Can anyone give me the name of an economically successful and vibrant city that does not have a dense population of middle to upper class folks living in it's urban core?
(before anyone jumps all over me for being a racist or bigot or class warfare artist or all the other outstanding names I have been called over the last few days note that I didn't say exclusively middle to upper class)
Showing posts with label urban decay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban decay. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Dear Councilors
Sent this out today. I urge anyone reading this to do the same.
Mayor, Councilors, and City Manager,
I was alarmed to see the story printed in the Telegram today about the low income housing development planned for Water St in the Canal District. If you care about the city and care about the progress that has been made in one of the truly up and coming neighborhoods in Worcester you must understand that this is a terrible idea and one that could erase everything that has gone on in that neighborhood over the past 5 years. While great strides have been made in the Canal District there is still much to do to get things where they should be and part of that is getting the neighborhood densely populated by a demographic that will frequent the great new restaurants, bars, shops, and galleries that are opening on what seems like a monthly basis there.
Low income housing may very well add more crime, and overall will hinder attempts to make the neighborhood clean and aesthetically pleasing as it must be to be attractive to the young urban minded folks it needs to attract to move forward.
I hope that you take this seriously and understand that along with City Square, the future urban quality of life in Worcester also hinges on the success or failure of neighborhoods like The Canal District, Federal Sq, North Main and Shrewsbury St. We should be working diligently to make these neighborhoods our urban crown jewels.
I understand the development is already approved but I would hope you take the opportunity to oversee the process and make sure that it fits with the character of the Canal District as has already been defined and not let the building become an eventual cultural eyesore that may in fact hinder the rejuvenation of what could potentially not only become one of our greatest urban neighborhoods, but a destination for many in Central Massachusetts and beyond.
Thank you for reading and I hope you understand the possible implications of this development.
In case you haven't read it this is what I am all fired up about:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090319
Mayor, Councilors, and City Manager,
I was alarmed to see the story printed in the Telegram today about the low income housing development planned for Water St in the Canal District. If you care about the city and care about the progress that has been made in one of the truly up and coming neighborhoods in Worcester you must understand that this is a terrible idea and one that could erase everything that has gone on in that neighborhood over the past 5 years. While great strides have been made in the Canal District there is still much to do to get things where they should be and part of that is getting the neighborhood densely populated by a demographic that will frequent the great new restaurants, bars, shops, and galleries that are opening on what seems like a monthly basis there.
Low income housing may very well add more crime, and overall will hinder attempts to make the neighborhood clean and aesthetically pleasing as it must be to be attractive to the young urban minded folks it needs to attract to move forward.
I hope that you take this seriously and understand that along with City Square, the future urban quality of life in Worcester also hinges on the success or failure of neighborhoods like The Canal District, Federal Sq, North Main and Shrewsbury St. We should be working diligently to make these neighborhoods our urban crown jewels.
I understand the development is already approved but I would hope you take the opportunity to oversee the process and make sure that it fits with the character of the Canal District as has already been defined and not let the building become an eventual cultural eyesore that may in fact hinder the rejuvenation of what could potentially not only become one of our greatest urban neighborhoods, but a destination for many in Central Massachusetts and beyond.
Thank you for reading and I hope you understand the possible implications of this development.
In case you haven't read it this is what I am all fired up about:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090319/NEWS/903190624/1101/LOCAL
Monday, February 16, 2009
How Worcester Could Be More Like NYC and Less Like Pyongyang
I was talking Worcester with a friend of mine the other night as I am known to do sometimes. He asks me if I have heard what New York City is doing with fines for public dumping.
Check this out!
It turns out that in New York what they are willing to do is if you give them any information that leads to anyone being caught and fined for illegal dumping you get half of that fine, which sometimes can be upwards of $25,000. I am sure many of those people surviving on food stamps out there on the streets of the Woo would love a nice check for $12500. I am sure money like that would cause a large number of people to become professional part time watch dogs.
You know, why not price gauge on fines? We are a poor city right? A poor city that is also a city filled with broken down buildings that should be condemned, property owners who allow trash to flow freely all over their property (and other peoples property), and overall properties that have been allowed to fall into such disrepair that they have become a public nuisance. Why not kill three birds with one stone and clean the city up, create revenue for the city, and create revenue for it's citizens all at the same time?
Give the slumlords and absentee landlords three choices, clean your property up, sell your property to someone else who wants it and is going to take care of it, or pay through the nose. That is an ordinance I could get behind.
No matter what Worcester wins.
Check this out!
It turns out that in New York what they are willing to do is if you give them any information that leads to anyone being caught and fined for illegal dumping you get half of that fine, which sometimes can be upwards of $25,000. I am sure many of those people surviving on food stamps out there on the streets of the Woo would love a nice check for $12500. I am sure money like that would cause a large number of people to become professional part time watch dogs.
You know, why not price gauge on fines? We are a poor city right? A poor city that is also a city filled with broken down buildings that should be condemned, property owners who allow trash to flow freely all over their property (and other peoples property), and overall properties that have been allowed to fall into such disrepair that they have become a public nuisance. Why not kill three birds with one stone and clean the city up, create revenue for the city, and create revenue for it's citizens all at the same time?
Give the slumlords and absentee landlords three choices, clean your property up, sell your property to someone else who wants it and is going to take care of it, or pay through the nose. That is an ordinance I could get behind.
No matter what Worcester wins.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Great Quote
"We have theories, specialisms, regulations, exhortations, demonstration projects. We have planners. We have highway engineers. We have mixed use, mixed tenure, architecture, community architecture, urban design, neighbourhood strategy. But what seems to have happened is that we have simply lost the art of placemaking; or, put another way, we have lost the simple art of placemaking. We are good at putting up buildings but we are bad at making places." -Bernard Hunt, London architect
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Wire: June 6th, 2002- March 9th, 2008
I was going back and forth with myself about whether I wanted to write anything in this space about the conclusion of what I feel to be the greatest show we have ever seen in the short history of American television. I mean this blog is about Worcester, the city I live in. Why should a show like the Wire interest anyone living in Worcester?
The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland. And this is the main reason I started watching it. I had heard of it a little bit as it was part of HBO's stellar line up of shows including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, and Oz among others. I really knew nothing about the show and when I moved to Baltimore in the summer of 2005 I thought that it would be neat to watch a show completely shot on location in the city I lived in. Add to this the fact that a couple of my neighbors were in the crew of the show and it was just something I had to check out.
When you first start watching the show you are presented with a special investigative unit of the Baltimore Police Department and an organized West Baltimore drug distribution organization. What follows throughout the next five seasons of this show is a very in depth look at urban decay as set in Baltimore. It could be anywhere though. As the seasons go on we see exploration of such inner city issues as crime, drug use, employment, politics, education, media, and economy looked into and thoroughly disected through the very well written and acted characters on The Wire.
As I have read before, in time this show should serve as a document as to what it was like for a portion of our society to live the American urban experience in the early 21st century. I can only hope that this show wasn't a one of a kind thing and that more television with this type of commitment to quality and realism will follow. Until then we will always have the DVD's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)