Bonus Blog (this is too cool not to share)

So today I've been doing some more research/digging for my policy paper...yes, I know that I'm a little behind...the point it, that I came across the website with tons of videos about different aspects of Austin that I did not know existed. The website is a partnership between KLRU-TV, The Downtown Austin Alliance, and Action Figure. These have aired on KLRU at some point over the years, so some of you may have seen a few of these before. I hadn't seen any of these before today, and it gives a great inside perspective to many aspects of the city. Check it out when you need something besides Facebook to procrastinate studio. You're welcome.

http://www.downtownaustintv.org/

Inspiring Change

The lecture we had on Monday discussed the revitalization going on in Mart, Texas, and the techniques for change that have been employed. Previously, we watched a video with Jason Roberts about some of the Better Block activities going on in Oak Cliff. 

What struck me most about the discussion we had in class on Monday was the simple and blunt question that Paula herself answered..."What makes Mart special?....Nothing." 

There is this level of disintegration and decay in numerous small towns across the country, and nothing specifically identifies Mart as a target except for the people who initiate the change. It got me thinking, and if you've read any of my previous blog posts about my home town of Vernon, you'd know that I've been thinking about how to revitalize the once booming now ghost town that I grew up in, and talking about it with some hometown friends. 

Theres a lot to do in making these places that hold so much value and meaning to generations of people that is overlooked by the current generation. From my observations growing up in Vernon, there is a desire for change, and a constant buzz of complaint about how things are, but there is little spark for these desired changes to come to fruition. It's almost as if the improvements that are initiated are dismissed by many people because they think that they will not work or will not last. Take the movie theater in Vernon for example. 

Back in the old days (or so my previous coffee shop customers would tell me) there were 3 or 4 movie theaters all in and around downtown, and going to the movies was THE event of the weekend for everyone. The Vernon Plaza Theater is the only remaining theater in town, and it has been opened and closed and reopened and closed more times than I can count. Most of the time that I was growing up in Vernon, my friends and I had to drive to either Wichita Falls, TX (55 miles) or Altus, OK (35 miles) to go to the movies. Yes, I said I went to Oklahoma voluntarily. That was before I was enlightened. 

Vernon in the 1910s

 

With the most recent reopening of the theater though, the people that reopened it really committed to improving the existing conditions and turning it into somewhere people actually wanted to be. This has probably been the biggest community improvement for Vernon in my lifetime. People are increasingly supportive as they see that the theater management is committed to lasting, but I imagine that the only reason it remains open is the financial backing of the management and their determination not to give up on the project. In a town like Vernon, there is no possible way that the theater is packed every night, so I'm skeptical of the monetary profit gained. However, the social profit and the ability to offer the kids of the community something PG (haha) to do is priceless for a lot of people.  

Vernon Plaza Theater

Not that this is the Better Block Vernon getting started, or the Vernon Community Project imitating Mart, but it's the people like this that instigate change, however small or large it is, that inspire more change to follow. 

Planning Discussions with a Non-Archie

The backstory:

• In a previous post I talked about some of the proposed community improvements of my hometown. They touched on a lot of important issues affecting the vitality of the community. 

• I have this friend named Brooke. She is also from Vernon, and went away to college and now works in Vienna. She eventually will move back to Vernon to take over her family's ranching business. Her musings of late are about how to make Vernon a more attractive and revitalized place for young people so that moving back will not be so unbearable. 

Her questions to me: How do we start? How can we change it? How do we jolt a sleepy small town into the current millennium and improve upon the town without disrespecting the embedded history of the area? It is very interesting to discuss these topics with someone disengaged from my architecture bubble, and actually apply the things we've talked about in class to a place that is close to my heart. Figuratively, of course. It was such a treat to have an thought out planning conversation about such an improvement project for our old stomping grounds. Our Skype catchup session quickly turned into a discussion about the order of things. Say, hypothetically, that we have the funding to initiate a huge community makeover. What happens first? 

Well, we thought about what draws people to small towns like Vernon: schools and jobs. 

SCHOOLS

First, we'd improve the school system so that academically the district was very well respected, the athletic program would draw a lot of rising athletes, and the best teachers would be attracted to being a part of such an exemplary school system. With a mother and two aunts in the school system, I'm very much aware that this is no easy feat. There's a lot of work to be done in that field to bring Vernon up to a level that people would move there for the excellence of education and extracurriculars. Then, we'd need something for the parents to do while their kids were in our exceptional schools. 

JOBS

 How do we bring in new industry to Vernon? Currently, agriculture is the leading industry, with many people also employed at the state hospital, the power plant, the Tyson food plant, and the guar processing plant. How do we bring in a new type of industry, or something more to create jobs for this influx of people? Technological companies. Manufacturing facilities. Factories. Mass production to create maximum jobs. That's what were were thinking. There's plenty of space in and around Vernon for large-scale plants or businesses....but what draws businesses to a small town like that? 

• price of acquiring land ----- super cheap, it's a small town in northwest Texas, not downtown Austin
• connectivity for transportation of goods ---- we're at the intersection of several highways, in the middle of the pentagon invisibly drawn between Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Lubbock, and Abilene. 
• employees ----- there are currently many people unemployed in Vernon, plus the tons of people that will come there to put their kids in a top notch public education program
• customer base-----hmm, well not so great unless it's a product or service targeted at people in the Texhoma region or agriculture of the area

So, in theory, Vernon's not a bad place for a big business like Apple or Kraft or General Electric or Ford...or ♥J.Crew♥ ...and if we devised an incentive for the company to make such a big move, it could kickstart a whole wave of improvements. 

AND THEN BOOM

Once the large corporation moves in, it provides a demand for smaller support businesses for those people, more housing, and a wider range of amenities like restaurants, bars, gyms, coffee shops, retail, entertainment, etc. And once these people start pumping their money into the community, that's when we can make the beautification improvements and design communities spaces to integrate the new with the old... Renovate the schools to implement new technologies in the classrooms. Build a new football stadium for the stellar athletic program and to attract playoff games and events to be held in Vernon. Reenergize the old downtown area and renew the connection to the old western trails...Spark more interest in the Summer's Last Blast event held there every year to showcase classic and custom cars and motorcycles...emphasize Vernon's awesome automotive mechanic skills and shops...

Other suggestions from Brooke include city-sponsered activities for kids after school or on weekends. Horseback riding, a new drive in theater, bowling alley, art center, yoga studio, dance studio, improved parklands, skate park, etc. Basically anything to keep them busy with something besides sex, drugs, and alcohol---reducing the teen pregnancy rate and drug-related crime rate. 

It was really interesting to discuss with a non-architecture or planning major about the planning development of our existing hometown.