The Great Downtown Migration is Happening

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I just read an article that hit on so many real-life issues affecting so many of us, that I had to put up a blog post about it. Journalist and new urbanist, Alan Ehrenhalt published an article that every rural resident, suburban and city dweller should read. The rising cost of fuel, changing demographics, our focus on the environment and our changing life and work priorities are making the old suburban/downtown model outdated and ineffective.

If you care about those factors in our lives that can make a real difference in our businesses, the education of our children, community safety and the quality of our life we seek I think you’ll enjoy Ehrenhalt’s article. Here is an excerpt:

For several decades now, cities in the United States have wished for a “24/7″ downtown, a place where people live as well as work and keep the streets busy, interesting and safe at all times of day. This is what urbanist Jane Jacobs preached in the 1960s, and it has long since become the accepted goal of urban planners. Only when significant numbers of people lived downtown, planners believed, could central cities regain their historic role as magnets for culture and as a source of identity and pride for the metropolitan areas they served.

Now that’s starting to happen, fueled by the changing mores of the young and by soaring gasoline prices. In many of its urbanized regions, an America that seemed destined for ever-increasing individualization and sprawl is experimenting with new versions of community and sociability.

Why has demographic inversion begun? For one thing, the deindustrialization of the central city, for all the tragic human dislocations it caused, has eliminated many of the things that made affluent people want to move away from it. Nothing much is manufactured downtown anymore (or anywhere near it), and that means the noise and grime that prevailed for most of the 20th century have gone away.

Urban historian Robert Bruegmann goes so far as to claim that deindustrialization has, on the whole, been good for downtowns because it has permitted so many opportunities for creative reuse of the buildings.

I wouldn’t go quite that far, and, given the massive job losses of recent years, I doubt most residents of Detroit would, either. But it is true that the environmental factors that made middle-class people leave the central city for streetcar suburbs in the 1900s and for station-wagon suburbs in the 1950s do not apply anymore.

Read the whole article here.

Tags: City Life, Featured, Alan Ehrenhalt, cities, downtown, new urbanist

Demand for Gas At a Five Year Low in the U.S.

It has finally happened.  The high cost of fuel and a tanking economy has caused Americans to make significant changes in how we regard and use fuel.

Ron Planting an analyst with Washington-based American Petroleum Institute told Bloomberg.com that “We’re driving less, using more public transportation and buying more fuel-efficient vehicles.” He adds: “There are people combining trips.  There’s no limit to the creativity that people will apply to how to save some fuel.”

The Internet will have had its part to play in making it easier for consumers to pick up tips on how to save at the gas pump and in their daily lives.   Sites like Susanne Myer’s Hillbilly Housewife which attracts over 300,000 visitors a month, shares all kinds of common sense, frugal living tips that consumers are craving.

Here at New Urban Mom we’ve been promoting the buy local mantra for a while.  My friend over at Terra Not Terror offers almost daily tips on the newest energy saving practices and products that can not only save you money but help to save the environment.

More good news - if you’re a new urbanist who has decided to try to work closer to home (or at home) or if you’re just trying to build up your local community or urban center to be a thriving and sustainable place for residents and visitors, then this is encouraging news during a pretty tense time.

More and more people are looking at where they live a little differently now.  Fuel dependency can make us feel powerless…but not anymore, not when we know there are actions we can take to reduce our usage (buy local, work locally, etc.).

In June Americans scaled back their driving by almost five per cent in response to rising fuel prices.   We are  experiencing the biggest six-month drop in U.S. petroleum demand in 26 years.

Pretty amazing.

Tags: Featured, Green Living, buy local, new urbanist, petroleum, rising fuel prices

Model City for Healthy Living - Manhattan

On August 9 the big apple took on some responsibility for pushing the green agenda and new urbanism by banning cars along seven miles of streets through the heart of the city.

This is part of the city’s Summer Streets program.  Feedback from pedestrians (including a video) was provided on the Cool Town Studios website - I’ve pasted one of the responses below:

The general interest as we can see is that people want to take over the streets.  People want to have fun, and people want to meet out as equals, and this creates a sense of belonging, and this is what makes New York the greatest city in the world.

As someone who grew up in a “popular” big city and then lived in a number of not so popular mid west cities, this is so good to hear.  During my first year living just outside Cleveland I asked a colleague at my suburban office location for directions to Playhouse Square–a well known, historic theater in the city.  She looked at me like I had horns on my head and told me she had no idea as she hadn’t been downtown in 10 or 15 years (her suburban home is about 30 minutes from the city). She added (with emphasis):

Why would you want to go downtown - it’s frightening down there.

