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20 Feb 08

Tear down a viaduct, and then the wars really begin - Crosscut Seattle -

LOL, this sounds like Victoria, BC, too...

www.crosscut.com/...and+then+the+wars+really+begin - Preview

crosscut redevelopment san_francisco seattle urban_renewal viaduct

Once the viaduct was demolished, part was replaced by a four-block boulevard for commute and local traffic. A small neighborhood park was built, and then it came time to award four empty lots along the route to architects and developers who submittied winning designs. Those lots are still empty.
What ensued is fairly typical of cities with many well-educated, articulate, and empowered citizens. Utopian demands. "Nobody's shy about gumming up the works if he doesn't get what he wants." High-minded guidelines that keep getting higher. All kinds of hard-to-mesh visions (quality architecture, affordable housing, restrictions on parking, ever-higher developer fees) that eventually produce stalemate, fleeing developers, and glorious mud-slinging opportunities between mayor and council.
- With the exception of "mud-slinging opportunities between mayor and council" (which we don't seem to get to similar degrees because of Canada's inherent "weak mayor" system vs the "strong mayor" system in place in many US cities), this sound exactly like Victoria... - on 2008-02-20
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- The mantra for the game in San Francisco, according to the reporter, is: "Always push for more, and never feel qualms about changing the rules." Gee, we could have told them that one.
  - - That's a mantra here, too, except we often don't even bother pushing for "more," if more means "fabulous." We'll push for mediocre, because even pushing that far is too far here... - on 2008-02-20
  - Oy, that's a viral mantra here, too... - on 2008-02-20
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