myurbanrevolution.com
cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody – jane jacobsCharlotte, NC –> Charleston, SC
Yesterday was kind of a weird day since we woke up early after staying up late packing, went to the airport, took a flight north to Minneapolis where it was apparently about 30 degrees out (very glad we didn’t get stuck there with the clothes we packed) and then another flight south to Charlotte where it was already well past dusk by the time we landed. At 9:00 p.m. when we checked into the hotel we felt like we had barely done anything but still were not exactly energetic after our travels.
Fortunately, our hotel, perched on the 5th floor and above of Charlotte’s Epicentre, was clearly a party hotel in the middle of what seemed to be the liveliest place in the city. I’m not joking — the Epicentre was basically an urban mall filled with bars and clubs. A little artificial, but probably the best way to have a Saturday night on the town when you’ve just arrived (it’s also not clear that there was anything particularly “authentic” to experience elsewhere).
We ate some not particularly authentic but decent 2-for-1 Asian tapas at IndoChine Grill, where I also had a pretty terrible glass of wine. The California selections looked unimpressive so I went for a Chilean one which was equally unimpressive which was probably why I was served an overflowing glass. I clearly should have gone for the blood orange margarita that Dan ordered after his $4 special vodka Red Bull. I learned from this lesson tonight, and when the wine bar we wanted to try was not open, I passed on wine entirely in lieu of attempting to trick myself into thinking I still like the Beringer White Zin I used to buy in packs of six for $18 at Costco in college. We moved on to the fancy Asian restaurant, Enso, for dessert and after dinner drinks. It got us in the mood for dancing, so we walked around all the long lines to pay cover at the clubs, but when were solicited for a bribe at the back door of one of them we mutually decided that the experience was worth no more than about $2 each since there was not much inside that we couldn’t get elsewhere (each other) so we’d rather go back to our well-designed hotel bar.
This morning, we hurried out of Charlotte in hopes of making it in time to Boone Hall Plantation for Taste of Charleston, a once-a-year event we were fortunate enough to overlap. Apparently Boone Hall was the location of some scenes from the delightfully almost porny film version of The Notebook. Along the way, I wanted some caffeine so we went to the drive through at Bojangles, a ubiquitous local “chicken ‘n biscuits” chain. My coke was served in a styrofoam cup which made me die a little inside and the sweet potato pie didn’t really taste bad but the way it looked reminded me of why I never eat true fast food anymore now that I am able to avoid it.
Taste of Charleston was a great introduction to the city’s restaurants and a creative use of what would seem like lost space other than for tourism/preservation. While the food was tasty, it left me with what I am sure is the incorrect impression that Charleston mainly serves not-so-different varieties of sliders. My favorite parts were beautiful wooden shoring being used for restoration of one of the old buildings and the swamp we had to walk through (on a boardwalk of sorts) to get to the event. Getting in and out of the plantation was a total nightmare.
We checked into Notso Hostel this evening which so far has been… interesting. We struggled for a while to get the sheets on our bed until we realized they were the wrong size. On the bright side, we don’t have to pay $20 for parking like at the other hotels and it seems that the little shared kitchen outside our room is basically ours. Over dinner, we examined a bunch of tour brochures we picked up, ultimately concluding that the City Slicker iPhone application looked by far the most promising. Even on the internet, there was an overwhelming number of ghost tours and carriage rides leaving both of us with the fear that every tour would be perhaps unbearably kitschy. Fortunately, the app turned out to be on special for $0.99 instead of the usual $9.99 meaning there was nothing to lose. Since Charleston seems like more of a daytime kind of place, we turned in after dinner and downloaded the app which looks great so far.
The Ghost Map: insights on technology and the future of density
A few months ago, I picked up a copy of The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World at a little bookshop in Half Moon Bay. My attraction to this book probably had something to do with witnessing all that death by poop-related illness in the Oregon Trail game as a kid (what exactly is the difference between cholera and dysentery?). There was something striking about this book other than its many references to “rice water stools” — it articulated some of my previously vague thoughts about how the internet is transforming urban life.
