Category Archives: Cities

Cities, Cityreads, urbanism

Placebook: Sunset in the City

IMG_0519As I’m writing this collection of thoughts, I’ve been watching the sun set. Both of the evening trains are in the station and I once again marvel at how  the sun hits the westside of all the downtown buildings. (More on my city of Greensboro love here).

And above all, I’m just grateful. Watching the sun come up and down is a peaceful sight and that peace gets me in the mindset of gratitude.  I wouldn’t even care that people knew what was really going on in their cities and towns if I didn’t have the chance to take moments of clarity and peace. That’s the hallmark of a good place in my opinion, the provision of peace and a spirit of gratitude. When I don’t feel those things and the activity of love that comes from them in a place, then that’s when I feel sad, frustrated and threatened. That’s when I want to speak out the most to make sure that we  can spend most of our time working hard for a purpose and then being at rest when the work of the day is done.  No place is perfect and has all the right things, but when they do, I cherish it.

And now the news:

NC Roundup

Greensboro City Council meets tonight at 5:30. Here’s the agenda. Remember to mark your calendars for every other Tuesday for city council meetings. Free parking in the Greene Street parking deck. Meanwhile a former city councilman is running for an NC House Seat.

The civil rights museum will stop offering guided tours in the next 60 days, allowing people to move about the museum freely.

NC universities are working to reduce car travel on campus and to campus.

We have cute zoo animals in Greensboro too. Check out our newest ones, the otters.

Duke Energy, our local power providers and the ones whose facility caused the coal ash spill, will no longer operate power-plants in the Midwest. In addition, they supported efforts and laws to take some teeth out of federal environmental regulation.

Every single meme photo and a few more real photos from different angles of the exploded car during the snow in Raleigh last Wednesday.  And if it weren’t for timed stop lights, the traffic jam could have been worse.

Speaking of Raleigh, they will be hosting their first Jane’s Walk on May 3, led by City of Raleigh Director of Planning (and friend of the site) Mitchell Silver. (Is anybody in Greensboro interested in doing one? Let me know.)

After several shootings of youth in Rocky Mount, the community is coming together to brainstorm solutions to the issues plaguing the area’s youth.

National and World Roundup

A pooh of the kind found in the hundred acre wood is one of many things clogging up sewers in Scotland.

Xerox may lead the charge of businesses who take into account long commutes as an indicator of employee success and effectiveness

The  average highest apartment rent in the country is not in New York, San Francisco or anywhere you would expect it to be.

Check out the 10 buildings that changed America, according to Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW.

How gentrification is so hard to stop.

Love in the time of transit.

More and more stories like this one are emerging from the critiques and calls to action for a better criminal justice system.

A nice 18 point list of the history of fast food.

Is it time for regional Olympiads?

Magnet schools are returning to certain areas.

British neighborhood pubs are dying out.

How break-dancing keeps Tunisian youths out of trouble.

And finally, when culture trumps class.

Cities, Cityreads, Links

Placebook: The Scribbled Love Note To Your Hometown

First of all, I hope everyone has had a chance to  read the love letter I wrote for Greensboro. I really wanted to set the record straight, especially as I move into a next chapter (details TBA) on this site and in life period. Plus, we’ve been doing a series on love here on the page and I did promise my love letter.

In addition, I got a chance to chat urbanism and changing urban landscape with a few friends on Saturday night. Usually, I’m the only one in the room that even thinks about how our shopping centers, which are gathering places in their own right, have changed, produced neighborhood tension or even lost neighborhood character. Around our heads, we observed how even though we were in a rustic Old South inspired microbrewery and then a classic Irish pub, the music was that of a 90s hip-hop club. Not too loud, but still very odd and possibly a nod to diversity in clientele.

Either way, it’s always nice to gather with friends and yes, I do love Greensboro after all. Now here’s some news for your Monday.

