Uptown's "Clash of Cultures"

I've been going over the Uptown Small Area Plan, a wonderful and comprehensive document produced after many, many hours of meetings, discussions, interviews, research, and a lot of compromises. While the planning process took place a few years ago, the information is still relevant. What's more, the conflicts and opinions expressed are undoubtedly still bubbling away under the surface. One issue in particular struck me while reading the appendices. During the September 11, 2007 meeting, several unnamed committee members brought up what they called a "clash of cultures" in the neighborhood, pitting those "drawn to Uptown because of its entertainment options" against those who "view it as a traditional neighborhood." Thank goodness several committee members pointed out the common sense view that "Uptown can be both."

This "clash of cultures" remains one of the primary issues facing the neighborhood. I have a feeling that if we pulled together a similar group of people today this issue would still be raised. It is, at the heart of it, two ideologically different views of what Uptown has been, and what it could and should be in the future. I have some strong opinions on the matter myself:

The "clash of cultures" should be redefined. While I agree that there are people who are drawn to Uptown because of its nightlife, I heartily reject the notion that these same people cannot appreciate a "traditional neighborhood." I would redraw the two camps between "people who prefer a quiet, less-traditionally urban neighborhood" and "people who want a city neighborhood with all of the associated amenities."

What the heck does "traditional" mean? Who are these people who think that bars, nightclubs, and other "entertainment" options can't have a place in a traditional neighborhood? "Traditional" is purely subjective. And, in the case of Uptown, it's often misused to suggest a mythical past in which the neighborhood was quiet and went to sleep at 7:00 pm. The reality was much richer and more interesting. Uptown of the past offered plentiful evening entertainment options (for both residents and visitors alike) as well as a wide array of daytime offerings like shops, offices, schools, and basic services and amenities.

Uptown residents should be able to enjoy a night out without getting on the bus or in the car. Well-managed nightlife can benefit residents, too. It brings business to the neighborhood, gives local residents some local nightlife options, and keeps people out on the streets at night. The trick is in getting the balance right: Uptown doesn't want drunks puking in yards, revelers singing in the streets in the early morning, or entertainment-focused businesses to push out other daytime retail and service businesses. If done right, Uptowners can walk to the store and the pharmacy during the daytime, then meet up with friends for a drink later that night.

The Traditionalists are anything but traditional. Their vision of traditional is not a good fit for Uptown. Uptown is - and has been - an urban city neighborhood. Minneapolis has many other wonderful options for quieter neighborhoods with nice neighborhood coffee shops and plentiful parking. Linden Hills and Kenwood both come to mind. Uptown used to be a vibrant, around-the-clock kind of place; why not revitalize it back to its former glory rather than shoehorn it into something that doesn't fit?

I grew up watching Sesame Street, reading Jane Jacobs, and visiting cities around the United States and the world. My ideal urban neighborhood has a full range of business and residential offerings. In other words, I want what I consider to be a "traditional" city neighborhood, one that offers something for everyone and manages to blend it all together to serve residents of all ages and backgrounds. The Traditionalists are the ones who are also most likely to start talking about Uptown's "character" and "uniqueness" - why not truly live up to those standards and not try to turn Uptown into another Linden Hills? Many of us want and deserve a safe and vibrant, and dare I say, traditional, urban neighborhood that - gasp - includes some nightlife. It's time for those of us who support this vision (one that is supported by Uptown's history) to stand up and let our voices be heard.

Uptown Leaders Speak Out

Regular readers of the Southwest Journal probably remember the January 12 article "Slowing but still growing: Thoughts about Uptown from Southwest Community Leaders." If you haven't read it, it's worth taking the few minutes needed to at least give it a quick skim. Reporter Brian Voerding interviewed five local prominant figures, asking each to give his or her vision for the future. The article is, unfortunately, heavily edited; undoubtedly a necessity, but one that does raise the question of how much was lost in the process. Still, it's quite interesting to see what these people think about Uptown and its future. Bear with me as I take the rest of this post to reflect on some of their responses.

Stuart Ackerberg: Ackerberg, owner of longtime Uptown development firm The Ackerberg Group, highlighted the need for daytime activity in Uptown. "The key to vibrancy is daytime population," he argues in his statement. I think he's right on the money on this one - Uptown used to have more offices and even schools (remember the dental school where Stella's is now?) and those people pumped money into the neighborhood economy during lunchtime and before heading home. I think this a key component to Uptown's future successes. These people will help make Uptown an around-the-clock destination, to the benefit of everyone living in the neighborhood. As an added bonus, many of these office workers may already live in (or move to) Uptown; how nice to be able to walk or bike to work. Convenient for them, good for traffic reduction, and great for an overall sense of shared community.

