4-5 years.

Michael Sorkin in Architectural Record writes a letter to Mayor DeBlasio,  calling for planning to become more grassroots and equitable in New York with a nod to other cities to do the same.

A lot of these top-10 suburbs are really just small towns adjacent to big cities. Two of them are right outside of Charlotte.

Meanwhile, right here in Greensboro, we could be at the forefront of shaping the next phase of federal health policy.

Could this building be the start of a warehouse district on South Elm? Meanwhile, the warehouse districts of Durham sit in the shadow of the poverty that is still there and  getting worse.

Former Governor Jim Hunt in Sunday’s News and Observer asks state leaders to raise teaching salaries to national levels and outlines ways that could happen in four years.

And finally, need to start a yard garden? There are Legos for that.

 

Food, Greensboro, Homelessness, Housing, Retail, Wishes

MORE: My 2014 Wishes for Good Places

1 Comment

Last year, my wish/new years resolution was to maintain.

Overall, I think we succeeded in that. Downtown continues to grow. Even as beloved spaces elsewhere close, new ones spring right back up in their place, like a sushi bar right across the street from the bar I mentioned above. I’ve maintained employment. I’ve reconnected with family as family has passed on.

Therefore, as we look ahead into 2014, the word that stands out for me this year is simply:

MORE

How does more relate to good places? Here’s how:

More tiny houses

I was delighted to hear this story of how the Occupy Madison group managed to build a tiny house for a homeless couple. Far too many offshoots of Occupy have been blamed for being delinquent, whiny, and entitled. However, this group of folks actually did something about the problems facing our cities. They hope to build a whole village of these homes for people.

I also like tiny houses because they recognize that sometimes people can’t afford a certain amount of square footage, but that doesn’t make them incapable of owning their own home. We laugh at trailer parks, but honestly, at least those people have a roof over their heads. We used to laugh at apartments too, but I’m sitting in a luxury one.

More opportunities for youth to learn good citizenship

I’ve bled a lot of ink and blurred a lot of pixels about the cost of not engaging all of our youth and our citizens. The issue is near and dear to my heart, because I became engaged in placemaking and civic governance as a young child. My parents made sure I went to the library and they encouraged me to learn. So many people don’t have parents that do that, but there’s plenty of people in our community who can serve in that role for our youth. I want to find a way to do more of this myself, in a more productive and proactive way. I also think that if we don’t engage our youth, we will never be able to realize our placemaking dreams.

More parks

Thanks to where I work, I’m able to see a lot of new, cool things that are being built. I also have had a chance to see what’s planned for our new LeBauer Park, along with what’s been dreamed up thus far for the Union Square Park. I hope that these new parks, despite being public-private partnerships, hold true to the spirit of the public piece of the  partnership that is propelling them forward.

More books and reading and writing

I never imagined that by the end of 2013, I’d be walking to my very own local indie bookstore which stocks brand new books, smart magazines and used classics. I never imagined I’d be front page news and make news and have the bylines that I’ve had. In that spirit, I hope that Scuppernong revitalizes its block, not just with libations, but budding librarians. You’re seeing more posts from me here and who knows, I might whip up another book.

More microeconomies

As I talked about above with the support of tiny houses, some of our Occupiers have evolved into a group spearheading a new grocery co-op on the traditionally black east side of Greensboro. Meanwhile, opposition is growing for a Trader Joes (again) on a particular plot near the more wealthy communities of Greensboro. However, if it weren’t for Trader Joes offering some of the foods that make me stick my pinkies out while holding food, at a price that doesn’t make me feel like I’m breaking my pinkies, I wouldn’t be as proactive about healthy food. You already know the mind games I play when thinking about groceries. The more niches a market has, the better the market actually serves people and actually holds true to the notion of being free.

