Putting streetcar planning and implementation in context- August 14, 2008 More than 10,000 residential units have been built and $3.5 billion has been invested in property within two blocks of the streetcar line, according to Portland Streetcar Inc., which operates the system. Photo: Dana E. OlsenThe Oregonian, via the New York Times.No one with sense can go to Portland, ride and analyze the streetcars, and come back to DC and argue that streetcars, for whatever ridiculous reasons and convoluted logic they come up with, _can't_ work in DC. Our roads aren't too...http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/putting-streetcar-planning-and.html Missing the point we never acknowledge about the DC summer jobs program- August 14, 2008 In today's Post, Amy Corbin writes a letter to the editor, "How Not to Run a Jobs Program" stating: What about the equally important component of training young people to be successful at work You can't just send a 14-year-old to a job site and expect him or her to know how to work. Showing up on time, receiving instructions and knowing how to ask questions are skills that need to be taught. If the summer jobs program does not include a thorough training component, of course businesses will...http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/missing-point-we-never-acknowledge.html Blogs- August 13, 2008 1. The real estate firm Madison Marquette has launched a blog called Places.2. So has Ward 8 Council candidate Charles Wilson, called The Barry stops here.3. The DC Wire blog (from the Washington Post) reports that according to Chancellor Rhee "sometimes being a leader sucks."I am fond of saying that "leaders lead." Otherwise we stay s(t)uck. DK yet if leading is the same as destruction, at least in terms of the DC Public School system.http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/blogs.html DC: stodgy, button-downed or weird- August 13, 2008 Creative DC has a blog entry, "Make DC Weird," about Make DC Weird:a project that DC oficemates Susannah Wells and Effie Kapsalis recently launched after Kapsalis visited Austin, Texas, home of the Keep Austin Weird movement. Their mission: to call attention to the parts of DC life that thwart its conservative reputation, from burlesque dancers to roller derbies and drag races, as well as local businesses trying to make their mark.(Disclosure: I know the initiators of the Keep DC Weird project.http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/dc-stodgy-button-downed-or-weird.html Speaking of the Growth Machine- August 13, 2008 there is a new blog,Tenleytown RFP, concerning the redevelopment of the Tenleytown Library and the adjoining Janney Elementary School across the street from the Tenleytown Metro Station on upper Wisconsin Avenue NE.Fun reading.http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/speaking-of-growth-machine.html Elections and local control- August 13, 2008 Greater Greater Washington has a roundup, "Council race coverage roundup," on the various Ward council races in DC. Progressive Review's City Desk suggests that we look at David Schwartzman, Statehood-Green Party candidate for an at-large Council seat. If anything, his campaign site has one of the best quotes:Remember, You have 2 votes for At-Large Council in November. DC Statehood Green Candidates do not take money from powerful developers, real estate lobbies or from other corporations....http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/elections-and-local-control.html Next's year's nomination for DC for "America's Transportation Awards" should be the bikesharing program that launches tomorrow...- August 12, 2008 Smartbikedc.comOriginally uploaded by mark_j_mcdonnell(Flickr photo by Mark J. McDonnell.)Check out the website, SmartBikeDC for more information.Screenshot.http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/next-year-nomination-for-dc-for.html Bikes Allowed- August 12, 2008 Bikes AllowedOriginally uploaded by Zakkaliciousness(Copenhagen)http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/bikes-allowed.html Transportation innovation limited to roads and bridges- August 12, 2008 Woodrow Wilson BridgeOriginally uploaded by diskychick(Flickr photo of the Wilson Bridge under construction by by diskychick)DC's Department of Transportation sends out a press release calling for people to vote for the Wilson Bridge project as one of the top ten innovative transportation projects being considered in an annual award program conducted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).According to the press release:The competition is cosponsored...http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/transportation-innovation-limited-to.html The Third Church of Christ, Scientist challenge to the DC historic preservation laws- August 12, 2008 Christian Science Church and cool glass buildingOriginally uploaded by davetron5000(Flickr photo by Davetron5000.)Other blogs, major media, and community newspapers have reported about the designation of the Christian Science Church as a historic landmark. The church wants to redevelop the site in association with a developer, while some historic preservationists believed that the building, designed by I.M. Pei and an example of brutalism, was worth designating a historic landmark and worth...http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/08/third-church-of-christ-scientist.html |