Jane Jacobs observed many years ago that one of the paradoxical effects of metropolitan life is that huge cities create environments where small niches can flourish. [...]
The irony, of course, is that digital networks were supposed to make cities less attractive, not more. The power of telecommuting and instant connectivity was going to make the idea of densely-packed urban cores as obsolete as walled castle-cities of the Middle Ages. Why would people crowd themselves into harsh, overpopulated environments when they could just as easily work from their homestead on the range? But as it turns out, many people actually like the density of urban environments, precisely because they offer the diversity of [Jane Jacobs'] Viennese bakeries and art movies. As technology increases our ability to find these niche interests, that kind of density is only going to become increasingly attractive. These amateur maps offer a kind of antidote to the scale and complexity and intimidation of the big city. [...]
The great promise of urban density is that it thrusts so many diverse forms of intelligence, amateur and professional, into such a small space.
Cities of the southeast! tour
With the Walt Disney Family Museum officially opening to the public tomorrow, a vacation is long overdue.
Back in the spring, we wanted to escape to Hawaii but had friends get engaged shortly after who are likely to get married there. I love Hawaii but don’t properly vacation all that often (where a proper vacation is defined as a week or more), so it would be silly to go twice within the course of a year. And did I mention that Hawaii is expensive?
Then we came up with the idea of going to Buenos Aires, the Paris of the West. Although a plane ticket can be double a ticket to Hawaii, the stay would be much more economical than most other locations of similar appeal. A multi-course meal at a top restaurant, for example, would cost only $40. I had plenty of PTO that had piled up over the life of the project, but my somewhat unpredictable work load made it difficult to isolate the full two weeks I am sure we’d need to do Argentina justice and truly make the expensive ticket worthwhile.
We stayed in the vein of beach vacations for a while but didn’t want to wait long enough to sufficiently avoid hurricane season on the east coast. The southern west coast was too close to home and I’m not enough of a fan of Mexico to take a chance on another trip there just yet. To reference David Foster Wallace, I’d group Mexico in there with cruises–supposedly fun things I’ll never do again (until I forget or grow bored enough with the other options). Without the time to go abroad or inclination to head north where it’s getting cooler, we needed a trip that wouldn’t be ruined by weather.
So now we’re touring cities of the southeast! Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, and Atlanta to be exact. Atlanta has intrigued me ever since I worked on a project there (research, no visit) at my old job. However, Atlanta has sort of taken the back seat to Charleston and Savannah in the course of our planning. Atlanta almost got dropped from the itinerary entirely because we liked North Carolina’s Outer Banks (in part due to a flashy web site that mesmerized Dan and my excitement about potential hang gliding lessons at Kitty Hawk), but we decided that Atlanta added significantly less driving time.
In the case of a hurricane, we can head inland from our coastal destinations a little more easily than we might have from the Florida keys. I’m looking forward to doing something fun and a little unusual, hopefully without blowing a ton of cash. So the challenge of the last weekend was selecting accommodations. We stayed in this fantastic 1920s Hollywood-inspired boutique hotel in Portland that we raved about so much that our roommate booked a trip to Portland and stayed there. It felt especially good because we got a great rate that included half off truly gourmet breakfast in their dining room. We set out to replicate that success and will let you know how it goes.
Charlotte – 1 night – Aloft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre
Aloft is a downmarket brand of the tres chic W hotels. Since we arrive late on a Saturday night, we wanted to be in the center of things and it sounds like there will be lots to do right in the building (a highrise).
Charleston – 3 nights – Notso Hostel
I read about the Notso Hostel in the New York Times (“Charleston on the Cheap”) but Dan did not quite share my enthusiasm. Researching accommodations in Charleston was a huge time suck because everything was either outside the city center, super old fashioned (and not even in a particularly tasteful manner), or very expensive. While Charlotte hotels all offered a discount for longer stays, there were few deals to be found in Charleston. I had finally unearthed a potentially risky but potentially awesome vacation rental studio that I was ready to try for better or worse when Dan woke up from a nap and decided to check out Notso Hostel’s web site. One look at the pictures of all the visitors having tons of fun and he was sold! I should have known to show him the web site in the first place because I’ve never really done the whole hostel thing before and it got me excited. Because Charleston arguably has the most going on, it makes sense to go light on the luxury and focus on experiencing all the city has to offer, maybe with some new friends. This also allowed us to splurge a little more on Savannah where we could get more for our money.
