For Sure...

"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."

From the father of the interstate highway, Dwight Eisenhower, a prescient quote conveying the current condition of Seattle politics battling the replacement of the Highway 99 viaduct with a new tunnel.

Grid vs. Parcel

New York city 1861. Owners complained, but property values soared.

On the anniversary of the map that created New York City, this interesting piece in the New York Times, frustratingly over focuses design intentions on the grid, over the laying down of individual parcel boundaries. We like to believe, its the parcels in blocks, that create or mediate the perception of good or bad communities.

Unfortunately today, zoning and financial economies encourage parcel consolidation within the grid arguing efficiencies are only achived with scale. And the discords stem from mature neighborhoods introducing development over or on top of original platting efforts that are out of sink with the scale of those original parcels. Originally, defining parcels within the grid was the way to provide for multiple, individual (unique), people (stakeholders) to coexist. Today, more often, entire blocks are owned or controlled as one entity. Community can not be established solely block by block. There requires an ingrediant to be in between. Abutting constituents, stakeholders and even vacancy make up the solids and voids inherent in mature successful neighborhoods. Maybe its time to reconsider the block to parcel as an important mediator of community as much as the underlying grid. Time to get back to the future.

...Sign of the times, Denny Regrade, Seattle 1910.

Thank Heaven...

Whenever the Contrarian leaves for a road trip, his first stop always, is grabbing a good cup of coffee at a close by 7-ELEVEN (check specs in associated piece). Here, in the land of Starbucks, our tradition might be biased actuarially growing up on the Slurpee. But the piece in the Denver Post about buying the "Kool Aid", experiencing these ubiquitous shops just reinforces our decision.

This week the 40th anniversary at Starbucks produced a new nameless logo. Citing global recognition, they negated their previous worded brand graphic. We'll predict by the semicentennial they'll have drank the "Slurpee" and return to the named identity.

Spirit

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

I was struck hearing the Indian tradition that speaking about the recently deceased for a period of time was frowned upon as disturbing the newly transitioned spirit of the individual. The tragic death of John T. Williams and the ensuing coverage of the circumstances has created a paradox with tradition and the need to comprehend what occurred. As the city supports a tribute in the form of a totem pole, I wonder if such a totem located in front of an appropriate and acceptable police precinct as a needed reminder of the incident and whatever story told on the totem could be a positive message and memory of Mr. Williams and not disturb his sprit.