Category Archives: The Thursday List

The Thursday List, Urban Wonkbook

Urban Wonkbook- Names Do Matter

Good morning folks. Every once in a while, but generally once a week, I try to cull all of my favorite links into one place, write up some commentary and give some love (or wise constructive criticism) to a few other fellow writers. The name Wonkbook comes first from my friend over at the Washington Post and two, it comes from the concept of political and cultural analysis, which is my wheelhouse. This also gives me a chance to write directly to you readers and share more of the inner workings of my brain

-First of all, yesterday was a very exciting day over at the blog. I began my partnership with The Atlantic Cities to run some of the content you see right here. They chose to run my laundry adventure from a few weeks ago. I look forward to reaching new audiences and new people, not just die hard urbanists or community developers or cultural studies folks.

-In addition, continued thanks to the folks at Sustainable Cities Collective, who ran my analysis of freight transport versus actual people transport yesterday as well.

As always, if you want to read my posts first, make sure you are on the email list. I also have an RSS feed, working on getting it visible again. Also working on a few cosmetic changes to this site, so look out for those as well. In the meantime, I wanted to highlight a few more great posts:

-Apparently before CNU 18 (the Atlanta 2010 Congress), Howard Blackson had a laundry related adventure of his own. His, however, is more serious. If we can’t provide for basic needs, namely clothing, in our nice shiny new town centers, then I think we have failed. This was a two year old post, have we gotten better?

-Steve Mouzon had me a bit hungry yesterday as he discussed the urban form as a fried egg, with Philadelphia as the focus city. Outside of having great cheesteak, Philadelphia is well known for having an nice compact density. Yet, Mouzon warns us that if we have too much of the same thing, then even compact density is worthless. We should be mixing up our uses, even on the same block.

-Over in Charlotte, Tracey Crowe invites us to think about turning concrete walls into green walls. She also highlights how the famous tree canopy of Charlotte is gradually erroding, but the need for green organisms has not. Thankfully, we too in Greensboro still have a decent canopy, but I’ve seen some ugly maps out of our region too.

-Now we get to why names and stereotypes matter. First of all, take a look at this map that Renee DiResta put together. She took the first few things that come up in Google AutoComplete when people as “Why is so…” and overlayed them on a U.S. map. This site is more focused on reputation over names, but reputation is still as much part of our own personality as humans and that carries over into how we see our places as well.

-Finally, Dan Reed on Greater Greater Washington was given a bit of a hard time when he discussed why names matter. For him, it was seeing the apartment building of his childhood change names and lose some of it’s identity. A commenter tried to make the point that a name of a place is less important of an urban issue than poverty or other blight-related issues. Yet, I feel if a place has a name associated with blight, then it’s hard to sell or get people to rent there. Also, names can change on paper, but may never change in minds. Think about how many people still call Diddy, Puff Daddy. Even after 15 years, some things will never change.

Have a great day folks!

Brooklyn, Greensboro, Issues and Ideas, The Thursday List

The Thursday List: News and Views for the Week of May 21, 2012

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but came up with all kinds of excuses. No more. Even if this is just a public way for me to clear my thoughts on a few articles that have come past my inbox, news feed and stream, then here it is.

However, before I launch in to everyone else’s news, here are my two shameless plugs for my latest post on when it’s ok to quit a city and my e-book on how to make things better. Thank you for supporting both endeavors. For those of you still scratching your heads on what all this means, subsequent editions of the book will introduce more concise definitions and straightforward action steps for your community. I’m not going to put a timeline, but do expect a bigger edition sometime before the end of this calendar year.

Now on to the news:

It’s really sad that going to school on a bike is grounds for suspension and in some cases jail. Many of us saw the Grist article, but it’s this Bicycling.com article that really drives the point home that something needs to be done. It also exposes how little people in the government sector want to collaborate. Holding a master of public administration, I know that in theory this is not the way things should be, but it’s the way we have chosen in recent years to get things done. Yet, I commend anyone who seeks to take public action who’s just a private citizen trying to do the right thing.

The Huffington Post yesterday highlighted just that. Aurash Khawarzad, who I had the pleasure of meeting at CNU 19 in Madison, is the focus of a wonderful article on Do Tank, the tactical urbanism organization and a new organization called Change Administration, which seeks to deal with gentrification by hipsters dead on. Like it or not, even some of the tactical projects can be disruptive to already existing community norms and rituals. However, that doesn’t have to happen. Khawarzad cites his neighborhood and surrounding areas in Brooklyn as examples of how diverse many of our communities are, but how we also have an obligation as privileged people to do what we can to help save communities. I hope to lend my support to this effort and similar ones across the country that are dealing with distressed areas.

Lastly, my home state continues to exhibit examples of my 12 Legit reasons to leave. Case in point, a man who after peacefully demonstrating his desire to not have a Confederate statue replaced in his town, this man’s tires on his business vehicle were destroyed and his car and business were also vandalized, with obscenities related to the president sprayed on them. The man is still pushing on, showing that sometimes, even when it’s past time to leave, you have to keep soldiering on.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and my soon to be revived Tumblr to explore the environment in my own eyes.

