The great folks at GOOD magazine interviewed me for their neighborhoods issue. Here it is.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 9:30 am and is filed under Mobility - Who's Your City?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Great discussion. It could serve as a great introduction to the upcoming Janes Walks–urban walking tours in honour of Jane Jacobs on May 1 and 2 across North America and in a few other world spots.
April 21st, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Yeah. A good reminder, we don’t just live in cities, we live in neighborhoods. We live in Willamette Heights, a great neighborhood in NW Portland. It’s close in to downtown, you can walk in 20 minutes and there’s good bus service. It backs up to Forest Park, 17 miles of wooded trails. A lot of artists bought here in the 60’s & 70’s when it was cheap, are still here and have set the tone. There are a few couples on their 70’s and 80’s, lots of middle aged but also young families. I think there are about 15 kids on our block, which has in addition to several white families (including Jews, I don’t know if they’re even noticed any more) one Black family and three Asian. The income diversity has disappeared over the years due to housing prices and turnover, but otherwise it’s pretty great. There are block parties, a neighborhood e-mail “phone tree” list and most people know each other.
So I guess I’m bragging, but also want to make the point that because it’s popular and not cheap, there aren’t many rentals. If you want to live here you need to buy. Sure, there are some good arty neighborhoods you can rent in, and if I were young and mobile I probably would, but to live where we do you pretty much have to own.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:57 pm
You are where you live to some degree. this is very indicative of where I live and work – the Mississippi Delta. Michael I moved back to Mississippi from my birthplace Chicago. I love Mississippi and am passionate about my work as a community, economic, and workforce developer (smile because unemployment is not my worry). But now here is the thing, if anyone is familiar with the Delta, I believe “We Can Compete!” (Podemos Competir!) So, my question is how do we place Richard Florida’s 3-T’s in the Mississippi Delta so that we can compete for the creative class? Are there really regions or areas that simply are not capable of creating an environment that’s attractive to the creative class. A Portrait of Mississippi: Mississippi Human Development Report 2009
Mississippi ranks last among U.S. states on the American Human Development Index while at the same token on three continuums of Health, Access to Knowledge, and Standard of Living recommendations were made to could contribute to the success of placing Florida’s 3-T’s in the Mississippi Delta so that we can compete.
April 21st, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Mississippi has a bad rep, and the Delta may suffer from the state’s policies. But the Delta also has a rep for creativity, not only blues but crafts so that’s a step for talent. I don’t know about tolerance, certainly there’s a history of discrimination but I don’t know how that plays now. I’d guess see about working on those two, the technology will come later. Education is probably key to all of them.
Anyway, that’s my take as someone who knows nothing about the Delta, other than its reputation. But in terms of attracting the creative class, a place’s reputation is key. Portland 40 years ago was an overgrown logging town with a rough image. There’s a famous bar in San Francisco’s North Beach that had a sign above the door that said “We are itching to get out of Portland, Oregon.” Now we’re seen as a creative mecca, but it took decades to make the change.