WHAT ARE NASHVILLE'S STRENGTHS & SHORTCOMINGS?

[smeagolsfree]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to throw and open ended question out there and get some thought and opinions about what you all think are the strengths and the shortcomings or areas needed for improvement in Nashville are?

Not really a right or wrong answer and as always, please keep it civil and simple.

Sometimes I need to hear fresh discussion as a moderator to see what is in the minds of you all and to see if I am on the same page. Many times there are areas I just forget about and need to be reminded about.

Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts! 

[VSRJ]

The lack of sidewalks in areas is definitely one of its shortcomings. I live on 8th and it's embarrassing that I can't walk to the grocery store or a restaurant down the street without having to walk on the edge of a street or through a parking lot. 

I know Memphis is pitted against Nashville quite frequently, but I can't think of an urban stretch like that in Memphis that is void of sidewalks. 

It's nice that sidewalks are included in the developments that are springing up on the corridor, but the system as a whole is still disjointed.

[smeagolsfree]

To make matter worse there, you have two municipalities Metro and Berry Hill. At some point pressure will have to be put on city leaders in both places to address this issue. I think if there is a bus route on the street, or if it is a major street it needs sidewalks. They have to start somewhere and that seems to be the place to start.

[satalac]

Strengths: Booming economy, great food scene, fun atmosphere

Shortcomings: Crime, the downtown loop cutting off neighborhoods, Titan's O-Line

[OnePointEast]

27 minutes ago, satalac said:

Strengths: Booming economy, great food scene, fun atmosphere

Shortcomings: Crime, the downtown loop cutting off neighborhoods, Titan's O-Line

Is Nashville really that bad in terms of crime, it's quite docile compared to other cities.

[bwithers1]

1 hour ago, VSRJ said:

The lack of sidewalks in areas is definitely one of its shortcomings. I live on 8th and it's embarrassing that I can't walk to the grocery store or a restaurant down the street without having to walk on the edge of a street or through a parking lot. 

I know Memphis is pitted against Nashville quite frequently, but I can't think of an urban stretch like that in Memphis that is void of sidewalks. 

It's nice that sidewalks are included in the developments that are springing up on the corridor, but the system as a whole is still disjointed.

Berry Hill appears to be requiring sidewalks for new developments but still allowing them to be built with utility poles blocking them in some places.  What a waste!

[dxfret]

STRENGTHS:  Broadly diversified  economy;  seat of state government;  easy quality of living;  friendly;  great tourism destination;  great convention destination;  great restaurant scene;  excellent higher education institutions, especially Vanderbilt and VUMC;  good airport with nonstop flights to most all major destination cities  

SHORTCOMINGS:  Lack of sidewalks and bike lanes; lack affordable housing;  traffic congestion;  weak mass transit system and pedestrian access;  lack of world class cultural venues and museums.

Edited August 27, 2019 by dxfret

[smeagolsfree]

1 hour ago, OnePointEast said:

Is Nashville really that bad in terms of crime, it's quite docile compared to other cities.

Thats a valid point. I think certain parts of the city could be considered bad, but in terms of violent crime we are not as bad as many cities that are smaller than Nashville.

I do think there are a lot more property crimes now than there use to be. I also think that crime has spread into the suburbs as many that were causing the crime have been forced into more affordable areas farther out.

[jkc2j]

Interconnected streets is a big one. Large swaths of Davidson County have roads with cul de sac designs that don't lead to anywhere which I believe causes a lot of bottleneck traffic in certain areas. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by jkc2j

[bnacincy]

3 hours ago, VSRJ said:

The lack of sidewalks in areas is definitely one of its shortcomings. I live on 8th and it's embarrassing that I can't walk to the grocery store or a restaurant down the street without having to walk on the edge of a street or through a parking lot. 

I know Memphis is pitted against Nashville quite frequently, but I can't think of an urban stretch like that in Memphis that is void of sidewalks. 

It's nice that sidewalks are included in the developments that are springing up on the corridor, but the system as a whole is still disjointed.

