I haven’t written much on my blog recently. That’s partly because I’ve been busy, and partly because Richmond is not inspiring me at the moment. It feels like every news item I come across is tired, recycling the same old stories with the same old commentaries- just change a few details from last week’s headlines, and you’ve got news.
So, I’ve decided to make a generic post about the state of urban issues in Richmond.
Here are my 8 recurring stories.
Read them any day, and they’ll make sense. I’ve included the “headline,” then, in parentheses, the most recent examples of the headline, and finally, my commentary in italics:
1. New luxury apartments/condos are being built. (Cold Storage building in Shockoe)
And no one will buy them.
2. A new store/restaurant opens. (Rumors boutique, Cafe Cuba)
Hooray!
3. An old store/restaurant closes/moves out of the city. (Richmond Piano)
Awwww.
4. Richmond politicians fail to be innovative or progressive, and don’t solicit input. (Fan party patrol)
How could they?
5. Regionalism can’t get off the ground. (Regional planning commission fails to be regional, or plan)
Those damn suburbanites.
6. VCU expands. (VCU allowed to tear down historic stables)
Trani-ville does both good and bad things for Richmond.
7. Richmond loves cars. (Green space on Monument Ave. paved over)
I should move to another city.
8. Race continues to be a divisive issue. (Jim Bacon says: talk less about race; I disagree)
*sigh*
So there you have it. The 8 tired stories about Richmond’s development.
I don’t know, maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the stress in my life. But I’m just not excited about this town right now. As my pseudonym implies, I’ve always felt ambivalent about living here, and right now I’m feeling much more negative than usual. Please, y’all, tell me why I’m wrong.
June 29, 2007 at 4:18 pm
After living here more than a dozen and seeing the same cycles, I understand the burn out.
But I would say look a little closer- there are things happening- Richmond is going to have to embrace green building as it grows and resources become more scarce.
Some of the issues you mention, including VCU vs. Oregon Hill historic stables (Trani breaking his promise), have bigger implications than they might look like at first glance. Is the state willing to hold state universities accountable when they break state code?
Another suggestion- do a tour of all the new venues- The Camel, Capitol Ale House Stage, Toad’s, etc, an tell me how the competition will shape up (especially for the City meals tax-funded downtown Center Stage/art center) and let me know how this will effect my tax bill.
June 30, 2007 at 6:59 am
You’re wrong because you should be down on Richmond a little more. A tricked-out, disease-raddled whore who occasionally wears one clean piece of clothing or brushes her teeth is still a tricked-out, disease-raddled whore.
The city has its perks, and it’s far better now than 10-20 years ago, right? I think the trick is to lower your expectations. It’s not suddenly going to become as progressive as San Francisco, as well-transit-enabled as New York, or as economically viable as, say, Phoenix. Change really does seem to operate at a scale-of-history sort of rate in “tha RVA,” not a scale-of-mortals.
June 30, 2007 at 9:45 am
Richmond is like the Goldilocks story… not too this, not too that. Which makes it an easy place to hang your hat, if not super stimulating. But maybe the cutting-edge forward drive is held back by the freaky attention to the past here? I know the past can teach lessons valuable for the future, but like many Richmonders of my generation, a) I’m not from these parts, b) I don’t care about what happened here 150 years ago any more or less than I care about the Alamo or the CA gold rush, c) and I really don’t care about the past if it isn’t directly relevant to challenges currently on our collective plate or those on the horizon. Talk to me about the future. That’s where the action is at.
June 30, 2007 at 11:06 am
I don’t have much hope in our current local government to make any progressive changes around here. But I do have hope in a lot of the people I’ve met in the area. I think the changes will start with groups of people biking more, buying local food and just living more sustainable lives. Once it hits a critical mass then I think the government will catch up.
June 30, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I will carry a blog link to this in the July 4 Regional Community Development News. You can see what it looks like at:
http://regional-communities.blogspot.com
June 30, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Well, I can certainly understand your frustrations. Coming off a spring semester that included an Urban Geography class, one cannot be more thoroughly pissed at Richmond politics than moi.
One of the worst things going for Richmond is City Government. Wilder, despite his grandstanding, seems to get more down than the rest of them. The moneybags of the city puppeteer things that line their pocket while everyone else suffers.
