I think it is safe to say, that at least in North Carolina, spring has arrived in earnest. It will shock me, but not by much, if we have one more hard freeze before May arrives. Yet, cold was nowhere this weekend, on the patio at Nattys where I had lunch with a few fellow media professionals on Saturday, or my balcony (pictured above) where I chipped away at Andrew Ross’s The Celebration Chronicles: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Property Values in Disney’s New Town. More grittier than Celebration USA, I’ve enjoyed getting another angle of what it was like at the beginning of one of the first, most scrutinized, popular new urbanist developments. (H/T to Placemakers Scott Doyon for the recommendation)What better to read about while sitting on a porch-like structure than a community built around the powers of front porches. Unfortunately, at the time of the writing, the porches were painful reminders of the Florida heat and vermin. I had a wasp or hornet come inside with me Saturday night. It spun around until it finally died in the middle of the night.
Yet, that was just a minor pain in the ability to watch the sunset on my balcony and see what neighbors drove what, as well as a few new ones I hadn’t seen, since I’d not had “balcony time” since way before last winter. I noticed plenty of your photos on all the social sites of patios, balconies, porches and even a couple of hammocks and blankets on the ground. Whatever we did this weekend, it was clearly an ode to the front porches of our lives and the springs that make them awesome.
I’m also drawn, as many who are advocates of the return of the front porch are, to a quote from another book, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451:
“No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking when they wanted to talk, rocking, and not talking when they didn’t want to talk. Sometimes they just sat there and thought about things, turned things over. My uncle says the architects got rid of the front porches because they didn’t look well. But my uncle says that was merely rationalizing it; the real reason, hidden underneath, might be they didn’t want people sitting like that, doing nothing, rocking, talking; that was the wrong KIND of social life. People talked too much. And they had time to think. So they ran off with the porches.”
I’ve lately been more conscious of the fact that we are in the “future”. Yet, as a neo-traditionalist, a Southerner, a person who likes socialization, who will attend at least 5 cookouts this summer, sit on that Natty’s patio (and the one at the Mellow Mushroom) at least 3-5 more times and probably grab a blanket at the NewBridge Bank park a couple more times, I believe that it will be a longer time, if never, before we will see the conditions described above. Yes, privacy and surveillance has become an issue, but the rebirth of downtown, sidewalk and patio bar/grill economies I believe will eventually trump all concerns of people congregating.
Do you have a front porch or a front porch-like space? Urbanists swear on its power, but does it have that magic for all my non-planner/non-builder types?
Areas that sprawl, but have several centers of culture, vibrant human-scaled places, and housing that’s cheap, but on the periphery of town create what I like to call a Road-Runner Urbanism. Essentially, to recreate what some people get in a few city blocks, those of us in sprawling cities must jump in our cars and speed from place to place, especially if it’s two or three happy hours or community meetings and they are all starting at different times, but on different sides of town. Everyone, even those in bigger cities, can relate to the shuffle of getting to work, picking up kids or dry cleaning or both and then trying to make a meeting. Many times, it doesn’t happen and I didn’t get to all the places I planed to go to last night. Sometimes that makes me feel like I was inches from being crushed by the Coyote’s anvil. It also illustrates why density, better transit headways and a lot of other people-scaled and paced things need to happen to make our communities stronger. Fortunately, I can at least bring together some news from across the state, all in one place, and possibly in the palm of your hand or on your screen:
Downtown Greensboro’s Green Bean Coffeehouse is becoming a chain, opening their second location at Greensboro’s Golden Gate Shopping Center. In addition, the shopping center is under new management and will be renovated.
Speaking of square feet, I along with others learned just how much room is in this old Sears Distribution Center in Greensboro yesterday. Also, anyone who’s interested should come to the design workshops at the Lewis Recreation Center at either 9:30 or 4 p.m. They are only a couple hours long and we’ll be discussing residential and transportation changes along Lawndale Drive. On Saturday morning, at 9:30 all the ideas from yesterday and today’s session will be presented. (Yes this is a work thing for me too. However, it’s something I’m excited to see discussed and happen for the city). Also, please report any potholes, as well as malfunctioning street lamps, broken street signs and flooded storm water drains here.
Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same You wanna be where everybody knows Your name. You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, You wanna go where everybody knows your name.- Theme from Cheers (Everybody Knows Your Name)
Last evening I went to the bar in Greensboro that puts me in the mood of Cheers the most, Grey’s Tavern. Because I’m a little younger, the bar’s really a mashup of Cheers and McClarens. Nonetheless the sentiment is the same, around the table, everyone knew my name and old friends were in town to hang out. We lost trivia, but we continued to build that notion of community that transcends a particular place.