The Thursday List

Four Ways Old Malls and Strip Centers Are Coming Back to Life

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North Hills Mall Plaza from the Roof of Renaissance

Yes, I know North Hills Raleigh is a great retrofit of an old mall. But it’s still mostly retail. Read below and find out more about other rebirth options. (Image credit: Flickr user radellaf).

I know in my last post I came down pretty hard on the lifestyle center trend. However, living up the street from an enclosed mall that regularly gets business makes me wonder if it’s the form of the mall that matters as much as the function.  Still, economics does matter in many cases and malls do fail. Our second enclosed mall died a slow death partially for being near a landfill, while the “lifestyle center” was one of the first major outdoor strip malls in the state of NC. It had been written off when the enclosed malls opened and now it has it’s own addition and all of the “upscale” stores. Then there are the two major bigbox thoroughfares.  It’s all in the perception of a place. Which leads me to list four ways that malls can and have come back to life:

Schools: In Florida, a school building looks nothing now like the Kmart that once embodied it.

Churches: Here in Greensboro, a Kmart still bears it’s marks, but inside the place is clearly an arena-style worship center. It’s one situation where the large parking lot is full at least once a week as if it was Christmas.

Hosptials: In Nashville, TN, this mall now houses over 20 health clinics as well as some of the remaining stores.

Daycares: This California center has even gained a second story.

While some of these are technically big box retrofits, the idea of reforming old, once vibrant, shopping strips and enclosed areas is alive and well. Notice how these are general community uses, not commercial stores that may fall out of favor with shoppers. What are some other examples of good mall and strip center retrofits?

Greensboro, The Thursday List

Five Ways You Can Be a Grassroots Planner

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downtown greensboro during 2009 Fun Fourth
Street festivals are great examples of Grassroots Planning, bringing vibrancy to the street and exposing people to businesses and parks they may not know about. (Image Credit, Myself)

I know many of my readers are like myself. They can’t draw buildings or maps. However, they may have the time and money to go out and organize the community.  The  passion for the city is still there, but in a different way. So how can these people contribute to urban planning? Here are five ways:

  • Run for office– I know in Greensboro, 75% of the issues that come before council are related to property and zoning issues. If you don’t have the stomach for a campaign, try to get appointed to the zoning commission or the board of adjustments. You can also do like I am doing and volunteer your services for someone with this gift.
  • Join your neighborhood association. I’ve discussed the need for neighborhoods to have a neighborhood driven, low-fee group to air community concerns and provide community entertainment. If your neighborhood association is too structured (managed by an outside group that has no clue what the real needs of the neighborhood are), or non-existent, see how you can get one going.
  • Join me in the blogosphere. If you are reading this and thinking about sharing your ideas on urban planning, go ahead. The more citizen voices that exist, then more decision-makers can understand the true reach of the market for certain activities and living areas.
  • Start a business in an underused area. I’d prefer that it would be a green business, but any business that treats employees fairly or adds life to an inner city area that appears to be lifeless is good. Encourage your employees and supporters to give back to the community as well.
  • Read the Tactical Urbanism guide and get a project started– There are so many great projects in this book. Although these are mostly temporary projects, some that  have become permanent. Also, you don’t need a license or talent  just a will to see the project through and a few friends who do have the talent or license. The idea is that urbanism is not just for those with large, sweeping multi-block or acre city plans, but  plans that are smaller and cheaper and still transform and create great places.

However, because we are talking about grassroots strategies, there are plenty more ways one can get involved. Share with me your ways of getting involved in planning and urban development, besides drawing the plans themselves.

The Thursday List

The Thursday List: 5 Ways to Bring Schools and the Community Together

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This week I’m adding something new to the blog, a more in-depth, quick facts way to start applying principles I discuss on the blog directly back into the community. This week’s theme was education, so I’m revisiting  steps we need  to bridge the gap between our schools and the community. Here are five of those steps:

Host Community Events Free of Charge

School lunchrooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums and classrooms are perfect event spaces. If need be, bring in food and supplies to offset rental and staffing costs.

Use The Yard Space(If You Have It) For Community Gardens

Most schools gladly use their yards for sporting events. While this is a great release for kids sometimes, how much better would it be to teach kids how to grow their own food  and even run their own small business by using a community garden.

Establish Apprenticeship and Internship Programs with Students as Young as Middle School Age.

Go ahead and build brand loyalty, as well as introducing kids to a sure career path. They will be more motivated to do well in school and pick a college or trade school that gets them exactly where they need to go. Then they can come back and build up communities themselves by repeating the cycle. Also consider becoming a Big Sibling

Create a Carpool/Bikepool/Walking Group

In my neighborhood, the kids could walk to school with one or two adults in tow. If the schools a little further away in your neighborhood, but the streets are safe, get a bike group together. And if walking is dangerous or the school is across town, get a carpool together. Also, the school bus works too, but not every district pays for busing all students to school. Also, what if your child is in a charter or private school, where busing is optional.

Sponsor and Donate to the School.

Lastly, unless the district has established a district-wide endowment, donate to the closest, most needy school you can find. This can be your time or your money. However, keep in mind that the school you think may not give the ROI you expect may be the most grateful. If you want to get your feet wet, check out a few projects on Donors Choose.