A serious drawback is the lack of innovation amongst retailing and the city’s support of it. We had the lowest unemployment rate in the US and in comparison to other countries. However, Richmond goes and loses businesses like Wachovia Securities. We have extreme potential to be a bio-medical research center.
Richmond needs to find an identity of her and not copy people.
I despise City Council – total good for nothings.
The City of Richmond can’t get Henrico or Chesterfield to play with them. Well, Richmond just needs to pull itself up by the bootstraps and make stuff happen.
A key finance matter is property. Richmond has vast portions of unsightly, abandoned properties (i.e. Jeff Davis, Hull Street, etc). Abandoned, decrepit homes yield no real estate taxes. Richmond needs to start knocking down these unsightly structures and plant new and fruitful ideas. Get Developers doing something far more constructive than building $300, 400, 500, 600 McMansions and creating financially segregated communities.
July 2, 2007 at 8:53 am
“c) and I really don’t care about the past if it isn’t directly relevant to challenges currently on our collective plate or those on the horizon.”
That’s the thing though. Richmond’s 400 year history is so incredibly apropos to our biggest problems. If we can’t take the time to have serious conversations about the race/class issues (that have plagued our city for the last 400 years) we aren’t going to get anywhere.
July 2, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I agree with both Ross and Anon. Excessive admiration for the past without a vision for what we can become in the future is stifling and certainly part of our problem in RIC. But, in order to move forward as a region, and in order to create a more just and inclusive community, we MUST talk about how the past has shaped our city and the problems we face.
I think a lot of our veneration of the past comes from a desire to remember ourselves (meaning our region) when we were signficant. But we do so often by whitewashing (pun intended) the past and ignoring the hurt that was inflicted on others during our glory days. If we’re to address the social ills we face today, and the psychological barriers that keep the problems from being solved, we must tell our collective story honestly.
Did any of y’all see the Roots perform at Richmond’s 400th party? I thought that was a nice example of celebration combined with truth-telling. Basically, ?uestlove talked honestly about the history of this country and its painful past, then played Bob Dylan’s Masters of War in order to celebrate an American icon who wasn’t afraid to be a prophet. I was damn impressed with our region that we could pull off an event like that!
July 3, 2007 at 10:41 am
I think it is a cop out to say that Richmond is stagnated by its past and failure to look beyond it. What drags us down is the old families & their money, the old thinking, and the old ways of doing business and conducting government. The status quo is maintained by those who have a vested interest in seeing nothing change.
July 3, 2007 at 11:39 am
Keep in mind there is a difference between obsessing about the past and historic preservation.
July 3, 2007 at 11:51 am
I agree, Scott, and I don’t think many folks here want to turn Richmond into Charlotte, which has destroyed a lot of its historic character for new development. What I want is a more honest reckoning of our past, as evidenced by the small steps recently taken with the civil rights memorial and slavery reconciliation statue. We honor our past, the good and the bad, but not let it become shackles that keep us from moving ahead as a region.
August 27, 2007 at 7:49 am
I won’t say you’re entirely wrong however so much has happened in Richmond in just the last 6 years that I’ve been here. I wandered Shockoe Bottom the other day with a friend of mine and was amazed at all the infill that’s taking place. Once abandoned storefronts are opening into shops, clubs, and restaurants. More people are moving into downtown than any other part of the city.
Take a walk down 14th Street and you can really notice the change, whether it’s the restored buildings on the corner of 14th and Main, the new furniture store, the new deli across the street, the new 1500 person music venue, or the attractive condominium tower on the canal.
Richmond’s core is really coming together to become a destination not only to Richmond-area residents but visitors alike. I too would like to see things moving faster but honestly I think in these days of instant gratification we expect too much to happen in a short period of time. Richmond is heading in the right direction and has a very bright future. Now if we could only get a council with vision that will help move the city forward instead of doing its best to put the brakes on. Put the right people in power and perhaps we’ll see our beautiful parks get the money and attention they deserve, our streets and sidewalks repaired, and the days of cronyism and corruption put long behind us.
December 26, 2007 at 5:10 am
Stumbled across this site. You all should check out the Richmond, VA forum at http://www.city-data.com. The types of dicussions you are having are sometimes had there. The site really needs more Richmond representation.
December 26, 2007 at 9:50 am
OK, I’m a lttle behing the curve (as usual), but allow me to catch up.
Scott Burger says:
“- Richmond is going to have to embrace green building as it grows and resources become more scarce.”
