Parks > Parking

Peninsula Park in NE Portland, just a short walk from my sister's home. Gorgeous rose gardens, beautiful fountains, great public playground and pool. As Heather & I were here basking in the sun on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I was hoping Detroit had figured out a way to preserve the Parks & Recreation budget. City parks are so important. Do I even have to explain why? (Nah, probably not.)

Mississippi Avenue

Mississippi Avenue in NE Portland. Indie shops, coffeehouses, food carts, live street music. Cafe tables in front of every restaurant. Bicycles and bike racks everywhere. Hand-painted sidewalk signs. Falafel for five bucks. Nothin' too fancy. Okay, maybe a couple places. But all in all, it has that small-town-meets-big-city feel I love.

Slow City

"Even sex is on a stopwatch these days. I like a quickie as much as the next person, but there's an awful lot to be gained from slowing down."
-Carl Honore

I just watched this really great talk by Carl Honore about our need to slow down. Of course I knew about the Slow Food Movement, but I must have missed articles on similar movements for Sex and Cities. I even bought the "Slow" issue of Good Magazine earlier this year, and it still passed me by. [Insert slow joke here.]

Anyway, maybe everyone but me already knows there's this whole Cittaslow movement that started in Italy in 1999. Super intrigued by this -- especially in my "stop-and-smell-the-roses" camp mode -- so I looked it up:

"The main goal of Cittaslow is to enlarge the philosophy of Slow Food to local communities and to government of towns, applying the concepts of ecogastronomy at practice of everyday life. Municipalities which join the association are motivated by curious people of a recovered time, where man is still protagonist of the slow and healthy succession of seasons, respectful of citizens’ health, the authenticity of products and good food, rich of fascinating craft traditions of valuable works of art, squares, theaters, shops, cafés, restaurants, places of the spirit and unspoiled landscapes, characterized by spontaneity of religious rites, respect of traditions through the joy of a slow and quiet living."

(I like how they took their time with that last sentence there.)

Hmm. Who do I know who might be interested in this....

Hey Phillip Cooley, wanna start a local Detroit Cittaslow chapter? It would have to just be a small part of downtown, because I think you gotta have fewer than 50,000 residents to join. But really, seeing as the U.S. movement is headquartered in...wait for it...Sonoma Valley (of course, right?), I think they really NEED us. We can make this SO much cooler than a bunch of old white wine drinkers ever could. (And by white I mean the drinkers, not the wine. I'm sure some of those folks prefer a nice merlot or cabernet.)

Plus Phil, I know you need another Detroit project. So think about it...and take your time. Really, no rush.

I really like the Cittaslow mission. I'm ALL about "authenticity" and "unspoiled landscapes." Really, I'm pretty much for anything the Italians do when it comes to food, fashion & architecture. Plus, it seems to go hand-in-hand with Transition U.S. and BALLE and other good pro-local movements.

But there has to be a balance between local and global, slow and fast. I like Tuscan villages, but I also like super energetic and dynamic places like New York and London and Toronto. In fact, often I find that a beautiful cathedral or park is made even more serene and spiritual by its proximity to the hum of commercial activity. Too sleepy, and you lose that verve and vitality, ya know? Cities gotta have some contrast and diversity, or they're just...

{yawn}

(This reminds me, another way city planning gurus describe "yawn" is with an acronym: "PMS" (Pale, Male & Stale). It's the trilogy of uncreative places, they say. For the record, I think the old men of Tuscany & Sonoma are usually pretty tan from hanging out in their vineyards, so I'm not sure they qualify.)

Speaking of slow, lately I've been growing super impatient with the glacial speed of change in Detroit. I've found myself thinking (or worse, saying): "For god sakes, can we pick up the pace, people?" What I'm talking about is not really daily living -- more the collective, civic doing. Like how long have we been talking about the need for a light rail system? Can we please get that M1 line built already? Because the waiting is making me batty. Andale!

But all this Slow Movement stuff reminds me there may be a bright side to inertia. Maybe we have a better chance in Detroit of growing neighborhoods and businesses slowly & organically? Maybe we can avoid those boom-&-bust trends that other more "popular" places experience?

This came up in a long chat I had recently with a professor from Austin, TX who came to Detroit to study community change & the media. Austin, like Portland, is one of those poster kids for "creative cities," but he said it might have jumped the shark. Detroit, he claimed, was far more interesting.

Yeah. Interesting, for sure. Healthy? Nuh-uh. No way.

