I’m finally getting around to doing a fantasy transit map.
My inspiration? My trip home from D.C. to Greensboro via the train.
It takes approximately 8 hours to do it in the daylight and 5.5 hours to do it in the middle of the night. And those are the only choices, just the two trains a day.
However, years ago, there were at least 5 trains a day, if not more. I think we could get back to that point and do so quite cheaply. Also, I think there’s no real excuse why we can’t have trains going to every major city, at at least 60 miles, if not 90 miles an hour.
This idea actually was planted in me years before I decided to do planning work, but not long after my first ever train trip just before I started kindergarten.
North Carolinian fourth and eighth graders study their home state in social studies classes. Being the social studies and history nerd I still am and was very much so then, I read my textbook from cover to cover.
My fourth grade social studies textbook. This was the only image I could find.
There was a section in it that talked about life in North Carolina in 2032. Part of that life was being able to have lunch on the coast and dinner in the mountains (And I’m sure breakfast in one of the three regions and other meals on other coasts, but still, you can wake up one place, lunch in another and dinner in yet another).
As it stands right now, thanks to the routing of the Carolinian and the Piedmont, you can have an early breakfast in NoDA in Charlotte, a high noon lunch at Natty Greene’s in Greensboro and a dinner at one of Ashley Christensen’s fabulous James Beard Award-winning joints in Raleigh. You could do all of this in reverse. (probably need a different breakfast spot though…)
However, what if you could have dinner at the Chef and the Farmer in Kinston instead of that dinner in Raleigh and still get back to Greensboro before midnight?
That’s the fantasy I’m creating with my North Carolina Passenger Rail Map.
Before I reveal the map, a few rules that I worked with:
1.This assumes that we can start putting commuter rail stops and tracks down the interstates and state highway medians immediately.
2. This is not by any means parallel or inspired by the existing maps for the High Speed Rail corridor or any strategic plans. Please do dig up the strategic plans, especially for the Durham-Orange Corridor, the Wake County Corridor. The regional transit authority sites are good places to start for this and I may be back here to add those links in.
3. In the interest of still keeping some realistic planning in place, I’m using those highway medians with the assumption that the lanes lost in the process would be absorbed by people taking the train more often, especially in the Charlotte Raleigh corridor. Also, the costs would be lower, as basically this can be rolled into the existing plan to add second rail from Charlotte to Raleigh and also highway resurfacing and widening.
4.I decided to overlay a Google Map, because all the work is done for me. The map is blurry, yes, but it’s really just there for perspective and once I started drawing the lines and circles over top, I didn’t want to re-center it. I will revisit this later as well.
So, all aboard (couldn’t resist)! In my fantasy world, you can get to just about any city in the state in less than 5 hours, many within 2-3 hours.
My trunk line is the existing Piedmont routing. I’m assuming that almost everyone, save the folks on Asheville to Wilmington line, will come through Greensboro, Raleigh or Charlotte at some point.
I imagine these stations will be massive park and rides, utilizing space right next to highway interchanges for cars and regional buses to areas that still can’t be served by rail efficiently. These buses will still sync up directly with arrivals and departures and will leave the cities they originate in promptly. Also, there will be transit to major commercial areas in the cities represented.
Or, I could go even more fantastical and make all these stations downtown stations, much like all the existing ones are. A lot of these places will need new track anyway, why not go downtown to downtown and save money on parking and buses.
Now, what you’ve been waiting for, the map!
Existing Amtrak service is represented by blue lines. Fantasy service is represented, with slight approximations, by the green lines. In the Google Drive, distance is calculated using state highways, of which many do have a passenger or freight railroad paralleling or hugging anyway.
Also, if you’ve not seen the infrastructure maps, especially the railroad maps, the Washington Post recently published, you should. It will also point out that a lot of my fantasy map, could become very real and very viable–if only we reinstated some of the old railroads or allowed more passenger traffic on the ones we have.
Finally, there’s some great information on the N.C. By Rail website, including this awesome video of the progress and modifications to the primary state-owned and operated route that the Piedmont travels.
I expect you to critique the mess out of this. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
I mentioned in a prior post that I do a fair amount of walking and I no longer have my car now that I’m in DC. I wanted to break that down and help folks getting started here without a car to understand how car-free life works. This is very D.C. specific, but I used the same logic in a more modified form in Kansas City and in Raleigh in undergrad.
Step 1–Go on a map and get adjusted to where you actually live, not where you think you live in your head.
