Buttermilk & Molasses

"We Long for a Bold Urban Vision"

There was one line that caught my attention in Nicolai Ouroussoff's NYTimes piece on reinventing America's urban landscape.

The line? "We long for a bold urban vision." Too bad our city's leaders aren't yearning with us.

Ouroussoff argues that the time is now to not only restore, but to renew and reinvent, America's cities. He smartly notes that what is required is no more ambitious or absurd than the Work Projects Administration of the 1930s or Eisenhower's 1956 mandate for a national highway system. He points to New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Bronx and Buffalo as examples to study.

Given that the administration has already made sustainability a priority, that money could be redirected to other projects, like efforts that reinforce density rather than encourage urban sprawl. It could be used to replace crumbling expressways with the kind of local roads and parks that bind communities together rather than tear them apart.

I am also a fan of a National Infrastructure Bank, an idea that was first proposed by the financiers Felix Rohatyn and Everett Ehrlich.

The bank would function something like a domestic World Bank, financing large-scale undertakings like subways, airports and harbor improvements. Presumably it would be able to funnel money into the more sustainable, forward-looking projects. It could also establish a review process similar to the one created by the government’s General Services Administration in the mid-1990s, which attracted some of the country’s best talents to design federal courthouses and office buildings. Lavishing similar attention on bridges, pump stations, trains, public housing and schools would not only be a significant step in rebuilding a sense of civic pride; it would also prove that our society values the public infrastructure that binds us together as much as it values, say, sheltering the rich.

A half-century ago American engineering was the envy of the rest of the world. Cities like New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans were considered models for a brilliant new future. Europe, with its suffocating traditions and historical baggage, was dismissed as a decadent, aging culture.

It is no small paradox that many people in the world now see us in similar terms.

"The Future of Richmond's Past" -- Stuck in the Present

What a difference a couple of generations can make.

When the 100th anniversary of the American Civil War rolled around in 1962, much of the nation was fully embroiled in one of the most significant -- and long-overdue -- turning points in our collective history as a nation. The Civil Rights movement marked an era where the promises behind the Civil War and the subsequent freedom of four million black slaves and freemen began to materialize.

That didn't stop a slice of the population from having a very different sort of celebration.

The anniversary party they threw was a contentious, self-congratulatory one -- largely organized by and for a generation of whites deeply rooted in their own narrowly focused narrative of states' rights and military heroism.

Fast-forward 47 years to a gathering of about 150 Richmonders at the University of Richmond's Jepson Theatre. "The Future of Richmond's Past," UR President Ed Ayers told the group, was the first of several such community meetings planned as a lead-in to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

But this anniversary promises to be one where multiple perspectives are shared, where a variety of narratives are told, and where the Confederate flag-waving will be kept to a minimum. That speaks volumes about the journey the Richmond region has traveled over the past five decades.

The presence of three African-American women at the table during the introductory panel discussion also spoke volumes. Or the fact that at least three of the eight institutions represented in the conversation were lead by people born north of the Mason-Dixon line. Including a Canadian-born African-American.

"I knew about Richmond's past before I knew about its present," Ayers said in his opening remarks. Ayers could have been speaking of many of Richmond's old guard, the traditionalists who continue to resist change not only out of habit, but also because they genuinely have no context with which to imagine a future different from the past.

Perhaps these community discussions -- which are bringing together the new presidents of three Richmond universities, a host of public officials, representatives of Richmond's faith communities and historical institutions, and everyday residents -- will begin to give voice to those across the region who not only imagine, but are actively building, a different future.

Unfortunately, the first portion of the program didn't lend itself to much collaborative engagement or visionary conversation. One by one, the representatives of eight of the region's brightest historical gems spoke. For six, eight, ten minutes. In what began to feel like a forced march through institutional missions, community partnerships and Civil War related programs.

