Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Revitalization, re/urbanization and cohort-generational attitudes

There was a very interesting presentation yesterday at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies, primarily by academic researchers in Montreal, looking at Montreal's history of immigrant immigration and considering what lessons might be applicable to DC as a city (not DC as the center of the current anti-immigrant national government).

Whites refocusing city investment on public spaces "for them."  Professor Derek Hyra, Director of American University's Metropolitan Studies Center, was the respondent, and in response to a suggestion by a GWU professor in the audience, Prof. Hyra recounted the story of dog parks in the Shaw neighborhood as an example of how new residents are reshaping the city's investment priorities at the expense of what we might call legacy residents, mentioning that at the time the park where the dog park went was in need of renovation.

The reality is that in the past 15 years or so, DC has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on park and recreation (and library) improvements, with a disproportionate amount of that money being spent on facilities serving African-American and/or disadvantaged areas in the city, e.g., new recreation centers in Barry Farm, Trinidad, Deanwood, new libraries like in Anacostia, Deanwood, and Shaw, etc.

Is it age/generational or racialization? One of the people in the audience, Justin Rood, organizer of the DC Funk Parade, argued that in DC it's very easy to see every issue in terms of race, black or white, and what he called a "racialization" of issues, when he thought that the major issue was more about change generally, and that older people, black or white, are less favorable to changes as a matter of course.

Re/urbanization vs. out of date ideas about urban practice. I countered that while it was a good point, it isn't so much about age as it is about generationally-based sets of attitudes towards what (re)urbanization is and ought to be and what it should look like. (Some of this is discussed in Richard Florida's new book, The New Urban Crisis.)

For years I have discussed this in terms of the general "suburbanized paradigm of transportation and land use policy" that has imprinted most of us in the US, whether or not we are aware of or acknowledge it, where land uses are separated, and the primary means of getting around between various disconnected activities is the car.

Even the people who moved to the city from say the early 1960s through the 1990s before urban living became not only trendy but accepted, while more pro-urban than most, still are imprinted by land use ideas, behaviors, and attitudes that aren't fully pro-urban.

I have written about the split in attitudes within DC in terms of the Core or Inner City vs. the Outer or more suburban City ("DC as a suburban agenda dominated city"), and how yes, people in the Outer City are older, more connected, generally have more time to be involved, and without realizing promote more suburban-appropriate policies.

But the issue is about re/urbanization more than it is about "age," it's just that what reurbanization means is more easily addressed as a race or generational question.

This is especially problematic for two reasons.

First, like everywhere else and in national politics, people argue that there is only one way to act, to live, etc., and they aim to require that every piece of land or transportation policy be made to support their particular set of choices, which they deem a form of "natural law."

Instead we need to recognize the value in differentiation, e.g. as one example, that the rural areas can have different gun policies than cities and it doesn't mean that restricting uses means that the government aims to make us all slaves,

It definitely means that cities and metropolitan areas need to be addressed in ways that support the reality that these are economic engines for regions and states.  Instead, many state legislatures, dominated by rural interests, use their levers of power to punish center cities at every opportunity.

One current example is how the Minnesota Legislature is working on a bill to eliminate state funding for transit in Greater Minneapolis ("Transportation bills pass, starting the real Minnesota talks," Grand Rapids Herald-Review).

Another is how the State Legislature in Kentucky is diminishing power of the combined City-County Government in Louisville-Jefferson County ("Bill strikes at Louisville merger, tax base," and "A 'war on Louisville' bill poised to become law," Louisville Courier-Journal).

Second, people refuse to wake up to the fact that to be successful now, in this decade and throughout the 21st century, places--not just cities--need to refocus on the benefits from and generation of agglomeration economies that support clustering, and organizing, reorganizing, and appropriately intensifying land use and transportation infrastructure in response.

The problem is that people are making decisions today which will shape this and other cities for generations, in ways that seriously impinge social and economic resilience.

Decisions made today more generally and with regard to specific properties have a useful life of 30-60 years at a minimum, longer depending on the land tenure arrangements.

Getting it right the first time is an imperative, especially in a period of increased economic competition, increased demands for services from the government, increased costs for services and infrastructure, and a national government that is increasingly hermetic, anti-government, anti-tax, and is federalist to the extent it can use national law-making powers to restrict local ability to act independently.

Labels: , , , , , ,

56 Comments:

At 11:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

and what about the "whites" that were here before all of these new people moved in? Or here before 1960? IMO people like this speaker /expert are being somewhat presumptuous and arrogant . DC was not historically African American majority for 200 years much as some of these quacks seem to want to it to be. Sorry but historic revisionism and truth are two separate categories. Real history is not some cartoon.

