Kevin Fox Gotham

Went to see Kevin Fox Gotham at Rockhurst last night. Had to read his book, Race, Real Estate and Uneven Development for a couple different classes for Urban Studies over the years. It's a fabulous book and a must-read for anyone who cares about the development of the Kansas City MSA and its role in the segregation and racial degradation that continues to exist in our city today. But having read his book, attending an event that was geared towards an academic audience, and having basic knowledge of the choices and practices of the real estate industry over the years - such as redlining and blockbusting, which are virtual stars in his book - I was kinda disappointed in the content of his lecture. I have copious notes from the event, and I believe that as long as there are still issues that continue today - somebody better be talking about them - but come on, give us something to think about. Bring something new to the table.
He could have started by saying that the first step to erasing the legacy of state- sanctioned racial segregation is to overcome the 'great hurdles' of eradicating Racially Restrictive Covenants on people's property. I don't get what is so hard about this. I have a lot to learn about deeds, covenants, ownership, etc - I understand that. But houses are bought and sold every day with property rights attached to them - are we saying that these are not ammendable? Are we saying that there is no way around changing such a horrible, hurtful, and degrading choice of a man 75, 100 years ago. Or are we saying it's just not worth it? Shelley vs. Kraemer made these restrictions unenforcible 60 years ago. That changed a whole culture. I just want to change a couple words. And if there are still bigoted bitter home-owners that want to keep these words of hate and intolerance in their land - I want them to have to fight for it.
He did say that the big challenge is to get people to look at our problems of uneven development and segregation of schools as a metropolitan issue rather than a localized, 'urban' problem. He said that all cities in the metro need a housing policy - so that affordable housing, and problems associated with providing it and dispersing it, become that of the whole MSA and not just the already-struggling inner city. He did say that we must be environmentally and ecologically responsible in our development. He did say that people have gotten around illegal racial segregation by holding on the the sanctioned class segregation that is upheld in the suburbs. He said good things. He always has. There was just nothing new.
But I must say it was a damn good book report - and he looked good delivering it. I'd see it again. But would rather a sequel than a re-run. Maybe I'll have to go to New Orleans to get his new shit. Anyone up for a road trip?

My argument against Pragmatism

I just got in a fight (okay, heated discussion . . . okay, not even really a discussion) with my favorite professor this semester. Not just this semester I guess, but someone I hold in high regard, someone that has opened new opportunity and knowledge to me and someone who has shaped what my future plans are (at least what my future plans are presently =).
I was in Environmental Justice and my professor, Boris Ricks, was discussing planners' responsibilities in making ethical decisions in regards to the siting of waste disposal plants and other environmental hazards. Which I was totally in line with until he then proceeded to say that we had to be aware that planners and developers are the same in the fact that all they saw was '$' (he drew it on the board). Wherein I interjected, quite passionately - I might add, that planners are not developers. Then, the enviable Professor Ricks resorted to telling me that he is an expert on urban politics, is highly lauded in his research, blah bity blah blah, and that we can just agree to disagree.
I have to start this out by saying I have a grossly out of whack distaste and mistrust of real estate developers. I've never walked away from meeting one, or reading about one or hearing one speak and thought, 'wow - they're really out to do something for the community.' Some of them do really great, cool, wonderful things for the community - but it's just a side effect of their project, or a reflection of its profitability.
I got interested in planning because it blended many of my passions together . . . design, math, community, people, sustainability, and politics. The product of a planners project is a city block, a living community, a neighborhood improvement district, a park, a mixed use development, a thriving downtown. That's what they do - they create it, they make it feasible, they model it, they measure it, they map it.
The product of a developers project is a pro forma, a successful tax credit application, agreeable debt service coverage, positive cash flow. That's what they do - they envision it, they schmooze the banks, they create the spreadsheets, they screw the neighbors, and they HIRE it out.
It's the difference between Raymond Braswell and Kevin Klinkenberg, the difference between profitability and responsibility, the difference between redevelopment and renewal, the difference between condominiums and affordable housing, the difference between community and company; hard to separate fully, but there are choices and outcomes and purpose that act as hard distinctions between the two. Neither one better than the other - but definitely different.
Or maybe I'm just green and naively optimistic that you can put doing good over doing well - and still come out on top.