It would be the WORST injustice to the people of Detroit if we stopped pushing impatiently for creativity and prosperity (via public amenities like transit) because we're concerned we might get "too cool" or something. Like it always really kills me when hipsters suggest Detroit is awesome just the way it is. Try telling that to a DPS kid. Or a working mother without a car.

Hmm, maybe Detroit is not quite ready for the Slow Movement just yet. Maybe we need to get our heart rate up a little before we can slow it back down again.

Anyway, here's the video that got me thinkin' about all this:

BAMN!

Ooooh, a little excitement in the neighborhood last night. I was sitting on the front porch with a mojito, getting my "happy camper" groove on, when I heard chanting that sounded like "F*ck the Police" approaching in the darkness. Yeah, that caught my attention.

Ba-bye blissful bubble of peace and privilege! Hellooo police brutality...

I craned my neck to spy a group of protesters marching toward Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., just a couple blocks from here. No, I didn't put down my cocktail and join them. But I did get a quick look at the banner they were carrying:

This photo is not mine, I found it online at Portland's Independent Media Center when I investigated today. (Thank god for independent media, btw. We must preserve and protect at all cost.)

Anyway, I love a good protest almost as much as I hate police brutality. But they lost me with the hyperbole, and then sealed the deal by breaking windows at the local community college. C'mon, people - seriously? (Yeah, I'm talking to you, hippie-gangstas. When Malcolm said "by any means necessary," he didn't mean a bunch of white kids in black hoods walking the streets at night causing destruction to schools and businesses on MLK Blvd. In some places, I think they call that harassment and vandalism.)

Context is everything, isn't it? I had just finished watching the first season of The Wire, so I was feeling sympathetic to the police. If I had just watched Do the Right Thing, I might have felt differently. But then today I found the video of Oscar Grant's shooting by Oakland, California police (the reason for this protest). Yeah, pretty obvious abuse of power. Completely intolerable and protest-worthy. Not at all okay.

Sigh. Still thinking about the whole idea of "by any means necessary," I went back to read more about what Malcolm said.

"It doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time, I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't call it violence when it's self-defense. I call it intelligence."

Smart man. I wonder what he would have made of these protesters? Well, I know what he might have said pre-pilgrimage, but he got a bit softer after returning from Mecca, didn't he? No more sweeping indictments of white people. All peace and brotherly love. So maybe this:

"Early in life I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise."

Noise I can agree with. Turn the volume up, up, UP, I say. Raise your voice. And you know what this means....I just gotta post the best movie scene ever of all time. I know you've seen it a million trillion times, but it really never gets old. In fact, I think it should be what we recite instead of the Pledge of Allegiance. Seriously, imagine millions of darling little schoolchildren across the land exclaiming in unison each morning:

"I'm a human being, god damn it! My life has value!" 

Oh, what a wonderful world that would be. Enjoy:

Third Places

Behold the Portland coffeehouse. Above is Stumptown. There's also Albina Press (which also brews Stumptown), Fresh Pot (featured in the movie Feast of Love) and countless others. Some might say pretentious, I say bring it. Detroit could use more good "third places" like these. Starbucks doesn't count. Independent & locally-owned is what I mean.

My favorite Detroit coffeehouse is Cafe 1923 in Hamtramck. I wish it was a little bit closer to my home so it could be a daily destination. It's got that corner storefront, old-school-meets-new-world charm. It's the kind of place you wanna sit and work for hours. To wit, you can usually find one or five Model D reporters sipping espressos whilst tapping away on their typing machines. The esteemed local blogger Supergay Detroit snapped this lovely photo:

I also adore Detroit's Rowland Cafe and Stella International Cafe for their European style & flavor. You just can't beat the exquisite architecture of the Guardian and Fisher Building lobbies. And who doesn't enjoy a friendly welcome from Chris? He is one of my favorite things about Detroit:

I'm not a bonafide foodie, so I tend to choose places to eat & drink for reasons more environmental than gastronomical. I want to spend my limited time & money in spaces that please me. Not sure if I'm sophisticated enough to write the formula for that pleasure. All I can say is that it involves some combination of lighting, seating, quality materials, art and music. Oh, and good customer service and people-watching. You know, just the right amount of sociability when you're feeling sociable, and just enough peace & quiet when you're up against a deadline or don't feel much like chatting.

It was through long conversations with the sage Dai Hughes that I learned the difference between a good coffeehouse and an okay one. I hope he gets to open his Astro Coffee in Detroit. I love my daily trips to Avalon Bakery, but we could use more quality spaces like these:

Food Carts & Titty Bars!

