Happy Earth Day

It’s a big day here in Philly. Not only is today the presidential primary (incidentally I voted at 7AM this morning), but it’s also Earth Day!

This day comes and goes with fan fare that waxes and wanes like anything else. I must admit that this latest wave of eco-enthusiasm is not sweeping me along with it. I was in college when I experienced the big wave of the late 1980’s. That wave swept me into a career as the recycling “garbage man” for many years. As a result I may be a little jaded because I know the difference now between talk and action. And over the years I’ve heard a LOT of talk! So, today I’m going to focus on some positive action.

Earlier this month the MR and I participated in a citywide clean up of Philly.
After a quick sweep of our neighborhood we volunteered to help in an area that needed the manpower. Props to Mayor Nutter for organizing the effort within weeks of talking office too! We ended up in the Callowhill neighborhood, which is divided from Center City by the I-76.

This is an area known for its old warehouses and dilapidated manufacturing buildings. Some of these buildings are truly works of art with granite columns, engravings, and other flourishes meant to represent the power and the energy of workforce and products manufactured inside. There are many condos here now, some with families. Even still the area has a sense of desolation about it.

The MR and I met the best people that day. Enthusiastic women and men who had moved to Callowhill before the promise of any gentrification. They’ve worked tirelessly as part of a neighborhood association performing their own cleanups, without the help outside volunteers. They sounded like war veterans as they described tackling certain lots that had been dumping grounds or fighting to keep some places from backsliding.

We worked for a good 3-4 hours with dozens of others, cleaning out trash from corners of buildings, along fence lines, and sweeping streets. As our teams moved along a street, the before and after difference was striking. It’s not that we made the place shine exactly, but without all of the litter, the streets appeared more hospitable.

The best part of the day was feeling that sense of community. You could see people everywhere bagging the trash, sorting the recyclables and generally pitching in. One of the Callowhill organizers wiped tears from her eyes as she greeted volunteers from surrounding communities. She was overjoyed that people would leave their own Philly neighborhoods to help where help was needed most. The MR and I were so happy to help!

As much as the media will stress the power of the individual on Earth Day, I think it is the power of the group or community that is most significant. When the work is done collectively, the results of progress are more evident; you see things change more quickly.
We need that positive reinforcement because the task of environmental protection can seem so overwhelming. I know I get overwhelmed!

Of equal benefit too is by working together, we strengthen the ties that bind our communities together. We reinforce and strengthen each other’s commitment to our homes, to acting responsibly, and we even make new friends. Most importantly we learn that we are NOT ALONE in this effort. It’s a cliché but together we do make a difference.

The Creative Class and Upstate NY

I was introduced to Florida’s writings while in grad school. Both the MR and I had read his works and would discuss his ideas feverishly when we were dating.

In my own life I have more than just anecdotal evidence of the power of the creative class. I have lived in communities that were prospering under redevelopment efforts that accentuated walkable, accessible town centers with a healthy mix of business, residential, food and entertainment options. Places like Ann Arbor, Northampton and even Keene come to mind. The redevelopment was the genesis of the existing population that in turn attracted new arrivals. I would run into a number of people in their 30’s that were former college or graduate students of the area and gravitated back to the nests that nurtured them. Not surprising really, if an area offered good schools, good housing, culture/arts, and promoted an entrepreneurial spirit, why not move there?

I’ve also spent an equal amount of time living in places that were struggling and stumbling to acquire and mix the ingredients of the same redevelopment recipe. These were not places that seemed to draw back or retain graduates from local colleges. I don’t have any data to back this up, but I’ve never met anyone in Flint who came back to town years after college because he or she got all inspired just thinking about Autoworld.

I look at my own firm and find that despite all of the standard geographic advantages ranging from good schools to relatively accessible outdoor activities (ADK or Catskills), I'm told we've had trouble finding highly skilled workers that WANT to live in the capital district. With NYC and Boston within three hours each, if high-quality city life is desired, then the CapDist doesn’t measure up in comparison. If outdoor living or bustling small town life is key, then the suburbanization/strip mall landscape of the CapDist is likely to be a turn-off when places like Burlington, Ashville, or Portsmouth offer the ideal “best in small town living.”

To me the region is perfectly located with the Catskills, Green Mountains, and ADK all visibly within reach. Although the night life is lacking, the potential is there. Albany and Troy have an amazing inventory of buildings for unique restaurants and clubs to prosper. There are a few universities RPI, St. Rose, SUNY Albany, and Union to supply a ready and able work force. Yet, these variables don’t seem to be enough.

On the downside, the physical environment has been suburbanized and cut up by freeways. The colleges tend to be isolated and campus life is not an integral part of the community in any one of the nearby cities. In some ways it’s similar to metro Detroit where you have to drive from one amenity to the other. Even the mighty Hudson is cut off from downtown Albany by the interstate highway. People love living near water, but not when obscured by a freeway! My opinion is that many residents of Albany aren't even aware of its presence in the landscape anymore. The waterfront isn't the cultural focus, it was supplanted by the modernist Empire State Plaza. I've attended several events at the Plaza's performing arts venue, the Egg (which was built to look like an egg) where even the performers criticize the inhuman nature of the Plaza and mock the structure itself. If you can't get love from a traveling musician, then well... you're probably unloveable.

A bright spot in the region is Saratoga Springs. Although the city's original charms are being worn down some by towering new condos, the scheduled nanotech firm developments in nearby Malta will make Saratoga the first choice for newcomers. It has the vibrant town center and night life. I've seen more restaurants come and go there in two years than I've seen change hands in my Philly neighborhood!

The biggest obstacle in mind mind to attracting young professionals to stay or relocate to the region is the lack of town centers in the suburban towns that would provide venues for them togather and mix. The one thing a 20-something will tell you that if there is no place to meet other singles, no centers of gravity for games, sports, nightlife, cafes, etc., then life in that community is considered to be lonely and undesriable. It must be a community in the true sense of the word and not just a collection of buildings.