This was a very good read. I am halfway through the book and really want to thank you for the energy and spotlight you are putting on our oft forgotten history in Charlotte.
The culture that has built up on car-dependency has been terrible for our planet and contributes to great alienation in our society. Thanks for being a leader in the conversation in Charlotte
From the time of publication, the comment I have gotten most frequently in the community has been "Charlotte would not be the city it is without "urban renewal" (which I think is shorthand for something else). It's ironic that there is considerable land use within I-277 for a jail, law enforcement, and even governmental offices that could be elsewhere. Dialog on a few topics could shed light: the theological framework (which is less understood as conversations move beyond churches and other religious organizations and less understood than assumed within them), differentiation between the "what" and the "how," and parsing the impacts - good and bad - of growth and aspirations to be a "world-class city" as commonly defined. "Commonly defined" is definitely part of the problem, espeically in light of the theological framework. (Glad we'll be hosting you this summer!)
When I take the streetcar, I love observing the activity of the passing scenery. Hospital staff crossing Novant, CPCC and Johnson & Wales burgeoning with students morning and midday, CTC and Uptown crowds, the West End with its Friday gatherings. Consistently, one section of the line is completely devoid of life all hours of the day, every day of the week. It is of course the section from the prison to Brevard. The section of the city where the uses are Urban Renewal built. A section that once had 7000 people active all hours of the day, that was replaced by parking lots, a suburban office park landscape, a church sprawling on 2 blocks. Early on there was even car dealerships.
We hoovered out all the life that was in 2nd Ward. That is the only thing Urban Renewal "gave" the City. What is good about the city we have today came in spite of Urban Removal.
This was a very good read. I am halfway through the book and really want to thank you for the energy and spotlight you are putting on our oft forgotten history in Charlotte.
The culture that has built up on car-dependency has been terrible for our planet and contributes to great alienation in our society. Thanks for being a leader in the conversation in Charlotte
From the time of publication, the comment I have gotten most frequently in the community has been "Charlotte would not be the city it is without "urban renewal" (which I think is shorthand for something else). It's ironic that there is considerable land use within I-277 for a jail, law enforcement, and even governmental offices that could be elsewhere. Dialog on a few topics could shed light: the theological framework (which is less understood as conversations move beyond churches and other religious organizations and less understood than assumed within them), differentiation between the "what" and the "how," and parsing the impacts - good and bad - of growth and aspirations to be a "world-class city" as commonly defined. "Commonly defined" is definitely part of the problem, espeically in light of the theological framework. (Glad we'll be hosting you this summer!)
When I take the streetcar, I love observing the activity of the passing scenery. Hospital staff crossing Novant, CPCC and Johnson & Wales burgeoning with students morning and midday, CTC and Uptown crowds, the West End with its Friday gatherings. Consistently, one section of the line is completely devoid of life all hours of the day, every day of the week. It is of course the section from the prison to Brevard. The section of the city where the uses are Urban Renewal built. A section that once had 7000 people active all hours of the day, that was replaced by parking lots, a suburban office park landscape, a church sprawling on 2 blocks. Early on there was even car dealerships.
We hoovered out all the life that was in 2nd Ward. That is the only thing Urban Renewal "gave" the City. What is good about the city we have today came in spite of Urban Removal.