the polder model

Posted this week at the Meet the Bloggers website was an entire two-hour interview with Hunter Morrison. A recent story on this site featured the video of the last ten minutes of the interview.

If you have the time one evening or weekend, please listen to it.

There are numerous statements thoughout the conversation which thread into the issues facing Youngstown and the region: no-growth sprawl, the power structure of Cleveland leadership, building consensus, learning best practices from other communities, sustainable development, how today's living density was affected by public health, the safety of the housing stock, and the joy of pierogies.

After listening to it all, I started thinking about the path dependency of a city.

Some might argue that in order to experience a great change and rebirth, a city first needs to decline to the point where has shaken off the old guard. That is, only through the departing of the steel industry and old-school corporate bosses, exiling the vestages of organized crime, and jailing corrupt politicians - that so little is left, except for the chance to begin anew.

That to live again, one must first die.

And the other bloggers from Cleveland during the interview seem to think that old-school mentality has not left their city, and is holding it back. Perhaps the same could be said of Youngstown, or that only a small percentage of the population here is ready to move forward, compared to other mentioned communities like Portland or Seattle whose aggregate sentiment of the population is one of pride, collaboration, and progress.

But not all the paths of a heavy industrial region need to recover in the same way, even if their historical paths are similar.

Mr. Morrison admitted to his amazement when 1,300 people showed up for the the first public Youngstown 2010 planning meeting, since about 200 to 300 were expected. The community just said, "enough, we're moving on" and became part of the planning process.

But this city is still no utopia because a bunch of people showed up one night.

There is much work to be done, and its progress is a process.

But the process has shown that engaging the community is extremely important, the lack of which may be creating future difficulities.

- - -

Inefficiency vs. Inclusivity.

When I first started working in good ol' Netherlands, a colleague wanted to impress upon me how the Dutch think, and how the Polder Model works in that country.

"so what the heck is the polder model?"

A polder is a space of low-lying land, usually surrounded by dikes. The Netherlands is pretty much like the Louisiana of Europe. A great number of rivers meet the North Sea there, and primarily the topology of the country was one giant flat and soggy delta.

But the people of that area continually engineered their landscape to make it more inhabitable. Canals were built, as were windmills to pump the water from one place and shift it to another. And thus, the land was reclaimed. Here's a picture from just outside the city of Rotterdam.


So as the saying goes, "god schiep de wereld, maar Nederlanders creëerden Nederland."

or "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."

As the country developed further, more and more land needed to be claimed from the sea and the swamps. So polders were constructed to begin the process of dehydrating more land. And we're not just talking about a farm here or there. Entire new regions in that country are now dry land where once it was not.


Connected to this development was the notion that many, many parties needed to come together to create the best solution. Not just the power brokers, and not just the politicians were needed, but also the farmers, the shippers, the railroads, and the public.

Whether you agree with this statement or not, it was descibed to me that the American process is more like "power pluralism", where only the business interests and the politicans come together and push their agendas through, without the consultation of all the other diverse stakeholders, even if they are less significant in size.

And so the polder model stresses that optimal solutions, which maybe not be efficiently reached in a short amount of time, come about when the opinions of everyone are included, eventually reaching a consensus.

- - -

Perhaps the polder aspect of the Youngstown 2010 preparation is what attracted all these people to it.

And perhaps the lack of input from all the diverse stakeholders is what's creating some of the problems for casino development in ohio, the reconfiguration of Federal Street in downtown Youngstown, and the extension of YSU's campus towards the central business district.

In all three cases, people feel (by fact or perception) that they have been shut out of the process: that casinos in Cleveland benefit only a small minority and not the entire region; that planning for federal street reconfiguration is heavy in engineering but lacks asthetic consideration and public input; and that not all the landowners were not properly consulted before as the university initiated its growth south.

For these projects, and for future ones, maybe the people with the plans should ask themselves, "have we incorporated the polder model enough to arrive at the best solution?"

It might serve as a good exercise every once and a while.


For if it's good for working to reclaim the sea, maybe it's good for reclaiming a downtown.

tacoed!

this is a story about a boy and his milk

and the bike that made it all possible on his day off

- - -

So an ATL buddy came into town this week en route to the World Cup in Germany. The plan was to bike around the region today. As the bike rental place is across town, we decided to try fitting one of us on the back of my bike bracket as many of the locals do.

