The Deleted Scenes - New and Old #155
Readers: Beginning this Monday and running till the end of Sunday, I’ll be offering a 20 percent discount for new subscribers, to mark the third anniversary of The Deleted Scenes! I’ll also be running longer, fuller pieces. Be sure to check them out, and please consider signing up or upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading! Urban Renewal in Norfolk, Alex Marshall, September 24, 2007
I often wonder whether urban renewal was really psychologically tied to World War II—whether the notion that we “rewarded” ourselves with suburbia is really true, such that had the war not happened, we would not have broken with our urban past so sharply. Marshall also illustrates what I often argue, that pre-war/pre-car American cities were in important respects indistinguishable from “European urbanism.” Up until we rewrote urban development in the midcentury, a city was a city pretty much anywhere in the world.
Norfolk, a small city in Virginia’s tidewater region, isn’t particularly famous, at least not for anything to do with cities per se—it’s probably best known for its shipbuilding facility—but it has this distinction: “Norfolk was first to take advantage of the 1949 Federal Housing Act, which paid 80 percent of urban renewal and gave cities new legal powers to take private property….After the war, Norfolk was the first city in the country to have an urban renewal plan approved under the new Federal Housing Act.” Read the whole thing. And here is a shocking thread on Twitter with a bunch of before-and-after photos of “urban renewal in Norfolk.” Here’s the thing about all of this: you might think, “Well, that’s sad, but Norfolk was no Old Town Alexandria, after all.” But Old Town Alexandria was no Old Town Alexandria at the nadir of American cities; in fact, Old Town was viewed as slummy and deteriorated and was very nearly bulldozed in the same era. We can only speculate how many more lovely historic cities America would have if we had simply let them alone until the tide of investment and curiosity turned back in their favor.
It’s true that there’s a missing bridge to some extent between real estate professionals and builders on the one hand, and urbanists on the other. Of course there’s a fair bit of overlap, but it’s absolutely right that financing is a huge and separate element from zoning, parking, etc. It’s also true that this acts as a barrier to entry for small developers, which is part of why so much new development is big, bland, and boring. Which is part of why people don’t like new development. Which is part of why… This is a long and fairly technical piece, so read that or skip that if you like. Here I’m going to pull a bit from towards the end, on why this actually matters:
This idea that developers being locally based is important is something I’ve heard before, especially in small towns where people have a strong sense of place and local pride, and view big developers as “outsiders.” I agree we need to make more room in the marketplace for the small and local, and this piece explains the how and why very well. Vulgarity as Virtue: On the decline of Edinburgh, City Journal, Theodore Dalrymple, Winter 2024 I used to read Theodore Dalrymple (the pen name of prison doctor and British conservative writer Anthony Daniels) in college. I always liked his upmarket cultural conservatism: there was always a sense of humor and a hint of self-deprecation, always an element of intellectual humility, that perhaps all of this is just an aging man’s frustration with the modern world and not a rigid set of doctrines or prescriptions (so to speak). I don’t agree with all of his opinions, but I find his opinions to be the most articulate and sophisticated of the (still alive) right-wingers I’ve read. Here’s an example of his rather understated humor. Commenting on what he sees as the downward-filtering trashiness of modern British culture, he writes:
And this bit also made me nod my head. He was commenting on an establishment called “Kick Ass Cafe,” which, he notes, is not only vulgar but—perhaps worse?—an American rather than a British phrase:
I’ve noticed this too—all of these crude, mostly sexual, plays on words in business names. I don’t care for it. I can think of a few I’ve seen over the years myself: a UPS Store clone called Ship Happens; a pet grooming shop called Doggie Style; a flower stall at a festival called Peony’s Envy; and my favorite (which is to say my least favorite): a mercifully short-lived pizzeria with the both undignified and unfunny name Cheesus Crust. I don’t go as far as Dalrymple; heck, he’s suggested in one column or another that he even thinks rock music is unrefined. But I kind of admire the square old fogey attitude, and I see a little bit of it in myself. I wouldn’t adopt this whole politics myself, but I think it’s an essential worldview to exist in the public square.
Well, that’s disgusting, and you hardly have to be “woke” or particularly culturally sensitive to conclude that. I actually don’t know what Fan’s ultimate argument is, because I couldn’t get through the article. You’re allowed to like what you like and be comfortable with what you’re comfortable with, which is not the same thing as being judgmental. One of the psychological things about diversity and pluralism in general is that it require you to grasp that what feels like an absolute truth to you most likely is just a preference. I think for some people, simply knowing that different people with different beliefs and preferences exist can weaken your sense of yourself—your confidence in what you know or think you know. This is one reason some people don’t like cities, or immigration, or what have you. There can be a comfort in uniformity, or conformity. My mother, who grew up in diverse, bustling New York City, likes to say “To each their own.” Seconded. Related Reading: Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only piece, plus full access to the archive: over 900 pieces and growing. And you’ll help ensure more like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
That Damned Elusive Parking Spot
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Also a coffee shop bathroom, and not knowing what we really want ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
That Damned Elusive Parking Spot
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Also a coffee shop bathroom, and not knowing what we really want ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Hook, Line, and Sinker
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #155 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
A Sparkling Future
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Give Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia time to grow. Plus underground! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Does Anyone Like Suburbia?
Monday, March 25, 2024
How do we know which choices indicate a preference? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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