I almost wept with joy when Bill Martin of the Valentine Richmond History Center said, "For the next ten years, we won't be doing the Civil War." Instead, he said, the Valentine will tell the story of the history that paved the way for that conflagration -- like the War of 1812 -- and the long struggle toward civil rights that followed it. "Richmond has the opportunity to have that further conversation," he said.

Tactically, each organization had interesting things to share. I learned volumes about the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar's educational outreach, and how the Richmond Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau is helping develop a 14-state mapping project that hits all the historical sites along historic US Route 1 from Canada to Key West. I was glad to hear the energy in the voice of the new director of the Black History Museum, and chuckled (not as loud as many in the room, mind you) when the new director of the Virginia Historical Society opened his remarks by saying, "I promise not to try to sell you a snuggie or a shamwow."

But for anyone looking for the opening of the conversation to be a bang, a home run, an invitation to join the region on a spectacular journey to a different sort of tomorrow, well... not today. Today was about today.

Everyone recognized the need for something different. No one proffered a strong vision for addressing it.

"The city has been really good about telling the story of things we're proud of," said Rachel Flynn, director of community development for the City of Richmond. "Part of the Shockoe [Bottom development proposal] effort is whether we can tell the story of things that are painful."

"Until we began to embrace the contradictions, and celebrate and enjoy the angst of the contradictions" of Richmond's history, we won't move forward, the Valentine's Martin said.

Part of me was delighted to hear more people articulate those basic truths. We need more people engaged in these conversations, and different voices at different tables sharing the story of their Richmond. Dialogue and shared engagement are a powerful catalyst for change.

And yet another part of me wonders when we'll move from articulation to action.

"If you just sell history, you will not survive," the visitors bureau's Jack Berry told the crowd. If we keep talking about our future, all we'll have is history.

Here's hoping the next conversation shifts gears into creating a community vision, or putting energy behind real effort to change the region's future. Right now (and with apologies to U2), we're feeling a bit stuck in a present that we can't get out of.

A New Communities Model for Richmond?

A while back, Suzanne Morse of the Pew Center for Civic Engagement posted a brief tidbit about a LISC-initiated project taking place in two Rhode Island communities.  The New Communities model:

has five major tenets: 1) expand investment in housing and other real estate; 2) increase family income and wealth; 3) stimulate economic activity locally and regionally; 4) improve access to education of all varieties; and 5) foster livable safe, and environmentally sound environments.

Maybe after Mayor Jones finishes reorganizing and shifting boxes in City Hall, he can ask his new community and economic development guru to explore ways to implement a more comprehensive approach to sustainable communities in Richmond.

The LISC website has more on one of the Rhode Island projects taking place in the curiously named town of Woonsocket. Some great ideas that could go a long way in some of our own city's struggling neighborhoods.

City Hall Shake-Up

For all the politicos waiting on the sidelines for Mayor Dwight Jones to do something, today he acted. The question hovering over today's shake-up at City Hall is whether we're seeing the side of Mayor Jones more focused on creating stronger alignment and greater efficiencies within a decidedly shaky City Hall, or if this is a sign of a mayor interested in consolidating his political power before time slips away from his administration.

Given rumors of a Dwight Jones for Governor campaign in 2013, I'd say it's both things.

News of the shake-up started bubbling on Twitter late this morning; I was contacted by a small posse of news reporters shortly after I posted, "Rachel Flynn has apparently been asked to step down as the city's director of community development. What message is Jones sending here?"

Unfortunately, all I could tell them was that the City Hall rumor mill was active, my source was confidential, and I had no more information.

Leave it to Rachel DePompa -- still smoking from her popular Ukropalypse stories and coverage of a new baseball team in Richmond -- to hit the phones first. Around 12:30 this afternoon, DePompa tweeted: "Major shake-up at city hall! Details on the way!" Less than three hours later, the story emerged, again from DePompa: "Richmond Director of Economic Development is out. First high level departure and Jones' powerplay. That's not all... City's Director of Community Development stripped of duties. Department re-organized... Administration creating new position... So.. here it is in a nutshell... Carthan Currin is out, Rachel Flynn's role is muted and Jan Ferarra will now head merged departments."