Savannah – 2 nights – AVIA Savannah
The web site tells all. On the waterfront, centrally located, and very stylish. We might take some time here to watch the 42″ flat panel TV.
Altanta – 2 nights – Artmore Hotel
More than anything the bar had a similar appeal to the cozy one at Hotel Deluxe in Portland where we had a most excellent time.
Charlotte – 1 night – TBD airport hotel*
And… drumroll, please… average cost per night per person: $53, including tax. That doesn’t even take into account the super cheap night we’ll spend at an airport hotel.
Next up – activity planning.
Open letter to Gavin Newsom on SF’s dumb “smart” meters
As posted on Gavin Newsom’s facebook wall since the City and County of San Francisco does not seem to accept wall posts and I know how much good it does to send an actual complaint that no one else can read (nothing):
Gavin,
The smart meters currently being piloted in parts of the city are a great idea: 1) I can pay with my credit card eliminating the need to carry pounds of change, 2) Why shouldn’t high demand street parking more closely compete with parking lot prices to help cover costs of public transit, etc., and 3) It makes sense to distribute non-essential public resources according to how much people are willing to pay for them.
But there’s one significant problem with this new program being tested along the Embarcadero. On Thursday, August 6, my partner and I parked amongst many other street-parked cars along the Embarcadero. We had taken the the day off to show our visiting sisters the 49-mile scenic drive, so even though we frequent the area it didn’t cross our minds that the lane was very essential to traffic flow during commute hours. It was 2:50 p.m., and we put 1 hour of time in the meter on our credit card which theoretically covered us until 3:50. It turns out that all the cars parked there get towed after 3:00, so when we returned after a delicious lunch at the Ferry Building, it was definitely a “Dude, Where’s my Car!” moment.
When I tested the meter at that point it would not allow transactions. There were parking restrictions posted in the area (at least some had not been removed by vandals), but the usual signs on the meters clearly stating the hours were absent (the old meters were covered with bags). The question remains, however, since these are “SMART” meters, why on earth would they let us pay for more than 10 minutes of parking time without a warning/error message? The programming is very, very simple. I learned my lesson early on that there’s no use fighting parking illogicality in San Francisco so we’ve paid the $450 to retrieve our vehicle and plan to eat only rice for the next three months, but please fix this! I know it’s mostly tourists parking over there and the city makes a lot of money towing their rental cars for more than they’re worth, but wouldn’t it be more honorable to penalize those who intentionally disregard the rules and are not misled by our dumb “smart” meters?
440 Brannan show featuring street artist Eddie
Several weeks ago, I stumbled upon this marvelous work of a street artist later identified as Eddie (Colla) on the east side of Linden & Octavia.
Unfortunately, it was covered with ads shortly after, so I was glad to have captured it. I went to the opening party for Eddie’s new show at 440 Brannan last night and snapped a few more pictures.
Transportation pet peeves
1. Cars & trucks making deliveries, especially on typically fast-moving one-way streets, which take up a lane of traffic rather than pulling over all the way into the parking lane when there is plenty of room to do so. Nothing seems more dangerous about city driving than the ritual of everyone trying to merge at the last minute in order to avoid getting stuck behind said vehicle.
2. Pedestrians who are completely disconnected from the world around them and make no effort to be courteous to drivers. Yes, pedestrians have the right of way, but it makes sense to pick up the pace a bit (or at least look like you’re trying to) when someone is waiting on you.