NC News Roundup

The snow and ice didn’t hurt Valentines deliveries and sales. However, it’s kept and continues to keep the NC Zoo closed. And even though we were warned about the snow storm, we were still surprised.

The state has 10 days to come up with a clean-up plan for an additional high-risk for explosion pipe on the Dan River.  Meanwhile, 5,000 gallons of oil have spilled out of a tank into a nearby creek and river in Buncombe County.

The City of Greensboro seems poised to work with Self-Help Ventures on the Renaissance Co-op and shopping center.

Meanwhile, the Northern Randolph County manufacturing megasite proceedings continue.

Photos from a Sunday afternoon on 9th Street in Durham.

Parking at Charlotte-Douglas Airport is already profitable, hence the question of why rate hikes are really needed.

This one story really illustrates how both slavery and the civil rights movement are intertwined and how you may not always know where you really came from.

Orange County’s Hog Day is back.

Nation and World News Roundup

The Jewish legacy in the South will be honored with a new cultural center at the College of Charleston.

Marion Berry is writing his memoirs.

The impact of gayborhoods.

The top ten cities with the highest tax rates. Also, the best and worst cities for workers.

A new documentary highlights Baltimore’s homeless tent cities and presents lessons to all cities, like ours that have active modern tent cities.

Grocery shopping in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

And finally, Harlem has always been good.

Essay, Family and Place, Greensboro

Greensboro, A Love Letter

1 Comment

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

If you like what you read here, subscribe to Placebook, a notebook of news and ideas on great places, especially in North Carolina. Released at noon eastern every weekday and some holidays,  it’s been called a necessary resource for staying up on local place-based news and world-class ideas on the sense of place. Already subscribed? Thank you! I love you too!

Cities, Cityreads, Links

Placebook: To City, With Love

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As we celebrate the concept of love today, I figured it would be as good of time as any to talk about what it is I love about cities. There are things I like about all versions of the built environment and I do actually love my hometown. More on those things later. So what is it about the city that makes my heart giggle and my spirit fly high?

First, it’s the transportation networks. If I fly somewhere, and I’m stuck, there’s plenty of activities to do, especially if I bring my own books and find proper electrical outlets, which most of the big city airports have in abundance. Big cities have public train transit. In those places, I can zip all around the city and not have to worry about trying to propel myself. Where there’s not a train, there are buses that come within 10-15 minutes, taxis that zoom by and pick you up or bike-shares that give you at least one more option than your foot. However, walking’s not that bad, especially to catch real life , non-toursity sites, that you can hop up on and make yourself at home.

Second, it’s the cultural outlets. The libraries, the plays, the random drummers and sax players on the street, the random stuff period. For someone who loves arts and culture, cities are a constant laboratory and paradise. I have found things like this in smaller towns too, but cities have the maximum amount of different cultures and expressions of art.

Finally, it’s the food. There are so many kinds of food in cities.I really doubt that people who move around a lot get homesick if they land in a big city with a robust food climate. I’m also grateful for the food truck revolution. Before you just had hot dog stands. Now, people who can cook, but can’t necessarily hold down a full restaurant can get their head in the food game.

That’s just a small sample of why I love cities, but these are the main ones. Stay tuned for my thoughts on why I love my hometown, and why I love the country and yes, I even have some suburban love up my sleeve. For now, the news:

The News Roundup

Updates on the snow/ice spectacular. Why air travel is so bad when bad weather hits. And the real story behind the exploded car in Raleigh.

PTI Airport is now considering a freight rail access plan for future major manufacturing facility bids.

The best cities to find love, including Raleigh and Charlotte.

The federal government is investigating the coal ash spill.

Another young “town president” finds success, this time in Jersey.

Pittsburgh has conquered the old guard in its city government.

Cleveland is still in that process.

Atlanta’s losing 50% of Georgia Tech graduates to other places.

Detroit’s mayor is already doing well.

What the Oregon DOT gets right. NC DOT is making projects available 12 months ahead of schedule for contractors.

