15 replies to this topic

[McHand]

Did anyone read this Fort Worth Weekly article? It raises some relavent points about neighborhoods and commercial development.

Here's the link, but I'll post the whole article if yall want:

http://www.fwweekly....sp?article=3811

[cberen1]

Don't post it. That's the longest article I've read in a long time.

[AndyN]

I enjoyed the article, but it did seem a little repetitive at times.

AN

[ochona]

Definitely repetitive. That being said: the development on Race St is the best news I've heard about Riverside in a while. I've always thought that area had an incredible amount of potential.

When I was in HS I used to run over in Riverside and Oakhurst (side note: I've probably thrown up on Smilax Lane more than any other human being on earth) and it was the kind of neighborhood I wanted to live in "when I grew up".

That some area residents are against it...I'm not surprised, and to be sure there is a certain charm about areas like Yucca Ave west of Sylvania and Riverside near Carter-Riverside HS. But downzoning will not cure gentrification...not by a long shot. It only drives down supply -- does nothing to demand. Indeed, it makes the area more "exclusive" and "sought-after".

[joeqpublix]

I just finished reading the article. As one who lived there for a short time during high school (Carter-Riverside) and might consider moving back (close to my downtown job), I would love to smack the obstructionist members of that neighborhood group. Here are business owners taking a risk to improve that area, and I lived on Maurice street, so I know it well, and people have no vision for the future. I, for one, am tired of far-flung suburbs stretching past TMS, and find denser living near the city core to be more beneficial to the area and wish people would return to the cities from the lifeless burbs. It seems that these dinosaurs don't see that their property value would increase, being more beneficial to them as well as many lower income home owners in the area. This kind of development can only be good. C'mon, there are 6 million people in the DFW area. How long can we keep expanding the burbs?

[ochona]

i second that. our family went to church at st george's and i spent lots of time over there. riverside is the best-kept secret in DFW to be sure. problem is, secrets eventually get told. better to guide the development than to just rail against it.

what is unfortunate in DFW is that there really aren't any natural growth boundaries and so it will take an extra amount of effort to kill the blob. even houston has the gulf of mexico to stop it.

(although i just now got a great new idea for a super-exclusive subdivision called "the arbor canals at venetian heritage oceanside manor" which involves oil derricks, fake gondolas, and lots and lots of drywall--opening spring 2008 just south of galveston).

[joeqpublix]

I don't support artificial development boundaries (ala Portland) but one would think that people might not want to drive over 60 miles each way to get to work. The problem with this area is that, for me at least, most of the IT jobs are in North Dallas and I don't want any part of that area, so I was lucky to land a job in Fort Worth. This means that, because of job relocation, people are driving all over the metroplex, just to stay employed. On a sidenote, does anyone know of any rumblings of ever developing along the banks of the Trinity due east of downtown, between 121 and 1-30?

[FWillustrator]

C'mon, there are 6 million people in the DFW area. How long can we keep expanding the burbs?

It's not as bad as LA...yet. People are going to have to make a fundemental shift in values toward morally responsible land use and belief in community ("gated" and "community" don't belong in the same sentence together) before they give up their matchstick mansions and 2-acre ranches. I think anyone making a decision to revitalize an area like this is generally doing right by the people.

[cberen1]

How long can we keep expanding the burbs?

I think $3.00 gas might start to influence the equation. It will just take a while to become action. First, people have to decide that $3.00 gas is not temporary. Then they can only really take action by moving, changing jobs (geographically) or buying a more efficient car. All of those things take time, maybe years.

A good friend of mine just moved to Grapevine because communting from Plano to DTFW was costing her a fortune. It took her a year and a half to make the move. 55 miles each way, 6 days a week. That's around $100 per week in gas. Wow.

I think Toronto is an interesting example of a city that built up without a natural barrier to expansion. My friends in Toronto tell me that basically the farm land that surrounds the city is too valuable to develop. I have some trouble believing that, but maybe it's true.

[FWillustrator]

Cberen,

I think you're dead on about the gas thing - or perhaps some other motivation like FEAR - that's probably what it'll take to change people's minds about living in the burbs. What was I thinking when I mentioned "moral" responsibility???

The mention of Toronto is interesting - only other place I've spent any significant amount time is Germany. Everyday I got up and left the village to go to a construction site I was amazed at how the the village actually stopped at the official boundary, and there was nothing but green pastures until you came to the next village. No access-road development either - just the Autobahn and miles of natural beauty wizzing by. Germany, however, does keep it all under tight control vs. natural economic factors.

