Skip to main content

Visionary

From the crazy ideas file at Village Green/Town², these Dome Houses made of polystyrene:

https://www.facebook.com/yooDesignStudio/videos/10154163980606044/

I say, make Gateway the final Columbia Village and make all the houses like this. With tons of walkability to shops and an appealing "around the Gateway" transit system. Let's do something really off-beat and quirky and fun. Downtown development is moving along all right, but nothing about it is anywhere near weird enough for me.

Well, actually, the plans for Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods were pretty darn visionary. Remember?

Funny thing, the people who strongly objected to these forward-thinking designs were folks who participated in Columbia visionary James Rouse's New American City. These were Pioneers in a new way of living. Does one get to a point in life when one clings to the old vision and rejects any kind of new vision? Is it inevitable?

Columbia is getting ready to celebrate its 50th birthday. I bought a commemorative brick to be a part of it all. (I was a little surprised that I didn't have to reveal how long I've lived here.) It looks like there is a kick-off event of some sort at the Mall on March 19th. Does anyone have a description of what will be happening? I've been enjoying the various retrospectives coming from the Columbia Archives and the articles by Len Lazarick.

On Earth Day, Merriweather Park will be dedicating the Chrysalis in Symphony Woods. That's Saturday, April 22nd. I bought a commemorative plank to celebrate that as well. (It was insanely easy to do, by the way.) I'm so excited to be at a Columbia event that's about looking forwards.

Don't get me wrong. I love history, and Columbia's is fascinating stuff. But the thought of participating in a new beginning for our town, one that combines nature and the arts and bringing people together to enjoy the community is spine-tingling stuff to me.

Every generation should get a chance to participate in some visionary decisions. It sparks the imagination, makes you think about what you believe in. Most of my own personal crazy ideas won't ever make it off the drawing board, but the willingness to consider Columbia from more than one particular vantage point is one I hope I'll be able to keep working on forever,

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...