Libraries aren’t going extinct.

And one last thing. I want to thank everyone who comes and reads daily, shares daily and supports this work. However, this is a labor of love and there are costs associated with presenting this information on a regular basis. Please consider supporting Placebook and The Black Urbanist by clicking here or on the image above. 30% of all sales go right back to me and creating a better Placebook and more awesome essays.

Cities, Cityreads, snow

Placebook: Snow and Everything Else

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I am thankful for the decision to work remotely, to stock up on my favorite foods and to write this post to warn folks of weird weather times. Of course, I saw a lot of the last point on that list yesterday.

This is a special snow and sleet-covered edition of Placebook, live from the middle of the storm. In fact, because we are in storm conditions, the roundups are going to be a bit different this morning. I give you Snow and Everything Else.

Snow

Yes, cars in Raleigh caught on fire. I’ll admit, just like Slate has said, that we are a mess (but so are most of the states on the East Coast). And people did camp out at Southpoint Mall. I did have several Facebook friends in this state who were walking home after leaving their cars, or getting their cars home after commutes of  minutes became commutes of an hour or more. I know of at least one accident and marveled at the 100 in Greensboro alone within one hour (scroll down, this is the running post of snow coverage in Greensboro). However, everyone I know is safe, people were fed and clothed and people were generous.  For that, I commend you. Please continue to exercise  safety and caution, and look at these pretty pictures! Play this game  when you watch the TV coverage of the snow/ice/sleet event.  Call the power company and go to a shelter if you have to.  Otherwise, just stay home.

Everything Else

A man spent 28 hours on a bus by choice and he loved it.

Somebody else asks why poor people can’t have nice things, namely nice stores.

How to become a shareable city.

A dose of railroad-related Black history.

He’s not a player and now posthumously, he has own street he can cross.

An electric car especially for wheelchair users.

And lastly, touchscreen Subway and Metro-North maps in NYC.

Cities, Retail, urbanism

Placebook: Neighborhood Stores Can Be and Should Be Our Friends

So as I welcome more of the white stuff, my thoughts have drifted to what it means to have a decent neighborhood store. I’ve written on this topic before. What I wanted to address is the idea that it does matter who owns the store, because of the character of the business and the commitment to the neighborhood. Even before the snow rush had me thankful that CVS sells cranberry grape juice and Stoffers Mac and Cheese, I have been following and posting links here in Placebook about the recent decisions of Trader Joes to locate in Greensboro and the neighborhood fight that’s ensued and not locate in a once predominately- African-American neighborhood in Portland.

Both decisions represent a high NIMBYism and they both illustrate that the phenomenon knows no color, income level or true neighborhood desire. I’m a firm believer in the power of neighborhood groups, but when they become less and less about providing for the greater good and advancement and instead the preservation of a small vocal few, then I’m concerned.

I’m also concerned on a more personal level. First of all, for the Greensboro store, yes, I do wish they’d pick another spot. However, the store itself is a major force and niche missing in our community. There are many of us who have expensive taste, but tiny budgets. Trader Joes has successfully allowed those of modest means to have great food. Also, despite the recent controversy on whether the store would provide health insurance or make employees go on the Federal Exchange, Trader Joes employees are paid a living wage and they are encouraged to work as a team and trained on all aspects of store management. This results in better customer service because the workers care and know the whole store and how it can help you.

Secondly, as you can probably tell already, I’m African-American. I’ve seen worse come out of new stores in underserved neighborhoods and I’m not deep in but close to a group who is trying to start a store in their neighborhood, that may gentrify it. We go wrong when we racialize fresh and unique food, awesome customer service and a clean store experience.

Yes, certain foods and dishes often originate from certain areas. But, it doesn’t mean we can’t try them and eat them. The trouble comes when we one, make fun or use them to disparage others and two, when we take them, change them up, then try to claim they are still what they are. It’s like calling hot orange juice, hot coco. They are both hot, both may use some of the same recipe, but they aren’t the same.