Ralph Remington: Ralph Remington, Uptown's city council member, spends a lot of time thinking about Uptown and discussing neighborhood issues with constituents. While I don't agree with everything he says - anytime someone cites "character of the neighborhood" I get nervous (I think "character" is too often misused for specific political purposes, but that's another posting...) - I do appreciate his focus on pedestrian safety and a light rail connection. Both of those elements are vital for Uptown to thrive as a great urban neighborhood. He's a CARAG resident himself, and I hope that he remains a local activist on these issues even after his city council term has finished.

Thatcher Imboden: Imboden, the young president of the Uptown Association, as well as an Uptown historian, brings a much-needed historical perspective to the discussion. Uptown's been around a long time and has seen its share of ups and downs. Like Ackerberg, Imboden also emphasizes the importance of daytime activities. He also mentions the possibility of a hotel. I know that there has been talk about this in the past; I hope his vision comes true and we can at some point welcome a hotel to Uptown. Travelers, whether visiting for business or personal reasons, will support neighborhood businesses, among other things. Many of the county's nicest urban neighborhoods - Washington DC's Dupont Circle, any number of New York City neighborhoods, etc. - offer a wide range of hotels, and their neighborhoods are the stronger for it.

Craig Wilson: Wilson, the co-founder of Kandiyohi Development Partners, noted the importance of "independent, original, interesting places." That's what I love about Uptown, and I hope that he is correct that the future will encourage the retention and formation of these types of spaces. Uptown doesn't want or need to be a mall or even just another nice urban neighborhood filled with the same stores found in other similar neighborhoods nationally - we want to retain a sense of place and a feeling of community.

Lara Norkus-Crampton: ECCO resident and City Planning Commission member Norkus-Crampton's comments were the only ones that left me feeling quite conflicted. On the plus side, she spoke extensively on the importance of pedestrian-friendly streets, including pointing out that "pedestrian-friendly" needs to take into account Minnesota's brutal winter weather. Beyond that, she had some weird statements that may be a result of editing or could be symbolic of her larger, more anti-urban feelings. First, she talked about "buffer zones" between commercial and residential developments. I may be wrong, but I got the impression that she disapproves of these pairings. I, on the other hand, think that - within appropriate parameters - this type of development is not only desireable, it's essential. The integration of appropriate commercial and residential uses adds vibrancy to the street and provides residents with convenient services (not to mention possibly giving the businesses a built-in audience). I think the more of this the better. Sure, it doesn't make sense to plop a convience store or salon into the middle of, say, Fremont between 33rd and 32nd Streets, but in an ideal world it would be wonderful if no resident had to walk more than three blocks, tops, to get to a coffee shop or deli. These sorts of things help build community.

My other concern with Norkus-Crampton's remarks include both her historical understanding of the neighborhood as well as her comments about property taxes. "This area wasn't always seen as such a perfect place," she said, "there were parts of Uptown considered borderline." I consider myself pretty familiar with Uptown's history, both recent and historic, and I think this doesnt' reflect reality. No, it wasn't a "perfect" place, but "borderline" just isn't true. Of course "borderline" is in the eye of the beholder, and this off-the-cuff comment suggests to me that there are some class issues at work here. Uptown has always been fairly safe (with some problems, of course, but this is - and has been - a city neighborhood with all the accompanying pluses and minuses) but it did at one point have a younger, less wealthy, and more blue collar population. This also ties into my second concern, which admittedly may be an issue of editing: "People pay dearly to live here, pay a lot of property taxes, and I think it's as important to preserve these long-term stakeholders that help build and maintain our city as it is to invite new uses, new neighbors." My translation of this statement, fair or not? "Rich people pay a lot to OWN homes here and we need to take care of them." Yes, property taxes impact everyone, renters and owners alike, but my feeling is that Norkus-Crampton is thinking only about the homeowners. Since Uptown is a majority-rental area, I'd have been more comfortable if she had also pointed out the dangers of rising rents. What about long-time stakeholders who rent and not own? Stakeholder does not necessarily equal homeowner. And, for that matter, I'm sure plenty of those longterm stakeholders, renters and owners alike, are annoyed by Norkus-Crampton's portrayal of the neighborhood as a former "borderline" area, and see her remarks as a reminder that Uptown's gentrification over the years has not always been a good thing for everyone.

To be fair, I don't know Norkus-Crampton or her views on most things, but her comments don't give her much sympathy among those of us struggling to afford rent or to buy our way into the area's home market. Her property taxes may have gone up, but then, so has her home value. Finally, those who speak the loudest about things such as Uptown's previous "borderline" history are the same ones who are the most likely to paint a historical picture of a small agrarian village atmosphere, one in which the neighbors all lived quiet lives on quiet streets. The reality, of course, is that Uptown has always been - at least among most residents' lifetimes - a busy, bustling place with all the accompanying noise, traffic, and urban amenities and sometimes problems. To put it bluntly, I don't think Norkus-Crampton knows what she's talking about, at least when it comes to local history.

I give the Southwest Journal kudos for compiling this article. I now hope that they continue this discussion, maybe asking another round of community leaders (neighborhood board members, perhaps?) as well as regular residents of different ages and tenures for their hopes and vision for Uptown's future.