Of course neither ordinance nor economic incentive are exactly moral motives either.

[joeqpublix]

C'mon, there are 6 million people in the DFW area. How long can we keep expanding the burbs?

It's not as bad as LA...yet. People are going to have to make a fundemental shift in values toward morally responsible land use and belief in community ("gated" and "community" don't belong in the same sentence together) before they give up their matchstick mansions and 2-acre ranches. I think anyone making a decision to revitalize an area like this is generally doing right by the people.

As for the moral responsibility, when I was looking at homes in the medical district, all I heard from my mother-in-law was how unsafe that area is. That thinking drives me nuts. Yes, there are areas I wouldn't live in, but this area wasn't that bad, and another stable family can do nothing but help out the value of an area. In my experience, the areas that are the worst have the highest percentage of renters (like your area of south Arlington, mother-in-law). Besides, those cookie cutter homes she keeps looking at moving into (from her current cookie cutter), make me want to vomit. The only thing I don't like in Fort Worth are some of the teachers there, and we have run across some bad ones.

[FWillustrator]

As for the moral responsibility, when I was looking at homes in the medical district, all I heard from my mother-in-law was how unsafe that area is. That thinking drives me nuts.

That's exactly what I got from my parents when my wife and I bought our house on the eastside - yeah not everyone here looks the same, drives the same car, or votes according to the same issues - but I wouldn't trade my awesome neighbors (who I actually talk to and befriend) and my 1949 clay-block house for anything. We really made it a decision to be inside the loop, close to downtown, and not listen to the whimpering fears of others. I think one of the things that subconsciously attracted my wife and me to the property was the absence of a proper fence enclosing it. We have all sorts of stragglers passing through - neighbors kids, stray cats, racoons. We really like that sort of openess, and that only comes with embracing the reality of your surroundings and dealing with them instead of putting your head in the sand.

"Those who have no fence around their land have no enemies" - Burundi Proverb

[Stadtplan]

As for the moral responsibility, when I was looking at homes in the medical district, all I heard from my mother-in-law was how unsafe that area is. That thinking drives me nuts.

That's exactly what I got from my parents when my wife and I bought our house on the eastside - yeah not everyone here looks the same, drives the same car, or votes according to the same issues - but I wouldn't trade my awesome neighbors (who I actually talk to and befriend) and my 1949 clay-block house for anything. We really made it a decision to be inside the loop, close to downtown, and not listen to the whimpering fears of others. I think one of the things that subconsciously attracted my wife and me to the property was the absence of a proper fence enclosing it. We have all sorts of stragglers passing through - neighbors kids, stray cats, racoons. We really like that sort of openess, and that only comes with embracing the reality of your surroundings and dealing with them instead of putting your head in the sand.

"Those who have no fence around their land have no enemies" - Burundi Proverb

Not to negate your comments about fences, but when I lived in that area, I thought it would have been nice to have a sound barrier along 121. I know that's part of living in the city, but a wall, more trees or other less obvious ways to deflect and absorb traffic noise could make a big difference.

One of Riverside's biggest assets is its proximity to downtown. There are many areas that do not have the same potential for greatness that Riverside has. I find it interesting to compare how 50-80 year old houses in Riverside age compared to 15-20 year old houses in the suburbs. The housing industry now tends to lack a longterm perspective for home aging and focuses on selling the buyer only for the "here and now." One example is the use of privacy fencing and how an unmaintained fence can rapidly age and affect the overall appearance of a property and a neighborhood.

[FWillustrator]

Not to negate your comments about fences, but when I lived in that area, I thought it would have been nice to have a sound barrier along 121.

Well...I'm not sure you lived in quite the same area I do...actually I'm sure you didn't...maybe I didn't make my point very clear. Sound barriers and privacy fences are two completely different things (and BTW trees won't do much to stop the low frequency rumble of highways). My point is change is inevtiable. If you try to hold on to something real hard, you'll undoubtedly lose it. That's what fences are for - they preserve an ideal (privacy, security, etc.). Put up a fence and someone will trangress your ideal for certain. Accept that change is coming, and you're suddenly prepared to handle the situation in a skillful and positive manner. That's the advice I'd impart to Scenic Bluff residents.

[ochona]

In Haltom City we could hear 121 a mile away. If you take "noise" and add the word "white" it's not so bad.