The only way to make our cities less “frightening” and more welcoming is to encourage more people to go into their cities…to socialize…to learn new things….to be entertained…to live.

Re-introducing suburbanites and our rural cousins to the wonderful sites, buildings and creative corners of “their” cities is one of the best ways to enhance our regions and improve the safety and viability of urban centers in America. This is difficult to do if cities are places only seen as a blur or a place to avoid by large segments of our vital populations.

Our regions and our country depend on the health and success of the children, teens, adults, poets, single parents, construction laborers, doctors, businesses and so many others who call our cities home.  Thank you New York for using your leverage as a high profile city to promote healthy city living.

Tags: City Life, Featured, city living, community, Manhattan, new urbanist

New Urbanism and Web 2.0

It occurred to me today that the reasons why more and more people are choosing new urbanism as the kind of community they want to live in is for much the same reasons why so many people are attracted to social media and web 2.0 technology.

We are social beings. We try our best to build barriers between one another but before long we eventually break them down.

In the 1950’s we built suburbs 30 miles from where we worked on the belief that our happiness was linked to driving big cars, mall shopping and lawn care.  The “people” factor was secondary.

Today we recognize how much richer, “greener” and satisfying our communities can be without long commutes. We’re rediscovering the joy of shopping locally for food and supplies.  Working and socializing in our community is not something to fear but something that can really enhance our lives - socially and financially.

Finding ways to attract more employers to our communities is now becoming a full-time community effort as we recognize that the sustainability of our communities depends on the social and commercial mix of our neighborhoods.

Community building is at the heart of new urbanism which is why I couldn’t wait to get a copy of a new publication called Instructions from the Cook: Recipes for New Conversations.  This book by George Nemeth and Jack Ricchiuto (two individuals you can follow on Twitter) looks at how “conversations” between people can build community and eliminate the misunderstandings that can cause fragmentation.

If you haven’t joined Twitter you should. Twitter is one of those web 2.0 technologies enabling conversations between people and nurturing a great mix of commercial and social chat. It’s the “virtual water cooler” for many who work at home and others as well.  The popularity of Twitter and a number of discussion forums on the web is rooted in the fact that real, breathing people want to share their thoughts, ideas, humor and fear with other real people everyday.

We congratulate each other on the birth of children and share condolences at the loss of a loved ones.  Thousands (if not millions) of people connect in this way regularly, almost without fail.  This is, IMO, a truly awesome concept and development in our modern lives.

We’ve found a way to make “cold, unfeeling techonlogy” very touchy feely much like we’ve done with our communities.  From the ‘burbs to new ‘urbs we’re rediscovering the gift and impact of conversation outside of our protected circles and the appreciation of being in community with each other.

Tags: Featured, New Urbanism, community, conversation, new urbanism, Twitter

August Contest - Mom Works Inc.

**UPDATE** - We have a winner!  The winner was selected using the services of Random.org…congratulations to Katja Presnal.  If you didn’t win this time, try again there is another contest for September

At New Urban Mom we’re all about building strong communities and that’s why I’m thrilled about the sponsor for our August contest! Mom Works Inc. is an online retail shop that celebrates the positive roles moms play in both raising children and building communities or organizations as entrepreneurs. The company name “Mom Works” is a play on that concept - mom works in and outside the home and our world is better for it!

So to inspire you in your efforts to make your community a more eco-friendly, social hub for living and work, we’re giving away great gifts in August courtesy of our generous sponsor, Mom Works Inc.

The giveway package includes: a tote bag containing the tee, a bumper sticker, Mom Works pen and post-its plus a water bottle.

To enter August’s contest simply add a comment below explaining why you want to win the Mom Works package! UPDATE: This contest is open to all including those living outside the U.S.

Many thanks to Mom Works Inc. and good luck!

Tags: Contest, Featured, career business, mom CEO, mom works, moms work

The Leisureville Alarm - Meet the Author

Last week I reviewed nationally acclaimed and New York Times reviewed book, Leisureville. In today’s podcast I have an interview with the book’s author Andrew Blechman.

A former Los Angeles Times reporter, Andrew Blechman conducted the most in-depth research into the retirement community boom in America. These aren’t just small, benign communities dotting the landscape here and there…some will approach over 100,000 and they are big business for developers. One more thing…children are not allowed (not without special permission and a pass and they better not be there beyond 30 days over the course of the YEAR).

Most importantly we have to ask what message will this leave for the youth of today and tomorrow? How will they feel to be excluded in this way and what will that mean for us as we grow old? Will they continue to support our pension and old age benefits system?

This is a podcast for everyone to listen to and as Andrew points out, especially moms!

Tags: Featured, Podcast, Community, Leisureville, Moms, New York Times