Whhrrrrmppp. Needless to say, we the bike was tacoed in the first turn. Bummer. The Pink Pony is down. See the evidence:


I tried to straighten it out, but the result was a little too jenky. So now we needed two bikes to rent. No problem. A couple of euros later we hit the well maintained, numerous bike paths that weave through every city here. (note: I did not say “hit the streets with the car traffic”) Within 15 minutes we were out of the downtown and among the windmills and farmland, biking for about 3 hours from town to town.


At 1pm on the way back in, this dairy in the next town over opened for the day, so I visited it for the first time. Where I live is a city of 90,000 people. It is not a farm town. There are cities of 400,000 people and 600,000 people both 8 miles from our downtown. The density and planning are so remarkable though, that choose any direction and within a few minutes you will be in woods or fields with no traffic and fresh air.

The dairy was awesome. There was this huge faucet coming out of this mysterious wall that added to our bounty: one liter of unpasteurized whole milk, one liter of unpasteurized buttermilk, a 300g hunk of aged gouda cheese, some homemade butter, and some homemade yogurt. There was a line out the door when we left. In twenty-five minutes the goods were back in my refrigerator.


Ate lunch at home. Got some fresh baked bread and a smoked herring from the tri-weekly farmer’s market in the city, and washed them down with a frothy cold glass of milk. The milk was unbelievable. Like nothing I have ever tasted.


Set out for the late afternoon to evening ride. The next town over in the opposite direction has a series of houses with these crazy lawns. I wanted to both run through them and give this guy a trophy:


A couple of little towns later, hit the southern-most part of the trip. In this city of 15,000 they had all these roads blocked off for a jogging race - with spectators. And it was a Thursday.


Then biked 20km or so to the beach, weaving through cow pastures and greenhouses. Got to see the ferries arrive from England and got a little sunburned while lounging.


Two towns way from home at 9pm. Saw this church that was crazy slanted which must have been sinking as they built it. I’m not tilting my camera for this photo.


One town from home. Some locals were getting seated to their neighborhood pubs. One guy painted the outside of his entire bar in red, white, and blue stripes from roof to sidewalk. Another guy wrapped his whole building in orange.


Returned the bike at 10:25pm. Watched the sunset between the spires of the cathedrals. Didn’t stay long though, as there were live performances on stages throughout the city at this time. The festival is called “mooi weer spelen” which translates into “beautiful weather on stage” – sort of a summer-is-here-now-so-we-can-hang-outside event. 11:30pm on a Thursday. I see hundreds and hundreds of people walking about. Unreal.

I just don’t understand how they get all these people from all over the country to travel here for these bi-monthly multi-day festivals. Especially since nearby cities do their own events as well. From a tented jazz festival and mardi gras celebration (with floats) during one month to a theatre festival and party-on-the-canals celebration during another month. It can make your head explode.

today’s events have taught me a few things:

- small cities can flourish, and explode with creativity and amenities, when both willing organizers and an interested public step up to make things happen

- connectivity of urban transit and population density is entirely related to quality of life issues and happiness for a good chunk of a region’s inhabitants

- biking around 70 or 80 kilometers in one day makes your butt hurt

- a glass of really cold milk, fresh from a cow, makes it feel better

writings on the wall

I took a bike ride the other day to the nearby town of Leiden. They have done interesting things with the facades of some of their buildings. Stretched before me next to one storefront was an enormous three-story poem by e e cummings.









I thought this was really a simple, yet inventive way to add some art to an otherwise empty area. Here’s another one in Czech (?):


The other day outside the Mont-Royal metro stop in Montréal there was another such artwork, but this one was built into the brickwork of the building. Also very cool.


Would something like this be welcome in downtown Youngstown? Maybe in the courtyard of Cedar’s? or perhaps on the exposed brick in the parking lot next to the business incubator . . .

All we would need is a wall, some off-white paint, someone with steady hand that can cover some brickwork with two stories of words, and a poem to use.