3. Bicyclists who do not obey stop signs or traffic signals. I respect you for the physical energy you’re putting into being greener and cheaper than me when I’m in a car, but you are subject to the same regulations as vehicles and it’s for your own good! It drives me crazy when a biker comes to a near collision with a vehicle and gets all pissed off when he just completely ran a stop sign. The vehicle is looking for other vehicles at or near the intersection, not a biker 25 yards away who is going fast enough to be in the intersection once the driver starts moving forward.
Cities are not static, says Gabriel Metcalf
I’ve loved SPUR ever since I moved to San Francisco, but this SF Examiner interview with Gabriel Metcalf, its Executive Director, had me floored. The narrative is not particularly fascinating but Metcalf is spot on when it comes to density, and not just as an abstract idea, but adding density here, in this very place (trying to convey this with a Rachel Maddow grin). You can see in the comments to the original article that this is not so popular.
One of the biggest issues for Metcalf is the lack of development in The City, which he said is the root of most problems. The City would be much more affordable if housing at all price levels was allowed to proceed without San Francisco’s strict zoning codes, he said.
Metcalf says making it affordable for suburban home dwellers to move to The City will solve some social and environmental problems, a philosophy that has been reinforced after having children.
[...]
San Francisco also needs to focus on fighting climate change. We can accomplish that by channeling all Bay Area growth in San Francisco and by making public transportation so appealing and enticing that it encourages people to leave their cars at home.
[...]
The buildings of The City, the infrastructure of a city, changes over time. Cities are not static unless you want to make it a museum piece.
I. M. Paying
Loved Ted’s nerdy architecture dream on last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother:
[Narrated] And then I proceeded to waste a half hour of those bastards’ lives telling them about this dream I had where I ate dinner with my top 5 favorite architects throughout history. [Fast forward] And then, at the end of the meal, Frank Gehry slides the check over to I.M. Pei and he says, “Buddy, tonight your name is I.M. Paying.” Buckminster Fuller almost did a spit take!
Filming mystery solved
Remember that December morning when I snapped a few photos of film crews in the nabe wondering what they were up to (reference “Filming in Hayes Valley”)? Well, I stumbled upon the answer today–a 10-minute Acura commercial shown only in China. Credit goes to hayesvalley.com for scooping this lovely clip. I think the mood of San Francisco daily life is pretty well captured except for the Beach Boys soundtrack.
The real world threw up all over us
How twentysomethings are coping with the recession, an article by Emily Bazelon in Slate:
Apprehension, with an enduring edge to it. That’s the general mood among the twentysomethings I’ve heard from during the last several weeks in response to a question I asked about how the recession is making them feel. The fear isn’t just about the present but about the long-term future. Octopuslike, it has many tentacles. But the most strangling aspect, I think, is the perception of my Gen Y e-mailers that they dutifully set up their lives based on assumptions that suddenly no longer apply. They’re anxious because they can’t tell what the new rules of the game will be—or because they think they can tell, and they don’t like what they see coming at them.
The recession is one of the primary reasons I have been so quiet on myurbanrevolution.com this year. Not only has it been difficult to delight in my usual interests long enough to transmit them from my brain through the keyboard and into something intelligible on the screen, but it’s been a time of inner retreat, of reevaluating priorities, and of focusing on survival (in both a completely serious and simultaneously non-Darwinian sense). I’ve always been a big planner (I knew I wanted to go to Stanford at age six then implemented) and consequently a big worrier, so my “healthy” short-term post-graduation approach focused on adjusting to the working world and positioning myself within it without much regard for the future in financial terms beyond the next rent payment or so. This was partially based on the prospect of eventually attending graduate school which would put me into so much debt that any saving I did in advance would be negligible based upon the income I was at least initially making. It was also a lifestyle choice because I refused to completely postpone enjoyment. (Aside: last year, friends of mine in the Class of 2003 returned to the farm for their five year reunion to find that five names of 1600 or so already had been marked “deceased” in their programs. It’s foolish to hang your happiness only on the future, something overachievers are wont to do.) After all, this was what I had worked so hard for my whole life–to get to this point of opportunity and complete self-determination.
