Disappearing Cities, Drive-Thru Bans, Harlem’s Fight, more…
Hayley Richardson | Fri, Jan 25th, 2008 | Category: Commentary | Tags: commentary, hayley richardson, harlem, historic zone, 125th st., detroit revitalization, disappearing cities, ivory coast, benin, kwame kilpatrick scandal, drive-thru bans
“Huge breakers constantly battering Benin’s coast—and the rest of the shoreline on the Gulf of Guinea—are starting to take their toll. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Nigeria are also fighting to stop the sea from gulping up chunks of land. Hardest hit would be the section of Cotonou known as Les Ambassadeurs. In tiny Benin, the erosion on its narrow stretch of coastline was first recorded a century ago. “
Canada’s Drive-Thru Ban
“Some green-minded civic politicians want Edmonton to consider closing the window on new restaurant drive-thrus and their idling vehicles. Talk of a ban comes as the city of North Vancouver considers getting rid of drive-thru windows in new restaurants. The British Columbia city’s bylaw would not affect existing businesses. South of the border, Santa Cruz, Calif., has banned the creation of new drive-thru windows since 1979.”
“The scandal involving Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick shouldn’t blunt the city’s revitalization efforts or ability to make deals happen, a cross-section of business, political and academic leaders said Thursday. Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, said the mayor’s trouble did not in any way deter Quicken from proceeding “full steam ahead” with its plans to build a headquarters in downtown Detroit and relocate thousands of employees there.”
“This half a block in the 400 block of W. Baltimore St. is a critical piece for revitalization, a bridge between the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus to the west and the Hippodrome Theatre and Starbucks to the east. And so the city is pressing the university to put a planned student bookstore, to be managed by Barnes & Noble, at the northeast corner of Baltimore and Paca streets, a move officials hope will inject more energy and visibility to an area undergoing a slow transformation.”
“Mayor Nutter yesterday said he would enforce new city gun-control laws even without state authorization to do so - setting up a possible legal and political showdown between the state and the new mayor. At the first regular meeting of the new City Council yesterday, Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller introduced the same package of gun-control measures that languished last year while the state legislature refused to authorize them.But these bills have a new wrinkle - they don’t call for state-enabling legislation. The previous bills were conditional on companion state laws in recognition of a 1996 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that said cities could not enforce their own gun laws.”
Harlem’s Fightin’ Words
“With a tornado of change about to blow through 125th Street, a group of Harlem residents is fighting back. What they’re looking to stop is the city’s plan to rezone the central artery of the neighborhood to allow denser, taller buildings, which some fear will displace local businesses and long-time residents. “This document would do to us what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans,” said Craig Schley, executive director of VOTE People, a local advocacy group. “Harlem would be signing its own execution.”
BC Planning
Sat, Jan 26, 2008 at 3:30am
The Baltimore, Philadelphia and Harlem stories are particularly interesting to me. For Baltimore, Adding a university bookstore and creating a college town will hopefully inject life into the westside of Downtown which turns into a Ghostown past 7 pm.
For Philadelphia, I really dont know what to say for that one...something drastic needs to be done with crime but I dont theink what the mayor is proposing is the best idea. But then I have no soloutions to bring to reduce crime in the new feature.
I hope Harlem can still retain it’s historic character, economic development is always good but you dont want to promote it if it permanantly destoys the character to one of the most culturally rich neighborhoods in the country
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