Councilman to Business Insider: “Raleigh’s moving from ‘sleepy’ to major city.” Article says city’s character declining. (Cary: transplants, townhomes)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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1. "We're still becoming what we will be. We're transitioning from a sleepy capital city into a midsize-to-major city," Jonathan Melton, a member of Raleigh's City Council, told me. Which direction will the city choose? Is there a way to transform without becoming unlivable along the way?”
I don’t agree with that at all. Not sure Raleigh has been “sleepy” for at least half a decade, if not 8-10 years. Not sure I woulda characterized the city that way to a National publication… as if it’s still shaking off its sleepiness becoming a major city. Raleigh isn’t sleepy right now. The transition has ALREADY occurred. Just an odd characterization by Melton.
2. He told me that in the past few years, “Raleigh's government ‘turned over the keys of the city to developers’ and allowed a slew of buildings that are ugly, characterless, and inappropriate aesthetically for the city.” - Hayes Barton Resident
I actually agree with that statement and have said on here for years Raleigh was becoming characterless.
3. “Southeast Raleigh, where the Black workers who built the city once lived, has received national attention for the blitzkrieg gentrification it's faced over the past five years. Some residents there see the new bus as a way to serve new transplants, rather than an investment in keeping longtime residents in the neighborhood.”
No argument on that one ^ lol
Anyhoo, check out the article. Some glaring tropes and stereotypes about the city paraded in this one. Raleigh is getting so much more National attention these days.
Great and interesting article...thanks for sharing. I'm not ignoring the gentrification factor, because that is indeed important. But I still can't understand why they keep allowing more development without expanding the local roads (Cary has done a decent job, but I'm referring to Raleigh, Apex, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuqyay - so many 2 lane roads with tons of development, and no near-term solution in sight for local road expansion). An example is 2-lane Ten Ten Rd @ 401 in Garner/Fuquay - almost 1k new SFU/MDU units (more under review) in the near future, with no road expansion in sight. It can take an hour go get from Blaney Franks Rd to 401 in the evenings, as is. Another is 2-lane Old Stage Rd - 275 new townhomes going up, with another 75 under consideration across the street. It's bumper to bumper traffic in the AM & PM. I'm not against development, but why can't we hold developers accountable for the sustainable infrastructure? Raleigh and the surrounding cities/towns seem to ignore this and preach that we need increased public transportation. Like a lot of cities with residents who are used to using their own car, it's hard to persuade them to use mass transit. It's obvious we're going to be slow adopters to mass transit. Instead of waiting on NCDOT budget timelines, why can't we focus on making the developers help pay to widen the roads as part of their development plans?
Good stuff. Part of the reason why I rarely go to the City v. City sub anymore because the bickering is pointless. We’re really in the throes of urban homogeneity. It’s really sad. Kinda have to find leftover pockets of character in the mid size to major cities these days. Mainline culture here in the U.S. has really become trash and vanilla and it’s also becoming suffocatingly dominant as late stage capitalism has its way, engulfing the more niche, enchanting, creative spaces and products. Have to search a lot harder these days to find them.
The article is very Raleigh-centric and ignores the fact that 60% of Wake County lives outside the city limits of Raleigh (as does 75% of the CSA). When people outside the region think of "Raleigh", are they actually talking about the city itself or the surrounding area?
Raleigh is somewhat on the trajectory of Atlanta and somewhat not. Yes, despite the population growth inside the city limits of Raleigh, its share of the overall Triangle population continues to fall. The city of Atlanta's population has grown since 1990, but it's down to 10% of the MSA and 8% of the CSA. But we live in a Triangle... a geographical and political reality is very different from Atlanta which grew consistently in an expanding circle from a single railroad junction.
As for roads, I think the city of Raleigh and the town of Cary have done reasonably well. Those improvements were largely funded by municipal bonds. North Carolina law allows local governments to impose certain impact fees on developers, but roads (and schools) have never been part of that equation. Most of the roads under the greatest stress are maintained by NCDOT, not a municipality. Developer fees are deeply unpopular within the business community -- not just the developers themselves and their suppliers, but businesses overall who are enjoying the population growth. I doubt there is the political will to broaden the impact fees and in the case of NCDOT, it would be very tricky to implement.
1. "We're still becoming what we will be. We're transitioning from a sleepy capital city into a midsize-to-major city," Jonathan Melton, a member of Raleigh's City Council, told me. Which direction will the city choose? Is there a way to transform without becoming unlivable along the way?”
I don’t agree with that at all. Not sure Raleigh has been “sleepy” for at least half a decade, if not 8-10 years. Not sure I woulda characterized the city that way to a National publication… as if it’s still shaking off its sleepiness becoming a major city. Raleigh isn’t sleepy right now. The transition has ALREADY occurred. Just an odd characterization by Melton.
2. He told me that in the past few years, “Raleigh's government ‘turned over the keys of the city to developers’ and allowed a slew of buildings that are ugly, characterless, and inappropriate aesthetically for the city.” - Hayes Barton Resident
I actually agree with that statement and have said on here for years Raleigh was becoming characterless.
3. “Southeast Raleigh, where the Black workers who built the city once lived, has received national attention for the blitzkrieg gentrification it's faced over the past five years. Some residents there see the new bus as a way to serve new transplants, rather than an investment in keeping longtime residents in the neighborhood.”
No argument on that one ^ lol
Anyhoo, check out the article. Some glaring tropes and stereotypes about the city paraded in this one. Raleigh is getting so much more National attention these days.
I think that some of the natives still see Raleigh as sleepy, even though as you said it transitioned a long time ago. Ask most newcomers and they'll express a different opinion.
I think that some of the natives still see Raleigh as sleepy, even though as you said it transitioned a long time ago. Ask most newcomers and they'll express a different opinion.
I don't doubt that Raleigh is changing and has changed, but it is not all bad. I just moved back to the Raleigh area after 10 years in rural Virginia and ... I still like it here. Granted I am well south of the Beltline but I still go "inside" at least once a week.
Seems like traffic is a bit worse than I remember, but still manageable for me ( being retired and able to choose when I go out ).
Love all the parks and walking trails.
I have spent time in Atlanta. I would not even begin to compare Raleigh to Atlanta. Have plans to not go back there.
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