Especially if your only experience in DC is the area between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial, which by the way is 2.6 miles long and takes 56 minutes to walk in its entirety. I learned the hard way back in 2009 how large of a walk this is. We went to the Lincoln Memorial at night on our first day of our visit. I continued to have pain throughout the remainder of my trip that was only fixed when I started wearing hosiery. Thankfully this was during November and they also helped keep me warm. These days, I’m still adjusting my schedule and my backpack weight so I don’t end up with back aches from carrying my whole life around to too many places across the city daily.
This is also a plea to learn your neighborhood name (or names in my case, as I technically overlap and depending on who I’m talking to, this can be a cause for consternation and write me off as being a trustworthy individual). Please also learn how to say neighborhoods like Glover Park and that it’s Malcolm X Park and National Airport and Anacostia is just the area around the Frederick Douglass House. Try not to truncate neighborhood names other than NoMa./rant
Use Google Maps and overlay the Metro on the actual map. You will thank me, when you realize that Shady Grove is not that close at all. In fact, I’ll give you a bone, here’s the D.C. Metro map to proper scale.
D.C. Metro Map at the Actual Scale of the System by Peter Dvorak. Click on the image to see all of his pictures and to purchase his work as a print.
Step 2–Understand that while this city moves at a faster pace, you travel at a slightly slower pace over less land, especially if you live inside the District or close in.
Actually, even if you live pretty far out, don’t expect ease of travel during rush hours on weekdays. Also, if you are commuting and you find that you would be better served living close to your office, in one of the suburban areas, go live there and be closer to not just your work, but a handful of quality happy hour places and suburban big box stores and trails and 20-60 minute trains into downtown and back out. Or if you’re like me and like being in the middle of everything, as I’ve managed to do as a stroke of luck, by all means, stay where you are future (or present) neighbor. Or, you may find family is close by, but work may change. Or work may just change. Or you start dating someone.
As good chefs know, keeping a well-stocked pantry with your staples helps maintain some consistency in cooking. The same goes for your commute. With so many choices, you could travel so many ways. However, time and money are still finite and you want to maximize them both as you choose how to get around the region.
Step 3 –See how far you can walk to get to your destination.
Every day for me is a walking architecture tour. You may find that for yourself as well, so definitely start exploring on the sidewalks.You may find that even if you walk slow, you’ll get to your destination cheaper, faster and with some physical activity built in. From my position on Georgia Avenue, I walk to Petworth station, to the Shaw/Howard station, to U Street and to the Columbia Heights station. If I wanted to get more exercise in, Adams Morgan and Chinatown and Dupont and Metro Center become part of my walkshed.
If the only things I needed to do were in walking distance every day, I would stop here and I’d have a perfect budget and I’d be living in a perfect village. But we can’t all live in Clarendon. And because we all don’t just live in Clarendon and sometimes we want to go to a Smithsonian museum or a Nats game, we have to use more than our two feet. Also, what If I can’t walk?
Step 4–See how far you can bike, both with your personal bike and Capital Bikeshare.
I am still proud of myself for making this journey with Lina, even if I had to space over two days and use the hotel storage where I was attending the event. At this moment I’m just across the Potomac from the monument core on the Mt. Vernon Trail.
First of all, if you haven’t ridden a bike in years, and you already know your balance isn’t the greatest, I would reach out to my friends at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association(WABA) and see when their next learn-to -ide class is. Then, I would go on Craigslist or to one of the local thrift stores and see where you can get a nice used bike. Folks at WABA can help you with that as well. I would not buy a bike from Walmart or Target. They may be cheap, but they are so heavy, you might as well be riding a Capital Bikeshare (CaBi). Once you pay your $85 a year for a CaBi membership, you get 30 minutes free per bike and there are stations all over. I suggest you get a fob, even if you don’t plan on using it much.
I will admit though that uphill rides can be a bit rough and anything north of U Street and Florida Avenue starts the uphill climb, at least in the Northwest quadrant. Also, CaBi stations get sparse the further north you go. And if you’re in one the main dense suburbs, you may have slightly better comfort and markings to go where you need to go or you may have nothing at all. Also, learn how to lock your own bike down, so all of it is there when you get back. If you want comfort maps at your fingertips here are ones for:
(If your part of the metro has one, let me know. I crowdsourced this list via Twitter after exclaiming that I knew about Arlington’s map, but where were the other major regional maps).