We could hold a competition each year . . . one wall dedicated to an established poet, another to a local author, and another to a student from a local school district. Mix the young and the old. Mix poetry festivals with art downtown. The writings can change from year to year, creating an organic canvas that progresses through time.

let's start an International Neighbors Group in youngstown

A few weeks ago, I became a member of a little organization in town named the International Neighbors Group. It’s mainly composed of locals who are interested in meeting newcomers to town from other cultures. Some of the members meet every week for coffee and conversation; another bunch meets every week for crafts and cultural exchange. I’ve mainly stuck to monthly bigger events like road trips, and Dutch classes in volunteer’s homes. An individual is pretty much free to attend whatever one wants.

I’ve been especially happy with my Dutch classes recently, organized by a professor’s wife in the middle of the old town. Her house has stunning views of the four oldest churches and the main canal through town. Each week, five other students and myself sit around the table in her home as she prepares snacks and we talk in Dutch. Here is a picture of a recent snack, beschuit mit aardbei:


It’s basically a toasted piece of bread spread with butter, with sliced strawberries and grain sugar sprinkled on top. It’s a simple gesture to have snacks and tea in the afternoon, but one that has made a big impact to me, a virtual stranger in a new country. I think we should start this type of organization in Youngstown.

Who’s with me?

We tend to think of Youngstown State as a place attracting people only from the region, but that’s just not true. Many students from a variety of countries get their degrees here. This week when YSU has their spring commencement, they will present an honorary degree to the Undersecretary of Energy from Kuwait. His son will be graduating with a degree in chemical engineering.

It would be great to have an organization to welcome and assist new international students and immigrants in our community. Here are a few positive benefits this type of organization may provide:

- It’s helpful for arrivals from other countries to become oriented to our city and region. Small things such showing the location of ethnic markets, demonstrating how to use public transportation, and assisting newcomers with the paperwork that often comes with relocation may ease their transition to Youngstown.

- Organizing monthly events around the community, as well as around Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, may present newcomers with a sense of the cultural things we Youngstowners find important, plus provide economic support for local attractions. Students especially may enjoy this if they don’t own a car.

- Teaching English to newcomers, their spouses, and their children may supplement their already existing language skills.

- If strong connections are made with students, they may be more interested in becoming future employees or entrepreneurs in the region, adding to the knowledge-based economy and diversity.

- If engaged students instead decide to return home, they might have a greater understanding of our nation’s and region’s traditions and values, making them good ambassadors to others never to visit this country.

- Treating our international friends well now may encourage future investment in local businesses, future support of local tourism, and future lifelong friendships.

design in den haag

Well, the Spring Herring (Hollandse Nieuwe) have arrived! Say what?


About this time of year, the first boats return from the North Sea and their conents are believed to be the freshest and tastiest fish of the year. The recipe for one of these sammiches includes: one fresh baked broodje (small bun), one unskinned raw herring with the head and tail recently removed, a heaping of onions, and an adventurous spirit.

Walking around Den Haag, I took a few photos of designs that were interesting. Check out this one which is a street light embedded within the sculpture of a flower. Wouldn't a string of these look really good in a narrow street like Phelps between West Federal and Commerce?


And following up on a previous blog about signage, here is a directional sign with a tiny rendition of a native bird at the top. Very distinctive!


It just goes to show how little pieces of thoughtful design here and there can really liven up a place.

signage for the downtown

I think we need big, colorful, and clear signs at all the main offramps and prominent intersections near downtown. We are getting people from all over the region now to attend events, and due to decades of life away from our downtown, these folks need to know where to go. The signs need to look smart and have eye-catching colors like the following:


Each location could be color-coordinated for the section of the downtown it is located, or for a theme. For example, the Chevrolet Center would have a sky blue background, Mill Creek Park a pine green background, things on campus like the football stadium and the planetarium a rich red background, etc. Also some destinations such as the Children's Museum and the Steel Museum might get some additional advertising just by being part of the signage system.

I walked past the sign pictured below the other day in Maastricht. I like how there is an ornamental figure on the top. Maybe on our Youngstown signs, we can add a little sculpture with some local significance. Wouldn't it be cool to have a blue heron or some other majestic water bird on each one of these signs dotting the downtown?