Archive | September, 2007

The problem with escapism

By on September 29, 2007 in Culture, Philosophy, Urbanism

Eric Jacobsen draws the distinction between the American version of freedom — escapism — and the Biblical definition — liberation:

The problem with escapism as a way to deal with problems … is that it cannot go on forever. This is painfully obvious to anyone who has bought a suburban house on the very edge of town only to find a year or so later another development going up where there once was green space. Not only does this kind of development prove personally disappointing, it also builds resentment among people toward their neighbors for destroying their dreams. …

If we are inconvenienced or annoyed by living, working, and playing in the company of our fellow human beings, perhaps we need liberation from our selfishness and our willfulness rather than a massive home on a two-acre lot (soon to be surrounded by other massive homes on two-acre lots). Living in closer proximity to our neighbors forces us to make compromises of our needs and wants — sometimes allowing us to learn the difference between the two.

– from “Sidewalks in the Kingdom” by Eric O. Jacobsen

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New Urbanism and the Church

By on September 28, 2007 in City culture, Philosophy, Urbanism

Matthew Pipkin of Common Grounds Online has recently written a good ‘n’ short introduction to New Urbanism and its appeal to Christians.

He mentions two things in particular: how New Urbanist ideas address a wide variety of pressing concerns in community living, and how these ideas are mostly old ideas.

But New Urbanism has one glaring blind spot:

It fails to recognize the reality of the Fall. Many New Urbanists believe that if we merely build better places, community will automatically flourish. … What they don’t understand is that man is sinful, and that even in the most pristine neighborhood we will still be selfish, untrusting and will seek our own good over the good of the community.

Read the short essay here.

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Being neighborly, even online

By on September 27, 2007 in Philosophy, Purpose

Adirondack chairs A visitor by the name of Rachel asks:

I’m very interested in seeing that the two of you have teamed up for what looks to be a very interesting blog on the crossroads of urban planning and religion. I know that both of you have deep Christian convictions, so I am wondering how you anticipate treating those who post comments and view your blog who may come from another religious perspective?

So here was my response (and Rachel gave permission to post her question here):

Hi and thanks for writing. That’s a really good question, and you’ve inspired me to find a metaphor that describes how we do things around here.

I’m treating this blog like my front porch. It’s similar to setting up a table and a few Adirondack chairs and inviting neighbors and passers-by for coffee and conversation.

In this situation, no way can I expect everyone to agree with me. Some may be Christians who disagree with my conclusions. Some may be non-Christians who agree with my conclusion but don’t like my reasons. But I am confident enough in my God to know that I can listen to my neighbors and love them and not beat them over the head with my 20-pound study Bible. At least not on the first visit.

And those who drive by and throw eggs will not be treated gently.

And like I told her in a follow-up email, if I can’t be neighborly on this web site, I have no business writing about neighborhoods!

– Jon Swerens

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The battle of Water Song addition

By on September 26, 2007 in Cul-de-sac culture

Water Song

If a developer told you he was going to build a gas station on the property behind your house, after you were told by the home builder that the property’s zoned for an office park, what would you do?

Some residents of Water Song addition near the corner of Coldwater and Union Chapel roads want to fight it tooth and nail. Resident Donald Bengel, in a letter to the editor in The News-Sentinel, says he may be willing to go to court over the matter. (You can read his letter on the continuation page.)

But it’s very difficult for any government to kill a new business in cold blood, especially one on a busy corner. It’s likely the challenge would go nowhere.

Instead, why not consider the long-term needs of the neighborhood, and fight for that?

Like most carved-from-the-cornfield developments, Water Song is 100 percent residential, cut off from any business or service. Perhaps there are sidewalks, but there are precious few reasons to walk them.

Run out of milk? Drive to the store. Want a cup of coffee? Drive to a coffee shop.

But if the developer of the gas station is encouraged to serve the neighborhood it borders, he could do the following:

  • Build a sidewalk between the neighborhood and store, for walking, biking and skateboarding — and include a bike rack.
  • Point the outdoor lights downward.
  • Stock essentials, such as milk, bread, butter and batteries.
  • Construct the side of the gas station facing the neighborhood not as a blank wall, but with a nice little coffee house with plenty of windows, such as a Higher Grounds.
  • Be sure there isn’t a drive-through lane or any other traffic between the store and the neighborhood, for safety.

Come at the developer as enemies, and you’ll get a losing battle. But come at him as potential customers, and he very well may build a place that would serve your neighborhood rather than injure it.

Photo of Water Song addition from Google Maps. See the jump for the full text of the letter to the editor referenced.

– Jon Swerens

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Thanks for the shout-out, Mitch

By on September 26, 2007 in Etc.

The Good City is a good addition

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Links from the 21st century — and the 19th

By on September 26, 2007 in Etc.