 
At 12:10 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

... I commented to another AU professor at the session that when people are referring to "historically black neighborhoods," a lot of the time they are referring to neighborhoods that became majority black after 1955.

(Weirdly enough, our house has always been occupied by "whites" since it was built in 1929.)

 
At 5:02 PM, Anonymous charlie said...

Granted "Shaw" has been black since 1880 or so.

But Hyra seems off his marbles.

Has Shaw been hit with a spate of dog parks? There is the one on 11th but anymore? That is so 2010.

"Second, people refuse to wake up to the fact that to be successful now, in this decade and throughout the 21st century, places--not just cities--need to refocus on the benefits from and generation of agglomeration economies that support clustering, and organizing, reorganizing, and appropriately intensifying land use and transportation infrastructure in response."

Well, I'd like to agree but my car was out of sorts this week so I had to take Friday off to get some errands done. And it was hell. Waste of three hours getting back and forth between arlington and dc. Cost me well over $20. Should have rented a car for the day.

Self selection can work to a degree but doesn't scale up so well.





 
At 6:13 PM, Anonymous charlie said...

also see this:

https://www.city-journal.org/html/french-coming-apart-15125.html

and this (more in Mari's line, to be honest)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/11/confessions-gentrification-race-rogers-park-chicago

 
At 10:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

and who says that black people do not like dogs or dog parks? My next door neighbors are black and like me they are very long term Washingtonians- not the sort of folks who came here in the late 50's- they have been multi generational DC folks here since way before the civil war- and they seem to gravitate towards a lot of the so-called " white" amenities this creepy guy doesn't think are " black" or somehow need to separated out racially. very backwards mentality- typical isolated academic ivory [ebony] tower tunnel vision... If this professor were a white guy he'd be hounded out the room as a bigot & racist.

 
At 12:51 PM, Anonymous koreayadongcom said...

Excellent goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely excellent. 한국야동닷컴

Also feel free to visit may webpage check this link
국산야동

 
At 12:52 PM, Anonymous chinayadongnet said...

I love what you guys are up too. Such clever work and exposure! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my own blogroll. 중국야동넷

Also feel free to visit may webpage check this link
야설

 
At 10:02 PM, Blogger SAFE SITES18 said...

This paragraph is genuinely a nice one it helps new net users, who are wishing in favor of blogging. Thankyou for sharing. 바카라사이트

 
At 10:03 PM, Blogger SAFE SITES18 said...

I was more than happy to find this site. I need to thank you for ones time just for this fantastic read. 바둑이게임

 
At 10:38 PM, Blogger bacarasite said...

Wow, fantastic blog layout! you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is excellent, as well as the content! Feel free to visit my website; 바카라

 
At 3:20 AM, Blogger dgdfgerg said...

Wow! Thank you! I permanently needed to write on my blog something like that. Can I implement a part of your post to my blog? With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement? My blog has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization. Do you know any ways to help reduce content from being ripped off? I’d truly appreciate it. Excellent beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your website, how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept 먹튀폴리스

 
At 7:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I simply wanted to jot down a quick word in order to appreciate you for those splendid tips and hints you are sharing on this website. My time intensive internet investigation has now been recognized with really good ideas to write about with my family and friends. I would assert that most of us site visitors are undoubtedly endowed to dwell in a great site with so many special professionals with great points. I feel quite blessed to have discovered your entire weblog and look forward to many more pleasurable minutes reading here. Thanks again for everything. Howdy are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 메이저놀이터

 
At 7:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the post you do. I like your post and all you share with us is up to date and quite informative, i would like to bookmark the page so i can come here again to read you, as you have done a wonderful job. Interesting topic for a blog. I have been searching the Internet for fun and came upon your website. Fabulous post. Thanks a ton for sharing your knowledge! It is great to see that some people still put in an effort into managing their websites. I’ll be sure to check back again real soon. 꽁머니지급

 
At 7:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonderful beat ! I would like to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site? The account aided me a applicable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered shiny clear idea I am jovial you take pride in what you write. It makes you stand way out from many other writers that can not push high-quality content like you . After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article 먹튀신고하는곳

 
At 9:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your web site in internet explorer, would test this… IE still is the market leader and a good portion of people will miss your great writing due to this problem. Spot on with this write-up, I actually assume this website needs far more consideration. I’ll probably be again to read rather more, thanks for that info. When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get several e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Bless you! 메이저놀이터

 
At 9:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its such as you learn my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot about this, such as you wrote the book in it or something. I believe that you can do with a few percent to power the message house a bit, but other than that, that is excellent blog. A great read. I will certainly be back. Howdy! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thanks Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very helpful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot. I was seeking this particular info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck. 토토사이트추천

 
At 9:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Superb website you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics talked about in this article? I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get feedback from other experienced people that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Appreciate it! I have been checking out many of your stories and i can state nice stuff. I will surely bookmark your website. certainly like your website but you need to check the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I’ll certainly come back again. 메이저사이트

 
At 4:14 PM, Anonymous Bella said...

