The Great American Streetcar Conspiracy
As a city dweller I am most frustrated with the amount of options I have for getting around town. The automobile is an expensive luxury that saves a commuter a lot of time in the day. What is frustrating about The Great American Streetcar Conspiracy is that whole working systems were bought out and obliterated. These were good transportation options and rightfully belonged to the public. And, it seems that the public had little to say at the time about the future transportation systems of their cities.
Many cities at that time were in the fairly early stages of development. The outcome of this doing is that many of our cities today have only one viable and efficient way of getting to the destinations of the city, and that is a personal automobile. This is especially apparent in cities in the Western U.S. where development is mostly due to the automobile. Recently many places are making efforts for some kind of rail system, which I suppose is the most frustrating thing about this story, because today society feels they have the task of reinstalling these kinds of systems.
I'm not sure how much I can recognize a blatant conspiracy to destroy quality of life. The people and companies involved are motivated only by making a lot of money. I don't think that a desirable city was on the agenda for the people involved in National City Lines, they were trying to be profitable. So, I think it is in part the product of a society that places such a great value on money, and making lots of it.
Our systems don't always invite for the best possible solution to our problems because we are many times more interested in creating economic wealth. The amount of jobs and money generated around the automobile has been an immeasurable influence on many decisions and practices over the past century. And the money is intertwined into a great many aspects of the economy; the actual production, road construction, the oil business, the auto as a tool for exporting goods, drive-thru restaurants, insurance companies, impacts on health care, this list could go on and on.
Overall I think that millions and millions of people in this country have a significantly better life due to the automobile, but it has also created a society with too much dependence on it. The cultural impacts of the automobile as well are immeasurable. The freedom that we get from cars has certainly had an impact on the ways we view ourselves and the world we live in. It seems that there is a large amount of pride and individuality invested in our cars. I think that appeal of the automobile slowly became more and more desirable than that of the trolley systems. What was not realized was the amount of congestion that would be caused by the production of millions of automobiles. Cars are rooted forever it seems into American life.
However the personal automobile is less and less ideal in cities with growing concentrations in the millions. The automobile has caused challenges, present and future, for cities as they have grown from small to large, or large to larger in population, while implementing designs that influence a lifestlye that is focused on the automobile.Labels: School, Urbanism
Yay, A New President
Maybe, I won't be considering giving up my baseball caps for hockey jerseys as much anymore. It appears the young'ens of the U.S.A. came out to vote on Tuesday. Enough that MTV may have finally "rocked the vote" this time. Or maybe it is due to the message oozing over from past election vote rocking (newly turned voter over in last 4-8 years). It did seem that any band that was cool was rocking a Barack festival somewhere. I like art with politics mixed in with it anyway. I wonder if Barack t-shirts will ever be as fashionable as Che t-shirts.A signal of a creative class is coming into power, I'm all for more art and less oil. The problem being that we live in an infrastructure that for the past 70+ years has been dominantly designed around the consumption of oil. While creative's get around these design flaws, most will need a little help in adjusting that basic American right to drive an SUV anywhere, anytime. I definitely support more and more options for our mobility.The internet and technology has definitely changed what we are, but is anyone more or less significant to the world with all the thingamabobs connected? Does it make us feel more involved? The RSSkids will be happy to know that they can check Change.gov to stay current with all things presidential on their cell phone.Labels: Politics, Rant, Urbanism
No More Tennis Courts in SoSaLa!
Living in South Salt Lake carries its connotations, I've come to like using the term Sugarhood to describe my west of Sugarhouse location. But now I'm feeling uber-hip because my neighborhood (or borough as the new name might suggest) has been dubbed SoSaLa. I'm like a surfer without a beach.
No, but really, I like the looks of plans for the Market Station development, mostly because SoSaLa is kind of lacking in the new development department. If not only for better Ch'i flow in the city, it just seems like a new building or two would be good for the area. (Dnews article here) My only complaint would be the presence of 3 tennis courts in a few of the renderings. There are plenty of run down tennis courts around here already!Labels: Architecture, Places in Utah, Salt Lake City, Urbanism, Utah
Alternative Transportation on the Wasatch Front
I've been meaning to post this up here for a while, it was a final presentation for one of my classes last semester. The assignment was basically to create a few different maps and use them to tell a story. I picked the topic because it is one that interests me. For a larger view the link is hereLabels: GIS, Maps, Salt Lake City, School, Urbanism, Utah
222 South Main Steet
 Construction has just begun on a tall building (by Salt Lake standards) notice in the picture, the building to the right is Hotel Monaco/Bambara. Well, basically this story got me to thinking about the city's future, and so I typed some of it down.
I was also reading a bit about the buildings and buisnesses that have been demolished on Main Street in Salt Lake City over the years at utahstories.com. (They also have some pretty good bits about the taco cart situation.)