Step 5–Mix in Metrobus and Circulator and your county bus system (ART, DASH, RideOn, The Bus)
Don’t look down on the bus. Especially when the bus helps your wallet and actually saves you time. I live off of Georgia Ave. I like doing a few things and visiting people who live in Silver Spring. I also like being downtown quickly. The 70s buses help me do that quick and easy. I just know it’s 20 minutes in either direction and I’m thankful I don’t have to walk. One day there will be no delays and I’ll get a good seat, but I can’t beat the $1.75 in each direction. The 79’s especially great for taking an express route to where I need to go. The Washington Post has a great primer on how to use the bus for the first time. Also, ask if your destination has a free or direct or both shuttle. This is what makes Potomac Mills Mall even possible, as well as the National Harbor, although both now have public transit routes. I doubt they will ever be in the Metrorail system and VRE, the Virginia side commuter rail, just scratches the surface of the Potomac Mills area and not at a high frequency.
Step 6– Now take Metrorail. Or VRE or MARC, depending on which state your suburb is in.
Two #newtrains, passing in the wind…Speaking of Metrorail. As of this writing, you may have not heard the best things about Metrorail, the thing you probably think about when you hear the word Metro used in reference to the train or any transit around D.C. However, it’s hands down the best way to cross the rivers, especially with your own bike. Also, I’m using it to go to Capitol Hill (Eastern Market to be exact) and down to the Waterfront/Nats Park areas. It’s also become most convenient to cross town this way, instead of try and do it on bus (being underground is warmer). My storage unit is adjacent to West Hyattsville. Thankfully, because I have a life that’s more than just using the train to go places in the metro (but all about grabbing Amtrak at Union Station to go up and down the eastern seaboard and the yellow line for further flights out at National Airport), I don’t have to worry too much about this thing called SafeTrack.
However, if you live in any suburb, it’s either express bus to one of the major suburban junctions or it’s the stop in your suburb that you live close to. Unless you add the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) or the MARC train, depending on which state you live in or are communing to and from. Honestly, doing this to Baltimore or BWI Airport will save you some sanity and money. Please again look at the Metro map above, the one with the real distances , and decide if it’s really worth the extra money to ride down F/G street versus walk or bus those four blocks inside the District.
Also, I keep my SmarTrip Card around my neck and I load it with a cash amount as needed. If I was doing more riding both the bus and the rail system, I’d invest in a pass. If you know you’re primarily using one or the other or both as transportation, and doing it at least 3 times a week, then I’d go with one of the passes at the WMATA site. Also, the speciality ones do make great jewelry or bragging rights. You do need a different set of tickets for VRE and MARC, but you can go here and get tickets for everything transit and train related in the region.
Step 7–Uber and Lyft, too.
I’m trying to reduce my dependence on these two, by dressing properly for the weather and being less afraid of walking home alone before 9 p.m. However, for late nights, tight timelines when I think I’m walking or biking or busing the right direction, but I’m really just lost, and carting stuff home from the grocery (although I’m looking into one of those carts for my Giant/Target trips), Lyft and Uber have been my lifeline. Oh and when you have really good friends who live way out past Metro stops. This also applies when Metro is shut down and your bus drops frequency or stops running.
I’ve not done it yet, but I’ve heard you can buy trips in bulk as well.
Step 8–Car to Go, ZipCar or Enterprise Car Share.
I’ve only done one of these and that was so I could drive around a city that didn’t have as much transit on the opposite end of my trip. I have ridden in all but a Car to Go with people who are members of these services. Again, this is what you do when you need to go somewhere that’s not as car-free friendly like Rehoboth Beach, you need to haul a ton of things from a storage unit or boxes from IKEA (although I know someone who has carted a vacuum cleaner on Metro from Target) or there are really no other good options to get where you need to go.
Step 9– Reconsider Car-Ownership.
I only miss her at night, and when I’m tired and don’t want to put in the work all these other modes require. But then I think about the hurting I put on her on the streets and parking downtown…and the fact that I was already down to driving her only every other day or every two days even in Kansas City. I think she’s in a happier place with her new owner.You can only get your friends to drive you so much. You may want to become an Uber or Lyft driver yourself or have a business that requires you to haul things or a job that requires you to spot funds for site visits. You might get on a Home Depot/Apartment Therapy kick and it becomes a self-care activity. Your kids may just cause you more trouble on the bus and Metro than its worth, if they even come close enough to your house.
Also, if you don’t live in the District proper or you’re somewhere that’s still not well served by transit or you have a social or work life largely outside of the District, and you can park easily, as many folks not in what’s considered the Old City do, then by all means, do get a vehicle of your own (or figure out how to get your vehicle here).