I took for granted that I would always have an income so long as I chose–and a growing one at that so that all things would become increasingly possible and life increasingly better with time. If anything, I was training myself in patience, doing my best to tone out the nagging frustration that, for all my potential and for all my success, it would be a long road to the urban American Dream.
Out of nowhere, a paycheck became the new status symbol. That’s not to say I hadn’t thought at length about the flaws in our economic system (how can my generation buy houses off of our parents’ generation if the houses had quadrupled or more in supposed value over twenty years without corresponding increases in income or relative income?), but there was no particular reason to think it would fall apart at this specific moment more than any other.
At the beginning of my awareness of the recession, I had actually already started a semi-serious savings plan, but the wrong kind! Based on what would normally be considered the sound advice of my elder coworkers, halfway through the year, I started aggressively withholding from my paycheck in a 401k which focused on long-term security to the detriment of my short term security. This offered both tax benefits and prevented me from deciding one day that my savings would buy a great new piece of technology or furniture or group rental of a ski cabin for the winter. Fortunately, I was smart enough to funnel my 401k earnings into cash and bonds since it was already apparent that even low risk stocks were not performing. Since early November, I have been in panic mode–thinking of little but saving ten more dollars here, twenty more dollars there, needing to build a reserve fund and fast. I count my savings in terms of how many months of rent I am ahead. I refused to let go of my 401k plans which made this all the more difficult as it did not feel like there was a lot of room for improvement in my monthly budget given the fixed costs of modern urban life (rent, health care, utilities, cell phone, basic hair and make up).
But my, I have learned to live cheaply.
I wouldn’t say I am at ease now, but I have adjusted my expectations and done what I can to spin the challenges endured so far and those that lie ahead in the most positive light possible. As Mayor Gavin Newsom said in a recent speech I attended, everyone always says we’re in a crisis when in fact it’s only a crisis before you have a plan. On the bright side, for those of us not too invested in the status quo, the economic adjustment (such as housing prices) will ultimately benefit us. So long as I have a job, my buying power has actually increased for now ($30 for a full tank of gas, for example, though that’s negative progress for the sustainability movement). Already, newspapers are saying that longtime renters in San Francisco who never expected to own a home finally are considering it. Similarly, the rental market has gotten less cutthroat than it used to be. These days it has become socially acceptable to reference your budget in declining invitations to expensive activities (which I used to consider social obligations) whose enjoyment does not outweigh their cost. I’ve always thought about life a little in terms of an operating expense budget (how much does it cost per day to breathe, for example, if you have asthma?). Previously, if I explained that ordering a bottle of wine with dinner would surely throw my $16/day food budget, I would have come off as anal and perhaps a bit odd. Today I might be respected for my self-control.
I’ve curbed wants so that they don’t feel unfulfilled. I attended a black tie wedding and put the desire for a new dress out of mind. I cut back on Christmas gifts and made some of them. I haven’t completely stopped eating out (take out is still a good option, especially when dishes can be split or left overs can be made into lunch), but I learned to cook dishes good enough to distract me from the desire to do so every day. I’ve been on a health kick in general to aid focus and drink only sparingly, another way that my generation tends to blow money sans the requisite satisfaction. And, overall, I am thankful to be in the position that I am in. I have renewed appreciation for the fact that I am able to live independently and have the resources to find a way to stay independent–creatively finding supplementary income, drawing on my 401k if necessary, downsizing apartment or even car if squeezed.
In a lot of ways the timing couldn’t have been worse. Two more years down the road, I would have had enough savings to comfortably take advantage of the lull to skip town for a cheaper (or maybe not) foreign city. I could probably afford a year of reading books in Barcelona, or much longer in Antigua. Either way, it would be easy to rationalize a break. Extraordinary times offer the excuse to do what we really want to do. But at the same time, I suppose that the current timing forced a sort of second adulthood on me that will shape my long term character for the better. Meanwhile, thinking outside the box in terms of future possibilities and being nudged outside of my comfort zone will certainly alter my path in some interesting way sooner or later. It’s a lot easier to be entreprenurial when there’s nothing (or much less than before) to lose.