One can only hope. IMHO – Higher gas prices are a city’s best friend. Increased gas taxes could and should help fund a new “green” infrastructure. Let those who use scarces resources fund viable alternatives.
I personally would like to see a nice green roof garden on top of the Richmond Public Library. It would certainly improve the view from MY living room.
Mr. So Very Anonymous Says:
“The city has its perks, and it’s far better now than 10-20 years ago, right? I think the trick is to lower your expectations. It’s not suddenly going to become as progressive as San Francisco”
If we ever get as progressive as San Francisco, I’m moving to Maine, Nova Scotia or someplace less “progressive”. News Item – SF Mayor proposes tax on sugary soft drinks to offset increased health care costs.
Lynn Says:
June 30, 2007 at 11:35 pm
“I despise City Council – total good for nothings. ”
Well, I strongly dislike (not quite despise) Doug Wilder, so between the two of us we we’ve got city government covered. BTW, What did Bill Pantele ever do to you?
Ross says:
July 2, 2007 at 8:53 am
“If we can’t take the time to have serious conversations about the race/class issues (that have plagued our city for the last 400 years) we aren’t going to get anywhere.”
Sometimes the best way to get beyond something is just to move on. Constanly reopening old wounds never allows them to heal. Also “serious” conversations about race are usually hijacked by those who know how to press the hot buttons, witness Doug Wilder’s most recent contributions.
ambivalentrichmonder Says:
July 3, 2007 at 11:51 am
“I don’t think many folks here want to turn Richmond into Charlotte,”
and neither do I, BUT we could learn a lot from Charlotte and other cities that have benefitted from better cooperation between City and County and are not saddled by the Dillon Rule.
Jeff E. Says:
August 27, 2007 at 7:49 am
“Richmond’s core is really coming together to become a destination not only to Richmond-area residents but visitors alike”
I agree to an extent. I can list dozens of projects in the urban core and see great reason for hope, but on the flip side Shockoe Bottom itself is barely better off that it was when I moved here 7 years ago, full of half empty store fronts and a market that is woefully under exploited. I have spoken to longtime Richmonders who couldn’t find it with a roadmap let alone out of town visitors. We desperately need a tourist friendly trolley system connecting Carytown, Downtown, Shockoe Bottom and Churchhill. The pieces are all in place. Now we just have to connect the dots.
June 28, 2008 at 7:47 am
Richmond is boring. anyone who defends this “town” is obviously a small town person at heart or just loves being boring. Everyone I meet here loves to walk there dog and work on the yard or just walk down to the local boring pub and talk about being boring. church and boring people everywhere. not for a city person this place. also the illusion of nice neighborhoods why? when in the alley ways lurks such filth. crack smokers everywhere, crusty people live in your alley whilst the front or your historic fan house looks perfect? not talking city council here. but those are issues to make any city desireable or ugly…
April 6, 2009 at 10:51 am
Richmond is boring, as so are the rest of the cities in the state.
June 12, 2009 at 8:43 pm
warning: RANT* liberals may be offended…
Richmond could be better. The whole state of Virginia could be better for that matter. The problem with this state is the people who run it. Tim Kaine has ruined the budget but hey what do you expect? Liberals seem to have a bad habit of spending money in all the wrong places. The places that never seem to actually create any kind of return. They like to flush money down the toilet of programs that basically are designed to create perpetual poverty and government dependancy. Go, ahead…get on here and spew all the same old crap like, “oh you’re just a dumb racist right wing wacko.” It’s so hilarious now adays. Conservatives get drug through the mud because we don’t embrace retarded leftist, go nowhere social ideology. But, you know what? Just for one second, take a completely and totally OBJECTIVE stance on the differences between the two views and you know what you will find? I’ll tell you what you’ll find. Common sense runs a conservative mind. So go ahead. Keep up the “hope” and “change”. Follow our leaders that can’t seem to pay their own taxes, yet seek to publically ruin those who are just like them. Go ahead and follow this racist Judge Sotomayor. And most importantly, keep following this completely unworthy president who, in all of his infinite wisdom, somehow came to the conclusion that spending more than has ever been spent in the history of the United States at one time is the way to get OUT of debt. Keep following your stupid, insane liberal leftist news media brainwashing channels. LIBERALS MAKE ME SICK.
June 30, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I can’t wait until we take your guns away.