It started at the Rocky Steps and Steve's Steaks

About 2 years ago, a friend of mine invited me to take a trip with him. He was going to visit Rutgers University in New Jersey about getting into their Master's Program in Art History. Keep in mind, we were leaving from Auburn, Alabama, and that is a long, long drive. Since I am a sucker for NYC and a good road trip, of course I said yes.

At the time, I was scouring the earth looking for ideas for a 4-5 story mixed use (retail/office/residential) project, so this was a great chance to see some more dense places in the mid-Atlantic and East Coast. We stopped in so many places, I might not even remember them all, but I'll try. On the way up: Greensboro, NC, Richmond VA, DC, and Rutgers, which is in New Brunswick & Piscataway, NJ. After his interview was over, we headed to NYC for the night, then on to Philly, Charlottesville and Blacksburg, VA, Greenville, SC, and even Athens, GA. Keep in mind, this was like a 5 day trip. We were either walking or driving for probably 16 hours a day, but we saw a lot of stuff.

I think it was Philly that finally made it click. The city is on an old fashioned grid, on a mostly flat plain between two rivers. (Great train station, by the way.) But what's the most famous, iconic scene of Philly in pop culture? It's Rocky Balboa, running through the streets, and climbing the steps of the famous art museum, right? Standing there, with his arms in the air, looking back at the city skyline...

Because of the torrid pace of our trip, we didn't actually have time to go into the museum, but we did go to a libery bell museum and saw independence hall, etc. In the history museum, we saw some eye-opening photos that I will NEVER forget. (If you have not been to Philly, the road to the Art museum is on an angle - strange for a city on a grid - and really wide with tons of flags, etc.) They had a collection of photos that showed the old city, and to my surprise, they showed a series of photos of the demoltion of many, many houses, on a diagonal path, heading to a mound that was being built along the river. In the later photos, it was clear that this demo project was actually making way for a new, wide boulevard that now ends at the front steps of the Art Museum. They actually went through the trouble of tearing down all these houses and businesses in a straight line, and built up the huge mound (hence the Rocky Steps) to make this art museum a focal point of the city. It obviously worked. I mean even today, it is the most famous image of Philly, right? Even more so than Independence Hall, I would say.

It is a testament to what can happen when people really value something in their community. The decision to break from the grid and show off this part of their city is a classic case of City Beautiful peiod planning. But rather than write it off as a history lesson, I think it is important to recognize it as an important lesson in Urban Design, designing your city around the values of it's citizens. I thought about out Auburn's Art complex, the Jan Dempsey Community Art Center. It is a nice multi-purpose facility, but it is tucked away behind a run down old basketball facility. It shows that there is some interest in the Arts in Auburn, but it is not really a priority. I will be putting some effort into changing that, but more than that, it was just an eye-opening learning experience about urban history, and a reminder that just about any vision can be acomplished if there is enough will to do it.

I end with a question... what vision are you trying to accomplish?

Day 1... of a digital experiment in community design

Today is February 14th, Valentine's Day. And I am writing a post on a blog about urban design. That fact in itself might say more about me than anything else that may follow.

Today is the first (published) day of what will probably be a lifetime effort to improve the world around me, in one way or another. The story starts long ago, but let's start with today and go forward. I am currently halfway through a Master's Degree in Community Planning At Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. While other schools might call a similar program City Planning, Urban Panning, or even Urban Design, I find the community aspect of it more and more interesting all the time.

Through this blog, and other related media sources, I am going to try to share my thoughts, my research, and my experiences in the areas of Urban Design, Downtown Revitalization, and what certain cities are doing, could do,and maybe even should do to improve the public spaces and public life in their town. That's where the name "The Public Realm" came from, if you haven't figured that out yet. I hope it will be a place for people to put their heads, their muscle, and their resources together to bring about positive changes in the places we live.

Thanks for listening.