Building The City

[12th Doctor]

Actually, I nominate Pittsburgh circa 1950.  Certainly the on of the greatest experiments, and to date failures, of urban renewal... assuming you guys are still going that route, I have been out of the loop for a very long time.

You guys should probably just design your own city, though.  I think that idea had merit.

[12th Doctor]

Hmmm... I'm searching for that emoticon that is just a middle finger waving back and forth.

[12th Doctor]

An added dimension with Pittsburgh, of course, is the many established neighborhoods, and topography.  In terms of those neighborhoods, it is very easy to track their historical development, even if you aren't from the area.

[12th Doctor]

I'll call VI.  My idea for VI is that it sits at a crossroads for the city as a kind of "second business district" where a number of wealthy merchants and such live in a combination of modest mansions and townhouses, next to their businesses, or at least transportation to their businesses, if they happen to be downtown or in the manufacturing districts.  Does that mesh with your conception?

[12th Doctor]

For the most part, though, no too many uber-wealthy people live in VI... based on my conception... but many many people of considerable means.

[12th Doctor]

... Waiting for confirmation, Al.  If it meets will your approval, I'll have something drawn up quickly.

[12th Doctor]

VI - North Liberty

Most residents, if asked to identify the city's second downtown, would immediately point to North Liberty.  This neighborhood, which sits on an area of relatively flat land between the industrial lowlands, and residential highlands serves as meeting point for many of the main transit arteries of the city, and a central hub for the surrounding neighborhoods, both upper and lower class.

Here, expensive boutiques share storefronts with common shops, and people of all financial means shop side-by-side in the bustling business district, while sharing street cars to their jobs and homes.



This is a far cry from what you would have seen just a century ago.  In the 1850's, most of this land was taken up by the cow pastures that give it it's name ("Liberty" being an old term for a plot of commonly-held grazing land).  As small village existed at a cross roads in the area.  This began to change, however, when two of those cross roads were turned into turnpikes, and the sleepy area outside of the city controlled access within.  Inns and small stores popped up at the junction, followed by homes, department stores, and other developments.  The turnpikes were dissolved in 1899, but by then the small village was a booming center of commerce; which was then annexed by the city in 1908 (still a sore spot with some of the old time residents).

This history of late development has lent to the neighborhood's wide, sweeping streets, and relatively uncongested appearance.

St. George Parish, a beautiful, ornate church, rivaling the Cathedral itself, is a symbol of the community and source of local pride.

A few of the cities great financial and industrial kings own significant estates in the neighborhood, but for the most part, much of the housing is densely packed, though decidedly upper-scale row housing for the merchants who own businesses in the area.

Like much of the city, North Liberty was damaged during the war.  And though recovery was swift, the opportunity given by newly available land, the slow advance of urban decay, and the designs of urban planners leave the future of this neighborhood uncertain.

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On a side note, I based this neighborhood almost entire off of the neighborhood of East Liberty in Pittsburgh, which is a couple blocks from my apartment and was itself a victim of urban renewal, 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Liberty_%28Pittsburgh%29

[12th Doctor]

IC

Councilor Walsh:

For all the bickering going on here, we have barely advanced beyond the standard platitudes on any of these issues.

Councilors, while I too hope to see our city join with out neighbors in the future, as such an arrangement can only help to strengthen us all, we cannot do so until we get our own house in order.  There are still large areas of this city where essential services are wanting, at best, and where important social services are severely lacking.  The residents of this city, especially in the less fortunate districts, must have better access to educational services and other barometers of economic opportunity.  More importantly, we must find ways to provide better funding for these programs, lest we find ourselves trying in a mad dash to absorb our neighbors as a matter of survival.

As the only Liberal Party councilor, I dare say that I am the only member of this council who is prepared to see beyond the blustering and extremism of the two sides to bring real solutions, workable solutions to the important issues at hand.  While London has taken a more aggressive role in dealing with social ills in recent times that does not mean that we can merely abdicate our own responsibility, on our own end, to ensuring that those services are readily accessible to all our citizens.

We must improve the way we do business here, gentlemen.  Then we can talk about our relations with our neighbors.