The Unique, The Same, and The Ugly

The Pub
122

I moved here about 7 years ago, and my take on the things that stand out as Raleigh (But not somewhere else) are:

  • The Greenways. We really have a lot of those for our size. It is interesting that we don’t advertise/help more people/visitors use those.
  • The number of Tech jobs (IMO 90% of the reason for the areas growth)
  • The number of major universities in close proximity (part of that Tech Job part)
  • The state fair
  • The traffic not being that bad
  • I might also say low crime.
  • Festivals. We might be a festival city, but there seems to be a mixed bag of popular opinion on how it “closes down” downtown.

One brand that the city had, but I think has essentially lost over my time is that it was one of the few places in the US where things were on the upswing, but you could still find fairly affordable places near downtown. ITB under $200,000 is pretty much gone. We are still affordable comparatively overall, but the boat on walking and biking downtown from a place you own is sailing away for lots of income levels.

  • We should probably admit that a big brand of Raleigh is that the job market is good and the housing is not as expensive as the Northeast. That is the prime reason that lots of people move her.
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123

This was on strong towns today, thought it was a great piece on how to make a place attractive to walk through beyond just being dense, multi-use.

To all the folks with their eyes on the streets downtown - how well are our new developments achieving these goals?

3 Likes
124

That article got to me after a few key notes were omitted from a couple of examples…tall building A not causing problem…tall building was 500 yards away, so yeah. Tall Building B also not causing problem…well, the compass points and time of day will certainly affect your photo exhibit…maybe give us more than just a photo of noon, looking down a south facing street (not sure that’s the case, but one photo does not constitute ‘no problems here’). Sure, zoning tries to objectify things that are laced with tons of subjectivity. I think things like modern investment vehicles (REITS), deference to institutions (churches, the State, the County), missing transit options (OMG we need more parking!), general culture of an area (we are so beige…) and hype machines (OMG Glenwood! No wait…OMG Fayetteville St! No wait, OMG the Warehouse district!) are playing their various roles in missed opportunities for proper urbanity.

1 Like