I was aware of the City Creek project (which has nothing to do with 222 South building) that is being funded by "The Church", but what I didn't know was that Main Street has repeatedly failed as a location for a trendy mall, yet currently the plan is to tear down the old mall and build a new mall...why?
Ever since hearing about these plans, I have thought a mall is not exactly what is lacking from downtown Salt Lake, those consumer types have plenty to choose from just a few blocks away at The Gateway, as well as in whatever suburb they live in. I don't think that this new City Creek mall will "revitalize" the city.
I would prefer to see Main Street become more of an arts and entertainment center, with more of a public space type feel. With the Trax stations and Gallivan center it already almost feels that way. I personally need draws like; theaters, clubs, restaurants, coffee shops, museums and galleries. It was revealed to me through the enormous turn out of people at the Gallivan Center summer concerts that people here want more of this going on here. Not more Apple Stores or Abercombie & Fitch's......BLAH!
I think that Salt Lake desperately needs more residents living in the downtown area, which residential development can be seen happening in numerous places, so hopefully some of the other things will follow. We need more people living in downtown, not only to support the two corporate mega malls, but to also provide the arts and entertainment scene that I desire. But most importantly, more people to support the small local shops and restaurants that I fear will not be around in a few years.Labels: Architecture, Salt Lake City, Urbanism
The Local Decision
When you take something from the store shelf and put it into your shopping cart, do you ever wonder where it came from? Most likely whatever it is, it has traveled hundreds if not thousands of miles to get there. It has passed through a number of hands, from the person responsible for producing it to the person that collects your money for it in the checkout line. In part, you are paying for all of those paychecks.You can make your community stronger by evaluating the companies that produce and sell the products you consume. If more effort were made by everyone to buy from local companies whenever possible our standard of living would be higher. There would be more jobs available to the neighboring population. The jobs created would be higher paying than jobs created by national chain stores. Everyone would be healthier because locally grown food is more nourishing. The air would be cleaner without trucks transporting food hundreds of miles. And finally, the landfills would be less full from the reduction in the needed packaging for food being transported long distances. It does require some time and effort, but would be favorable for all. Buying your goods and services locally is not always easy, sometimes even impossible.Your Neighborhood Economy
When you buy a local product or service that money circulates directly into your community. The people and businesses that surround you will benefit. Local businesses tend to purchase more from other local businesses. So the decision to buy local will help many other local businesses grow.Small local businesses are at the heart of a healthy neighborhood economy. They provide Americans with more high paying jobs. They are more likely to hire people with a better understanding of their business, resulting in better service for you. Most importantly, the owners of the business are people who live in the area. Chances are that they share many common interests with the community.Probably the easiest and best way to put money back into the local economy is to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables. There is hardly a difference in the price when comparing local produce with produce that has been trucked in. When eating out you can dine at locally owned restaurants that serve local products. The challenge lies in reading the labels, asking questions, and remaining dedicated to the decision.A Greater Experience
Local businesses help to give a city its distinctive character. A big attraction for tourists is unique places to shop. Often these shops can tell a story of local culture and tradition. People love to shop at stores not available anywhere else in the world.Local businesses can provide for people what they really want to buy much better than national chain stores can. A number of small businesses selling products that are based on the local needs will generate a much wider selection than one company that orders ten million widgets, then try to convince their customers that they need one.Chain stores provide lower paying jobs and less health insurance to their employees than locally owned and operated businesses do. Chain stores also impel suburban sprawl because they are usually located on the outskirts of town. A local business generally will do better located in a city center. In addition, a local business will give back to the community significantly more.A Service To Health
Buying local foods eliminates the costs of having it brought in to you from a location that requires shipping it on a gas consuming, air polluting truck. Also requiring more packaging for the transport. This creates more garbage to be thrown out into a landfill. In addition to better treatment of the environment, eating locally grown foods provides more for your body as well. These fruits and vegetables are at least a few days fresher. That means a higher nutritional content and much more flavor.Doing Your Part
Seek local businesses that represent you and your beliefs and give them with your patronage. Tell your friends about the businesses that you support and why. Small businesses survive on word of mouth advertising, as well as repeat customers.Eating seasonally means knowing what foods are grown in the area and planning meals around what is in season. Farmers markets have recently become extremely popular. They are an excellent way to get educated about which fruits and vegetables are grown locally. Also, other neighborhood businesses such as bakeries, restaurants and artists are usually in attendance seeking new customers. Buying your produce at a farmers market puts a significantly greater amount of money into the farmer’s pocket by eliminating all of the middlemen it takes to get the same product onto a store shelf. You will pay about the same price for a fresher product.Buying local whenever possible certainly shapes the opportunities available to you and your neighbors directly. Opting to provide an elevated quality of life for everyone in the community. A little awareness will go a long way.Labels: Consumerist, Essay, Politics, School, Urbanism
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