Urban Art

Okay - so for one of my classes we had to say what urban meant to us by telling a movie, tv show, book or song that described how we felt about 'urban.' (That was a really bad sentence, but I'm tired and don't feel like fixing it.) My answers were "You Suck: A Love Story" by Christopher Moore - because when you've been turned into a vampire and you're trying to go unnoticed while searching out a cure in the city, you realize how many people abound and how involved in other peoples' lives you really are. My second choice was "Honey" with Jessica Alba - a dance teacher at an inner city community center making it big and bringing it back to her peeps - Urban Extreme!! My final choice was "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega - it always made me think of the big city when I would hear it growing up . . . you couldn't really observe things happening outside a diner in suburbia - it would just be a lot of people walking in from the parking lot.

So yeah, what movie, book, television show or song defines your outlook of the urban?

Kansas City Community Centers

I went to the Parks and Recreation office the other day to try to get some information on programs running in the summer, the new Swope Community Center, and the diving team for Elle. Now I didn't expect to pick up a comprehensive guide of the city's offerings like Blue Valley recreation department or the Jewish Community Center, I'm not upset that there is not a website like they have in Boston or even Detroit, and I didn't even expect a call back within 3 days from anyone for whom I've left messages . . . But when I did walk into the main office of a major municipal center that has a dedicated department with some nice parks, 2 fabulous golf courses (one appears in Gone Mild today), 2 great conservation centers - Discovery Center (okay, so that's a MO facility and not KC . . .) and Lakeside Nature Center, a brand new amazing water park, a state of the art 47,000 square foot center to be opening soon, another center dedicated to ice-skating and archeology, and summer camp programs that are unmatched by many in the city for price and quality, I thought there would be someone excited to talk to little ole me - a citizen interested in what they have to offer - especially during July, National Parks and Recreation Month!! But the receptionist seemed to be perplexed why I would be walking in to find out information (because the website kinda sucks, because people don't answer my calls, because I always wondered what was in these ugly buildings across from the zoo . . . ) and then slightly annoyed when I asked to whom I should inquire about my different missions and then pointed me to a wall where there were information fliers in a little display - a lot out of date, and most no more informative than what I could find on the web. I did learn about Free Fridays at the Community Centers last week and Free Swim Parties that are still going on and I got all the information one could want about the walking tours of Kansas City, if anyone is interested . . . - so the trip wasn't totally for naught. . .
But I just don't get why cities and communities don't spend more time on their community centers - they spend a lot of money building them, they hire a load of people to fill the offices and make some great programs - but it never comes up as an important part of planning or community development, or even a significant asset to tout. I remember introducing myself in my first urban planning class and announcing that my interest was in urban community centers and making them just that - the centers of the community - in order to spur economic development, a sense of place, neighborhood responsibility, trusted networks for growth . . . and just got blank stares. Well, where else was I supposed to go - it is the planners who map out development, who create ideas of space, who form the function of a city. With Public Administration, I can hope to bring back focus to the most elementary of city departments - the recreation center, the family center, the wellness center, the Community Center, and with my law degree maybe I can enact legislation that says you must give a shit about this. Right?
The school issue comes up when kids turn 5 in my neighborhood - people leave to go to the suburbs or pay for private school or home school their children. Elle will go to school in the KCMO district - that's not my issue. But I cringe everytime I think, 'wow, wish I lived in leawood so I could be close to all the cool things they offer there . . . ' Cool things are happening here - there's just too much politicking with the Board and not enough effort or support or importance put into the places that have the potential to trump the school issue for a lot of families out there. Give them a reason to stay and a way to show suburbia that we can do it better - or at least just as good. I mean - we can, right?

