Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As LLN alludes to above, Winston-Salem is characteristic of the entire Triad (including the three main cities plus most of the smaller outlying communities) when comparing it to our fast growing neighbors (the Triangle and Charlotte). Its pace of growth has been slow at times, but over its lifetime, it has generally grown at a healthy, moderate pace.
The downside of not having the aggressive growth of its neighbors is that there's not a shiny new Cheesecake Factory, Publix, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, office park, or faux urbanism development being built what seems like every week in those other two regions.
The upside is that the growth can occur organically, over decades and centuries, so with the exception of some of the generic development that tends to happen everywhere (i.e. Hanes Mall Boulevard, etc.), its change is more natural instead of just throwing lots of money into a big project, putting a fancy facade on it, and somehow thinking that's going to create an instant sense of community.
As LLN alludes to above, Winston-Salem is characteristic of the entire Triad (including the three main cities plus most of the smaller outlying communities) when comparing it to our fast growing neighbors (the Triangle and Charlotte). Its pace of growth has been slow at times, but over its lifetime, it has generally grown at a healthy, moderate pace.
The downside of not having the aggressive growth of its neighbors is that there's not a shiny new Cheesecake Factory, Publix, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, office park, or faux urbanism development being built what seems like every week in those other two regions.
The upside is that the growth can occur organically, over decades and centuries, so with the exception of some of the generic development that tends to happen everywhere (i.e. Hanes Mall Boulevard, etc.), its change is more natural instead of just throwing lots of money into a big project, putting a fancy facade on it, and somehow thinking that's going to create an instant sense of community.
The upside is that the growth can occur organically, over decades and centuries, so with the exception of some of the generic development that tends to happen everywhere (i.e. Hanes Mall Boulevard, etc.), its change is more natural instead of just throwing lots of money into a big project, putting a fancy facade on it, and somehow thinking that's going to create an instant sense of community.
You think that's what's happening in Charlotte and the Triangle? City leaders thinking new development by itself will create an "instant sense of community"?
You think that's what's happening in Charlotte and the Triangle? City leaders thinking new development by itself will create an "instant sense of community"?
It may not be entirely city leaders who are trying to do this, but rather a reflection of how quickly the Charlotte area and Triangle have developed. Examples of the types of areas I'm thinking of are Birkdale Village in Huntersville, the Preston area in Cary, Southern Village/Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, and so on. Those areas certainly look nicer in some ways than some of their more strip development suburban counterparts, but they are still suburban pods with many of the same chain establishments, traffic snarls and homogenity (same stores, > middle income demographics, etc.) as some of their less glamourous looking suburban counterparts.
Building a development over a very short time that attempts to visually imitate aspects of an older style of development doesn't automatically give it the same character, or social history as a neighborhood that develops organically over time. Getting back to Winston-Salem, that's the way most of Winston-Salem has developed compared to many of the suburban areas of the Triangle and Charlotte where the population has doubled (or more) in a couple of decades, so the slower pace of growth naturally serves to its advantage in this particular regard.
As LLN alludes to above, Winston-Salem is characteristic of the entire Triad (including the three main cities plus most of the smaller outlying communities) when comparing it to our fast growing neighbors (the Triangle and Charlotte). Its pace of growth has been slow at times, but over its lifetime, it has generally grown at a healthy, moderate pace.
The downside of not having the aggressive growth of its neighbors is that there's not a shiny new Cheesecake Factory, Publix, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, office park, or faux urbanism development being built what seems like every week in those other two regions.
The upside is that the growth can occur organically, over decades and centuries, so with the exception of some of the generic development that tends to happen everywhere (i.e. Hanes Mall Boulevard, etc.), its change is more natural instead of just throwing lots of money into a big project, putting a fancy facade on it, and somehow thinking that's going to create an instant sense of community.
Meh. I could do without some of that kind of growth. I can appreciate the chain growth as someone who really likes having shopping and dining options, but it's not the end-all-be-all for me like with some folks; especially now that I'm older. I've gotten to where I enjoy the character of local small businesses and like to support them when I can.
That being said, when I think of growth I think of cultural growth in a city, not just economic. I like seeing different kinds of museums and recreational activities. That's one thing I notice when I visit family in Raleigh. It's a good mix, IMO, of economic and cultural growth. They have a ton of museums and Pullen Park has rides, aquatics, and an arts center. I'll look forward to that more than Winston (or any Triad city) ever building a Saks or Nordstroms.
It may not be entirely city leaders who are trying to do this, but rather a reflection of how quickly the Charlotte area and Triangle have developed. Examples of the types of areas I'm thinking of are Birkdale Village in Huntersville, the Preston area in Cary, Southern Village/Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, and so on. Those areas certainly look nicer in some ways than some of their more strip development suburban counterparts, but they are still suburban pods with many of the same chain establishments, traffic snarls and homogenity (same stores, > middle income demographics, etc.) as some of their less glamourous looking suburban counterparts.
Building a development over a very short time that attempts to visually imitate aspects of an older style of development doesn't automatically give it the same character, or social history as a neighborhood that develops organically over time. Getting back to Winston-Salem, that's the way most of Winston-Salem has developed compared to many of the suburban areas of the Triangle and Charlotte where the population has doubled (or more) in a couple of decades, so the slower pace of growth naturally serves to its advantage in this particular regard.
I'm pretty sure the developers and city leaders are aware of that, but these are developments in the suburbs. It's basically going to be a choice between typical tract housing and strip malls or lifestyle centers/New Urbanist-type developments. The latter isn't ideal, but at least they tend to be more walkable and transit-accessible. They also have the ability to become better integrated into the urban fabric as the area around them continue to develop and could possibly set the tone for future, walkable development.
I'm pretty sure the developers and city leaders are aware of that, but these are developments in the suburbs. It's basically going to be a choice between typical tract housing and strip malls or lifestyle centers/New Urbanist-type developments. The latter isn't ideal, but at least they tend to be more walkable and transit-accessible. They also have the ability to become better integrated into the urban fabric as the area around them continue to develop and could possibly set the tone for future, walkable development.
Fair enough. Some improved design features are certainly an improvement over totally bad design features. It's the intangible, authentic sense of community that's harder to create quickly, and Winston-Salem has the advantage of having more established areas (including those that are visually well designed and those designed in a more mediocre way) that have had time to season naturally, rather than trying to be built to look like they've been around for a century, while the sense of community just isn't there yet.
You think that's what's happening in Charlotte and the Triangle? City leaders thinking new development by itself will create an "instant sense of community"?
imo, what's in demand will be built, demand drives a city, that's the reason why so many apartment towers are rising in charlotte atm, demand. That's the reason why so many hotels have been announced for downtown and midtown greensboro... 1 Marriott is simply not enough, so that's why they're about 5 conference hotel proposals and about 7 class A Office proposals. Someone was asking me why this is not happening with winston and i simply said because there is not a demand for it at this time. However there is a demand for low rise residential blocks, which is what they're building right now.
Fair enough. Some improved design features are certainly an improvement over totally bad design features. It's the intangible, authentic sense of community that's harder to create quickly, and Winston-Salem has the advantage of having more established areas (including those that are visually well designed and those designed in a more mediocre way) that have had time to season naturally, rather than trying to be built to look like they've been around for a century, while the sense of community just isn't there yet.
I'd have to disagree with that. Charlotte and Winston would probably have a more as it has been a larger city for a longer time. Again, outside of a few brownfield-ish areas in the core (e.g., the 'Midtown' area of Charlotte), most of these developments are going out to the 'burbs. But maybe Winston has more than Raleigh since Raleigh boomed at a later point.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
