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Worth noting that I'm sipping beer in a independent pub while my wife is next door at an art class. This building was a public market for about 130 years, was abandoned for 30, and has now been reoccupied. I can't think of any place in any suburb where this could be happening right now. I guess we just like this stuff, and others do too.
There are tons of independent pubs in suburbs that have been around for some time rather than brand-new establishments. This isn't London and non-independent pubs barely exist here. There's a local watering hole here that's been around for 30 years rather than been abandoned. Decent grub, live music, right down the street there are two art galleries, yoga/doga studio, coffee shop, couple more restaurants. Another long-established pizza joint is in what we call the Tannery building which was built in 1876 and is still owned by the family that built it. It's one of those been around for a few generations places (opened in the '60s) that has roots in the community and not a trendy come and go type place.
I'm glad your abandoned building is getting some use, but you need to get out more if you think the suburbs are just AppleBee's. It's like someone thinking the point of a city is that it has a Hard Rock Cafe.
I'm glad your abandoned building is getting some use, but you need to get out more if you think the suburbs are just AppleBee's. It's like someone thinking the point of a city is that it has a Hard Rock Cafe.
In any event I've found no indications that whether a person lives in a city or a suburb has any bearing on their character; you know, their honesty, forthrightness, courage and willingness to give me a jump start when my battery is dead.
Last edited by Irishtom29; 08-12-2012 at 05:36 PM..
Worth noting that I'm sipping beer in a independent pub while my wife is next door at an art class. This building was a public market for about 130 years, was abandoned for 30, and has now been reoccupied. I can't think of any place in any suburb where this could be happening right now. I guess we just like this stuff, and others do too.
You can find that in many suburbs. Depends on your definition of suburb. Lots of older places that were once free-standing cities have been absorbed into larger metro areas and become "suburbs" by default. Alexandria, Virginia; Pasadena, California; Stillwater, Minnesota are all just a few places that I can think of off-hand. Or where I live now, Alameda, California, which has a ton of historic buildings and plenty of independent businesses and plenty of art classes.
I know the suburbs you're likely thinking of -- new suburbs filled with subdivisions, big box stores, and new commercial developments filled primarily with national chains -- but there's a huge variety of types of suburbs out there (just as you can find TGI Friday's and the like in cities, too.).
I am confused by the desire urban enthusiasts have to completely transform urban areas into their dream cities. By that, I mean the desire to extend transit way out into suburbs that they don't live in, harboring hope that gas prices will force us to live in more dense environments, lament about chain stores they don't even shop or eat in, whine about wide freeways when they don't even drive much, etc. American cities offer a plethora of urban options, ranging from high density cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and DC and lower density choices like Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, etc. I can't understand why an urban enthusiast who lives in a place like San Antonio, for example, would rather exhaust themselves trying to change the urban fabric rather than just work to relocate to a more vibrant place?
You rarely, if ever, see the opposite effect happening. There aren't many in Midtown Manhattan or Noe Hill in San Francisco who stick around trying to suburbanize their environment. Those who want a suburban vibe pick up and move to the suburbs.
Why is there this desire among urban enthusiasts to turn every city into the next Portland or New York?
Very simple, they want these utopias to be created on the Public Dole. Publicly funded and operated mass transit. Publicly funded rennovation of urban core areas with all of the streetscapes, reduced parking, etc. to create the walkable neighborhoods. In order to get the public funding they must be convincing that suburbanites are the cause of everything wrong in our society with their wasting of resources. So they must loathe the suburbs. Forget the fact the suburbs are the highest wage earners, largest tax payers, both property and income, biggest school supporters, and in many cases supply far more jobs in total than does the core city itself. And don't forget the majority of these enlightened planners have never lived in a ghetto themselves or the kinds of tenements which define the lives of many low-income city dwellers. They can only envision urban neighborhoods which have plenty of money thrown at them, paticularly if it is Public Money. And if to achieve this the low-income people currently living there must be displaced - too bad but they have no plan for where they are to go.
There are tons of independent pubs in suburbs that have been around for some time rather than brand-new establishments. This isn't London and non-independent pubs barely exist here. There's a local watering hole here that's been around for 30 years rather than been abandoned. Decent grub, live music, right down the street there are two art galleries, yoga/doga studio, coffee shop, couple more restaurants. Another long-established pizza joint is in what we call the Tannery building which was built in 1876 and is still owned by the family that built it. It's one of those been around for a few generations places (opened in the '60s) that has roots in the community and not a trendy come and go type place.
I'm glad your abandoned building is getting some use, but you need to get out more if you think the suburbs are just AppleBee's. It's like someone thinking the point of a city is that it has a Hard Rock Cafe.
I don't understand. Am I doing something wrong? Why I am I the subject of antipathy?
This is amazing. 4 negative responses to my post. Darn, why the animosity?
I know the suburbs you're likely thinking of -- new suburbs filled with subdivisions, big box stores, and new commercial developments filled primarily with national chains -- but there's a huge variety of types of suburbs out there (just as you can find TGI Friday's and the like in cities, too.).
Not where I live ... but I do know what you are saying.
Very simple, they want these utopias to be created on the Public Dole. Publicly funded and operated mass transit. Publicly funded rennovation of urban core areas with all of the streetscapes, reduced parking, etc. to create the walkable neighborhoods. In order to get the public funding they must be convincing that suburbanites are the cause of everything wrong in our society with their wasting of resources. So they must loathe the suburbs. Forget the fact the suburbs are the highest wage earners, largest tax payers, both property and income, biggest school supporters, and in many cases supply far more jobs in total than does the core city itself. And don't forget the majority of these enlightened planners have never lived in a ghetto themselves or the kinds of tenements which define the lives of many low-income city dwellers. They can only envision urban neighborhoods which have plenty of money thrown at them, paticularly if it is Public Money. And if to achieve this the low-income people currently living there must be displaced - too bad but they have no plan for where they are to go.
Because suburban roads are paid for by their users! LOL :t hink: No subsidy here! Keep it moving!
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:t hink:
No subsidy here! Keep it moving!