Danger to Small Towns Clearly Shown (Raleigh, Rolesville: homes, buyers, subdivision)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I recently revisited the small town in Washington State where I grew up. It is well on the way to dying. The former downtown businesses are gone, the main street is nothing. The areas that are gone have not been replaced by large houses or people from elsewhere, they have just died. Maybe this will change but for that to happen there will have to be an influx of new people and especially of jobs. It is easy to idealize small town life of the past, but the economic changes that have changed these areas are complicated. New developments, whether of so-called "yuppies" or whatever, bring in business for the locals. I agree with North Raleigh Guy, what is needed is comprehensive planning for growth. Everything changes, I hope the changes can be good. Also, for anyone (including me) who came to this area from somewhere else -- it is unreasonable to say "now that I'm here close the door."
I live in Vermont but spend a lot of time in N.C. visiting family. I don't think you should blame the businesses and "McMansion" owners for the development you noticed this weekend. They just seized an opportunity that was handed to them by the town zoning board.
Not all growth is bad. If it grows out from an existing city center, it's actually considered smart growth. It makes sense that, for the most part, the growth you're seeing in N.C. is occurring close to where the employment centers are. Having people drive great distances to get to work every day just clogs the roads and adds to the global warming problem.
Here in Vermont there has been a strong anti-growth movement for the past three decades. Large national employers won't come here because they don't want to deal with the state's over-reaching environmental permitting process. Some retailers, including Target, won't even try to get a permit to open stores here.
As a result, good-paying jobs are hard to come by and young, college grads are fleeing the state for places like N.C. Two of my co-workers have moved to the Raleigh are during the past year. Most people I know would support more development --- especially if it were centered in a particular geographical area --- if it helped to create more jobs and better wages.
I don't see why development and conservation can't be addressed together in a comprehensive town plan. There has to be a balance between the two IMO. Perhaps you can attend your town zoning board meetings to share your concerns and offer some suggestions.
The Growth that is now Capital Blvd is one of the largest scars on the landscape of North Raleigh IMHO.
This is true. Capital Blvd is awful, IMO. I am a growth lover, but I like it done respectfully and in an appealing way. That's why I love the newer developed areas, as they tend to be planned out better. CB is just a shame and is probably what is bothering SF. He must be upset that he lives in such a nasty area and is trying to make sure other areas are planned better, like how they have done it in Cary.
This is true. Capital Blvd is awful, IMO. I am a growth lover, but I like it done respectfully and in an appealing way. That's why I love the newer developed areas, as they tend to be planned out better. CB is just a shame and is probably what is bothering SF. He must be upset that he lives in such a nasty area and is trying to make sure other areas are planned better, like how they have done it in Cary.
Yes, most of Capital Blvd is appalling. Sometimes when I drive through there, I just can't bear to look.
But Cary is certainly not immune form tacky, generally unpleasant or just plain awful development.
The Park Place shopping center on the corner of NW Cary Parkway and Chapel Hill Road is an abomination. Why are there *SO MANY* parking spaces?!?!?!?! On my last visit, I think I saw tumbleweed blowing through the lot.
There's "growth" and then there's "smart growth".... and the definition of "smart growth" is one each community has to identify depending on their goals and resources.
If a small town wants to court that "Mayberry" or "Antique Alley" image, then they probably don't want to encourage a big box retailer to move in downtown. Conversely if a town's ambition is to become the next Cary(Yes, I am picking on CD ), then they may want to do just that. Or if they want to reach a balance, then that has to be given careful thought as well.
And I think many cities have learned that lesson personally, or vicariously through the boondoggles and stumbles other cities have faced. But then again some may think they've got it all figured out... just like my hometown did in the 1960s via their misguided "urban renewal" program
Usually the core culprit here is the pace of change, and this last bubble certainly drove a lot of fast growth. That is often a recipe for trouble as the community can not foresee or absorb that rate of change gracefully. Over time it can settle out if the community is resilient enough, but in other cases it can be very detrimental to future growth for years.
However, specifically to the case of McMansions... I think the age of these monstrosities is over, at least in the current form. Oh, we'll still see tear-downs and rebuilds of outsized pseudo-palaces I'm sure, but with the housing bubble deflated the easy money and stratospheric appreciations are in the past... at least for a while.
With energy conservation and "green" coming back into style, 3000sqft + houses with 2 and 3 story living rooms are falling out of vogue, not to mention being hard to justify. So the economics may work toward resolving some of your concerns Saturnfan *shrug*
But I do agree that like my posts on conserving old housing stock, the things that make desirable small and mid-sized cities special are their inherent architectural, historic, and social fabric. Once that starts to be disassembled and homogenized, what was special is gone, and viola' that "special town" is reduced to just another city line in megalopolis.
We've already lost much of what was traditional Americana to the bulldozer of the 1950-1970s. Let's save what is left if we can.
There's "growth" and then there's "smart growth".... and the definition of "smart growth" is one each community has to identify depending on their goals and resources.
If a small town wants to court that "Mayberry" or "Antique Alley" image, then they probably don't want to encourage a big box retailer to move in downtown. Conversely if a town's ambition is to become the next Cary(Yes, I am picking on CD ), then they may want to do just that. Or if they want to reach a balance, then that has to be given careful thought as well.
And I think many cities have learned that lesson personally, or vicariously through the boondoggles and stumbles other cities have faced. But then again some may think they've got it all figured out... just like my hometown did in the 1960s via their misguided "urban renewal" program
Usually the core culprit here is the pace of change, and this last bubble certainly drove a lot of fast growth. That is often a recipe for trouble as the community can not foresee or absorb that rate of change gracefully. Over time it can settle out if the community is resilient enough, but in other cases it can be very detrimental to future growth for years.
However, specifically to the case of McMansions... I think the age of these monstrosities is over, at least in the current form. Oh, we'll still see tear-downs and rebuilds of outsized pseudo-palaces I'm sure, but with the housing bubble deflated the easy money and stratospheric appreciations are in the past... at least for a while.
With energy conservation and "green" coming back into style, 3000sqft + houses with 2 and 3 story living rooms are falling out of vogue, not to mention being hard to justify. So the economics may work toward resolving some of your concerns Saturnfan *shrug*
But I do agree that like my posts on conserving old housing stock, the things that make desirable small and mid-sized cities special are their inherent architectural, historic, and social fabric. Once that starts to be disassembled and homogenized, what was special is gone, and viola' that "special town" is reduced to just another city line in megalopolis.
We've already lost much of what was traditional Americana to the bulldozer of the 1950-1970s. Let's save what is left if we can.
Yes, most of Capital Blvd is appalling. Sometimes when I drive through there, I just can't bear to look.
But Cary is certainly not immune form tacky, generally unpleasant or just plain awful development.
The Park Place shopping center on the corner of NW Cary Parkway and Chapel Hill Road is an abomination. Why are there *SO MANY* parking spaces?!?!?!?! On my last visit, I think I saw tumbleweed blowing through the lot.
LOL on the tumbleweeds. I always think the same thing myself, although it is in Morrisville, not Cary.
However, a really bad Cary planning project is Cary Crossroads.
That piece of trash makes Capital look good.
Capital's not too bad for a city area. Just don't want to see nice rural areas like Rolesville turn into a suburban sprawl zoo.
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Growth allows for some advantages
), then they may want to do just that. Or if they want to reach a balance, then that has to be given careful thought as well.