"Thanks so much pertaining to giving everyone an update on this issue on your web-site. Thanks for your efforts and consideration of other people by
making this blog available."

 
At 4:15 PM, Anonymous Ella said...

It’s very straightforward to find out any topic on net as compared to textbooks, as I found this post at this site.

 
At 3:08 AM, Anonymous sportstotomen com said...

Thank you for making something worth reading.

 
At 3:09 AM, Anonymous 19guide03 com said...

Thank you your posts are neatly organized with the information

 
At 3:10 AM, Anonymous sportstotozone com said...

Thank you. I have a lot of interesting ideas.

 
At 8:00 AM, Anonymous casinositeone.JDS said...

I was very pleased to find this web-site. I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read.

 
At 8:00 AM, Anonymous casinositeguidecom.JDS said...


I’m impressed, I must say.

 
At 8:01 AM, Anonymous safetotositepro.JDS said...

Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining.

 
At 4:07 AM, Anonymous 메이저토토사이트 said...

I truly love your site.. Great colors & theme.

 
At 4:07 AM, Anonymous 먹튀검증 said...

Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you

 
At 4:07 AM, Anonymous 카지노 said...

Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely believe that this website needs a lot more attention.

 
At 4:08 AM, Anonymous 토토사이트 said...

I’ll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the advice!

 
At 4:08 AM, Anonymous 파워볼사이트 said...

You need to be a part of a contest for one of the finest websites on the net.

 
At 4:08 AM, Anonymous 토토사이트 said...

I’m going to recommend this web site!

 
At 5:18 AM, Anonymous Axel said...


Wonderful post! Great post on this website. Its awesome

 
At 5:19 AM, Anonymous Axel said...


Very useful information shared in this article, nicely written`

 
At 5:20 AM, Anonymous Axel said...


Great article. I’m dealing with a few of these issues as well

 
At 10:34 PM, Anonymous Elisha said...


Great web site! It looks really expert! Maintain the helpful job!

 
At 2:23 AM, Anonymous casinositekingcom said...


I hope you will be adding more in future.

 
At 2:34 AM, Anonymous casinositekingcom said...


the good thing is i learned much more than i expected

 
At 6:21 AM, Anonymous Cooper said...



Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative

 
At 12:15 AM, Anonymous Sharpe said...


Wonderful website. Lots of useful info here. Great article!

 
At 11:39 PM, Anonymous Valery said...


There is certainly a great deal to learn about this subject.

 
At 4:42 AM, Anonymous Hadleigh said...


First You got a great blog

 
At 4:26 PM, Anonymous Addisyn said...


I am impressed by the details that you've on this site.

 
At 4:51 PM, Anonymous Autumn said...


I was looking for a post like this, but I finally found

 
At 3:46 PM, Anonymous safetotosite said...

Fantastic website! It appears extremely skilled! Keep up the excellent work!

 
At 3:47 PM, Anonymous casinositenet said...

wonderful website It seems really professional! The fantastic work must continue!

 
At 3:47 PM, Anonymous casinositekim said...

fantastic website It appears to be quite professional! Keep up the wonderful job!

 
At 3:47 PM, Anonymous mttotosite said...

Perfectly composed articles , thankyou for information.

 
At 5:38 AM, Anonymous safetotosite said...

I did a search on the subject and found mainly people will agree with your blog.

 
At 5:38 AM, Anonymous casinositenet said...

I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting.

 
At 5:39 AM, Anonymous casinositekim said...

Great site. Plenty of helpful info here. I am sending it to several buddies.

 
At 5:40 AM, Anonymous casinositeguide said...

Excellent information Providing by this Article thank you for sharing.

 
At 5:40 AM, Anonymous 안전 토토사이트 said...

I am reading articles online and this one of the best, Thankyou!

 
At 5:41 AM, Anonymous 메이저사이트 said...

Hello there, You have performed an excellent article..Goodjob!

 
At 5:42 AM, Anonymous 카지노사이트 추천 said...

Really nice post. Thank you for posting something like this. Keep it up!

 
At 5:42 AM, Anonymous 안전한 파워볼사이트 said...

Excellent post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!

 
At 5:45 AM, Anonymous 바카라사이트 추천 said...

Great blog article. Really looking forward to read more.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home