More transportation

I’m now part of a group called the Transit Alliance of the Piedmont, a group formed because of the need for real, not just realistic, regional transit. I hope to channel some of my dreams for transportation (more bus shelters, shorter headways, a serious rail plan, business support) into action in the coming year. We will have a website and some information up soon on how those of you in the Triad area can help. I’m also on the Bike Share Task Force led by Action Greensboro, another group working to bring new transit options to Greensboro.

2013 was one of the hardest years, from losing my father, to feeling alienated, to a major case of writers block. My hope is that my 2014 will be full of abundance, and that abundance starts with doing what I can to cultivate good places.

Alexandria, Arts Districts, Atlanta, Cities, Cleveland, downtown, Durham, Greensboro, Jobs, Links, miami, New York City, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Retail, Transportation

Placebook: Snow, Maybe?

Good Friday morning folks! Some of you are snowed in. Some of you are just cold. Count me in the cold bunch. If you want a good laugh, take a look at my account of what happens when we actually do get snow down South.

Greensboro Skyline covered in snow, January 19, 2013. Photo Credit: Kristen Jeffers
Greensboro Skyline covered in snow, January 19, 2013. Photo Credit: Kristen Jeffers

Whatever is going on outside, be safe, have fun and check out the articles below:

Harlem is on the one hand the home of the graffiti hall of fame and  the other a hotbed of gentrification.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues its march towards more transit, more parks and civic engagement.

Speaking of civic engagement, with the performing arts center funded, Greensboro leaders are moving towards deciding who’s going to operate it. Oh, and mark your calendars for all the known street festivals in Greensboro this year.

A sign in Miami tells pedestrians to thank drivers for not hitting them.

Terry Kerns(@terrykerns) documents significant demolitions in Atlanta, some nice, some ugly.

Jim Russell(@burghdiaspora) hasn’t slammed suburbia as much as he’s encouraged and documented the need for people to #makeyourcity and how young people are doing just that.

Kaid Benfield(@Kaid_at_NRDC)came back and elaborated on his comments on traditional downtowns, highlighting the generational gap in views on revitalization. I left a comment, stating the need for us to remain centralized, even if that means being polycentric. Also notable is the danger of having your content syndicated without its proper headline.

I don’t think manufacturing job losses are the reason Big 10 college football teams aren’t having the best seasons right now.

And finally, help this Alexandria, VA woman #FindBen, if he wants to be found. When Cragslist’s missed connections goes artisanal. http://dcist.com/2014/01/find_ben_alexandria_posters.php

That’s it for links this week. Be sure to look out for my 2014 Wishes for Good Places tomorrow just in time for brunch on the East Coast.

Bicycling, Cities, Cleveland, Housing, Links, New York City, Philadelphia, Rural, Transportation

Placebook: Where Veggies Come From

Happy Thursday! Yesterday I ate the traditional collard greens and black eyed peas at my grandmother’s with my mom, some uncles, and my cousins. My grandmother’s house sits on a few acres of land out in the country, not far from Greensboro. It’s no longer an active farm and it was never a big time deal, but when I was younger, my grandparents grew several rows of strawberries,corn, tomatoes and yellow squash, along with a patch of mixed greens. I used to hate going out there, especially in these summer due to the bugs, but now, I really appreciate what it means to know the true origins of certain vegetables. An adjacent farm has cows and horses and mules, along with this lovely pond, which you can sort of see below.

Out at my grandparents. The fields were behind the white house and so are the adjacent field with the pond. The main house is on the left. (Photo credit: Kristen Jeffers).
Out at my grandparents. Their  fields were behind the white house and so are the adjacent fields with the pond. The main house is on the left. (Photo credit: Kristen Jeffers).

This land and the land of others in the family is part of the reason I love the urban environment so much and want very much for both rural and urban (and really good in-between areas) to keep their character. Enough about that, here’s some links for your Thursday:

One of the best commentaries I’ve seen yet of what’s to come for NYC. Also, this one from my good friend Sarah Goodyear(@buttermilk1) She also wrote this cool article on the second lives of a suburban staple, the Pizza Hut.