Three great links of interest that have absolutely nothing to do with each other:

  • Death by bad urban design: “When an area is designed with only car travel in mind, it puts the pedestrian at a severe disadvantage. Sometimes that disadvantage is fatal.”
  • MapMyRun.com: “Find your Address in the ‘BEGIN HERE’ box … then click on the map below to plot your walk.” A great tool for figuring out new ways to explore your neighborhood.
  • 1876 map of Fort Wayne: Extra cool map of 19th century Fort Wayne. Shows the old Wabash & Erie Canal and the old Allen County Fairgrounds (where Swinney Park is now).

– Jon Swerens

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Keller on the Influences on Indiana Youth

By on September 25, 2007 in City culture, Culture, Downtown

WORLD CITY-CENTERS ARE GROWING IN POWER AND CONNECTEDNESS
Globalization is making major world cities more powerful than ever. Why?

  • The mobility of capital means national governments are now virtually powerless to control the flow of money in and out of their own economies, thus greatly decreasing their influence in general. The cities are the seats of multi-national corporations and international economic, social, and technological networks. 2) The technology/ communication revolution means that national governments are powerless also to control what their people watch or learn. As a result, it is the culture/values set of world-class cities that is now being transmitted around the globe to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation. NY and LA are now far more influential in forming the culture of, say, teenagers in rural Indiana or rural Mexico than are the national or local governments or civic institutions. Sum: This is the first overall major erosion of nation-state power in 800 years.

Read the whole article here.

– Scott Greider 

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4 reasons to not bust a gaping hole into a historic theater

By on September 20, 2007 in Downtown, Harrison Square

Embassy TheatreForget about building a downtown aquarium. Fort Wayne wants to build a suspended, over-the-street, glass-boxed, out-of-town-visitorium.

In an effort to prevent convention goers from ever having to walk on an actual sidewalk, the folks building Harrison Square downtown want to carve a hole into the west side of the historic Embassy Theatre (actually, that side of the building contains the old Indiana Hotel) and build a pedestrian walkway across a two-lane street.

In today’s News-Sentinel, columnist Kevin Leininger applauds the plan:

… the city is considering several incentives in exchange for the Embassy’s willingness to give up most of its third floor for a walkway that would allow visitors to travel indoors from the new hotel at Harrison Street and Jefferson Boulevard, across Harrison though the Indiana Hotel, to the Grand Wayne Convention Center — which is linked to the Embassy by another walkway over Jefferson.

Before we rent the reciprocating saws, let’s consider some possible drawbacks to busting a hole in the side of the Embassy:

  • You’d be busting a hole in the side of the Embassy. You can’t undo this kind of destruction. Will future generations wonder what kinds of dopes we were for saving such a beautiful structure from destruction, only to ram a makeshift shiv into its side? While we’re at it, should we build a walkway from the Lincoln Tower to the courthouse so the lawyers won’t get wet in the rain?
  • You wouldn’t really be helping visitors that much. As visitors walk over two-lane Harrison Street, they’ll be kicking themselves as they realize it would have been faster for them just to use the crosswalk.
  • You’d be using the proximity of the historic Embassy for your own downtown goals. The Embassy doesn’t get any real boost for becoming a conventioneers’ bypass — except for some cash, of course.
  • You’d be telling visitors that there’s nothing interesting about a Fort Wayne sidewalk. Aren’t there going to be shops along Jefferson Boulevard as a part of Harrison Square? Wouldn’t we like visitors to actually walk past them?

The pressure on the Embassy board is tremendous. Kevin again:

If (Embassy) board members zealously protect every last inch of the historic building’s interior and brick-and-terra cotta facade, they risk jeopardizing a project that could bring hundreds of thousands of people downtown every year — potentially benefiting both the theater and prospects for the Indiana Hotel’s redevelopment.

Putting the weight of Harrison Square on a walkway through a historic building is suspicious and unfair. People won’t come to Fort Wayne if they have to cross a street? Don’t people have to cross streets in other, more successful downtowns? Doesn’t the success of our own outdoor Jefferson Pointe prove that people enjoy walking and shopping outside?

Once the concrete cutters touch the side of the Embassy, we can never go back. We must consider some alternatives before we mar the face of downtown’s most precious jewel.

– Jon Swerens

NOTE: Photo credit: The News-Sentinel, crudely Photoshopped by Jon. (Apologies for forgetting this before.)

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What he sees is a city

By on September 18, 2007 in Philosophy, Purpose

On occasion, we’ll post a few good quotes from a few good books. Here’s one from a book that I see as foundational to the discussion of the good city:

(W)e of all people have a deep history of interest in the city, rooted in our biblical tradition. … When John (the evangelist), exiled on Patmos, is given a picture of our redeemed state, he does not see Eden restored in some kind of agrarian utopia; not does he see the American ideal of a single-family detached house surrounded by a huge yard for every inhabitant of the kingdom. What he sees is a city — New Jerusalem descending from heaven onto earth.

– from “Sidewalks in the Kingdom” by Eric O. Jacobsen

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