Please ignore

Okay, without saying exactly where I work - 'cause I don't want you to all bombard the place with tomatoes or leave messages on my voicemail to shut up, or avoid the place completely (or send me flowers, either - that would just be embarassing) - I work in a quasi-community center on a quasi-busy street with quasi-cool people. I love my job. I get to develop programs to get kids involved in their community, their own health and wellness and the other people in the center. I went back to school so that I could get my MPA and maybe run a community center one day myself. It's important to me. I grew up taking dance, baton, cheerleading - name any other girly-activity, I was there! - at the recreation center in our town in suburban Orlando. I went on to a professional dance school and then after my first attempt at college, went on to dance professionally. I always thought I wanted to own a dance studio. But after many attempts at business plans that didn't have an element of subsidizing tuition, or peer counseling programs for teenagers, or added programming for kids that arent' interested in dance - or for the parents who are waiting for their kids, I realized a while ago that it was not a dance studio (well, not a 'Come to my studio where I'll teach your kid how to gyrate in skimpy costumes and make other kids feel they're not good enough because they can't afford my ungodly tuition' kind of studio, at least) but a place for everyone to be together and persue the dreams that they have - not push my own on the unassuming. I own a summer camp program for girls that I can't make money on because I have too much fun spending money on making it the coolest camp ever! I have about 15 business plans in the works for 20 different kinds of ventres that I know would be successful - as long as I dont have access to the check book. I have an entreprenurial brain - and a philanthropic heart. No good.
That's why law school is such a good choice for me. Number one, I'm a dork and need to be challenged and yelled at and unsure of myself. Number two, I'll meet a lot of people who may make a lot of money one day and that I can guilt into supporting my hare-brained ideas and/or sub-adopting one of my causes. Number three, because I will have a marketable skill to help organizations set themselves at a better advantage in the community as well as financially. Number four, I need something to take up threatening free time. Number five - did I mention that I was a dork?
Anyway, just needed a little vention (another new word for today . . .) Head hurts. Must sleep.

My first real post

The Metro Denver EDC has a 5-year economic development program with 6 initiatives (National Marketing, Tax Reform, Mobility, Existing Business, the Airport, and Special) that guide decisions and policy. Indianapolis has 5 high points it plans to use to attract businesses to their city (Low cost of doing business, strong incentives, business-friendly climate, central location, high quality of life). Atlanta has 7 major goals to achieve its major priorites of significant urban growth, new development and improved quality of life for its citizens. Charlotte, NC, has a vision to be the most prosperous and livable city for all citizens through quality economic development, and a mission to partner with internal and external organizations, within a Smart Growth framework, to retain and expand existing businesses, provide tools and resources to promote small business development, to promote development and investment along business and transit corridors, to attract new business investment and jobs and ensure that a diverse population participates in economic opportunities. Orlando highlights what businesses are offered in their city - Diverse Spectrum of industries, world's fastest growing Airports, world-class telcom infrastrucure, enviable quality of life, young workforce, industry-focused educations syste, competitive pro-business climate. And Portland, OR, (my favorite) has a vision to be a catalyst for positive change in the creation of a world-clas 21st century city; a city in which economic prosperity, quality housing and employment opportunities are available to all. Their mission is to bring together resources to achieve Portland's vision of a diverse, sustainable community with healthy neighborhoods, a vibrant central city, a strong regional economy, and quality jobs and housing for all.
Framework, fellows, that's what they have. That is what Kansas City lacks. There is no vision. There is no mission. Just a whole lot of fucking incentives. You can't just take those away, either. You see our competition up there? They are providing businesses - and their residents - with a whole lot of promise. That's how you get companies to stay AFTER their incentives expire, that's how you get homeowners to invest in their neighborhoods, that's how you build communities.
Mission statements and core values seem to be a bunch of corporate mumbo-jumbo, but they work. They give you something with which to align your decisions. They also require responsibilty - of every employee, but most importantly the executives and management. I work for 2 corporations - 1 publicly traded, and 1 not-for-profit. I know that as long as I am guided by the missions of the companies, I can stand up for everything that I want to do and everything that I see is going wrong. Don't have me memorize a 50-word sentence warm fuzzies and fluff and then tell me profit is what matters! I am empowered by a mission that I believe in and am inspired to carry that out. Imagine if we had that with our city. We know that economic development is supported by big companies, as well as small ones, so we don't throw a fit when some people get incentives that seem a little too much like CEOs on welfare, b/c we know it's important. BUT then we also know that vibrant neighborhoods and safe streets are a goal as well - so if they're getting their tax breaks, we'd better be getting our roads fixed and our grants to improve facades and streetscapes. And if we're not - we say, bitches (not really, but I'm tired - and I curse when I'm tired) - give us our shit. And we have a framework to fall back on. Not just hope we get the right people in office to make these things happen. There's too much bs for them to do.
So I'm putting it on us. The citizens of Kansas City. What is your vision for the city? What would your mission statement be? What would your 5 guiding principles be? What 5 goals would you set for YOUR Kansas City? Please, if you read this whole thing - just leave me a comment. Because I'm going to submit mine, but as my fellow neighbors - I'd like to live in a city that we ALL love. In some way or another at least.