And now the news:
News from North Carolina
The head of the NC Biotechnology Center, who was pivotal in building the biotech industry in North Carolina, along with serving as a state senator and secretary of three state departments, will retire.
Google Fiber could come to both Charlotte and the Triangle Region within the year.
As 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.
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.
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 .
EDIT 9/14/ 2013: Due to your comments, I’ve gone ahead and rebuilt my chart, along with edited much of the commentary that I originally wrote about these stores. Thanks to everyone who tipped me off to errors and omissions, which helped me find more quirks and a more complete analysis of Greensboro’s food oasis.
I live in a food oasis. I may complain about lack of stores in walking distance, but I still live in abundance of food.
To ease my urbanist brain, I finally sat down and did the math on how to get to the grocery store from my current residence. There is no doubt that despite my prime downtown location, I can’t get there without vehicular assistance. Sure, I can be like my dad who used to walk 5-10 miles a day, but he did that out of necessity. There are bus routes, but the headways (time it takes for the bus to run its route and back) are horrible. It’s far better and more practical to drive to the store.
Now I’m not knocking out the walk completely. I’ve had my 20-minute walk-to-Harris-Teeter moments too. But those moments were tough. Imagine carrying two heavy bags of pasta cans for a mile. Imagine someone my size, 5’4”, 120 something in poundage, lugging two barely bagged plastic bags through parking lots and around roundabouts and over broken sidewalks.
Oh the horror of the privileged college girl, who’s rebeling from the dining hall and avoiding her new, but annoying and challenging friends. She chose to walk to the store. WALK! Carrying groceries. CARRYING GROCERIES!
I digress. Let’s get back to the present. Here are the raw numbers on time and distance to the grocery store, courtesy of Google Maps.
Store
Distance(driving)
Distance(Walking)
Distance (via Bus with 30 minute headways)
Distance via Bike
Deep Roots
1.2 miles (7 minutes)
1.2 miles (24 minutes)
21 minutes
1.2 miles(8 minutes)
Whole Foods
3.3 miles(11 minutes)
1 hour 7 minutes
28 minutes
4.1 miles(26 minutes)
Food Lion #1(Glenwood/Coliseum Blvd)
2.9 miles(10 minutes)
2.8 miles (55 minutes)
21 minutes
2.9 milesb(8 minutes)
Food Lion(Meadowview) #2
2.3 miles(7 minutes)
2.2 miles (44 minutes)
21 minutes
2.3 miles (8 minutes)
Food Lion #3(E. Market)
2.2 miles (6 minutes)
2.2 miles (44 minutes)
16 minutes
2.2 miles (12 minutes)
Food Lion #4(Golden Gate)
3.7 miles(11 minutes)
2.9 miles (57 minutes)
23 minutes
2.9 miles (17 minutes)
Food Lion #5(Alamance Church)
2.2 miles (7 minutes)
2.2 miles (43 mintues)
25 minutes
2.2 miles (12 minutes)
Aldi
4.91 miles (10 minutes)
4.1 miles (1 hour 22 minutes)
37 minutes
4.2 miles (25 minutes)
Harris Teeter West Friendly
3.6 Miles(12 minutes)
3.5 miles (1 hour 11 minutes)
32 minutes
4.3 miles (27 minutes)
Harris Teeter Lawndale
3.6 miles(12 minutes)
3.6 miles (1 hour 12 minutes)
35 minutes
4.9 miles (28 minutes)
Target Lawndale
3.6 MIles (12 minutes)
3.6 miles (1 hour 12 minutes)
35 minutes
4.9 miles (28 minutes)
Compare Foods
2.2 miles (7 minutes)
1.9 miles (39 minutes)
16 minutes
2.2 miles (12 minutes)
Bestway
2.9 miles (9 minutes)
2.5 miles (51 minutes)
26 minutes
2.6 miles (17 minutes)
Super G Mart
5.6 miles (15 minutes)
5.2 miles (1 hour 46 minutes)
36 minutes
5.6 miles (32 minutes)
Walmart
5.3 miles (15 minutes)
5.0 miles (1 hour 40 minutes)
54 minutes
5.1 miles (31 minutes)
Walmart Neighborhood Grocery
6.8 miles (12 minutes)
4.5 miles (1 hour 30 minutes)
30 minutes
4.5 miles (26 minutes)
Li MIng’s Global Market
6.8 miles (12 minutes)
4.5 miles (1 hour 31 minutes)
27 minutes
4.5 miles (27 minutes)
Greensboro Farmers Curb Market
1.5 miles (5 minutes)
1.5 miles(28 minutes)
16 minutes
1.5 miles (8 minutes)
Bessemer Curb Market
2.2 miles (7 minutes)
1.9 miles (38 minutes)
15 minutes
2.1 miles (11 minutes)
My original methodology? I chose stores that were in 15 driving minutes or less and were not Walmart (2 of the 4 Greensboro Walmarts hit right at 15 minutes of driving). Also, all these stores are on my radar either for proximity or my actual love of shopping there. Those stores would be the Target, the Whole Foods and the first two Food Lions on my list.
