CitiWalker

Looks like there are some supports going up for the crown

Just saying that wording makes a difference in perception. Low income as opposed to poverty. Anyway we both love our city and I am happy that things are moving in a positive direction.

This all depends on what reporting agency you go by and what definitions of poverty you use. Based on your supplied information the study goes off of households that kids qualify for free lunch based on an income of less that 43k per year however, the range of what is considered middle income is varied by many reporting agencies. Therefore I can't say that this would be an accurate assessment. There is a difference between low income and poverty by the numbers. https://www.sapling.com/7481624/difference-income-families-poverty-families All I am saying is the word poverty does not seem like an accurate description of city schools and students. There are many kids that live in poverty in any city . But I would say more are borderline low income verses living in poverty.

Maggie Walker, Richmond Community, and Open High are public schools even though they are specialty schools. I don't know where you get the bit about most kids in the city live in poverty. Not true. One of my kids goes to Community High and the other graduated from the same school a couple of years ago. To even get to that point my kids had to go through the same system that you declare inept. There are good teachers and administrators still left in the city however, whenever someone talks about Richmond the same old stale argument seems to surface. Since all three of these schools are in the city and are outperforming all of the county high schools other than private schools one could reason that there is a reasonable expectation for a decent education in the city limits. I live in the city and enjoy a middle class income with a reasonably good job. All kids are not living in poverty. There are people who choose to live in the city for other reasons other than schools. The school system has it's share of problems but there are a lot of advantages to living in the city. Working in the industry I work in I know for a fact that a lot of people are relocating back into the city and there is a definite reversal of white flight in this region.

Looks like some height finally coming to the river front. I would have like to have seen 16 but I will take 14. Maybe this will encourage more height in Manchester in the future.

3/29/17 Looks like a 4 crane day today.

I am not a fan of building committees or historical preservation districts. I understand that there is a need for zoning to have continuity in developed areas. I also understand that these things have to do more with the politics of the majority of those being in power at a specific time. In the case of what is to be done on a reservation, that political power rest within the confines of the designated boarders. I don't think anyone has the right to tell them what to do with their land given the fact that the majority of their land was taken from them. Now the little land that is left to them is being debated by others who have in my opinion no right to decide what happens in that land. Unless they are doing something to poison the land via the water table or some sort of chemical in the air that would affect the health of others, it is hard to regulate what happens on the reservation. Historic districts and committees are about what a particular group feels is important to them. In our society the way it is structured no one is going to have total freedom to do what they want to do. You could only hope to have a minimum amount of restrictions. I am not in a home owners association because I feel that it is not somebody else's business to tell me what color my house should be or what to do with my house I spent my money on. Some things should be preserved based on history and architectural relevance, however in an urban environment it is not possible to preserve everything if you are going to have growth. Especially with a city like Richmond that is land locked by the counties ( which in my opinion was by political design) to maximize what land there is. We need regulations in regards to how our environment is developed. I would never argue that fact. However when we are talking about a Native American Reservation the same set of rules don't apply and in my opinion nor should they apply.

MY feeling is its their land, therefore they have the right to do what they want to do with it. Who is anyone to tell another group of people not to do what they want to do with what is rightfully theirs. People who do not want to patronize the casino if it comes about don't have to . Just my 2 cents.

You have managed to miss the entire point.

Yeah what you are saying is not totally true. Just like people travel from Richmond to DC, Va. Beach, and Charlottesville people will travel to see events of interest here. An arena would actually compliment a convention center. I think people miss the point of various parts working in conjunction. No one thing is going to create a magic bullet effect. As far as population. Green Bay is just about half the size of Richmond but has a successful pro football team. One of the biggest issues I have is people complaining there is nothing to do here and traveling and spending money in other cities but as soon as there is a push to create something positive here comes the negative vibes. Dont forget we have a metro area of 1.3 million....not huge...but not peanuts either. Oh by the way facilities matter a heck of a lot and that is the reason Charlottesville is getting decent concerts. We live in a world driven my perceptions. In order to be a destination instead of a stopover we need to have big time facilities.Simple as that

