Category Archives: Greensboro

Cities, Cityreads, Family and Place, Greensboro

The Greensboro I Know Now

Amtrak's Piedmont Arrives from Raleigh
After writing Friday’s post, I have a few bullets I want to add about the Greensboro I’ve come to know since my return just over five years ago. The Greensboro that I know now:

–Has a real downtown. I can go dancing, hear jazz music on Friday nights, play pool, get an authentic Irish pub experience, get fresh veggies, craft beer, veggie lasagna, veggie pizza that doesn’t make me miss the meat, gourmet soul food and good brand new books on my own two feet, without risking life and limb (except sometimes at the Davie/McGee/MLK train bridge convergence).

–Has three times the number of  apartments downtown. The one I occupy has been a great place to live for almost two years. Having more housing downtown and housing similar to what’s offered in other cities also brings people from all over the world together, as they come here for jobs and school. I love getting to meet new people with different cultures in the frame of the culture of which I was raised.

–Has world-class, top-notch universities here, that are producing leaders in their fields and making sure we aren’t as far behind on the job numbers as we could be. Also, this site and all my subsequent ventures, would not exist had I not pursued higher education right here in town.

–Has generational and cultural issues. I could call them something else, but it really boils down to the generational tides. If we can get those straightened out and realize that everyone working doesn’t want to be corporate, no corporate suit can keep you from being your creative self after hours and there is wisdom on both sides of the fence, then we will get better. And yes, the problem is still a problem, but how much of that is really fear of irrelevance and impoverishment? No person can keep you from doing exactly what you need them to do in this world.If they are and they do, then the problem is on them and yes, we sometimes have to keep working just a little bit harder to get ahead. Shouldn’t have to, but we do.

And with that, I’m going to end the bullets. I could go on for days about this, but I’m going to leave with this letter, that I wrote a few weeks back about how much I love, but sometimes loathe, my hometown.

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Essay, Family and Place, Greensboro

Greensboro, A Love Letter

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Greensboro, A Love Letter-small

Dear Greensboro,

Hey, it’s Kristen. How are you?

Wait, yeah, I know there’s a lot of you to go around, but in my head, the sum of your whole is the skyline buildings and the trains and scrubby trees that I see right outside my window. To be honest, it’s always been like that. When I was six years old, I got the chicken pox. The only thing I missed was driving from our home just off of Freeman Mill Road to see your skyline, which for the most part was in its second year of the completion renovation and enhancement. I always loved the symmetry of the points and the flatness of the squares. It’s little wonder that I grew up to start writing this blog and that my current day job has to do with promoting the building of buildings.

But there’s more to you than the outside package, the first impression, the quick glance. There’s a heart and a soul inside of you, that I want the world to know about. And in this time of the year that we take a special day to promote love, I wanted to let you know and the world know, how much I really actually love you.

I also want to make it clear that the love we have is a tough love. You are not just buildings, but you are made up of citizens, real people, some that treat me well and others who sometimes mistreat me. Sometimes I don’t treat them well either and sometimes I am their best friend in the world. Sometimes you don’t have that restaurant or that grocery store or that  touring entertainer that I want and that makes me sad. Even worse, sometimes your people say and do such ugly things to each other, that I get really mad at you and i want to give up on you and run away.

But then I remember that you are a city that’s never shied away from its battles and the battles of the greater humanity. You provided the opportunity for four black men to take a sit, not a stand, but a sit, and change the course of history. You lost a lot of your major industry, yet, you have yet to go bankrupt. Your people have come together to build us ballparks and regular parks and  provide a decent shelter for those without one,  and stand up for public school teachers and its young students. 

You’re a work in progress, but so am I. Every good city grows and we are doing that, together. The old saying is that Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are you Greensboro. I pray that I have the patience to endure your growing pains and that you continue to have the empathy to endure mine.

Love,

Kristen

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Cities, Cityreads, DC, Government, Greensboro, Jobs, Links, Rail, Transportation

Placebook: What Is the State of Greensboro in 2014?

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This week, the annual State of Our City Report is out and it’s no surprise to anyone who pays attention and tries to change any of these things. In light of this information, I have a few questions. First, how do we bring jobs and money back on a consistent basis? How do we nurture what we have? And finally how do we keep from being discouraged, resentful, bitter or inadequate in our quest and in light of other cities and industries? Check out the News and Record article here. The full report is here and look for a longer analysis from me in the coming days.