DePompa had the story on her blog before the end of the day, and her story on the air at the start of the sixteen-hour evening news cycle.

The TD's Will Jones had his own story up late today, which like everything else I've seen is a story stripped straight from the city's own press release.

(Hello, Breaking News Team? I called three reporters with this news at 11:00 this morning, and no one was at their desk. Or on Twitter, apparently.)

What no one has reported so far is just how much power has been stripped from Rachel Flynn, or as one Twitter post from Mariane Matera asked, "Was she EchoHarbored by City Council?"

Block Parties Are the New [Old] Community Builders

If Richmond's Department of Community Development is looking for a new (or old) way to get groups of people seriously engaged in the future of the city, they could do worse than ratchet up the work of their Neighborhood Planning staff -- or so suggests the latest from World Changing.

The thought-provoking weblog delves into the neighborhood as a powerful tool of social improvement, pointing readers to a Streets Wiki post on neighborhoods and block parties:

Which begs the question, how do communities overcome the barriers to building neighbor to neighbor relationships? The neighborhood block, defined as the dwellings fronting on a single street between two cross streets, serves as a reasonable point of entry for health promoters for a number of reasons. A few of the reasons are identified by Douglas Perkins, a leading researcher in social capital and community development. First, the processes of informal control which empowers people operate more successfully in the face to face setting of the neighborhood block than in larger social units. Second, blocks are more homogenous and people are more likely to share similar concerns. And third, participation rates at the block level are found to be higher than at any other level.

Public spaces such as the street block remains understudied and underutilized in the effort to increase social capital.  For decades, street blocks in cities such as Philadelphia have hosted a number of block parties and it can reasonably be argued that these annual or frequent social gatherings foster the ties necessary for a vibrant community life...

This comes (give or take two years) on the heels of a previous World Changing post about block parties and the future of hyperlocal urbanism.

That, naturally, got me to thinking about Richmond's community weblogs -- the dozen or so hyperlocal news sites focusing on specific areas of the city (like Church Hill, Northside or Short Pump) -- and the Department of Community Development. Okay, strike Short Pump (insofar as Richmond's community development department is concerned).

What if the community blogs partnered with the city, neighborhood associations and local merchants to organize block parties in the communities they serve? Or, reinforce existing block parties in areas where they've already taken root?

In addition to food and fun, the bolstered block parties could include meaningful space for representatives of key city departments to connect to, answer questions for and build relationships with citizens at a street level. There could be information booths, small focus group discussions about neighborhood improvement and opportunities to collaboratively identify new initiatives for neighborhood improvement or engagement.

Done well, it could lay the groundwork for the development of a citywide master planning process, something that has been on the periphery of the table ever since the city initiated its Downtown Master Plan process in 2007. Get neighborhoods engaged, generate ideas at a ground level, resolve issues at the street level -- and then invite everyone who turns out to a massive citywide charrette at the Arthur Ashe Center.

Now that would be community engagement on steroids.

Goldman Breaks for the Bottom

He may not be mayor, but Paul Goldman has finally launched an idea that has captured the imagination of at least five members of Richmond's City Council. Not that the online readers of the Times-Dispatch give a rip -- to them, apparently, ever idea that involves the government is of Satan.

Rewind.

Back in the early summer, Paul Goldman posted a mildly crazy idea of his new Style Weekly weblog. It created what felt like a gentle breeze. Until Manoli Loupassi gave it a bit of a kick-start from his new vantage spot at the General Assembly; that showed up in a little noticed blurb in the Times-Dispatch a few weeks later.

First Goldman:

With additional resources, and a bold new public-private partnership, they can be the foundation to build a world-class medical complex centered in the Bottom.

By 2020, we can give downtown Richmond a true field of dreams to rival those health care venues in President Obama’s cities of the future. Close your eyes and envision the green acres of a futuristic medical complex rivaling the best in America. Try to see, for example, advances such as gene-based technology tailoring treatments to meet people’s gender, racial and ethnic origins.

