I love big cities. The energy, the diversity, the public transit, the restaurants, the architecture… There’s always something new to explore. So it’s with some disappointment that I find myself living back in Richmond, the city where I grew up. Don’t get me wrong, I love this city; there’s great potential. But there’s also so much frustration for a big-city-lover like me. Just walk along Cary St. downtown and count the number of parking lots you pass between Belvidere and Tobacco Row. Or drive down 288 (because there’s no bus service out there and it’s illegal to walk or bike) and observe the continual march of the suburbs further and further from the city center. And don’t even get me started on biking around here.

I have hope, however. Urban life in Richmond is getting better: new developments, new restaurants, multiple blogs about life in the city, new politicians (OK, maybe there’s never hope in politics). In this blog I will track these and other trends towards urbanization in RVA, my hometown. And maybe together we can make a community of people who can make this a better place to live.