I lived in Memphis for four years-1990-1994. In terms of sidewalks, Memphis wins hands down and it isn't even close. It does help Memphis that its topography is a lot flatter to say the least but I saw few if any streets that did not have sidewalks.

As far as cultural attractions go, Nashville definitely needs to kick it up a notch if it wants to be a global destination city. As I have been harping on for years now, Nashville needs a Museum/Theater district on Upper Broadway where the car dealerships are.

Why would a city calling itself "Music City" not have a state of the art, interactive, world class, must see facility called the Museum of Music?

Transform all of Broadway into a global destination and not the just lower part of it!

Edited August 27, 2019 by bnacincy
grammar

[markhollin]

This is off the top of my head.  I may add more as time goes along....

STRENGTHS:

- Booming, diverse economy not dependent on one or two things.  Very balanced with auto industry, publishing, higher education, medical industry, banking, tourism, convention business, music industry, tech,  construction, shipping, etc.

- Over-the-top excitement in development realm...a continuing boom that started around 2010 and hasn't slowed down in the least.  In fact, it's been pretty steady since the early 90s with one slowdown around '08/-'09. Currently three $1+ billion projects underway. And 42 others that are $100+ million. Very few cities in North America can say this.  30 towers of 20+ stories either under construction or about to start.  No peer city  in U.S. can claim anything close to this. 

- Downtown population exploding.  Was 2,000 a decade ago...now surpassing 10,000.  May double that in the next decade. 

- Tens of thousands of single family homes being built all throughout the metro area in the last several years and into the immediate future.  Even more apartments and condos. 

- A "can do" mentality that creates synergy for things like the convention center, Nissan Stadium, airport expansion, Bridgestone Arena, First Tennessee Ballpark, Soccer Stadium, Ascend Amphitheater, large events with numerous entities buying-in (CMA Week, NFL Draft, NHL All-Star Game, etc.).

- A world class symphony, solid opera and ballet companies, TPAC with good line-up of theatrical events, a decent fine arts center (but could use more), a developing visual arts scene.

- Becoming a foodie town (ranked #3 in the nation in a recent travel site poll), with not only trendy restaurants, but also a strong southern food scene. Top chefs are relocating here and opening restaurants.

- One of the best music cities in the world, with country music leading the way, but also quite influential in Americana, bluegrass, folks, pop, Christian/Gospel, blues, R&B, hip-hop, and jazz. Top studio scene. Top songwriting and publishing scene. Close to 200 live music venues, and another40 in the pipeline. Nearly every concert from small clubs to stadium-size sells out, and 50% of the attendees are from out-of-state.  Some terrific music museums (but certainly room for more). 

- Some strong civic leaders like Ingrams and Frists who have spearheaded things like Schermerhorn Hall, Fairgrounds redevelopment, Frist Fine Arts Center, etc. 

- Solid sports scene with NFL; NHL (Preds rated the #1 franchise in all of sports two years ago by ESPN); minor league baseball (Sounds rated #1 minor league franchise in nation 2 years in a row); Major League Soccer starting next year; Vandy baseball (College World Series Champs twice in last 6 years) as well as football and basketball; Belmont basketball (regularly going to NCAA Tournament); decent collegiate sports at MTSU, TSU, Travecca, Lipscomb, etc.  Being discussed by the power-that-be for a Major League Baseball franchise (whether a relocation or expansion team). NASCAR may make a return.

- A strong, modern library system. 20 branches altogether, the majority of which are new structures in the past two decades.

- A very competitive and growing zoo. Especially when considering it barely existed 25 years ago, and was then located 15 miles outside of town. 

- Known for southern hospitality that is so impressive to visitors and relocated folks alike. 

- A culturally diverse and ever-growing cosmopolitan population.  Exciting to see every inhabitable continent in the world be represented by many folks moving here.

- All four seasons represented, but fairly reasonable to live within weather-wise.

- Beautiful terrain (not too hilly, not too flat), a tree canopy that many cities are jealous of, a good river and some decent streams, and two large lakes.

- Being located right in the middle of a 750 mile radius where 65% of the U.S. population lives.
 