At the end of the day, the problem is larger than not having a grocery store or one that’s affordable or accepts food stamps(as Trader Joes does nationwide). The problem comes again with our economy and the fact that it’s left so many behind and allowed resentments to build, instead of the healing that comes with greater civil rights.

And with that, more news for today:

NC Roundup

Snow’s a comin’.  Well, more of it is coming. Yesterday, 1-95 was shut down and today Amtrak’s also cancelled all service after this morning’s trains. Numerous schools and other organizations are shut down too. Yes, there have been reports that shelves are empty of milk and bread .

Meet Durham County’s new county manager.

Norfolk Southern’s plans to grow its railyard at Charlotte Douglass Airport.

New uptown apartments in Charlotte.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools plans to install cameras in classrooms, meanwhile, Guilford County Schools is suing the state to protest the new tenure laws.

Some residents of public housing have managed to escape poverty, and still remain in public housing.

US and World Roundup

More on the issues around the Portland Trader Joes pullout.

An Atlanta area federal prison is finding success in more humane treatment of mentally ill inmates.

How brain drain benefits African countries.

Where runners run in major cities worldwide.

In and out migration in Ohio’s cities, tracked by Telestrian, The Urbanophile’s census aggregating software.

Could these new sprinklers help Beijing with its smog problem?

Cities, Cityreads, Links

Placebook: Neighborhood Dopplegangers

Rowhouses in Baltimore

Photo Credit: Flickr user Paukus.

We talk a lot about how many neighborhoods look exactly alike. If we want to be honest, it happens in big cities with blocks of condo towers and post-World War II suburbs. Critics of new urbanism say that the homes look too much like a certain style as well.

The weirdest thing though is when a developer copies the same neighborhood signage and subdivision names, then remakes them in another city. It’s the Levittown phenomenon. But at least those neighborhoods had the same name. There’s a neighborhood in Durham and Greensboro that’s pretty much the same, except the name of the whole neighborhood is different. But the branding of the individual subdivisions, the signs marking the subdivisions and even the plans of how the neighborhood is laid out (one big parkway in the middle, smaller cul-de-sacs and smaller loop roods off that parkway) is the same. There are even neighborhoods not officially in the neighborhood, that are only accessed from going deep into the subdivision. If you are not good with roads, yet happen to find yourself in this community, getting lost is not only expected, but a very weird experience.

So what’s not weird, today’s news. Check that out below and let’s do our best not to get lost in neighborhood doppelgängers.

NC Roundup

How North Carolina hopes to avoid other state’s marketing and PR problems.

Growth in Mecklenburg County includes low-income residents.

Check out how Charlotte’s transit funding stands up against other metros.

Someone jumped off an I-540 bridge and property owners are voting on I-277 noise walls.

What to expect when Raleigh’s UDC comes to fruition.

What Raleigh City Council did last week

Charlotte’s found hazardous materials in their sewer system. Meanwhile, the latest in the coal ash spill saga.

US and World Roundup

Thoughts from the Amtrak CEO, as told to Railway Age.

Apparently, if your roof is white, it’s the coolest of them all.

Placemaking lessons from the Seattle Super Bowl Parade.

For those cities with rail transit, is keeping them open all night worth it? Yes, even though this article assumes only young(possibly drunk) professionals will use it and that only small numbers of people work the graveyard shifts.

DeBlasio’s appointed his planning commission chair.

Will this Whole Foods in New Orléans be for everyone?

This article on the truly affordable NYC apartment is a major lesson in how family networks are vital in allowing for people to have success, especially as they are first starting out in the world.

So CNBC has noted that Walmart is starting to lose money and should start shutting down stores. Proof that all economies go in cycles.

Cities, Cityreads, Education, Family and Place, Links

Placebook: Promises from America?