When I hear people say we don't need an arena my reply is " You must be joking right". I mean there is this thing called an amenity. People typically come to urban areas cities in particular because of what they offer. That big thing that attracts people is opportunity, variety and availability. People want jobs, a good education for their kids, decent housing, and here is the big one.....ENTERTAINMENT....Here is the common sense thought that may just throw some people a curve. I applaud having more residential units in the core city. Why? More residents mean more customers. Therefore if retail is going to grow downtown it will be good to have an established base of shoppers within walking distance. Here is another common sense thought. Regular folk such as myself love a variety of ways to be entertained whether it be inside or outside. Arenas are not just used for sporting events and concerts. They are used for graduations and different types of conventions as well as a variety of entertainment events. Every city....Every one...has had bad projects associated with them. There is no such thing as a guaranteed successful project. I applaud the mayor for attempting to move Richmond forward. For so many decades we have had conservative slow moving pieces in place. That is the reason why several southern cities have blown past us and put us in a catch up position. Richmond is finally moving in the right direction with forward thinking people in place. In short. Bring on the Housing. Bring on the arena!!!

11-20-17

Wow...very dull and boring looking....I'll pass...lol.

Lunch time view....10-27-17 Early morning 11-2-17

Today's pics 9/28/17

Todays pic. 9/18/17

This mornings view....8/28/17.

My view this morning...8/7/17...

My View today 7/19/17

My View today

Just another view.

What you are saying is called an assumption. All I am saying is I am educated, earn a great salary, pay my taxes,and support my city in many endeavors. Yes I grew up in one of the city's housing projects. Just because you are low on money does not mean you are destructive. No need to stereotype low income people is my point.

That was a dumb statement....not all low income people are the same...It irritates me when people look down on others because of income...

Richmond has a population density of 3525 people per sq mile....Henrico 1334 people per sq mile and Chesterfield 728 people per sq mile.....Henrico has 3.8 times as much land and Chesterfield 6.8 times as much land as Richmond (Only 62 sq miles) to include industry, retail, offices, entertainment, and residential use...The idea that you could take the existing surface lots and fill them with just two story structures to increase the population is not realistic...When you mention the bottom any new proposals for population increase utilize the idea of structures of 5 stories or above being of mixed use with retail on the bottom floors....just look at the recent construction within the past 5 years alone...Monroe Ward is already saturated and in fact the only way to add would to be to build up...In fact look at how even VCU has built housing in that area that is more that a mere two stories...my point is I love Richmond and I believe in preserving some of the integrity of the community to a certain degree...but when you talk about Jackson Ward in particular the authentic integrity of that community was destroyed in the 1950s when they carved I95 right through the heart of the community destroying countless of black owned homes and businesses....no one complained then...that densely populated business sector is never coming back...I think the Acronym NIMBY is used often around this board because in true Richmond fashion whenever there is a proposal to advance the city someone usually starts crying about how it is going to effect their view of the river or block their vision or something to that degree and then designs often get altered because of the complaints...People often say oh its ok...just not where I live...I have been living in this city for 50 years...my degree is in urban studies so I understand every ones point of view...I live in the city by choice because I love this city....The whole while people forget they live in an urban environment prone to change with limited space...I'm not just talking about several surface lots downtown I am talking about the overall design and functionality of the whole city...Cities were originally places where you could walk to wherever you needed to go to get food, conduct business, or just to be entertained....The reality is like it or not it is going to be increasingly necessary to build upward to spite what people think should happen...I'm not trying to be mean or anything but if people desire a lot of space and vistas to the river and beyond why move into a heavily populated environment and not understand that most cities become built upward...

Jackson Ward ....IS....downtown...smack in the very heart of the city...It is important to remember that we live in an urban area...with that being said have to be able to build up because we all know Richmond has no room for expansion....As someone who was born and raised here, one of the main things that has kept this city from reaching its full potential height wise and architecturally is the desire to make every nook and crany historic...I believe in preserving neighborhoods and design but hey....we live in a breathing dynamic city...This is not a living museum...we have to be amorphic and that means people have to be willing to compromise...too much NIMBY going on....There is room for preservation as well as growth but you cannot stagnate a city trying to hold on to the past....The Richmond of the Civil War era burned to the ground over 150 years ago...We live in a city...not the suburbs....