My Place

Back again from a writing hiatus. Last month I completed the hardest semester of my college experience thus far. While the classes that I wrote about a few posts ago were certainly interesting and eye opening, they were also extremely time consuming. The good news is that the full class load gave me some great connections that should be helpful as I continue towards my goal of in interdisciplinary degree in urban design. (That title keeps changing as different advisors come on board, I'll keep you updated)

One bright spot has been my apartment. Although I have lived in a variety of great places throughout my time in Flint, this apartment has provided me with a true feeling of home. During my most stressful weeks, and scariest assignments, I have been able to make some tea, and chat with my roomate here in my little duplex on Mason street. I was also able to havea lot of fun decorating the space. Perhaps my interest in urban planning is connected with my interest in design in general. When you think of it, planning a room, or an apartment is quite similar to planning a neighborhood or city. I like to concentrate on views, on flows, and on making beautiful (and affordable!) spaces. This isn't a blog about my interior designing, but perhaps a few photos of my apartment may give my lovely readers a little insight into my aesthetic, and into what downtown living can look like!

A Model Student Model

I had the opportunity to visit Detroit today, to attend a lecture at Wayne State university on the topic of "Eds and Meds" and their impact on the urban condition. "Eds and Meds," if you are unfamiliar, stands for "Education and Medical" and the lecture discussed how traditional industries have been replaced by colleges and hospitals in many of our nations center cities. One of the speakers was Omar Blaik, a former vice president of the University of Pennsylvania who spearheaded a 2 billion (yes, with a b) redevelopment effort in that university's host neighborhood of West Philadelphia.

Several months back, I asked the question; "why are so many people attracted to the idea of a 'college town' atmosphere in Flint?" It seems that this desire, in varying degrees, is present for communities around the country. I would venture to say that few people would categorize Detroit as a college town, but the community is taking steps to take advantage of the collegiate population by promoting the benefits associated with "college towns"

An interesting trend that I have noticed, is that many of these benefits associated with "college towns" are simply the benefits of urban living. Things like cultural institutions, independent retail, and nightlife, all accessible by foot. Could it be that our common psyche has become so removed from .... that the only time many of us have experienced those benefits were in actual college towns, where students had to walk from their housing to their needs? If this is the case, we are grossly misunderstanding the reasons for the that type of community interaction. Students living in traditional college towns don't walk because they are students, they walk because they are A) poor, and B) live in close proximity to their needs. Surrounding businesses also flourish because of their proximity to walking students. It is a lot easier to see a shop's window displays, hear a bar's live acts, or smell a cafè's speciality when you are not buzzing by at 35 mph, but walking by on your way back from class.

So, why can't these principles be applied to a non-collegiate population? I find it strange that so many bank on the idea that the typically broke college student is the magic key to unlocking economic success. By simply creating (or preserving) environments that encourage their behaviors, most populations could contribute to the turn-around.

Again, don't get me wrong, I am absolutely all for encouraging student life and accommodation in Flint, but while such a fuss is made over students (myself included) huge sectors of the city could be waiting to live the same lifestyles.

Art Again

I have been scouring the internet, looking for articles for my classes. While most have dealt with the histories of various local structures, I have also had the luck of stumbling upon other reports and narratives of people's time spent here.

One such find was a blog entry entitled The Flint Ecological Urbanism Project which outlined an effort to draw inspiration from Flint's past, present, and future and allow artists to instal perform original works in the city.

This reminded me of last summer's discussion about public art in Flint. Since that discussion, the University of Michigan Flint installed a statue of Ghandi in Willson Park, and a good friend of mine put some color in Riverbank park. What do you think?

Eeeek!

So...most bloggers will admit to have experienced one or more long hiatus shortly after beginning their blog. So I guess I get a free pass right?

Sorry about that!

If I do happen to have anyone still paying attention to me, let me fill you in on a few things/excuses which have contributed to my lack of time spent in the blogosphere

Since we last chatted I finished up my year of volunteer service though AmeriCorps, moved to a swanky apartment, and started back up in school.