The Overhead Wire (@theoverheadwire) spotlights some great street signs that have bikes printed where the bikes would need to turn to follow the official paths set by the town of Lafayette, CA.

Fireworks over several significant skylines to bring in the New Year.

What’s the best thing your city has done this year? Leaders in a handful of major cities share.

Philadelphia gets serious about developing a land bank.

Mayor Bloomburg took the subway home on his last day as mayor. He, along with the rest of NYC, can no longer take a horse-drawn carriage ride like in the movies.

Older renters will drive demand for apartments in the next decade according to this report.

And finally, urbanism (and the whole civic environment), is black and white in Cleveland. Shout out to Richey Piiparinen (@richeypipes), who through Belt Magazine and his own blog tell it like it truly is in Cleveland and through out the Midwest/Rust Belt region.

Also, please suggest ideas for this list by tagging them #tbuplacebook. The goal is for this to happen every weekday, including some holidays, depending on how they fall and how I feel. Thanks for reading!

Book Club, Chicago, Cities, creative class, DC, Education, Government, Greensboro, Links, New York City, Rail, Retail, Transportation

Placebook: Harvest of Our Future

 

Via Tumblr, commentary on the reduced federal transit subsidy and increased highway spending.

Happy New Year to all of you! I was looking forward to sharing a bit of news this morning, but it leaked. However, I will take this opportunity to thank my family, my friends and those of you who’ve stuck by this very page from the beginning, back when it was a side piece of my personal twitter and blog accounts, boosted by a class project. All of you who expressed congratulations on Facebook and wished me a Happy New Year and shared tweets and statuses I am deeply grateful. I know this isn’t Thanksgiving, but I was on hiatus on Thanksgiving, so here is my gratitude.

My goal is that 2014 is a better year for me, not just as a placemaker (which apparently is one of many cliché terms now in our sector), but as a writer, an advocate, a seamstress, a daughter, a sister, a niece and a friend.

So that news? I am the first winner of YES! Weekly‘s Essay Contest with my entry, The Harvest of Our Future. YES! Weekly is one of our two local alt weekly newspapers,  and my favorite of the bunch. Jordan, Eric and several others of the staff have long been colleagues and friends in making this a better city, one page at a time and I thank them again for this honor.

Now, before we look at the pretty Rose Parade floats, some other news:

Arts Districts, Cities, Education, Greensboro, Homelessness, Housing, Links, New York City

Placebook: Housing Standards, Art Coming Back to NYC and Economies of Fear

Good morning folks!

I want to thank everyone again for the support, the shares and the opportunities of 2013. I wish you the best and look forward to us sharing more in 2014 . Look out for my 2014 wishes for good places this weekend and a very special surprise in this space tomorrow morning.

Thanks to those of you who are sharing links using #placebook and #makeyourcity; keep sharing and I’ll include a few here.

And now today’s links.

  • People complain about The New York Times being completely out of focus with the rest of the world, but Paul Krugman is one of those who proves that wrong.  Here he talks about the fear economy, one I know all too well, as quitting is never an option for the middle class and below, even with a savings.
  • Gene Nicol in the [Raleigh] The News and Observer breaks down poverty in North Carolina. Yes, it’s bad.
  • Despite the economic crunch, some artists, are still making it in New York City. How the mayor-elect has supported these small  galleries and lesser-known producers in the past.
  • Finally, if you have a beat down house in Greensboro, either give it up or get it fixed up. Code enforcements are starting again.
  • Michael Benami Doyle (@chicagocarless) on how LA (and cities that have a similar relationship with their bus systems), can do better with their buses.

See you in 2014!

Greensboro, Links, New York City, Rail, Retail, Transportation

Placebook: The Make Your City Edition

Hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season! My goal is to spend a  little more time on this page (and with you) for 2014 and figured it would be better for me to start this resolution in 2013. Part of that is bringing out a daily(or roughly daily), round-up of things I’ve been pinning, ‘framing, tweeting and Facebooking.

