Learning from Other Places

[elrodvt]

22 hours ago, southslider said:

Had to look it up. Appears to be a generic subdivision. 

It's evidently popular because of easy access to 485 and the 485 LRT. Also the builder in the 80's was pretty high quality. It does have the super annoying street layout that most subdivisions have.

Resale is strong also.

Edited December 30, 2018 by elrodvt

[southslider]

10 hours ago, elrodvt said:

Resale is strong also.

So little Sophie can have "good schools."  But like most "neighborhoods," walking beyond the "super annoying street layout" is not an attractive option.

[elrodvt]

8 hours ago, southslider said:

So little Sophie can have "good schools."  But like most "neighborhoods," walking beyond the "super annoying street layout" is not an attractive option.

I'm far from a big fan of subberbs. 

On the otherhand options for family life and culture in the city aren't great. The positives just don't outweigh the negatives in our case.

[Durhamite]

21 hours ago, elrodvt said:

I'm far from a big fan of subberbs. 

On the otherhand options for family life and culture in the city aren't great. The positives just don't outweigh the negatives in our case.

Uh, don't you think getting into a good (public) school in a desirable neighborhood (space) in any robust "urban" city is rather challenging?   Personally, I think the positives (burbs) outweigh the negatives in any city and urban environments which simply aren't built/designed for things like easily finding babysitters, daycare, etc etc. Matter of fact, I think it'd be easier in less congested mid-size cities with easier ingress and egress to get to places.  Mainly because cities like Charlotte aren't as urban to begin with and urbanizing in a different era in terms of infrastructure for today's necessities.  I understand the benefits of living in an urban environment but raising kids is much more difficult and why most people opt for the burbs.  

[elrodvt]

I think you misunderstood my post.  I don't disagree with the school comments.  I just wasn't sure what was sarcastic or not and am depressed talking about schools in America.

Unfortunately we're rapidly becoming segregated again. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by elrodvt

[15895]

4 hours ago, elrodvt said:

I think you misunderstood my post.  I don't disagree with the school comments.  I just wasn't sure what was sarcastic or not and am depressed talking about schools in America.

Unfortunately we're rapidly becoming segregated again. 

Does gentrification help diversify cities? 

I think gentrification is the best thing to happen to areas. I mean. “White flight” and the wealthier folk moving to the ‘burbs seem to have created more segregation and more negative effects to lower income citizens than gentrification. But I know lots see gentrification as being a bad thing that displaces people. 

[asthasr]

This isn't exactly academic or architectural, but I've just found these "Gigapixel" photos of various cities in China. Given the relative lack of accessibility of street view there and the modernization/density in these cities, they might be interesting for many of you. Here's the Guangzhou gigapixel photo. Note that there are links to other cities (Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Qingdao, Shanghai) in the sky area of the photosphere. Also check out the Longmen grottoes, although that's not urban at all. Make sure to zoom in!

Edited January 2, 2019 by asthasr

[KJHburg]

this is a great looking new office tower about 300 feet tall in downtown Bethesda MD right outside DC,  Love that rooftop garden  $65 a sq ft to lease OUCH

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/01/09/another-trophy-office-building-is-coming-to.html?ana=e_n_set1&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURjNFpUZzVaVFV4TTJRNSIsInQiOiIxUmRpZW1CM25oQzZzUVE5SlRqN2w4U1VaUkRtMHEyVlZnUThVSTRcL3k5ZTRmSFNwNDA3TEo4eWptaittTFI5M1wveDByS3BidFJYTFpQOHhOa3Vqa0ZlbkxiRVh2TUZia3ExQW5BUzdTQUFMVTZRWEpibndHUFd3QWhtemhucDhMIn0%3D

[asthasr]

Here's a good article about one of our fellow sprawly Sun Belt cities: "Memphis Wants to Shrink."

[KJHburg]

tallest buildings in the world completed in 2018

https://www.bdcnetwork.com/record-number-supertall-towers-were-completed-2018

[Matthew.Brendan]

I would love to visit China. Talk about growth!

[KJHburg]

Couple of new buildings by Hines in downtown Houston are beautiful 

check out their just announced 46 story slender apartment tower

https://www.hines.com/news/hines-announces-plans-for-the-preston-downtown-houstons-tallest-residential-community

and they are also building this new 46 story high rise office building which has a good design too

https://www.hines.com/news/hines-and-ivanhoé-cambridge-announce-next-generation-office-development-in-downtown-houston   and proves boxy buildings can be beautiful 

[KJHburg]

Happy Chinese New Year!  

新年快乐, 新年是猪的一年!

Photos from my last trip to Hong Kong where they will be HUGE parties and fireworks and light shows

My favorite city outside of the USA well in the top 3 just full of skyscrapers and density! 

 

[KJHburg]

Wilmington NC's largest coastal city which until 1900 or 1910 was the largest city in the state can teach the current largest city in the state a thing or two. 

1.  Check out Container Village. This is at 16th St and Queen in an area like NoDa.  New houses made out of shipping containers and then another one being built nearby. 

 

[KJHburg]

another thing Charlotte can learn from Wilmington is respect the past and keep historical buildings.  The scale of their downtown while not currently possible in uptown Charlotte can be done near uptown and by saving structures such as Latta Arcade and some of the small store fronts on N Tryon. 