AmeriCorps was an incredible experience, it gave me a glimpse into the neighborhoods and peoples of Flint that I never knew existed. It took me from being blindly optimistic to grounded and aware of some of the struggles which occur everyday in the lives of normal citizens.

My year with AmeriCorps prevented me from being enrolled at the University of Michigan - Flint, so with that out of the way, I quickly signed up for classes with the intention of forming an I.D.S. (Inter Disciplinary Studies) degree which focuses on urban design. My first semester back provided slim pickings in regard to class options, so I decided to focus my attention on gaining anthropological perspectives. I feel like it was a good decision.

It is my thought that the responsible development of urban areas is going to be key in our planet's future. Unfortunately, as it stands now, ideas about urbanism, and what cities are extremely varied, even within similar communities. What makes a person from one part of the county feel uncomfortable, even scared about the idea of entering Flint, and another excited? What does city living mean to someone living on Pasadena? In a downtown loft? On the East Side, or in the College and Cultural district? By gaining a better understanding of these points of view I feel that we will be able to understand how our communities need to adapt.

After the first semester of this mindset came and went with some great successes, I was able to find some remarkable courses which fit perfectly into my desired program. This semester I am taking an "Urban History" course, which focuses on the development of American cities between colonization and today. In this course we have already had great discussions on race/gender/class relations in urban contexts and the relationship between the urban and the rural. In addition to that I am taking a course on "Urban and Regional Land Use Planning" as well as another course on "Walking, Biking, and Sustainable Transportation." These courses would actually make a very impressive lineup if we had a formal urban design program. I wonder how long it will be before U of M connects the dots.

School has been challenging, but a bright spot in the past few months has been my move into a swanky new place. I recently moved back to Carriage Town, into a restored duplex. I am sure I will be posting some pictures soon. But for now, here is a photo of my super awesome mid-century modern thrift store finds!

Being in Carriage Town is great, I really appreciate being able to walk to school, to coffee, to a grocery store, to all of the downtown business. I also appreciate that it has a character of its own, distinct from downtown, or from campus. I feel like in the future, that character will only become more distinctive. Because of this walkability I have challenged myself to never use my car to get to campus. I must admit that the past week has been pretty chilly. But I have managed.

Anyway, this was more of an apologetic post than anything. With all of these great courses I am taking this semester, and a few exciting prospective projects that may be heading my way in the near future, I hope to get back into the groove of regular postings. Let me know if there is anything interesting going on!

10

As one may have guessed from reading this blog, I have a problem....I spend too much time on Mlive.

I recently read a post on an MLive forum which praised the organizers of Back to the Bricks. This was, of course, followed by several comments from other users who spewed negative thoughts about the city. I fought the urges, I tried to look away...but I just couldn't keep myself from writing a short note of my own, explaining that I rather enjoy being a young person in the City of Flint, and made the following statement:

"It was wonderful to see so many people, even if just for the weekend, see the beauty that I see in the city every day."

This was, of course, followed by several comments from other users who spewed negative thoughts about the city. Including this one, by the opinionated "Tampabbay99"

"Name ten beautiful things about that dump!!! "

Again, I had to hold back the urge to simply spew some words of my own. But then I thought about the right way to respond. What were 10 things that I found beautiful about Flint. I now have 10 followers, so someone must be able to assist me in this quest.

I know that responding to an MLive comment is often either like preaching to a choir...or like talking to a chalkboard, but a big piece of me wants to tell Mrs. Tampabbay ten things that she might see next time she graces my community with her presence.


So what is it? Could you name 10 beautiful things about this dump?

Good news, music lovers!

I don't know if was an attempt at musical synergy, or the result of poor communication, but this weekend downtown will host both the 29th Annual Flint Jazz Festival and the 2nd Annual Flint Blues Festival. The Jazz Festival has held a long established place in the "Flint Parade of Festivals" and will take place in Riverbank Park today, tomorrow, and Sunday. The Blues Festival will take place only on Saturday in the cultural center.

I have been to Jazz Festival many times in the past, and I have always enjoyed relaxing by the river while listening to some pretty impressive acts (and wondering how they managed to get a grand piano over the canals and onto the ampitheatre stage.) This event is free, and there are usually plenty of street vendors nearby if you don't want to miss a single strum of the bass while grabbing a bite to eat.