The area’s specialties could also include cutting-edge biotechnology, through frontline advances in addressing the needs of the population which lives longer all the time, and taking the lead in community medicine sure to be demanded by the coming national health care plan.

This complex would not only serve patients in need, but offer world-class training to the next generation of medical professionals, lure innovative medical software companies and provide the perfect venue to house a new science high school.

In terms of community medicine, envision a state-of-the-art community health center, accessible right to the front door from anywhere in Richmond, by putting the GRTC System transfer station next to Amtrak’s high-speed rail station.

By turning the Bottom into the top of the medical world, we would be in a unique position: No other such complex in America would be a destination — within a short walk of the high-speed rail line being planned for our part of the country. The facility would be an employment machine, thus attracting residential and retail development and eventually revitalizing the East End to the Henrico County line, where a commuter shuttle could run on the train tracks that run parallel to the James River.

But this vision cannot happen unless city government takes the lead in bringing together the necessary players, and passing the legislation needed to create a public-private partnership — a first-ever downtown medical authority — to coordinate the planning and collective financial support needed from the key stakeholders. Between Virginia Commonwealth University, state government, and leaders in private-sector health care, we have the talent to mesh all the moving parts, but City Hall and City Council have to get the ball rolling.

Skip Loupassi for a second and fast-forward to this afternoon, when the Times-Dispatch announced that Goldman's dream was beginning to take shape. That's when what passes for electronic mob rule ran roughshod over Goldman's dream:

Five members of Richmond City Council are joining forces to issue a resolution seeking to establish a medical complex commission that would study the feasibility of creating a medical, research, education and hospital complex in Shockoe Bottom.

Council members Douglas G. Conner Jr., Chris A. Hilbert, E. Martin Jewell, Reva Trammell and Bruce W. Tyler are patrons of the resolution.

Such a medical complex "is a proven catalyst for enormous job creation, greatly improved health care, cost-efficient health care delivery, expanded educational opportunities, improved public health, attracts new citizens and greatly enhances a state's and city's quality of life," Conner read from the draft resolution this morning.

Just to prove that Richmonders will sink any idea -- baseball, public transit, medical science -- the Times-Dispatch's comment section quickly loaded itself with naysayers:

• Like others here, I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Am waiting for the punchline on this.
• So instead of all the gunshot and stabbing victims going up the hill to MCV, they can just stay in the bottom. Anyways, makes no sense unless MCV is totally swamped and overcrowded? I don’t live in the city to built it! I’m not paying for it.
• How does this benefit Richmond citizens?  MCV is already serving the needs of Richmond with healthcare (both insured and non-insured), research, medical education, and research.  And Bon Secours has a hospital in the Churchill area.
• So it’s OK to put a hospital with sick people in a flood plain, but it wasn’t Ok for a baseball stadium?
• Another ill-conceived contrivance of local politicians to fleece taxpayers and duplicate services within walking distance.

It would be a mistake to wait for details when you can trample an idea to death before it's really been floated.

Save Richmond's (Almost) Last Hurrah

As Don Harrison sets his alarm clock for an early morning on the job as Style's new arts and culture editor, he's penned a couple of closing pieces that speak volumes about the good work Save Richmond did in recent years.

The first is a closing piece on CenterStage, along with an extensive Q&A with the PR team helping keep Richmond's new performing arts center focused on the prize. The pieces together probably raise more questions than they answer, but they should serve as a reminder that there are very few journalists in town with the time, focus or resources to ask tough questions of major public initiatives like CenterStage. (Yes, I know, Jason...)

As hyper-focused as Don and Save Richmond could be at times on CenterStage, you can't help but appreciate their commitment, perseverance and tenacity in their coverage of a project that they just felt had gone astray from the get-go.

The last piece is Don's quasi-farewell as he warms up his writing arm for those frantic Monday deadlines.