So I live in Detroit and my sister lives in Portland. Sometimes I joke that when it comes to public perception, our two cities represent the complete opposite poles of American urbanism. The former is dismissed as some sort of urban wasteland; the latter held up as an urban nirvana.

It's not really so black & white. Unless you're looking at demographics. Then, why yes, actually, it is. Detroit is very black and Portland very white. (Not that this has anything to do with anything.) {Sigh}

Portland is always one of my favorite places to visit, but I admit to the occasional eye-rolling when folks put it up on a pedestal. Even my sister admits Oregonians can be smug about their popularity and virtuosity. Sure thing, Portland deserves kudos for being progressive in so many ways --it's eco-friendly, gay-friendly, and really just very human-friendly. But it also has challenges like any other city. The public school system is grappling with shrinkage and closures. Oh, and apparently they have a little Meth problem going on. Paradise isn't perfect, I guess.

Nonetheless, Detroit and Portland have a lot to learn from each other. And naturally, when I come here I always enjoy finding ideas to bring back home. Here are a few of my favorite things about PDX. Could they translate to Detroit?

Top Five Favorites:

1) Design. People care about good design here, and you can see and feel it everywhere. In shops like Canoe and Ink & Peat, eateries like Clyde Common and Stumptown and the Doug Fir, hotels like the Ace and Jupiter, and LEED-certified buildings like Ecotrust's Natural Capital Center. Portland doesn't have as much beautiful historic architecture as we have in Detroit, but what it lacks in skyline it makes up for in street-level vitality. Everything from graphic signage to sidewalk fixtures make for more vibrant, walkable neighborhoods and inviting spaces. (And just to be clear: good design is not limited to fancy modern rich-people places. It's everywhere.)

2) Food Carts. I can't think of many things I adore more than Portland's food carts, which much to my delight have been multiplying on Mississippi Ave since my last visit. Not just hot dogs, mind you -- curry, pad thai, falafel, tacos, bento, gellato, bubble tea. So nice to grab a fast, healthy bite on the go for under $10. Plus, from an urban planning standpoint, rows of food carts turn surface parking lots (or "underperforming asphalt,"as Ellen Dunham-Jones calls them) into colorful street markets. In my lifetime, I hope to see at least one downtown Detroit lot converted into an outdoor food court. Just charge the vendors (who each fit neatly into one parking spot) the same you would an annual parking pass -- or hell, even more. I think business types call this a "Win, win."

3) Complete Streets. The MAX light rail system. The Portland Streetcar. Dedicated biking lanes. Need I say more? It's just easy and enjoyable to get around this town. The MAX is even FREE within an area they call "Fareless Square," which covers most of downtown. Hooks for bikes, too. Cyclists are everywhere -- biking not just for recreation, but commuting, too. And guess what? They look fitter & happier. You might think all the rain would deter folks, but not so much. My sister, for instance, is used to packing her rain gear, just in case the skies open mid-ride. Oh, and she owns an automobile, too, so it's not like she's a luddite or something. Cars & bikes can happily co-exist in cities. I'm happy we're finally getting this in Detroit.

4) Smart Growth. Thanks to Portland's Urban Growth Boundary, suburban sprawl has been mitigated as the population has risen. This means a denser, healthier city and a protected natural environment surrounding it. They understand that one of Portland's greatest assets is its unique geography. Here, you're within striking distance of both ocean and mountains -- 80 miles to the Pacific, 80 miles to Mount Hood. Urban density preserves the natural beauty. In fact, the motto of their regional government is: "People Places. Open Spaces." I'm ALL about this. For too long, SE Michigan's motto has been more like: "Auto Places. Parking Spaces." This can't change soon enough.

5) Green Everything. From buildings to parks to organic food and clean energy, Portland is so damn green. I'm more of a soaring-skyscrapers-and-urban-canyons kind of girl, but I can honestly say I feel better here. Maybe it's all the oxygen emanating from the lush foliage (the upside of all this rain, I suppose). But it's also an ethos.

Just for one example, my sister works at Energy Trust, a non-profit that offers efficiency and cost-savings education and incentives. It's funded by a small "public purpose charge" collected by the major utilities. Energy Trust has helped save Oregonians $600 million since 2002 by making energy-efficiency improvements and generating clean, renewable power. Just to put it in perspective, the Detroit equivalent, The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), has raised $83 million since 1985 for energy assistance to low-income families. Assistance, not alternatives. We've gotta think bigger and do better.