I did not, however manage to make it to the Blues Festival last year, however it does have the hefty sponsorship of The C.S. Mott Foundation and Budweiser. Tickets are 15 dollars "at the door" but the whole event is a scholorship fundraiser for the Valley Academy. There also seems to be an accompanying downtown pub crawl on Saturday evening.

As downtown gears up for the heavy onset of August weekend visitors, a little music might be just what we need.

For more information on the acts and on the fesivals themselves, use the links at the top of the post, and happy listening!

A Quest for Public Art

Overflow parking, by artist Blue Sky, is among the most recognizable pieces of public art Downtown. (I won't even get into the discussion on "parking as art")

As I have mentioned before, It was the arts community that initially attracted me to downtown. When standing outside of "The Local" I would stare at the city surrounding me and realize how false the clichés used by my peers to describe Flint really were.

The arts bring a lot of people downtown. Second Friday ArtWalks have been gaining momentum for years, the nearby cultural center has been an artistic draw for decades and it is rare to find a weekend where there aren't at least a few live shows happening at various venues downtown. This is not all that unusual, as center cities are often the hub of the local arts culture. One component often found in such hubs is public art ( often traditionally thought of as large scale, outdoor sculptures, murals etc.) Public art can be, and often is very symbolic of the community in which it is displayed. Pieces such as Chicago's "bean" Detroit's "Spirit of Detroit" and Ann Arbor's "Cube" have all become adored icons of their respective cities. It was with this in mind that I began to wonder.."Where and what is Flint's public art?" and "What do these pieces mean to our community?"

"The Big Gay Thumbprint" as it is affectionatly known as on campus, is a large scale, outdoor sculpture on the U of M Flint campus. However its placement in a courtyard, away from the street prevents most off campus traffic from enjoying it.

A walk through the grounds of the University of Michigan Flint will take you past a small collection of sculptures and of course the nearby F.I.A. proudly features many large scale works on their grounds. These pieces don't feel....public to me though, as you have to physically enter the grounds of the institutions to view them, instead of simply encountering them when turning a corner on your morning commute. So where is Flint's public art?

Our community does have its own collection of public work. The tongue-in-cheek "Overflow Parking" mural on the side of the Flint Journal building is a beloved downtown icon, however, the majority of public art seems to be concentrated on the grounds of various downtown institutions instead of the parks, sidewalks, and storefronts where they are traditionally installed. Riverbank park once claimed to be home to the "world's longest mural" however after years of defacement, the city simply covered the work with beige paint. Riverbank park also was home to a small collection of impressive sculptures. However, after the largest of the pieces toppled over from a gust of wind a few months after the park opened, several other pieces were removed from the park, leaving only two; a small steel piece in the amphitheatre block, and a statue of Casimir Pulaski tucked away in the trees of the Archimedes Screw block. So what does the fact that much of our public art has either been removed or hidden from casual view say about our communities commitment to such art?

Interestingly, there was community uproar when MTA manager Robert Foy used federal grants to install several pieces throughout their various facilities, including two outdoor sculptures at the downtown station (although most of the upset seemed to come from the fact that the majority of the work was placed inside the administration building where the public could not easily enjoy it.)

This also could open up a discussion about what actually counts as public art. The Vernors Mural, and the Saginaw Street Arches are both artistic and symbols of Flint as a whole, but were originally installed with much more utilitarian purposes. Some may consider such places as the "waterwalls" or the "Grand Fountain" at riverbank park to be public art, and the role of guerrilla street art has been gaining momentum in Flint and worldwide. Overall, public art adds color, whimsy, beauty, and fun to the public realm. However, the importance of such characteristics to our community can only be decided by us.

Works like this dot the downtown street scape, and certainly add to the character of our city center. Do you consider this public art?

What do you think? Do you feel that public art plays an important enough role in the urban landscape to encourage, even demand a continued devotion to it in downtown Flint? What are your favorite pieces locally or elsewhere?