I’m generally opposed to going anywhere that I can’t walk to from my house in downtown, but we made an expedition to Boxyard RTP last weekend to check it out. There are only a handful of things open so far, but it’s a pretty cool concept (and Lawrence Barbecue is delish). If RTP can do more of that and add some residential and mixed use, it could eventually be more than just a place to go to work.
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I agree 100% with this (though maybe this discussion should go to the RTP thread). I was put off by your first post, but I guess you could make them both work by saying that RTP is about to kill RTP; the new, mixed-use goals of RTP could thrive if the traditional business parks in RTP today become less popular.
Na’mean banh-mi is amazing! Especially the “Pig Mac” which is their banh-mi spin on a McDonald’s Big Mac - awesome concept and executed deliciously.
But with Crispy Banh-mi in Charlotte, let’s put it this way: I went there in 2019 after an event I was part of. I bought 1 sandwich. I took one bite. I don’t remember finishing the sandwich before I was in line again, and bought 2 more sandwiches. I ate one of them on the ride back home to Raleigh, with plans to save the 3rd one for lunch the next day. I ate the 3rd one as soon as I got home that evening.
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I feel Holly Springs might be able to give the RTP a run for their money with all the life science campuses/facilities announced out here. My wife and I recently moved out to the Apex/Holly Springs/New Hill area and I drive by the future Fujifilm campus every time we go into Holly Springs but there’s other signs for other future stuff too.
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level-headed logic is never the most fun to read but I wanted to chime in! rest assured that any future posts will be more entertaining for the forum…
Thanks! and thanks for the reply!
Happy to hear others aligned with elevating NC. And I couldn’t agree more on the importance of walkable neighborhoods to a city’s culture and development. One of, if not the driving reason my wife and I picked Oakwood/Person St area to live was the ability to interact with neighbors, frequent small businesses, access DT etc. We feel much more connected otherwise than I think we would if we chose an area where we were more dependent on a car. So, I guess my life choices underscore your point!
And I agree, it seems to be very fine line to manage neighborhood centricity and broader development - neighborhood focus innately focuses people on…the neighborhood and people develop their own notions of what it should or shouldn’t be. How that is managed and influenced is way above my pay grade
Looking forward to being a more active participant in the conversations and learning along the way.
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Thanks for the warm welcome!
Definitely agree that Raleigh as a city, and us as Raleighites?, can and should work to avoid developing in way that led to the traditional, car centric, sprawled American city. I was in no way advocating against pushing for public transit or denser walkable neighborhoods - I think very important. And I do want to point out, I don’t think I ever said sprawl or the like will ‘take over’ merely that it will manifest.
Sprawl is inherent in growth - it’s counterintuitive to think that it is not - otherwise every city ever developed would be uber-dense with no suburbs or adjacent towns. This is true regardless of transportation method. That doesn’t mean infill doesn’t occur concurrently or that the “re-densification” of previously abandoned/neglected areas doesn’t happen either. You bring up Tokyo, which is a great example of both…a huge sprawling megaloplis with great public transit and localized neighborhoods but also home to large ‘soulless’ corporate centers and commuters who spend hours on a train each way.
My original point was to just highlight that growth comes with changes, and some of the rhetoric seemed a little off base. I agree with you that we should be active in the community and advocate for growth in ways that we would like to see but acknowledge that not all of it will be.
You seem to have deep background in public/urban development - this is total hobby for me so excited to learn more and participate more in this community!.
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Raleigh > Charlotte. It’s a vibe thing. The irony is that Charlotte appears to be a better managed city. They are always trying to improve their city; moreso than Raleigh. But at its organic root, Raleigh is the better city. Of course it’s my opinion, which according to proverb, is worth about 2 cents. And I’m not a Charlotte hater. It just bores me for some reason.
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Wait is this the Raleigh vs CLT thread or the Bahn mi thread? Haha.
On the topic of city vibes, this made me think of how much my former home (San Francisco) has changed so much, for the worse IMHO. I still like to visit and it’s still a beautiful place (mostly) but a lot of what gave it character is gone and largely replaced with yuppiness. A victim of its own success in a way.
I can’t say I know CLT very well but it does strike as more corporate and a bit sterile from what I know of it.
But echoing what @DTRDU said, having multiple nice cities in this state is an overall benefit for everyone living here and I don’t see it as a zero sum game between Raleigh and CLT.
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Charlotte is a perfectly nice city; like many others on this forum I’ve spent lots of time there. I prefer Raleigh, but really can’t blame anyone for wanting to live in Charlotte either. It’s not productive to endlessly compare the two or just bash the other; we should be learning from them and vice-versa.
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I’d hate to mute this thread but I do want to mute the Raleigh vs Charlotte stuff. If I wanted that I’d hop over to city-data.com
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some cycling paths in and near Loveland and Mason OH along the Little Miami river. the bike path makes its way to the confluence of the Ohio and little Miami rivers just outside of Cincinnati
proper. many parks along the way and some historical markers
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if the sprawl so to speak could be tweaked with bike friendly links and connections…even if it wasnt all out bike infrastructure , just something that at least linked to safe paths or lanes to other parts of town’ i think many neighborhoods would benefit.
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Something a little off topic, but I’ve always told people one of the major reasons why I won’t move back to the west coast. The water is too cold.
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I had no idea there was such a discrepancy!
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I’m just going to drop this link. https://twitter.com/berkie1/status/1432826060001918981?s=21
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I love Raleigh and it’s sign ordinance, that allows our green natural beauty to be unobstructed. This was extremely forward thinking in the ‘80s and could never be allowed by the NC Legislature today. But a huge difference is untaxed properties such as all the State government and NCSU properties. All the bank towers in Charlotte bring in property taxes that we do not receive from Archdale-Legislative Building-Capitol etc. NCSU does not pay property taxes, but our neighbor to the west has a cash cow with Duke U. But our city has the best natural beauty (unobstructed).
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This is one of my favorite things about the east coast vs the west coast. Trips to the beach in NorCal are very different! Any extended time in the ocean requires a wet suit. And often when you’re hanging out on the beach you’re wearing a sweater lol. On the other hand the scenery is amazing.
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