Concerned Citizens

Today I was having a conversation with a co-worker about some interesting things and the subject of community gardens came up. He’s a member of Gateway Church in San Antonio where they have established their own community garden behind the church. Apparently they are zoned in such a way they can raise poultry and possibly even a couple of milk cows. They also raise fruits and vegetables to provide for members and some of the staff of the church. It’s just another great example of a growing trend in community gardening and locavores where people are starting to redevelop the art of farming and growing food locally. So what’s stopping more people from joining this movement and is it a good thing? Read more…

Last night I met a friend from Austin who came down to explore the newly opened section of the San Antonio River. To explore the stretch to the fullest we decided to meet at the Pearl Brewery and ride the River Taxi down to the Riverwalk for dinner. That started what turned into quite a unique experience as we discovered and rediscovered parts of the river and downtown. My friend is originally from San Antonio and attended Central Catholic High School so riding through the new section brought back quite a few memories for him. It also brought back memories to me why many San Antonians avoid the Riverwalk during high tourist season. Finally we discovered that even the wildlife have adapted to the new stretch of river in a very unique way. Read more…

While I was scanning through some of my news sources I saw that the High Line in New York City had recently opened. This project is  reclamation of an old elevated rail line that ran through New York City and had fallen into neglect after the rail lines moved off the elevated track. Deconstructing it would have been an expensive venture. Instead, NYC took a different approach and created a green space running throughout the city, albeit above the city. It runs on Manhattan’s Westside through the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, and the West Railyards. The first phase recently opened and now provides residents and workers in that area a place to rest and relax. It’s a great example of urban core renewal. But is this an isolated project? Read more…

It’s finally official or at least after signing more papers than I can count it should be. I’m moving downtown after many years in the suburbs. After touring The Vistana, the new mid-rise across from Milam Park, I decided to take the plunge and become a true urban core resident. What better way to figure out how livable downtown really is than to experience it. The move doesn’t happen until mid-July but I’m already scoping things out to see how it will work. It’s also a chance for me to watch the growth of downtown firsthand as River North and many other developments happen in San Antonio’s inner city. So what would ever drive me to do such a thing? Well, I’ve written so much about downtown that maybe it’s time I joined the crowd. Read more…

Today I spent the morning wandering around the urban core of San Antonio. I contemplating moving downtown into The Vistana and decided to check things out some more while going through the application process. It’s a big move for someone like me who was born and raised in the rural area and suburbs of Arkansas and who has lived outside the loop my entire life in San Antonio. What I found was surprising and enlightening. The journey took me around the Market Square area, along the Museum Reach of the San Antonio River and ending up at the Pearl Brewery Farmer’s Market. San Antonio is at the verge of a renaissance of sorts, as my good friend Alan Weinkrantz likes to put it. Read more…

During the 2009 San Antonio mayoral campaign I was chatting with Julian Castro before our first virtual town hall about some of the things that might come up during the session. Of course we talked about the normal stuff like using Twitter to help connect with the people, Facebook and having more of the virtual town halls if he were elected. During the conversation he brought up a really cool idea I hadn’t thought about regarding the development of virtual neighborhoods. Just like using neighborhood association meetings as ways to connect and share information in the ‘hood why couldn’t we use social media to create a virtual neighborhood experience, not to replace the NA meetings but to supplement them. It’s actually a pretty cool idea if you think about it. Read more…

Saturday I took a trip up to Austin to have lunch with a friend of mine and spend the afternoon in his ‘hood just north of downtown around Lamar and Koenig. The neighborhood is full of World War II vintage bungaloos and is really a nice, quiet neighborhood. So what was the draw? The annual “Thing in the Park” festival (formerly known as the Violet Crown Festival). It was your typical neighborhood festival with food booths, art displays, community information and sack races. Huh? Yes, you read right. There were sack races with people really participating in the races in those good old feed sacks we remember growing up. While it may seem simple that festival really had a sense of neighborhood fun that we seem to be missing these days. Read more…