SHORTCOMINGS:

- Traffic issues. Need to simultaneously solve some of the traffic clogs along certain parts of the freeway system and other key intersections, while simultaneously figuring out long-term solutions through mass transit. All of this is pretty normal for cities our size, but it needs to be dealt with for good future civic health. Definite need for all surrounding counties and TDOT to be strategically involved with skin in the game.

- Short term rentals.  Need to get a handle on this as it is creating some substantial issues with overtaking certain neighborhoods and developments.  Need comprehensive rules that are thoroughly vetted and enforced.

- Sidewalks.  As has been stated elsewhere, definite need for these on any streets where there are bus stops.  Also create consistent rules for sidewalks not being so easily blocked by every construction project that comes along. This isn't just a Nashville issue. Even Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner, and Wilson counties are lacking in consistency.

- Public schools Pre-K through 12th grade.  Upgrades across the board in teachers, administration, and facilities. Good to see some help coming from Amazon and others for tech help--really need to have a lot more of this from the tech sector for the future.

- Police. Hire more and work out better pay grades where officers don't feel they have to take on so many off-duty hours at special events to help pay their bills.  Perhaps even create a special force just to help manage all of the extra live events.

- Scooters and party vehicles (peddle taverns, tractors w/ trailers, horse drawn carriages, sawed-off school busses, party barges, etc.).  Get some across-the board safety rules and regulations on when/where these can operate without screwing up basic traffic. 

- Metro Council: perhaps reduce the amount of council people from 40 to 20, and make them full-time jobs.

- Figure out a way to recycle all of the beer bottles (sometimes up to 100,000 per weekend) from downtown bars (primarily on Broadway).  Additionally, figure out better way to take care of trash in general from all of the downtown bars/eateries that create a stench every morning. Simply hosing down the streets is not the answer.

- Need even more "Corporate Citizens" whether from large companies or wealthy individuals to step up and help fund various issues, educational initiatives, parks, art scenes, etc.

- MDHA needs to be focused primarily on public housing issues.  Get out of the code and design business.

- Address the workforce housing issues for the long haul. 

- Metro Codes Dept. needs to have triple the amount of qualified staff to handle the mass influx of permit requests, inspections, etc. 

- Get a handle on the homeless issue.  Not nearly as bad as some cities, but still concerning.  Better housing options, work incentives, rehab programs, mental health assistance, hygiene centers, etc. 

- There have been tremendous strides in Nashville's park system over the past 15 years, but more can be done. Additional parks (especially in the areas growing more densely like downtown, SoBro, Germantown, Midtown, and WeHo).

- The Riverfront has seen some quality changes near downtown, but much more needs to be put in motion.  Get the Boat Park underway, more riverwalk options, especially heading northward on both banks, and along the west bank down to the boat park. Get corporate citizens to help with this. 

- Either fix Ft. Negley in a more permanent way, or work out a trade with the State Park system to take it over (as I've shared before, I could see turning Adventure  Science Center into one of the nation's best Civil War Museums at the base of the Fort.  In turn, the state could give land to metro along the SE quadrant of Bicentennial Mall and help create a state-of-the art Science Center there).

- Make sure there is quality concern being paid to infrastructure with sewer lines, power grid, etc. with all of the massive new developments.  If there is ANY way to reduce the amount of telephone poles/power lines, especially downtown and midtown, it would look so much better, and ultimately, be more reliable. 

[NissanvilleTitans]

Crimes are not reported evenly anywhere. So you can't always say this city vs. this city with crime rate statistics. Nashville's crime is not bad.

https://www.google.com/am p/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-make-sense-of-conflicting-confusing-and-misleading-crime-statistics/amp/

[East Side Urbanite]

A few thoughts on sidewalks before I give my list:

Memphis ranks among the top four cities located in the Southeast and with MSA populations of 1 million or more based on sidewalk networks — from what I've personally observed and discussed with others. The other three are Birmingham, New Orleans and Richmond. Each of the four is either very strong or outstanding.

Charlotte has a modest sidewalk network BUT most of its urban streets are attractively curbed.

Raleigh has very few urban districts, streets, etc., so that's a large city that's tough to assess.

Louisville and Atlanta are very respectable.

The cities in Florida are, collectively, so-so (though Orlando, like Charlotte, has lots of curbed urban streets).

Nashville's sidewalk network is mediocre — at best. Look no further than a good chunk of old East Nashville, old West Nashville and WeHo. Some could argue it's rather bad.

Now, onto my thoughts.

I will focus strictly on the built fabric form and function of Nashville and not on other factors (people, retail, economy, weather, terrain, crime, etc.).

On that note, the most glaring shortcomings are (in no particular order):

1. too many ugly and dysfunctional streetscapes (lack of sidewalks/curbs, mailboxes "sprouting" from sidewalks, lack of ped crosswalks, light poles that don't allow banners to stay affixed, towering pole signs such as the one for Chili’s on West End Avenue in an urban setting, etc.);

2. lack of six to seven stories and taller old-school masonry office and residential buildings;

3. lack of small, charming and quirky older retail buildings positioned at the sidewalk like are present on Bardstown Road in Louisville;

4. too many suburban-oriented buildings and overall suburban settings located in relatively otherwise urban areas (for example, the hideous retail strip centers that back up to each other on West End Avenue and Elliston Place and the string of junk on Eighth just south of the inner-interstate loop);

5. lack of major mass transit;

6. excessive dead space, which harms connectivity;

7. lack of a handful of statement old towers (though the VU gothic collegiate tower will help that);

8. lack of a statement skyscrapers of 700 feet tall or more;

9. lack of a true old-school ethnic neighborhood;  

10. an odd hodgepodge of building styles, materials, setbacks in many residential areas, which yields a disjointed and even tacky feel;

11. a dysfunctional inner-interstate loop

12. a legitimate concern that River North could be very detrimental to the further infilling of areas located close to the core and in need of buildings

13. a lack of truly grand historic churches, particularly those with two soaring steeples

On a positive note, some of these shortcomings are being addressed. There is hope.

In contrast, and on a cheery note, Nashville offers …

1. an impressive total of buildings 100 feet tall and taller. We have almost 150 “high-rises” (Emporis defines as 115 feet tall or taller);

2. a very distinctive and quirky urban street layout (splits, T-intersection, etc.) that interact in a fascinating manner with railroad tracks, viaducts, bridges, etc. and that yield interesting visuals and viewsheds

3.  a strong collection of architecturally relevant college campus buildings

4. lots of interesting and quirky mixed-used districts located outside the downtown/Midtown core (Hillsboro Village, 12South, Five Points, Germantown, The Nations and WeHo);

5. a true midtown with a “downtown-esque” vibrancy

6. an impressively increasing number of “multi-acre/multi-building developments” (Fifth + Broadway, CapView, NashYards, OneCity, Neuhoff, etc.)

7. a fairly respectable geographic mass of connected gridded street layout

8. a big-time mid-century modern skyscraper (the L&C Tower)

9. a strong collection of eye-catching civic and cultural buildings

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by East Side Urbanite

[downtownresident]

1 hour ago, East Side Urbanite said:

1. too many ugly and dysfunctional streetscapes (lack of sidewalks/curbs, mailboxes "sprouting" from sidewalks, lack of ped crosswalks, light poles that don't allow banners to stay affixed, towering pole signs such as the one for Chili’s on West End Avenue in an urban setting, etc.)

I'd like to expand on this point. 

One of my major issues with Metro is the lack of any consistency when it comes to street scape design within the city. The lack of consistency looks shoddy, imo, and it's not something you see in most other cities. The Gulch is pretty consistent with it's new fixtures throughout the neighborhood, but in some areas of downtown it can be kind of a hodgepodge of different fixtures that vary depending on when the fixture was installed or replaced. The city needs to pick a single fixture design(or a single design for each neighborhood of the city) and stick to it. Our interstates through town also look rough, aren't landscaped, and feature a mixture of different light fixtures that again vary depending on when it was installed. That doesn't even get into how rough a lot of the outer neighborhood streets look with no sidewalks, curb and gutter, and utility poles everywhere. Metro could really benefit from having a dedicated streets department that handles everything in one place vs having it spread out amongst the multiple departments/Public Works as it is now. 

[donNdonelson2]

I’m working on my personal list of what’s “naughty & nice” about Nashville. In the meantime I will share some comments from friends who have come through town with Broadway tours. First, I will say that most of the casts, crews & musicians report having a great time here in Music City. Things they’ve mentioned that are points of concern for a city that prides itself on its hospitality industry:

-the traffic is nearly as bad as LA

-the situation with the homeless and panhandlers downtown is really out of control

-the high prices of hotels and AirBnB units is shocking

-some of the gay and lesbian folks were harassed or subjected to cat calls on the Broadway strip (and subsequently never went back when in town with another show)

-lack of retail downtown and early closing of what few are there

-difficulty and cost of parking downtown (especially near TPAC)

I think all of those are items that need to be discussed and addressed, to the extent that is possible.

[Armacing]

17 hours ago, markhollin said:

- Short term rentals.  Need to get a handle on this as it is creating some substantial issues with overtaking certain neighborhoods and developments.  Need comprehensive rules that are thoroughly vetted and enforced.

Actually, we need just the opposite.  We need all rules related to short-term rentals removed to help break up the monopoly on lodging currently held by the hotel industry.  They are behind the efforts to ban AirBNB, which is a legitimate use of private individual's property.  The hotel industry lobbied in favor of the convention center financed by tax payers, yet when those same tax payers want to rent out their house, they are against that.

Also, during the Stanley cup playoffs and other recent events, there were multiple reports of hotels cancelling people's reservations so they could charge a higher room rate for the special events.  To me that is just emblematic of how the Hotel industry is laser-focused on extracting the maximum profit from Nashville without any respect for its citizens or the long-term reputation of the city. 

They want all public investments focused on tourism and nothing left for regular Nashvillians who can never afford to party on Broadway or go to a sporting event.  And yet, for the majority of their workers, they pay close to minimum wage.  Tourism is not a high-tech industry, but somehow they have convinced a large portion of the voting public that the future of Nashville's economy is very dependent on tourism.  That is short-sighted in my opinion.  If Nashville is a tourist destination, then great - let that happen organically.  We don't need the city to engineer a tourism-focused economy.

[CenterHill]

2 minutes ago, Armacing said:

Actually, we need just the opposite.  We need all rules related to short-term rentals removed to help break up the monopoly on lodging currently held by the hotel industry.  They are behind the efforts to ban AirBNB, which is a legitimate use of private individual's property.  The hotel industry lobbied in favor of the convention center financed by tax payers, yet when those same tax payers want to rent out their house, they are against that.

 

This is not true, at least not here.     During Nashville's protracted and very public debate about STRs, the hotel industry was oddly missing from the conversation.      It was residents and neighborhood groups who led the charge against Airbnb and its army of lobbyists.      Neighborhoods were waiting and hoping that hotels would enter the debate and bring their lobbying muscle, but it never came.      The STR reforms the neighborhoods were able to obtain came from grass roots efforts and conversations with Council members one at a time.   

I also totally disagree with your statement that all rules related to STRS should be removed.    I know you're a free market advocate, but an unfettered STR world is really not one you, or anyone, would want to live in.    Besides, I think @markhollin was referring to the proliferation of one type of STR - the non-owner occupied STRs  (Type II STRs) located in zoned residential neighborhoods.     These are a different beast and because of the way they are used, they are incompatible with residential zoning.      Nearly every city - anywhere, not just US - that has allowed Type II STRs to proliferate in residential neighborhoods has faced a massive backlash from residents and those cities are now fighting the STR industry to regulate the spread of non-owner occupied STRs, which have been shown to deplete housing stock and contribute to the rise in housing costs.         

[MLBrumby]

Chattanooga truly is a gem. By comparison, it's a shame Nashville can't even do half as much with their much more narrow river. 

[Nashvillain]

3 hours ago, Armacing said:

Actually, we need just the opposite.  We need all rules related to short-term rentals removed to help break up the monopoly on lodging currently held by the hotel industry.  They are behind the efforts to ban AirBNB, which is a legitimate use of private individual's property.  The hotel industry lobbied in favor of the convention center financed by tax payers, yet when those same tax payers want to rent out their house, they are against that.

Also, during the Stanley cup playoffs and other recent events, there were multiple reports of hotels cancelling people's reservations so they could charge a higher room rate for the special events.  To me that is just emblematic of how the Hotel industry is laser-focused on extracting the maximum profit from Nashville without any respect for its citizens or the long-term reputation of the city. 

They want all public investments focused on tourism and nothing left for regular Nashvillians who can never afford to party on Broadway or go to a sporting event.  And yet, for the majority of their workers, they pay close to minimum wage.  Tourism is not a high-tech industry, but somehow they have convinced a large portion of the voting public that the future of Nashville's economy is very dependent on tourism.  That is short-sighted in my opinion.  If Nashville is a tourist destination, then great - let that happen organically.  We don't need the city to engineer a tourism-focused economy.

There actually is a significant problem with AirBnBs in the city which is the abundance of absentee investor properties. Owners are supposed to LIVE in the property at least part time (in my opinion, it should be all the time), but a great number of AirBnBs in the city are never occupied by owners or lessees. These investor properties make bad neighbors because they cram as many beds as they can and their guests realize that they're not staying in someone's home, so they treat the property (and the neighborhood or condo/apartment complex) like a dormitory.

Furthermore, in a city with a growing shortage of affordable housing, absentee investor AirBnbs are eating into the short supply of available housing. 

Metro is also missing out on tax revenues and other sources of revenue as a result of the lack of regulations and reporting of these units. 

[smeagolsfree]

This shall not turn into a debate debacle of the STR issue, PLEASE.

This is meant to highlight our strenghts and shortcomings and I do appreciate where you stand, but we are not here to debate and get sidetracked on one issue alone. However, I would encourage constructive ways to solve the problems of Metro without getting into a debate because it throws the thread into the ER.

[markhollin]

Interesting interview in today's NBJ with Butch Spyridon (CEO of Nashville's Convention & Visitors Corp.) where he touches on strengths and shortcomings.  Here are some highlights:

"Keeping up with the number of hotels being built and sustaining our momentum (is a big issue). We have 6,000 rooms currently under construction. That’s a lot, and if I do the math, that’s an almost 20% increase in inventory. That’s a big number, so we have to figure out how to absorb that and not damage existing business. That’s a pretty daunting number. I think we will continue to drive demand and demand will continue to grow, but it can’t keep up. It’s not going to grow 20%, so the hotels will feel it a little bit."

"Same thing the bars and restaurants are feeling with the number of new bars and restaurants coming in. I can tell some of them are already feeling it. It doesn’t mean less people are coming — it just means we’re spread out more. We could be growing at 3 to 5%, which would be pretty healthy growth, and they could be decreasing their business. Then they’ll get mad and yell at us like, "What are you doing?" With that thought in mind, we want to look at our goals; are we increasing them and are we meeting [our sales goals]?" 

"Other issues we hear from downtown business owners are: traffic, sidewalks, homeless and trash — and homeless-slash-public safety. It’s not all a homeless issue, but the aggressive panhandling and general safety of the people down there [are concerns]. … But we’ve heard for the last couple years about trash, sidewalks, traffic and safety. We completely agree. Those are all issues that have to be addressed before something bad happens and we get hurt for a longer period of time."

"I would absolutely join in the chorus of the city’s success and its means to manage the success don’t match up. Having the Metro budget to deal with the growth — you can look at Public Works, police, schools and everywhere you turn, it’s a matter of resources. Airbnb with Codes. Public Works has the same number of employees they had during the recession. We’re a different city than we were in ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10. For Airbnb, we had one person and now I think we have two to try to manage 5,000 rental units and make sure they’re licensed. Traffic and parking, they had two people 10 to 20 years ago, and now I think they have two people again." 

"All of that comes down to resources for the city. It’s no secret the city doesn’t have the revenue. I don’t know what the answer to that is. We’re doing too good as a city to not be able to find the solutions and be able to manage our success. We’re the envy of the majority of the country, not just my industry, but as a city. People are jealous. People are always asking, "How’d y’all do that?" It takes money to manage success. So if it’s property tax, reappraisal, higher fees on some of the beer permits or transportation vehicles. Everybody is making money except the city."

Additionally, he spoke about the next huge event that they are preparing for is the possibility of earning one of the World Cup host city slots for 2026.  In the next year or so, FIFA will be making their determinations of 17 cities in the U.S., and will end up picking 11 or 12.

More behind the NBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/08/28/nashvilles-tourism-chief-on-his-next-no-way-thatll.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

[DDIG]

Strengths:

1. Other than being landlocked, this is a great place to live. Plenty of things to do and see to keep you active and entertained.

2. Economic systems with healthcare, state gov, and music as well as low overall tax burden that keep the city economy pretty strong even in the face of recession. 

3. We have a brand that works for us, it makes Nashville unique and interesting and people's eyes light up when they hear you are from Nashville. 

Weaknesses:

1. Downtown needs to continue to densify but our arteries are weak and there isn't much we can do about it. Most roads downtown barely fit two lanes, so even with better transit solutions our ceiling with capacity is low.

2. Snowballing off that no transit solutions to speak of and really not much of an interest in taking on alternate transit in our culture i.e. if we added a bunch more bus routes, I'm still not convinced people give up their cars to hop on-board.

3. Teetering on the edge of cool brand to goofy. For all the talk of the scooters, my number one thing is the "transportainment". Kill the damn rolling hot tubs and giant tractors, it is bad for the brand and the city. Visitors can have plenty of fun without rolling around town in the back of a converted party fire truck.

4. Politicians alignment was previously very good on atleast moving the city forward. There is a concerning level of anti-growth distrust which I think overall is bad for the city. Plus politicians framing tourism and downtown against the neighborhoods instead of an asset that should be better coordinated. 

[The Market]

8 hours ago, Armacing said:

Actually, we need just the opposite.  We need all rules related to short-term rentals removed to help break up the monopoly on lodging currently held by the hotel industry.  They are behind the efforts to ban AirBNB, which is a legitimate use of private individual's property.  The hotel industry lobbied in favor of the convention center financed by tax payers, yet when those same tax payers want to rent out their house, they are against that.

Also, during the Stanley cup playoffs and other recent events, there were multiple reports of hotels cancelling people's reservations so they could charge a higher room rate for the special events.  To me that is just emblematic of how the Hotel industry is laser-focused on extracting the maximum profit from Nashville without any respect for its citizens or the long-term reputation of the city. 

They want all public investments focused on tourism and nothing left for regular Nashvillians who can never afford to party on Broadway or go to a sporting event.  And yet, for the majority of their workers, they pay close to minimum wage.  Tourism is not a high-tech industry, but somehow they have convinced a large portion of the voting public that the future of Nashville's economy is very dependent on tourism.  That is short-sighted in my opinion.  If Nashville is a tourist destination, then great - let that happen organically.  We don't need the city to engineer a tourism-focused economy.

I hate rules and regulations, too

[jkc2j]

Another thing I'd like to mention is it'd be good to see developers build row houses and brownstones that you find in cities like Boston and Philadelphia, particularly in the neighborhoods  surrounding downtown; Germantown, Salemtown, East Nashville, Midtown, WeHo and Include some of the major arteries as well; Charlotte Pk, Dickerson Pk, Gallatin Pk, Murfreesboro Pk Nolensville Pk, increasing residential density on those streets as much as allowed. Obviously developers won't build to the extent of those cities but it's good for creating a more active and urban street wall built right up to the sidewalk. Not every new home in Nashville has to be set back to have a front yard, especially as the city continues to densify. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by jkc2j

[Armacing]

14 hours ago, The Market said:

I hate rules and regulations, too

I really doubt anybody is fooled by your obvious trolling.