Jessie X

Oh, dear. Well, I really do want this blog to be a collection of perspectives from my generation, but I’m bubbling with thoughts just now, so I’ll add some more of my own postings, hoping others will join me here soon.

OK, so I just read this great trail of 26 comments on a particular blogpost by Wordbones. One person commented thusly,

Columbia is very vibrant and much, much more than a suburb. Columbia has plenty to do, indoors and out, year round, including music, theatre, art, sports, dining, exercise, movies, bars, parks, trails, lakes, nature, clubs, shopping, libraries, activities of faith, festivals, learning, and community service. The list goes on and on.

For those claiming, like folks too lazy to see what’s to do “goshhh, there’s aaaabsolutely nothing to dooo”, that vibrancy doesn’t exist, give me a break. Maybe CA needs to, if one doesn’t already exist, publish a map just for the something-to-do-challenged.

Plenty of folks moved here accepting the planned balance between urban and open space. That some now want it to become more like a dense city shouldn’t make it so.

Guilty I most certainly was at the age of 13, whining, daily, I’m sure, that “There’s aaaabsolutely nothing to dooo.” But, see, I’m not 13 anymore, I’m no longer a Mall-rat, and I’m neither dependent on my parents for a ride nor on the Colum-Bus for its slow and winding ride to a destination to which I probably could have walked just as quickly. See, I’m not looking to fill up my calendar with social events. Nor am I in dire need of enriching my intellectual, cultural or physical self. I can take care of those things, as an adult. And, I do. In and around Columbia. I’m really quite fine in such realms.

There is, I agree fully with the commenter here, much to do in Columbia. Tons, actually. Columbia is, after all, an amenity-rich, activity-filled environment. I’ve chosen to live here as an adult, many times over. I’ve purchased a home here. I’ve built my business here. I’ve spent hundreds of hours of my time in the last 35 years being an active citizen, volunteer and all-around community builder. I love this town.

And I can’t stand that there’s “aaaabsolutely no place to goooooooooo.”

Of course, I can GO to the lake, or along one of the paths, for a walk, and I do, sometimes. Of course, I can go to cultural activities, and I do, sometimes. I can go to restaurants, theaters, movies, and I do, sometimes. But there is “aaaabsolutely no place to gooooooooo.” There is no one place that concurrently offers high pedestrian activity, busy business people going to and from meetings, strolling shoppers popping in and out of stores, or moms giggling with their little kids playing in the grass. There is no place in Columbia where I can — when I simply want (need) to, in the spur of the moment — plug into the human pulse of my community.

I CAN go out. I can be AT events where others are as well. But going out into a stream of people and connecting into a good vibe of people are wildly different phenomenon. (For those who don’t know me, — as I assume a good 89,012 of the 90,000 or so residents here don’t — I am hardly one that could be called a wall flower. (Ref. American City Girls, only as a more recent testament.) I am speaking here of A Place-Area-Section that has a vibe that holds its own, rather than scheduled events such as performances, classes and such.

I find that this “Density is bad / Leave Columbia as it is” attitude falls short, logically, for me. I see this view as both an inaccurate fear of what density means and an unwillingness to recognize the specific and unique value well-designed density provides. I, for one, am standing FOR a specific, planned, focused area in Columbia that has intentional, well-designed density because such density and planning creates a specific effect: an effect that I want to see manifest in my hometown.

As I see it, the discussion of density here is not about infill as much as it about creating a center of gravity for activity. It has to do with having A PLACE where people go when they want to “plug in.” Perhaps they “plug in” just by sitting by themselves and sipping a cup of coffee and reading or book, or fidgeting with their Blackberry. But there is “a place” … a zone … an area … a downtown. Even if that “downtown” ends up being some place other than “downtown.” What I’m wanting is a place that has a pulse.

In closing, says our commenter on Wordbones’ blog,

It would be very interesting to see a referendum on the matter of increased density. When’s the next CA election? They could certainly throw such a question on the ballot. That would certainly put to rest any false claims about which opinion reflects the majority.

Yes, my dear, it would, indeed.

Perspective by Jessie, who does, as a matter of fact, do things.

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Follow up: A conversation on another blog about Columbia and destinations. Check out the comments, too.