I also want to encourage folks to start a new hashtag trend, #makeyourcity. My return post discusses some of the things I’m doing to make Greensboro better, in lieu of always feeling like nothing ever works here. Since I posted that on Saturday, I’ve seen several other articles encouraging people to leave other expensive areas, especially if one is in the creative class. Of course that turns the theory on it’s head. I’ll be tweeting out some articles under that hashtag as well and hope to get some conversation started about what it means to be creative class or even tech entrepreneur class, in a small city.

Also, if you see articles, photos, meme quotes or whatever that you want me to pay attention to, please hash those #tbuplacebook or simply #placebook. You can also tag @blackurbanist on Instagram and Twitter, Kristen Jeffers or @The Black Urbanist on Facebook.

Now some bonus links:

  • After years of battling, Miles Davis’s contributions to placemaking are remembered by naming the area of the street where he used to greet and socialize with his neighbors after him.
  • You’d never know it, but Norfolk Southern has a huge presence in Greensboro and it’s well up the alley of those who want us to be a logistics powerhouse.
  • Trader Joes is coming to Greensboro, once again, not without a major fight. New developers, smaller, but same site, more buffers this time though.
  • Belk Home Store expansion at Friendly Center is progressing quite fast. It’s also quite large. Then again, there’s nothing like the High Point showrooms or even Rooms-to-Go at Friendly Center,  so this may prove me wrong and the market research folks right.

Have a great day and I’ll see you around!

Book Club, Cities, Civic Inferiority Complex, Family and Place, Greensboro, New York City, Raleigh

Make Your City

Kristen on Swing

 

This weekend marks five adult years of residence in my hometown of Greensboro, NC. To say that I moved back here kicking and screaming is an understatement. To say that staying here is what I imagined myself doing at this point in time is also inaccurate.

However, the one thing we all have to learn in our youth is that where we live is what we make of it. We also learn that the big cities can’t shield us from the changes of life. In fact, according to Salon and the Pacific Standard, if you move to one, you may never move again. Not good for a person who loves to travel like myself.

I recently fell upon Justin Alvarez’s account of studying abroad and staying at college in New York to avoid family in Chicago. I used to have similar feelings. Even though I did undergrad just 90 miles away and masters degree while at home, I did all I could at times to not be engaged or active with various family members.  I’m not sure Alvarez learned fully the impact of missing family things, even with the revelation that his grandfather held on to life just for him.  Thankfully, I was around for my father’s passing, but missed some times with my grandfather and some aunts that passed. My mom is retiring, and I’m thankful that I’m only 10 minutes away and that I’m finally taking up sewing, one of her beloved hobbies. Check out my first garment below(it’s the skirt).

Me in my skirt that I made

The point of the above is first and foremost, that family does matter. If they are halfway decent people, then make an effort to be a part of their lives. I don’t know what I would do without my mom, my aunts and uncles, and my sibling-cousins. The family village is alive and well here in Greensboro and I cherish being close enough to take advantage of that.

Moving on to the feeling of ambition and the wanderlust that moving to bigger cities creates and feeds, Goodbye to All That , both the original essay and the new compilation of essays,  all speak to the need to move on from New York and how it’s not the holy grail.  As I begin my 28th year, much like Didon herself when she left New York, I am seeing the merits of a life well lived in a small city. This line is the real kicker:

Of course it might have been some other city, had circumstances been different and the time been different and had I been different, might have been Paris or Chicago or even San Francisco, but because I am talking about myself I am talking here about New York.

And since I am talking about myself, then, I’m talking about my choice, both active and inactive, to remain in my hometown, the small city, the car-dependent, the less diverse, but still full of fun and surprises and family. I had remind myself of words I wrote in the early days of this space, to check my civic inferiority complex. To appreciate the beauty of all places.

The other link also mentions the need to care for everyone in all cities. For some of us, the best way we can do that is to stay in our hometowns and contribute to the civic environment. To not go into debt to prove something, but to save money and be something.

To make YOUR city and no one else’s. So let’s just call it home.