Archive for the 'Other cities' Category

A marina? Or a park? Or Condos? Why not build them all?

December 20, 2007

What should be built on the banks of our “great wet central park”? The mayor’s marina? The developers’ condos? Or the environmentalists’ parkland?
This question seems to vex our politicians, according to the TD.
But the city’s quest for a marina and more parkland along the James River faces scrutiny from a skeptical City Council and developers [...]

A conversation Richmond can’t have

November 8, 2007

Portland, Oregon is in the midst of a heated debate about - bike lanes!
Sadly, it’s a conversation Richmond can’t have- as we have no network of bike lanes in the city.
Several tragic accidents have occurred recently in Portland when cars or trucks turned right at an intersection where there was a bike lane. Two [...]

Voters Reject Sprawl

November 7, 2007

From nearby Chesterfield Co. to the Pacific Northwest, Americans signaled their dissatisfaction with poorly planned, automobile-dependent, farmland-destroying sprawl. At least, that’s what I choose to believe! Here’s the evidence:
Chesterfield Co. voters replaced 4 of its 5 Supervisors, which, according to the TD, is a backlash against their recent rapid growth:
The dramatic changes on [...]

Would you rather live in Italy or in Richmond?

November 1, 2007

I can’t decide which is worse. Crossing the street in Italian cities or here in Richmond.
This video shows exactly what it’s like to cross a street in the two Italian cities I’ve visited, Rome and Naples. For you impatient folks, fast forward to 1:12 (-0.52) for the best example.

Now traffic in Italy is absolutely [...]

Can 17th St. Farmer’s Market save Shockoe?

October 11, 2007

Great neighborhoods can be built around farmer’s markets. In fact, two of the American Planning Association’s top 10 neighborhoods are centered around, and even named after, their farmer’s markets: Pike Place Market Neighborhood in Seattle and Eastern Market in DC.

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market, the birthplace of Starbucks, ironically bans chain and franchise [...]

Acacia considers Rocketts Landing

September 19, 2007

Acacia’s closing its Carytown doors and looking for waterfront property, and, according to Style, “it’s not a secret that he’s one of at least three local chefs looking to Rocketts Landing as the next step in destination dining.”
Rocketts is building “a lively riverfront promenade with restaurants and shops right on the James…” according to [...]

“Richmond is a sleep city”: Chinese impressions of Richmond

August 2, 2007

The TD ran a story today on Chinese students who are spending a month at VCU. The students are all keeping blogs, which are a rich mine for discovering others’ impressions of our city.
VCU has links to all their blogs, but as far as I can tell, there’s no aggregator- which means you have [...]

Downtown Revival: A lesson from Asheville, NC

July 11, 2007

Michael Paul Williams writes about the successful downtown revival in Asheville, NC in today’s column. Having been to Asheville many times, I completely agree with his assessment of the place and wanted to add some visuals to go with his words. So below you’ll find pictures of Asheville and its people, along with my [...]

Big news on the Diamond & Boulevard redevelopment

July 3, 2007

Richmond Braves baseball will stay on the Boulevard- either with a renovated Diamond or a new stadium, according to James L. Jenkins, chairman of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority board of directors [via].
The good news there is that the matter is settled- no more proposals for ballparks in the Bottom, or Fulton Gas Works, or the [...]

More on Richmond transit improvements

June 8, 2007

I was absolutely thrilled with most of the proposals floated in this week’s lead Style article to improve Richmond public transportation.
Apparently, however, I’m out of the loop of public transit developments across the country and the world. Because the ideas that John Lewis, CEO of GRTC, proposed in Style, are already in place all [...]