Speaking of city leaders, here’s a really great long form article from Eric Ginsburg in Yes! Weekly on our departing city manager and a nice article from the News and Record on what’s next for Action Greensboro.

And with that, here are a few more news links to get your weekend started:

New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio launching VisionZero plan to eliminate all pedestrian fatalities, which could set a national standard in how we handle this issue.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx addresses the Transportation Review Board this week with a pledge to make bike/ped safety a priority.

Yes, most of the fried chicken restaurant signs in Britain are made by the same man and yes, they all want to look somewhat alike.

Pre-summit thoughts on sustainable cities from the Transforming Transportation Institute, held this week in DC along with the TRB and Transportation Camp.

The Durham Police, in their own words.

Another instance of free speech/congregating turned into trespassing and loitering.

The 11 dollar DC minimum wage is real.

The African American Atllier, one of the city supported art galleries here in Greensboro, celebrates itself in its new exhibit. Uptown Artworks, another emerging gallery, hosts its first major show.Or jet off to this island, which boasts 100 museums.

Next Wednesday: Community Forum on the future of the Renaissance Community Co-op.

If you are running in the city, run in a city park.

I understand why parking isn’t really free, but still, can we not give a break to disabled drivers.

So yeah, this house isn’t real, but what is inside is vital to Raleigh. Meanwhile, Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” homes in New Orleans need to be made right.

The case for a Chicago-based Obama Presidential Library and the end of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

And finally, take a virtual tour of the new DC Metro Silver Line and get ready for the Capital Wheel.

Atlanta, Book Club, Cities, Cityreads, Cleveland, DC, Detroit, Greensboro, New York City, Rail

Placebook: A Few Good Books

This boat gets it right, at least for what's outside my window. Image Credit: Flickr user ChoudHound under Creative Commons.
This boat gets it right, at least for what’s outside my window. Image Credit: Flickr user ChoudHound under Creative Commons.

As the rain trickles down and the fog forms on another Greensboro day, I realized that yesterday I forgot a major shoutout. My friend Dr. Rodney Harrell, who is a senior policy analyst at AARP was quoted in that Washington Post story about rising condo association fees. Thankfully, he’s dug a bit deeper with his analysis at his own site. Be sure to subscribe to him as well, always good insights and keep up with AARP’s policy arm, especially if you are of a certain age.

A couple other nods are in order too. First, for Aaron Renn. Renn was one of the first city bloggers and continues to show why he’s one of the best. Here, he presents a solid analysis on why states should consider their metro areas in their economic development strategies. Governing also has thoughts on how cities can use institutions as drivers of economic development. Oh and Aaron’s snuck a book out on us.

Speaking of books, Kaid Benfield, another titan of city blogging (and Asheville native) has dropped his new book, People Habitat. People Habitat is more than just a new way of referring to the built and un built environment, its bringing our discipline back down to common sense. Catch a teaser here and be sure to purchase the book, namely at an independent bookstore.

And please, stay dry, and read more links:

If you are in Greensboro, take the recycling survey; Winston-Salem, consider entering this year’s small business contest.

When a streetcar is for and not for transit.

On the rails today: What it’s like to be an Amtrak conductor; Amtrak is coming back to Roanoke,VA by 2017 and automated operations are on their way back to the DC Metro.

My friends at Placemakers present a Q&A that tells you all you need to know about boutique hotels and how they fit into a new urban environment. Another good Q&A comes from the New York Times and its Ask Real Estate column.

Detroit’s all ready for its annual auto show(and hoping that it can save some morale), it’s art museum is getting at least 300 million dollars to stay afloat.

Proof that sometimes things on the African continent work just like things here at home, what happens when some factories leave and others stay in Webuye, Kenya.

Not enough bikes in Texas and books at this NYC public school.

More mixed-use development is coming to Atlanta, this time at an old railyard.

It’s truly the best and the worst of times in this tale of two Midwestern cities, both sharing a port and at odds with politics.

And finally, let’s do what we can to prevent street harassment and manage change better in cities.

Atlanta, Brooklyn, Cities, Cityreads, Cleveland, creative placemaking, DC, Durham, Government, Greensboro, Housing, Links, miami, Rail, Raleigh

Placebook: The Little Blue Walking Dot

U.S. Cities that walk the most. Image via Governing and Fast Company.