Yes, this statement may throw out everything I just mentioned. However, I’m an advocate at the end of the day for a multi-modal future, not necessarily a car-free future. Also, some of you like driving in the demolition derby known as driving in the core of the District of Columbia (and to be honest, certain parts of close-in suburbs that will remain nameless). And some of you should volunteer yourselves as tributes, I mean Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Instacart, Door Dash or a litany of other delivery service drivers so those of us who wreck our vehicles every other year, who get anxiety behind the wheel (or sometimes traveling period), don’t have to drive.
The extra money you make using an app could potentially pay off any expenses that come with having the vehicle. Do know again, that your vehicle can become more trouble than it’s worth. Maintenance, parking and fines are all higher here. That’s what ultimately tipped me to sell my car and not bring it to the District.
Finally, we are at the top of the pyramid! Your commuting and traveling equation may look different, but if you’re looking to go car-free for the first time or in a long time and you also want to save money and be efficient on how you get around, consider my method or create a sustainable one of your own!
Other Resources
GoDCGo (The official transportation demand management site of the D.C. Government)–http://www.godcgo.com
RometoRio (Great resource that predicts how much a particular mode or combination of modes costs)–https://www.rome2rio.com/
Transit app (You will want this or Moovit or something to supplement Google and Apple Maps sometimes paltry route tracking and directional skills and mode combining on your phone)–https://transitapp.com
I’m Kristen. Six years ago, I started blogging here to make sense of the built environment around me. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can find out more about me at my main website, www.kristenejeffers.com.
Happy New Year folks! I’m posting this with about 12 hours to go on the East Coast, but I believe we’ll make it just in time. And as always at year’s end, I am here with a few things that I hope all of us placemakers and citizens can see in 2015:
Truly Open Streets
Remember this picture of me? I was playing on a B-cycle demonstration bike on the street that I helped paint, to have an open streets event there. Yet, from then to now, not just in Greensboro, but in many other cities, the streets haven’t been so open. In fact, many have been hostile. My wish is that we can start looking at people on our streets, not as threats, not as people to shake money out of, not as places to speculate our real estate futures and to shoot to kill, but as places where we can celebrate our achievements and what it means to be human. I might be wishing this every year, but I’m going to get us started there. If we block the streets in 2015, I pray that it’s to have a party, be at peace and be better neighbors.
High-Speed Rail
I’ve been on more trains and planes than I can count on my fingers this year. I’m reading Tom Zoellner’s Train. I’ve met and mingled with so many of my transit nerd herd folks this year. Hold the though of mingling with people to my next wish. I want to put out there that it would be nice for at least the routes outlined in green above to get started this year. Thanks to the US High Speed Rail Association for putting the map above together. (Check out the interactive version). Congrats to the Texas Central Railway and California High Speed Rail Authority for breaking ground in 2014. Kudos to All Aboard Florida for setting a 2015 start date. Yes, high-speed rail is a sticky issue. However, it’s an issue that we need to resolve. Streetcars are nice. But a 90 minute trip between major cities like DC and New York would be even better.
Seeing More of You and Making Better Places Together
As I mentioned above, I flew and rode trains more than I’ve ever done in my life this year and it was great! I gave my first solo keynote,which is pictured above and you can watch here. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at Transportation Camp DC and festivities surrounding the Transportation Review Board Annual Meeting in a few weeks. North Carolina folks, namely those in and around Greensboro are invited to join me at Scuppernong Books at 7 p.m. on January 17th for a book event. I will read from A Black Urbanist and will sign any copies you have. A very limited number will be for sale. Go ahead and grab a print copy here. There will be a DC book event on January 11 at 7 p.m. during the TRB festivities. I’ll post more information in the next few days on both events. CNU, CCDA and New Partners for Smart Growth are also on the tentative agenda as well. And if you want to help me make this wish come true contact me here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So that news? I am the first winner of YES! Weekly‘s Essay Contest with my entry, TheHarvest 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:
Jose Vilson (@TheJLV) is a man you need to know. He is an AfroLatino man who is not only bucking the trends of education reform in his own NYC classroom, but he is doing it in print and on social media. He’s got a book coming out, but in the meantime, he dropped this wonderful response to all the articles on teachers of color leaving inner city schools and teaching, Why This Teacher Of Color Is Staying.
This mall that once ate a stream up is now being turned into a community around the stream.
And finally, prisoners at a mens prison in Maryland are knitting. And not just blankets for themselves, but comfort dolls for abuse victims and hats for poor kids.
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.