Last night I watched American Promise, the documentary created by two parents who believed their son would be destined for greatness, all because of getting into one of the top private schools in the country. They then decided to film their son and a few of their classmates in-depth (although only one student remained in the documentary the whole time) from kindergarten until they both go off to college at 18.

The key here is that they do in fact both go to college. They also stay out of major trouble. Their parents are not super rich, but not poor and undereducated either. Yet, it illustrated all the unknown and unexpected factors that can go into one’s education. It also demonstrated that successful schools and successful people (all four parents went to public schools, yet had professional jobs, nice homes and happy families), come from all walks of life.

It also illustrated how wrong the modern high-stakes education system can be for some kids. Obviously, we could bring race into it, but honestly, it had more to do with the personalities of the two boys featured. First of all, it had to be weird having a camera stuck in your face for all of your school years. Second, who wants to tell their parents about their social life? Third, is success only going to an Ivy League school, getting super high grades and being certain careers? Oh and both boys had valid learning disabilities, which I believe our current system still doesn’t know how to handle in any child.

Back to the ideal of success being in one box, I don’t think this is true, as I look back on my educational experience too. If I frame it like these parents did in the beginning, then yeah, me not attending a private school, getting into an Ivy League school, getting into all the schools I applied for (I did do this, but the students featured did not), and not having super high grades, but pinpointing a career path would be a failure. Yet, these kids(and I) got into colleges, one had a clear career in mind(as did I) and the other is going to a school where our current president attended and started himself on the path to greatness he’s on now( I didn’t, but  I still have dreams).

I think every parent, especially those who are working to climb social ladders and those who are already upper class and sort of coast on their money should see this film and realize, that sometimes, all you can do is provide and nurture, then see what comes of it.

The documentary is online until March 5. Click here to watch.  And now, your Friday news:

NC Roundup

North Carolina cities have  some of the highest number of uninsured, even after the Affordable Care Act.

Guilford County Commissioners voted on several property tax changes last night at their meeting.

Election officials statewide are preparing for the voter ID laws to go in effect.

The civil rights museum is still struggling to manage its affairs.

Food stamp application backlogs in Forsyth County have been reduced.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge turns 10 tomorrow.

US And World Roundup

Can a mayor really be Robin Hood?

Issues with Denver’s public transit  workers pensions illustrate similar troubles nationwide.

This town is building its life around sheep.

Louisville becomes the second Kentucky town to add a food coordinator to its city government.

Bike lovers, get your own .bike website, starting today.

Brazil is handing out “culture stamps” to the poor.

Transit expert Jarrett Walker on what’s really keeping transit from being an all day service.

Cities, Cityreads, Links

Placebook: Celebration Town?

I’ve just started reading this memoir of the two journalists who moved their family to Celebration, FL, one of the famous “new town” settlements of the late 1990s. I’m very interested in hearing what it’s really like for people who are not architecture and planning nerds to move into a town like this, especially right when the trend began and with Disney’s stamp on the venture, which added a larger commercial element. Would this town really be Perfect Town, USA or was it just a major marketing ploy?

Many of us who are active in CNU and similar organizations know that these towns can work, but there are many issues to be ironed out, some that I know I’ll see throughout the book. Also, there’s a major elephant of diversity that already seems missing and I’m looking forward to see if they address that too. Any readers that currently live there, please feel free to share. Also, note that I’m only in the first chapter, and yes I do know about the murder that happened there in the last couple of years, but I want these folks story to stand for itself, at least for now. And with that, your news:

NC Roundup

An inside view into the strategic planning process of the Winston-Salem City Council.

The Scuppernong Books guys looked great yesterday morning on WFMY News 2, our CBS affiliate here in the Triad.

Raleigh is moving its Greyhound Station out of downtown. The hope is that the new Union Station will bring it back, but that’s 7-10 years from now.

The son of the founder of SAS is restoring historic Raleigh properties around downtown.

Raleigh and Charlotte are 16 and 17 on this list of the best cities to be an artist.