All photos on Front Street.   However a modern downtown can still exist I will show that in the next set of photos. 

New downtown Wilmington exists with the older downtown.  PPD Headquarters a clinical research company with their 12 story office tower on north end of downtown.  New hotels and new RiverPlace development 12 story riverfront condo and apartment tower with ground level retail.  They have already one 5 story riverfront apartment complex and a 2nd one called Pier 33 is now under construction.  

[videtur quam contuor]

I was in Wilmington XX years ago and spent time in Front Street News shop. Across directly was the Barbary Coast bar. At that time it was as advertised, a sailor joint, rougher than I dared. It had the stale smell from outside the door. At that time shipping was not just filipino or african staff. I see it is still in business and not quite so barbarous though still with regulars, though so not sailors (perhaps.)

[CLT2014]

Hopefully if we ever pursue high speed rail in the Southeast, it is better managed and implemented than high speed rail in California. Effective immediately, new Governor Newsom is ending the pursuit of high speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles. They will complete Phase 1 that is under construction between Merced (population 86,000) and Bakersfield (metro population 840,000). There are a lot of learning lessons from how this project was run and unfortunately I think it will give ammo to the anti-high speed rail crowd around the country. The rallying cry will become "Look at how that went in California!"  Very frustrating that our country struggles so much at infrastructure projects. The largest state in the largest economy on earth, and we can't get high speed rail between the two principal metros of that state.

California voters had approved $10 billion to complete a high speed rail line all the way back in 2010. The final cost estimate ballooned to $77 billion. Instead, the $10 billion will only fund Phase 1 from Bakersfield to Modesto. 

Newsom told a joint session of the Legislature that, for the high-speed rail, “there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. I wish there were.”He said the current project would “cost too much and, respectfully, take too long,” but a link between Merced and Bakersfield could serve as revitalizing force for the Central Valley, a region Newsom has publicly promised not to neglect.

“I know that some critics are going to say, ‘Well, that’s a train to nowhere.’ But I think that’s wrong and I think that’s offensive,” Newsom said. “It’s about economic transformation. It’s about unlocking the enormous potential of the valley.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Newsom-says-California-high-speed-rail-may-be-13610771.php

Edited February 12, 2019 by CLT2014

[Matthew.Brendan]

Unfortunately infrastructure projects across this country are ripe with graft. When there are (tens of) Billions on the table everyone wants their inflated share. 

[elrodvt]

^no graft in private builds right?  Do you have anything to back that up? 

[KJHburg]

On 2/12/2019 at 12:06 PM, tarhoosier said:

I was in Wilmington XX years ago and spent time in Front Street News shop. Across directly was the Barbary Coast bar. At that time it was as advertised, a sailor joint, rougher than I dared. It had the stale smell from outside the door. At that time shipping was not just filipino or african staff. I see it is still in business and not quite so barbarous though still with regulars, though so not sailors (perhaps.)

More likely to be hipsters now.  There are still a lot of bars along Front St but they seem to have more craft brews now.  Lots more residents living today and many more hotel rooms too.

[QCxpat]

02/14/2019 - Early this afternoon, Amazon announced it's pulling its planned HQ2 out of NYC.

Anti-Amazon protesters before a New York City Council hearing in January.  Photo Credit Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

N.Y. Times Excerpt:   

"Kathryn S. Wylde, the chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group, said the reception Amazon had received sent a “pretty bad message to the job creators of the city and the world.”  “How can anyone be surprised?” Ms. Wylde said. “We competed successfully, made a deal and spent the last three months trashing our new partner.” 

“While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project,” the company said in a statement.' ... 

"Amazon still planned to add 25,000 jobs in Northern Virginia and 5,000 in Nashville, where it announced a project to build a center for its operations.  It will take the 25,000 jobs that would have gone to Queens and spread them out over its 17 tech hubs across the United States and Canada...."

Link to NY Times story:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/nyregion/amazon-hq2-queens.html

Edited February 14, 2019 by QCxpat

[Windsurfer]

And, yet, Charlotte is doing just fine without them.

[asthasr]

On 2/12/2019 at 3:45 PM, CLT2014 said:

 Very frustrating that our country struggles so much at infrastructure projects. The largest state in the largest economy on earth, and we can't get high speed rail between the two principal metros of that state.

Definitely. Comparing our struggles in this area with China is disheartening. Here's a fun video:

 

[CLT2014]

China's system is incredible. One major advantage for train construction (not so much locals) is land is ultimately owned by the state. While California was bogged down in thousands of negotiations and law suits over land acquisition for the rail right of way, China would be able to quickly dismiss complaints and start building. If your house is in the way, the government relocates you. In California, if you live even within a mile of the rail you could sue over environmental concerns and squirrels not being able to get from one side to the other.

Obviously the negative side of China's policy is for the people relocated that have to start over.

Edited February 15, 2019 by CLT2014

[asthasr]

Interestingly, in China, "nail houses" often remain that are permanent holdouts against a given development (e.g. there's one inside a mall; there was one in the middle of a four lane highway in Shanghai; etc.) whereas in the US the project is either stopped completely by one holdout or the holdouts are just legally crushed (infamously in Kelo v. New London).