sundown

I love walking through my neighborhood at sundown. These last few weeks I’ve found myself walking home, either from getting dinner, or going to the movies, or just strolling around while listening to music and trying to get some ideas, just as the sun goes down.

The other week I left the movies and walked the few blocks home. Just as the sun ducked behind the buildings, I grabbed a handful and kept it clenched in my fist until I got back to my apartment. Part of me really hoped that when I opened my fist I’d see a flash of light bounce around in the dark.

I’m sure the sunset is a lot prettier because of the smog, but the way the orange and gold light highlights the surfaces to the various buildings, erected in different decades and in different states of dilapidation, gentrification, revitalization, and all so packed with potential, it’s easy to see why I stay here.

Just as cities are always being rebuilt and renewed, so are we. Living in Roosevelt keep renewing my sense of creativity, exploration, curiosity and expression.

GOOD’s “Neighborhood Manifesto”

City slickers love telling everyone what neighborhoods they live in. It’s become a kind of shorthand for what sort of person they are, what they value, where they like to hang out. It makes sense: As small as the world has gotten, it’s still really big, and carving out a little piece of it that feels familiar and pride-worthy is a basic human urge.

But forget for a second where your apartment is, and think about the blocks that surround it, the guy one door down you’ve never spoken to, the people you mill around at the flea market or pass in the bike lane on your way to the grocery store. You probably have as much in common with them as you do with your friends, but you’ve never even met.

Now, if you’ve read my blog (TB3N) for any time now, you’ve seen me advocate for more lively neighborhoods more than once.  At it’s base, what they said above is 100% true.  We do tend of generalize people, even within our own community, based upon where they live.

Does your block have something to say about you?
Or do you have something to say about what your block really is?

The first step is getting out there and finding out the truth and seeing what you can do to be more involved.

The first step to building a better neighborhood is the step out your front door.

To read more from GOOD.is Guide, click here.

(This is Day 30 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge, be sure to check out the other participants at #30DayBC)

Re-Thinking Our Neighborhoods

Lately I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about urbanism, and the benefits of living in a vibrant neighborhood, and that is clearly in small part due to my surrounds and the benefits I reap all around me.

Today I came across an article where the author took it a step further and drew up a map of how to improve his neighborhood so that it was more connected and accessible.

Below are the before and after maps created by David Roberts.  To read the full details, click here.

This is a great concept, and clearly on that translates to our city very well.

How would you improve your neighborhood to make it better?

(This is Day 17 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge, be sure to check out the other participants at #30DayBC)