Riverside/Scenic Bluff development
#1
Posted 11 April 2006 - 12:25 PM
Here's the link, but I'll post the whole article if yall want:
http://www.fwweekly....sp?article=3811
Voice & Guitars in Big Heaven
Elementary Music Specialist, FWISD
Texas Wesleyan 2015
Shaw-Clarke NA Alumna
#2
Posted 11 April 2006 - 01:20 PM
#3
Posted 11 April 2006 - 01:36 PM
AN
#4
Posted 11 April 2006 - 03:05 PM
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".
#5
Posted 11 April 2006 - 11:20 PM
#6
Posted 12 April 2006 - 12:55 PM
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).
#7
Posted 12 April 2006 - 11:14 PM
#8
Posted 13 April 2006 - 08:43 AM
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.
#9
Posted 13 April 2006 - 09:22 AM
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.
#10
Posted 13 April 2006 - 09:36 AM
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.
#11 ghughes
Posted 13 April 2006 - 12:41 PM
Our surrounding land to the north, west and southwest is of marginal value for grazing and close to zero for farming. Far to the south southeast we see some cotton and milo but our borders haven't gotten there yet. So the big ranchlands to the southwest and west are ripe for development just as the north has been. All they need is roads and water for development to work out there... plus jobs and people, of course.
Note that LA suburbs are extending to a two hour drive from the city center. The homes are affordable to more people out there but the gas prices are probably doing some pinching. What people are doing is minimizing capital investment and maximizing current expenditures. Not the way to wealth, unfortunately.
#12
Posted 13 April 2006 - 05:13 PM
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.
#13
Posted 14 April 2006 - 07:49 AM
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
#14
Posted 14 April 2006 - 11:35 AM
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.
#15
Posted 14 April 2006 - 12:57 PM
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.
#16
Posted 14 April 2006 - 03:29 PM
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