So those are some big things. I can point to some other little things, too. Like no sales tax. Or the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city. Or the world's largest bookstore, Powell's. (Hmm, what does it say about a place that people like to read here?) Or the fact that Portland has the largest concentration of both micro-breweries AND strip clubs in the country.

Books + Beer + Boobs = Livability and Prosperity?

The Wire

One of the ways I celebrated Independence Day was finally digging into The Wire. After all, what's a better way to honor our great nation than immersing yourself in Baltimore's seedy underbelly?

I was a bit worried that after my favorite smart people proclaimed it as "The World's Best Television Show Ever Of All Time in the History of the Universe," I might be disappointed. Thankfully, not yet.

So there was this scene in one of the early episodes where Officer McNulty was standing in front of his desk. Just behind him, I spotted this sunny yellow bumper sticker posted on his bulletin board that read: "I love city life."

Its appearance there was dripping with irony. I mean, the characters were having a conversation about urban crime and corruption that didn't make "city life" seem all that glamorous.

But as an avid lover of cities and propaganda, I was curious and looked it up. Turns out there's a whole Live in Baltimore campaign, complete with merchandise. (Eat your heart out, Alex Feldman & Austin Black! BTW, there are some good ideas there, including housing incentives. Worth a look.)

* * *

Watching The Wire reminds me of a conversation I had a couple weeks ago with a Wayne State University police officer. She strolled in the shop ("Don't worry, I'm just looking") and we had a nice conversation while she browsed. I told her that I really appreciated all they did to make the neighborhood safe, and that I felt very comfortable living and owning a business there. She looked at me like I was crazy -- as if to say, "Really? Oh honey, if only you knew what I know."

It occurred to me, probably for the very first time in earnest (I'm a little slow), that my freedom to do what I love in Detroit (promote city living, advocate for new business), is only possible thanks to the people who do the much less glamorous work of serving and protecting us.

The police officer reminded me to be careful -- like maybe it wasn't such a good idea to feel so comfortable, like I should probably remain more vigilant. I was worried she was going to start listing crime statistics, and I would have to cover my ears and sing "la, la, la" like a little kid to drown out the icky stuff.

It's true, sometimes I prefer dwelling in my bubble of blissful ignorance. If I know too much, I might not be as persuasive in my case. And making the case for Detroit is one of the reasons I get up every morning. Knowledge is power, but selective hearing is essential to sustain my optimism.

So to the men & women who serve and protect, I know I have taken you for granted. But I'll try to remember what Colonel Jessup said in his famous monologue from A Few Good Men: "You have the luxury of not knowing what I know."

Thank you for that luxurious gift. By doing your thing, you make it possible for me to do mine.

In(ter)dependence

"Independence through Interdependence."

-Jackie Victor, Avalon International Breads

"I think we're here for each other."

-Carol Burnett

Happy (belated) Independence Day! I was thinking a lot about Detroit yesterday. In particular, Jackie's words about the importance of collaboration between the small independent businesses in Midtown's North Cass Neighborhood. Before I left, several of us worked together to coordinate activities for the U.S. Social Forum. The experience reminded me just how critical cooperation is for our survival.

Common wisdom is that entrepreneurship is all about fierce independence, individualism and innovation. The market rewards individuals who take risks, make bold moves, and ultimately outsmart and outlast the competition.

There is certainly truth in this. But if you're in the business of place-making (as we Detroit retailers are), your primary motivation must be community-building and culture-change. We're still creating the conditions for businesses to thrive. Until then, the name of the game is interdependence.

That was the idea behind Open City. Dialogue and exchange breeds openness. Openness begets opportunity. Liz Blondy was there for me. Lee Padgett was there for her. And now we're all here for each other.

I'm sad to miss a meeting of the West Willis & Canfield villagers while I'm away, but I hope we can build on the Shop Midtown campaign we started. It ain't perfect, but it's a start. And I'll always be grateful to the beautiful Sonya Harrison for being our poster girl.

While I'm here in Portland, I'm particularly interested in two neighborhoods that host monthly district-wide open houses as a possible model for Midtown. First Thursdays in the Pearl District, Last Thursdays in the Alberta Arts District. People come for the art, stay for the shopping and dining. I love that folks can set their watch to it. I'm much more interested in regular events than one big annual blowout. The goal is to build comfortability, familiarity and everyday foot-traffic.

I smile remembering one of our first big Detroit Synergy events (see below). It's cute how literal we were. My most vivid memory is lots of wind, rain and unruly balloons. So maybe it didn't change the world, but it certainly presaged better, bigger things to come.