Hey Hey, it’s Friday! And with that, I’m looking forward to a quiet evening of sewing at home with my mom and a Saturday and Sunday filled with who knows what else? In the meantime, I know at least one day of this weekend I’ll be a part of Greensboro’s blue dot from the map above. But before that, here are some articles to take you through the weekend:

The polar vortex is not keeping folks from riding bike share bikes, at least not in DC. Meanwhile, Downtown Miami will finally see the DecoBike stations that have been operating in Miami Beach.

More affordable housing struggles, also in DC. Evictions are still hurting communities of color and poverty nationwide.

The Project for Public Spaces has great thoughts on how folk art influences placemaking. I saw this first hand while I was on the trip that made me a placeist back in 2012.

The fallacy of having too many municipalities in a small land area, illustrated by Cincinnati and surrounding Hamilton County, Ohio. Meanwhile, Cleveland is touting itself as the next Brooklyn.

It’s always sad when a beautiful building falls into disrepair and is then threatened with demolition, this time in the Bronx. More modern buildings in good shape that have won awards are also not safe from demo in NYC.

The RTP region is growing period. Greensboro has potential growth in HondaJet, a new microbrewery,plus a new ordinance that could allow more microbreweries.

New BART cars in the Bay Area and a slew of new transportation projects in DC.  2.7 million trips were taken on transit in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2013.

Get to know the Metro Atlanta Equity Atlas, the first equity-based data-cruncher and map maker in the Southeast that’s user-friendly and free and open to the public.

And finally, a post-mortem on Bridgegate and why calling the police is not always the best step when dealing with mentally ill family and friends.

And because it’s the weekend, sit back and enjoy DC-based short fiction from the Washington City Paper‘s 2nd annual fiction issue.

Cities, Cityreads, DC, Greensboro, Links, New York City, Rail, Transportation, Uncategorized

Placebook: Shelter Please, Because It’s Too Cold for the Polar Bears Too

Batman and well, nanas waiting at a bus stop. H/T to one of my Facebook friends for posting a version of this image.

Good Wednesday morning folks. For those of you in Greensboro, I’m looking forward to seeing you at either Nancy Hoffmann‘s office hours at Scuppermong Books or at SynerG on Tap at Natty Greene’s. Office hours start at 6 and the happy hour starts at 5:30.

In addition, before I get into the rest of the news links, I want to commend the efforts of our mayor, our shelters, the churches, the GPD and others who have worked diligently to make sure no one has to sleep in  a home with no heat or on the streets on these frigid nights. Here’s a Time Warner Cable News video about efforts at the Interactive Resource Center specifically to keep people warm.

I also want to congratulate our outgoing city manager Denise Turner-Roth, appointed by President Obama as the deputy administrator of the General Services Administration, which is responsible for all maintenance of federal buildings,  preservation of historic properties and government purchasing. I only wish I’d gotten to know Denise better during her time here in the city and greatly admired her work as assistant, acting, and full city manager for the City of Greensboro. I wish her well and will miss her. I also hope the city finds someone just as skilled and worthy to keep us moving in the right direction. The city council at their meeting last evening appointed Assistant City Manager Jim Westmoreland as acting city manager, effective February 1.

Final shoutout of the morning goes to my friend Tony Reames for co-authoring his first journal article :
Social Capital and Longitudinal Change in Sustainability Plans and Policies: U.S. Cities from 2000 to 2010

And with that, here’s the rest of the news I think is fit to read this morning:

Everything else that happened at the Greensboro City Council meeting last night.

As I mentioned in the title, it’s too cold for the polar bear at the Chicago Zoo.

Portland allowed homes just outside their growth boundary, but failed to provide necessary public services to said homes.

People in the East Village of Manhattan are trying to keep a beloved newsstand alive, despite pressure from gentrification and higher fees that may push the operator out of business.

The public transit tax cut hurts all commuters. 

The New York MetroCard is 20. 

Londoners have nicknamed their new skyscrapers after foods, kitchen tools and a stealth bomber.
Mayor DeBlasio had an open house and this is what it was like. He is also called upon to continue the growth of Silicon Alley, which although smaller, is more diverse in terms of people and locations throughout the region.
Troubles continue with the California high-speed train.

A new study highlights how urban poor, namely black poor often inherit their poverty and the feeling of being stuck in place. In Vancouver, the feeling that mixed neighborhoods cause more trouble than their worth.

Jay-Z at his show  in Greensboro on Sunday night gave a 12-year-old a chance to spit some bars.
And finally, be a part of a new storefront art installation, run by the Open Arts Society in Downtown Greensboro.
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

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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.

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: