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Hampton Roads Congress for Urban Development


mercuex

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Je pense que this could work if we set a date and stick to it. Does anyone know of a place that's in DT norfolk that has a reasonable amt of room and low enough level of noise that we could have a sustained discussion without getting too distracted? (sorry that counts our hooters)?

Hooters maybe?

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Je pense que this could work if we set a date and stick to it. Does anyone know of a place that's in DT norfolk that has a reasonable amt of room and low enough level of noise that we could have a sustained discussion without getting too distracted? (sorry that counts our hooters)?

Hooters maybe?

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What about backstage cafe? or In MacAuthur Mall? We have to be serious about this though i want people that are serious on this. It is a big step but I think that we need to do this for this region.

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Absolutely. Weekend is the only time I COULD do it since I'll be living in Richmond. There's a good Lebanese joint on Granby I used to go to called Granby Bistro with good/cheap food. I don't know how late they're open. I could always call.

Starbucks is always an option of course. I'm sure if we email someone like ... maybe the D'art people, maybe they could donate a space? But maybe we should do that once we get ourselves together ...

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Absolutely. Weekend is the only time I COULD do it since I'll be living in Richmond. There's a good Lebanese joint on Granby I used to go to called Granby Bistro with good/cheap food. I don't know how late they're open. I could always call.

Starbucks is always an option of course. I'm sure if we email someone like ... maybe the D'art people, maybe they could donate a space? But maybe we should do that once we get ourselves together ...

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Tropical Smoothie would be a good place to check out to and maybe AJ Gators :thumbsup:

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Tropical Smoothie would be a good place to check out to and maybe AJ Gators :thumbsup:

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Tropical Smoothie is great. Only thing is that it isn't too big and also it's not a place where patrons are exactly encouraged to loiter.

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I was going to email Vdogg about this to gauge his reaction first ... but I figured maybe it would be worth going and asking everyone's opinion at once and see if it's plausible (which i think it is).

We have been discussing for awhile now about doing a meetup and nothing has never entirely materialized ... but what if we were to do like a monthly or bi-monthly meetup on a saturday somewhere as the nucleus for something greater. We all have a ton of ideas and we all bring a number of talents and professions and, most importantly, a sincere passion for our region and its development. What if we could channel it further as some kind of grassroots organization?

We could meet, have an exec board or something, do resolutions, canvass, do OP-Eds in local papers all with a unified voice. Not only would it give more credence to our little cabal here on UrbanPlanet, but it might foment some badly needed change in our proud 757.

So if you think this is a good idea, a bad idea, a doable idea, a completely preposterous idea, let me know. Maybe we can agree on something. Maybe we can't. But I think if we pool our ideas and talents, maybe we can make something happen that couldn't before.

Let's get those ideas rolling.

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Ok, after the 2 massive pms I just wrote I guess I better respond here too. You have my full support to the extent that I can and hopefully this thing will catch on quickly. It's easy to get people to their computers, the hard part is getting them out of the house :lol: . That is where these things usually break down. It never has to do with the idea or disagreements, it's lives and scheduling conflicts that break things down.

I think I and a couple of people have advocated forum meets a few times (particularly for Granby Tower :hint:) but nothing ever came of it. I think we should really work on just getting together the first forum meet, period, and then you will have a lot better idea of how things may go and where to go from there.

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This is the text of a PM convo I've been having w Vdogg. Please feel free to give your own input! The first entry is Vdogg's response to me asking him what he thought of this idea.

I think it's an ideal that could work and I would be glad to lend a hand, but i don't know at this time if I would be able to participate as fully as you would like me to in this endeavor. I have a pretty busy schedule and I don't want to make commitments that I may not be able to fulfill. I also have a concern about overlap with the other respective community organizations. We would have to bring something unique to the table. In my capacity here at UP I feel that I compliment the urban development community in HR. I would like to continue complimenting it in whatever capacity I can but I do not want us to turn into a competing force/alternative that may dilute the overall message.

I think if we get a group of committed and responsible adults together this will suceed. I caution you however, it is going to take an awful lot of time and an awful lot of patience to get things going.

Fair enough. What, however, do you do nowadays anyway?

I know I don't have time to do anything like this full time. Maybe its something we should throw out there and see. I'd love to work to get it started and I think it can work if we can find a specific niche from which to work. What does your current organization do and how could we complement that role with this new thing?

Perhaps you misunderstand. I do not currently have an organization myself, I'm simply putting out there one of the concerns that came to mind due to contacts I've had with members of DNC (downtown norfolk council-not the political party  :lol: , etc.) I don't want to catch "7 cities syndrome" in which you have several different groups vying for attention. I'm honestly at a loss for what we as a group can/or should do to further the development of downtown Norfolk. I have thought about it, but I really never got too far on the idea nor did I come up with any viable plans, etc.

This may be a question more suited for the thread you posted. I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said "specific niche". We just need to figure out what that is. What area of development or HR issue would we be most concentrated on for example. What could we do to give ourselves the type of clout that people would actually listen to us in the first place? What goals should we set? By all means feel free to keep throwing these ideas out there and see what happens. If enough people see it/ respond to it will generate it's own critical mass to the point where things will happen.

Between this forum, which I have committed to grow , My job which also requires me to be on call a lot, school which i'm taking up again this fall, and other after work committments I do have a pretty full plate. As I said, I will help in whatever respect that I can at this time but I cannot commit to any figure head type role (though i'm flattered you would think of me)  until such time as I can assure my undivided attention would be given to that organization.

It would be unfair to the people of such an organization if I did anything other than that.

heh... when did you get so noble?

Well it is something I'll certainly have to draft up before the meeting, but I was thinking that it would be a group that would tackle real meat-and-potatoes issues like Transportation, Pro Sports, and Smart Growth issues for across Hampton Roads. I think it would be prudent for the group as a whole to tackle one major issue at a time, but I think the idea is to promote a new kind of synergy between the 7 cities so we become less fragmented and more united in policy and vision.

Things like Transportation and Smart Growth are things people can probably relate to, and get passionate about. If we can stir up sentiment about these and channel it in a way that not only puts pressure on the local gov't but also brings ourselves some attention, we can eventually steer the agenda ourselves.

For something like Transportation, it's easy to fall into the "we need higher taxes" trap or "blame the city" without considering what's going on. Many of us here on UP understand that Norfolk is sitting and waiting for those federal dollars to roll in. Our goal isn't to tell Norfolk to do what they are already doing right ... but rather to try and convince other municipalities that this is a regional imperative that we need to have a unified plan about. I wonder how much money we could save if Hampton Roads put its planners together and locked them in a room for a couple of weeks and told them to come up with a unified framework for a regional transportation policy? This is the sort of thing I'm talking about.

Who knows, and this is a big if, but maybe if things go well we can eventually morph into a kind of political action tank. I think it's something that we really could use in Hampton Roads as a whole. Not just Norfolk.

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Ok, after the 2 massive pms I just wrote I guess I better respond here too. You have my full support to the extent that I can and hopefully this thing will catch on quickly. It's easy to get people to their computers, the hard part is getting them out of the house  :lol: . That is where these things usually break down. It never has to do with the idea or disagreements, it's lives and scheduling conflicts that break things down.

I think I and a couple of people have advocated forum meets a few times (particularly for Granby Tower :hint:) but nothing ever came of it. I think we should really work on just getting together the first forum meet, period, and then you will have a lot better idea of how things may go and where to go from there.

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I'm in favor. Maybe this first meeting should be a "forum meet" and be a little more casual than we would normally envision one of these proto organization meetings.

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I think that we really need to start this. I think people never took it as serious. Maybe you don't want to but I would like to see some other people meet up maybe for just an hour.

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Cant we just call it a forum meet and talk about HRCUD issues? BTW, Vdogg thinks that Smart Growth initiatives is a great place to start. I would have to agree with him there ... we really dont have anything advocating smart growth and acting to stem the tide of unrestricted sprawl/blight.

Fortunately the market has become a catalyst towards its reversal ... but it has a hella long way to go and I think it could use a hand. We have to be careful we don't do anything that would push developers out of the cities and into the counties where they can develop with impunity. No one wins there.

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I appreciate Vdogg and and his opinion of and for this possible group. I was thinking along the same lines as he as why would anyone listen to us and exactly what would be our initiative(s). I think too it is who you know and of course timing has to be right as well.. as well as people willing to listen and who are open to suggestions/changes. I think a casual forum meet would be in order at least for a start. You can count me in for this as well.

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I appreciate Vdogg and and his opinion of and for this possible group. I was thinking along the same lines as he as why would anyone listen to us and exactly what would be our initiative(s). I think too it is who you know and of course timing has to be right as well.. as well as people willing to listen and who are open to suggestions/changes. I think a casual forum meet would be in order at least for a start. You can count me in for this as well.

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This is my opinion but if you don't try you won't know anyone. You have to get out there and get your hands dirty and its not just for Norfolk but for this entire region. I think if we went to one of the meetings that has a mayor there and get our names out and let the news see who we are it will eventually work for us.

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This is my opinion but if you don't try you won't know anyone. You have to get out there and get your hands dirty and its not just for Norfolk but for this entire region. I think if we went to one of the meetings that has a mayor there and get our names out and let the news see who we are it will eventually work for us.

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The key is really getting the public involved. There simply is no way we can do a fraction of this kind of stuff ourselves without getting community involvement. This involves identifying and obtaining audience/support from other community groups. Town Hall meetings, fundraising, canvassing, letters to the editor ... stuff like that.

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There is strength in masses. Do you think Peta just arouse one day and became what it is today. No they just worked and worked to it. I don't support them just using them as an example.

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"PETA, I don't support them just using them as an example." :rofl:

Like i said before, im in for whatever. if its an hour...thats cool.

We need to start somewhere! Get to know each other rather than "Rus", "V", "Merc", and "Guyvb", etc.

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"PETA, I don't support them just using them as an example."  :rofl:

Like i said before, im in for whatever. if its an hour...thats cool.

We need to start somewhere! Get to know each other rather than "Rus", "V",  "Merc", and "Guyvb", etc.

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So let's pick a damn place and date! How about September 10th??

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LoL Whipped.

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Not quite man. Its not so much "whipped" after 6 years and you live with the other. your lives join and your plans are hers and vice-versa.

Always so much to do. cookouts, weddings, trips out of town. we are just very busy. she keeps a calender and sechedules(sp?) months in advance.

Its not so much, "honey, can i do this". Its "honey, Is this date open". she keeps track of all of my/our appointments, functions, etc.

Get me?

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Not quite man. Its not so much "whipped" after 6 years and you live with the other. your lives join and your plans are hers and vice-versa.

Always so much to do. cookouts, weddings, trips out of town. we are just very busy. she keeps a calender and sechedules(sp?) months in advance.

Its not so much, "honey, can i do this". Its "honey, Is this date open". she keeps track of all of my/our appointments, functions, etc.

Get me?

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haha I hear. It's rather poor form for me to say something like that to you when I, in fact, am in a quite similar position and I'll likely be doing the exact same thing.. :rolleyes:

All in good fun, il mio amico.

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haha I hear. It's rather poor form for me to say something like that to you when I, in fact, am in a quite similar position and I'll likely be doing the exact same thing..  :rolleyes:

All in good fun, il mio amico.

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I know, i thought it was funny too!

I just had to clear my name! :thumbsup:

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