These stores are clean, have exactly what I want or have the advantage of having all that I want. I do also shop at the Harris Teeters, but my guilt for going there is even worse than my Walmart guilt. I’ll save that for another post or if you really want me to explain in the comments.
After doing the additional math and analysis, new ideas for my grocery procurement appeared. Most notably, the farmers market is only 5 minutes from my house via car, making it the closest option. Shame it’s only open on Wednesdays. If I could get used to riding a bike with a cargo bag or trailer and at a speed that didn’t mow me down (or with added bike lanes on major thoroughfares), then I have far more options for stores. There would be more of a time commitment, but biking is as much an adventure as it is a chance to experience the open air. Thirty minutes on a bike can go by pretty fast. Walmart is not worth the trip, no matter the mode of transport. The bus headways are still terrible, but if push comes to shove, the options do exist. We still have moderately sized cities in North Carolina without bus service. I’m going to count that blessing of bus service here.
In addition, although not shown on the map, I found many stores in far-flung areas are actually very convenient on foot or bike to their surrounding residential areas. Bestway, a small community grocery, anchors its inner suburb area of Lindley Park. For my dad, the Glenwood Food Lion was only a 24 minute walk and 1.1 miles away from home. Likewise for other homes. We may get a bad rap for being car dependent, but if one is willing to brave sidewalks alongside or biking in the midst of busier roads, we don’t have as bad of a grade as I thought on full-service grocery or fresh food markets. If and when the Renaissance Co-op comes online, it will give that community a store in walking and biking distance, comparable with what is available in other parts of Greensboro. Also, I’ve heard from many others that the Food Lions I cited as dirty, along with Deep Roots, are not that bad. Even though I still can’t vouch for East Market in person, I can vouch for Alamance Church being a better store than it has been in the past.
This does not let the City of Greensboro off the hook for moving towards a more complete street plan for all of our major thoroughfares. If we had that, then many of these areas would become urbanist meccas overnight.
So what if I don’t want to leave downtown or even my apartment complex? Give me Peapod or give me Trader Joes. Peapod could set up a kiosk and storage space at my leasing office. Most everyone in my apartment complex is a choice buyer already. Paying premiums for rent and grocery would just be an additional expense. I would be excited to not have to drive to the store for small items. I’d just have the five-minute walk to the leasing office. Lowes Foods, a local chain suburban in nature, already offers grocery delivery. They could be that service here if Peapod decides to never venture in this market.
And then there is Trader Joes. They should move to my end of downtown, maybe on the South Elm lot or in one of the still empty storefronts on Elm or Greene Street. Their demographic desires are fairly well-known to anyone who follows grocery news. They want the professor. Moderately wealthy but choosy. Plenty of those types of people (choosy, if not academic) on my end of downtown. Similar to the Deep Roots in physical footprint, they could also draw people from the older, lower-income areas who may or may not be on public assistance. Plenty of these people already shop at the Aldi, which is another imprint of their company. Why not do the Trader Joes concept where there is at least a moderate amount of their demographic and a smaller floorspace.
Maybe they are stuck on the fear of theft, which is real, but these grocery companies need a better strategy and profit margin. Far more people need to eat and are willing to pay than steal. Stop the excuses. Oh and while we’re at it, many of these stores have questionable records on employee compensation and benefits, unionization, quality of food as well as their lust for profits even though they essentially are providing a public service. Is there such a thing as a perfect grocery store? One that I can walk to? One that delivers if I can’t or won’t drive?
This concludes my food oasis grocery rant and analysis. Where do you stand? What’s your perfect grocery store? What can they do for us who can afford to go anywhere, to make sure we don’t just go anywhere?
Prior to my father’s passing, he was in a state that I have come to term “functional homelessness.” He was often a fixture at the local soup kitchens and occasionally popped into the Interactive Resource Center (IRC), our local day center for those who are either homeless or in transition. He still had his home, intermittent work, and a working car.
A similar situation had befallen the young man who was also featured with me in the Sunday News & Record two weeks ago. Once gainfully employed and able to keep himself and his mother under a more stable roof, he’d been forced into a tent city after a stint of unemployment and losing his apartment. His mom eventually found more permanent shelter, but he continues to live in his tent, getting by on a temporary minimum wage job. People have reached out for help as a result of the publicity the article garnered and I hope that will mean that he’s free from living in a tent and intermittent employment.
But there’s no shame if he actually wants to live in a tent. There’s no shame if he wants to participate in an untraditional, but legal, economy such as bartering his skills and services. Why do we create these kinds of spaces and places of shame? Why do we not support simple economies, economies that allow for simple dwellings, bartering, and sharing food, tools, skills and other things in a marketplace as a major economic development strategy? Why must cities chase after luxury apartments, performing arts centers, multinational corporations and “young professionals” to feel successful? Why are we not concerned enough, at least in Greensboro, with the loss of a major health clinic, so much so that we’d pledge money to make sure it stays open, like the sudden pledging of money to ensure we have a major performing arts center and a brand new partially private park?
I do want to commend Greensboro for continuing to support initiatives around providing people with stable homes, jobs, and food such as the IRC, the Urban Ministry and Bicycling in Greensboro. Another shout out to the churches, including my home church, who support the homeless and those on the fringes of the traditional economy and middle and working class. Why can’t we be proud of those measures and make sure we support them as an economic development strategy?
The Corner of Lee and Eugene Streets. A central point for homeless services and a congregation point for those in transition, outside of the IRC, here in Greensboro. Photo Credit: Kristen E. Jeffers
This is especially relevant after this weekend, where in my other hometown of Raleigh, the basic act of feeding the homeless out in the open became illegal. This is on top of Columbia, SC banning their homeless from their downtown and other cities enacting similar restrictions either downtown or in the city limits.
I don’t fault the minister in Raleigh for not wanting a criminal record of his own, since that’s problematic in itself. However, this man was forced to choose between feeding people and giving himself a record that could keep him from employment, therefore, putting himself in the same situation as many he was hoping to help. It makes those who have been arrested at the Moral Mondays even more courageous as many of them are risking respectability on one front to protest injustice on another front. There’s also the other issue of the high cost of obtaining a legal permit to serve food or hold an event in the park in Raleigh. If the park is for the public use, why such high user fees for an official assembly? What constitutes an “official assembly”? I understand helping pay for clean-up and security, but is there not a way to reduce the costs to use our open, completely public in this case, space?
Ultimately, the City of Raleigh has stepped up to apologize and work on a real solution to allow Moore Square to continue to be a place where those on the margins, whether by choice or by necessity, can come together and at least break bread. After all, we encourage those of greater means to eat in the parks during lunch and dinner hours, what’s so different about what this ministry and other ministries are doing for those of lesser means?
There are two major issues here that we need to address if we want to move forward in an inclusive manner. First, we need to continue to find ways to incorporate services and opportunities in centralized areas, namely our traditional main streets, downtowns, uptowns, CBD’s, lifestyle centers or whatever your city chooses to call these areas. Second, the criminalization of those who LOOK undesirable and of those who choose to help those who are “undesirable” has to stop.
The loss of public services like health clinics in centralized areas will push our most vulnerable further and further to the margins. The reason why areas of urban poverty were able to sustain some form of a civil society was due to their proximity to social services. When we shut down or push further out these services, then we create larger and more vast pockets of metro-area poverty. Areas that were built for people of decent to massive means to take care of themselves are now areas where the rent may be cheaper, but the other costs are far higher. If we re-centralize and continue to support centralization of all of our social services, much like we want our entertainment and luxury centralized, it brings up all the members of society, regardless of the level at which they choose to engage the greater economy.
The criminalization of people who LOOK threatening adds to the prison-industrial complex and lowers the morale of those who are on the margins of the city. The greater issue I’ve had with our youth curfew here in Greensboro has not been safety and positive activity of our youth, but of the idea that one bad apple spoils the whole lot. So you may have had one or two panhandlers that harass. What about the others that quietly beg or even better, are singing on the streets? So the singers can stay, as we have made provision for here in Greensboro with our new street busker program, but the person whose need we really can’t determine can’t? I’ve been victimized by people claiming to need help on the streets, but does that mean all people living on the streets are bad? I feel like my own black peers, from my teen years until now, don’t always respect or understand who I am, but does that mean I write them completely off, to the point where they could go to jail just because I THINK they are a threat? Absolutely not.
Cities really need to check their privilege and methods of advancing their cities, if they think criminalization of certain populations or the inhibition of servicing certain populations is going to aid in the continued economic growth or re-start economic growth in their cities.
I know we can all do better. Let’s keep doing better and keep making sure that just like I said in my last post, placemaking remains democratic and not a privilege. And even though there is evidence that homelessness has decreased, it doesn’t mean that it’s over or that a tent is less valuable than a house.
UPDATE 8/27 9:35 a.m.: Some community officials and advocates are speaking out against the closing of the Healthserve clinics here in Greensboro. H/T to the News and Record. Missed this before I went live this morning.