Another Worthy Richmond History Site Lands

What happens when you combine the knowledge and talents of two of Richmond's most passionate working urban preservationists with a long-time library archivist? That's right, you get The Shockoe Examiner, a weblog that explores the history of Richmond from some sharp perspectives.

The Shockoe Examiner's Tyler Potterfield, Ray Bonis and Catherine Easterling are the new Kepone of the Richmond blogging community.

As their latest post with its brief editorial introduction to a letter in Style Weekly about the proposed art gallery for VCU suggests, they are a no-holds-barred kinda group:

Below is a great letter about the proposed new art gallery for VCU. Let us hope that VCU does not raise enough money for this project and another building design is selected.

They recently had a great post of clippings (one seen at the top of this post) about the "high steeples of Richmond" as seen in 1900. You won't see that view anymore.

Another recent post was an excerpt from a 1858 issue of Harper's Weekly about the relocation of the remains of President James Monroe from New York to Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.

They join Harry Kollatz of Richmond Magazine, Ed Slipek of Style Weekly and WCVE's Brooks Smith as stellar keepers of this city's history -- and future.

The Great Norfolk/Richmond Throwdown

Trevor Dickerson -- writing for Richmond.com -- has penned a very solid comparison of how two comparable Virginia cities have made different choices over the past 25 years, and where those choices have landed them.

Norfolk and Richmond, as different as they may be, have some remarkable similarities. They both have wonderful riverfront property and similar baseball teams (a trait that Richmond shared until recently, at least).

The biggest difference between the two cities has been what they’ve done with the two.

It's well worth reading, especially if you sit on City Council.

Richmond's Pocket Parks = Hidden Gems

As we all know, Richmond has some amazing parks. It also has a few hidden parks, several of them scattered in quiet pockets of the Fan District known mostly to close neighbors.

In 1993, Caffeine Magazine explored some of these hidden gems. Of the five Fan pocket parks we explored, Paradise Park -- between the 100 block of Allen and Vine streets -- was the one we felt had the most possibility:

Finally, there is Paradise Park. Paradise Park would be the perfect location for a caterer to set up. If it were only located near a retail or business zone.

As it is, Paradise is the best petite urban park design stumbled across in Richmond in spite of its lack of easy access. Bricked pathways and large arching trees invite you into the park itself, while low walls and oblong, geometric shapes invite climbing and playful relaxation. It’s free of brush and relatively free of trash. When we visited, the sandbox was even raked clean. During the day, it’s bright and airy, the perfect spot for a picnic lunch, a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon nap. At night, it’s a pleasant spot for a group of friends to goof off.

And while we touted the benefits, we also noted the downside of these small, urban parks:

These nine urban parks are examples of how the city, and private citizens, have managed to transform small corners of the urban landscape into friendly, community space. Unfortunately, some of the parks are also examples of how easily that community space can decay—through litter, poor lighting or inadequate maintenance. Still, their variety—and the variety of their patrons—allows Richmonders to relax for a minute and enjoy the fact that sometimes urban planners can do things right.

A group of Richmonders has come together to ensure that Paradise Park regains its footing as a destination for Fan residents and others interesting in experiencing the small space. The Paradise Park webpage has the park's history:

Paradise Park and its sister, Scuffletown Park, began in 1968 as a citizens' project sponsored by the Fan District Association. This project sought to establish "block core parks" at locations where it was determined that the need for such parks existed. The City of Richmond became involved as a project sponsor in order to enable, through a series of resolutions, solicitation of funds from the Commission on Outdoor Recreation.

The park was designed by architect Carlton Abbott, who presented his design in November 1970.

The park was finally completed in 1975. Almost 30 years later, Paradise Park has come alive again -- on Facebook and in real life. On Saturday, August 8, the Paradise Park "We Made A Mural!" opening will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. with the No BS Brass Band (marching in at 12:30 p.m.). The Visual Arts Center will have a craft table, there will be a giant puppet parade and Art on Wheels will be manning their mobile printing press. Get more details at the Paradise Park Facebook page.