Posted on November - 10 - 2010
Memphis needs to be more livable to be more competitive, urban experts say
Brad Watkins of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center discusses how to fight blight during a workshop at Livable Memphis’ fourth annual Summit for Neighborhood Leaders.
Vancouver has lowered its carbon emissions to below 1990 levels while increasing jobs 18 percent, the Canadian city’s deputy city manager told 100 leaders from 20 Memphis neighborhoods last weekend.
Arguably the most appealing city on the planet in which to live — The Economist magazine ranks Vancouver No.1 for livability — Vancouver has grown 27 percent in population despite cutting its climate-warming emissions, keynote speaker Sadhu Johnston said at Livable Memphis’ fourth annual Summit for Neighborhood Leaders.
Johnston’s core message: Going green “makes cities more competitive.”
His presentation was part of an information buffet provided to participants from neighborhoods that include Frayser, Hickory Hill, Balmoral, Annesdale Park, Normal Station, Richland Acres, Cooper-Young, Whitehaven, Sherwood Forest, Cordova, Downtown, South Memphis, Glenview-Edgewood Manor, Evergreen Historic District, Park-Moor, Vollintine- Evergreen and South Main.
The breakout sessions included topics on how to fight urban blight; how to ride bikes more safely in Memphis; preservation of old street signs, brick streets, grand old subdivision entrances, historic medians, granite curbs and other old infrastructure; safe school routes; getting teens and youths involved in community associations; creating walkable neighborhood centers; and green parenting.
Make a neighborhood safe, comfortable and filled with most everything needed (groceries, schools, parks, shopping, etc.) for two kinds of the most vulnerable residents and it becomes a great place for everyone, said Sarah Newstok, program director for Livable Memphis.
“If you can make a place livable and accessible for seniors and children, then everyone in between can access it,” she said.
Vancouver’s Johnston told the gathering that “there’s great work happening in Memphis” to make the city more livable.
But several times he pointed out something he noticed on his first visit here.
“Some of the streets I’ve seen here are really wide, and don’t feel that inviting to ride bikes across,” Johnston said.
The car is now the last transportation priority in Vancouver, which narrows roads to create room for bike lanes and for slowing traffic. Pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation are given more weight in Vancouver.
As a result, from 1994 to 2004, cycling there increased 100 percent and walking by 44 percent, Johnston said, adding, “Biking is not only for the spandex-wearing crowd.”
In Memphis, among the best examples of livable neighborhoods are Harbor Town, Cooper-Young and the Hope VI developments that include the new Legends Park on Poplar near Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, John Lawrence told the neighborhood leaders. He is an economic, community and Downtown development consultant.
Midtown’s Cooper-Young, for example, has unremarkable houses but “good bones” for a walkable community that include a solid street grid, parks, schools, churches and neighborhood center of businesses.
The changes in house values over a recent, 10-year period show Cooper-Young’s values rising 32 percent, compared to Collierville, 23 percent; Germantown, 17 percent; Millington, 11 percent; Arlington, 11 percent; Bartlett, 8 percent; and Memphis as a whole, 3 percent, Lawrence said.
He projected a photograph of an ice cream shop — surrounded by parking lots and devoid of sidewalks — on suburban Germantown Parkway and remarked, “If you wanted to walk to Baskin-Robbins, you can’t.”
Vancouver’s Johnston ended his presentation with a doctored photograph. It showed green plants instead of cement sliding down the chute of a cement truck.
“Whoever invents a truck like this is going to be a billionaire,” Johnston said.
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