US and World Roundup

Fast Company‘s 9 inventive ideas for improving cities.

Even though there’s a new type of car and possible new service, beloved amenities are being cut on Amtrak trains.

When a black gentrifier, who’s tired of reading these kind of articles and longing for solace among his books and his writings, moves to a suburb that still has a river view and is close enough to Manhattan.

More cities need walking school buses, concerned neighbors in neighborhoods of all income levels to make sure our students get to school. More on that and the other tenets of this San Francisco project.

Man’s best friend may not be so friendly if he shows up with a police officer asking to search your car.

Could Cupertino, CA become Detroit if Apple were to ever fail?

This town’s lessons on snow plowing can teach us all how to incorporate pocket parks and curb bumpouts into areas we thought might not be able to handle them thanks to traffic demand.

It used to be transient homeless and poor people were the fear. For Evanston, IL, transient academics (read: people with or receiving advanced degrees and teaching classes) are the new blight of the neighborhood.

And finally, our place-based love story of the day: two DC residents fall in love on the X2 bus.

Cities, Cityreads, Links

Placebook: City with a Chance of Rain

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I’m usually not a fan of the rain. However, there’s something about seeing the rain come down on a city street, while people continue to scurry about and everything’s just close enough that you might be able to slide into the next bar or coffeeshop (or now bookstore) without using your umbrella. Of course, there’s summer rain too and the rainbows I’ve seen that rise above the skyscrapers, letting you know the weather’s about to get awesome again. Or, you can retreat and go inside, wrap up in a blanket and finally start that book you want to start. I did a little bit of both last night and because I did come in out of the rain, here’s your news for this Wednesday.

NC Roundup

Trader Joes has finally said yes, I want to come to Greensboro. And yes, in the spot we’ve all been waiting for them to show up in. Meanwhile, hometown hero grocers The Fresh Market are dealing with lowered stock prices and a less successful westward expansion.

Some of what happened at the city council meeting last night.

Several local cyclist deaths are raising questions on safety.

The High Point Council’s ceded to High Point University’s wishes and will close Montileu Ave next to the campus.

The City of Greensboro, Guilford County and the state will have to figure out what to call the new part of the Jamestown Bypass that will somewhat replace Gate City Boulevard, or still currently  High Point Road outside of the Greensboro city limits.

Lee Mortensen, formerly with Downtown Greensboro, Inc and the driver of many of the special events in downtown is now the executive director of the  Greensboro Farmers Curb Market.

Wake County Schools at capacity again in several popular neighborhoods, but will reassign district -wide to help with the crunch.

Raleigh has been selected as one of 7 national research hubs on ways to prevent and deal with droughts faced by farmers.

Mecklenburg County has outsourced its health services to a private company.

Charlotte planners are asking, who will build our next skyscraper? Meanwhile,several changes, including Charlotte’s new H&M, happening at Southpark Mall and the Sausarita’s chain, which is based in Charlotte, is adding a fast-casual (a.ka. Panera-style) Italian restaurant to it’s portfolio.

Charlotte Douglas Airport moves to expand the foreign trade zone around the airport.

And the 2nd Congressional District race officially has a big infusion of celebrity.

US and World Round-up

Meanwhile, in Portland, a Trader Joes has been rejected for being a potential driver of gentrification. Wendell Pierce of the Wire and Treme opens his first Sterling Farms grocery in the New Orleans area, bringing high end grocery back to an underserved area.

Harriet Tregoning is leaving the DC Office of Planning for HUD. Reflections from the Washington City Paper and Greater Greater Washington on this news.

The Atlantic Cities has began a new series on the Future of Transportation, with a focus on why the US hates their commutes and how Europe’s commutes ended up better than ours.

What you learn on a train.

Now that there’s a new mayoral regime in NYC, what planning professionals and others engaged in planning hope the new mayor will do.

And finally, in the spirt of sharing our love for places and the people that make them: Valentines for Planners.