Violence is Violence

More than 400 people marched in support of local resident Kristen Boyne following her recent brutal beating. Boyne is a lesbian, and the two men who beat her used that as an excuse for their inexcusable behavior.

I think it's great that so many people in Uptown - and beyond - showed up to make the statement that we should be able to walk Uptown's streets, regardless of time of day or sexual orientation. What bugs me is that constant talk about this as a hate crime. I have mixed feelings about hate crimes; isn't a crime a crime? There may be times when it is appropriate to label something a hate crime. Someone who was systematically terrorizing a particular group of people to make a point would fall into that category. A team of men who roam the streets looking for lesbians (actual or just perceived) could fit into that definition. But two men who brutally beat a woman because she was out on the street? Like I said in an earlier post, the anti-lesbian aspect of this is the least of my worries. Who's to say that they would have just as happily beaten any unfortunate person who crossed their path? It's not like those of us who aren't lesbians can just breath a big sigh of relief because we're off the hook and wouldn't be bothered by these kind of thugs. Violence is violence, and the kind of people who would do something like this aren't going to be models of citizenship in the non-homophobic parts of their lives.

Discriminating against someone based on their sexual identity, let alone beating them, is, of course, completely unacceptable. That's not the point. The point is that EVERYONE should be able to walk the streets at night without being mugged, raped, beaten, murdered, hit on the head, or harassed in any shape or form. That does appear to be the main point of the march, at least, but the hate crime aspect does at times overtake the more basic issue of safe streets for all.

Some other questions: I've read that Boyne herself called 911 (or possibly a friend who then called 911 on her behalf) from her cell phone after awaking post-attack. If this is true, then one of the most troubling parts of this whole situation is that someone could be beaten brutally on a busy street in an urban area without anyone noticing. That scares me more than anything. Random, violent crime can happen anywhere, and even if we can't prevent horrible things from happening we should at least be able to respond to it quickly. We owe it to the victims.

Remembering Uptown's West High School

Once upon a time Uptown had a high school of its own. In 1908, local high school students first entered the halls of a brand new school. West, located on Hennepin and 28th, housed students in grades ten through twelve. The school thrived, and at one point it was the second largest high school in the Minneapolis system. Its students, clad in their green and white letter jackets and sweaters, swarmed the streets of Uptown. After school let out for the day they'd head to the library, to the soda fountains, to their afternoon jobs, or back to their nearby homes. West was, up until its closing in 1982, an important center of neighborhood life.

Today's local high school students don't have the luxury of a neighborhood high school. They go to Southwest or South or perhaps Blake or Breck or some other private school. And Uptown loses something in the process.

A neighborhood school does more than simply educate its students. It boosts the sense of community. Residents, with or without kids at the school, can attend student theatrical productions, cheer at the homecoming game (or just watch the parade) and help nurture the development of teenagers into fullfledged adult members of society. High schools have some downsides, too - lots of bad drivers floating around, probably an increase in litter and petty vandalism, cigarette butts on the street. But overall they're pretty good places to have around.

It's been more than a quarter of a century since our high school closed. Realistically there's no going back. For those that attended West, it must be a bittersweet experience to walk past the site of the once-grand school and its many years of good (and bad) memories. For those that came of age in Uptown post-1982, it must be difficult to imagine a time when one could walk to school quickly and easily. The next time you walk along Hennepin by 28th Street take some time to reflect on changing times and the ups and downs of neighborhood life.

Uptown - Neighborhood or Commercial District?

I hadn't realized it, but apparently there is, among some people, a debate about whether Uptown is a neighborhood or a commercial district. Granted, I first came across this discussion on Wikipedia and the people involved may be the only ones out there who think this is a debate, but it's also possible that this is a bigger question than I'd realized. One Wikipedia editor goes so far as to suggest that Uptown is a creation of "suburbanites." Is this is a real debate? Are there others who consider "Uptown" to be only the district's main commercial hub?

First, to get it out of the way: Uptown is, of course, not an official "neighborhood" as defined by Minneapolis city maps. Minneapolis has formally-defined neighborhoods with official neighborhood leadership organizations and which have historically received NRP funds. The neighborhoods most often considered to be Uptown, or at least that encompass Uptown, are the Wedge (LHENA), CARAG, ECCO, and East Isles.

And yes, "Uptown" is defined differently by different people. The Uptown Association, the Hennepin-Lake district's chamber of commerce, has a commercially-oriented view of the area. The city's Uptown Small Area Plan focuses heavily on Uptown's commercial core. I would agree that Uptown is anchored by its commercial district, centered at Hennepin and Lake and radiating from there.

What do others who live, or who have lived, in Uptown think? Do renters and owners have different views? Do new residents- say, those who have lived here five years or less, have a different opinion than those who moved here ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years ago? What do people who don't live here, but who perhaps work, eat, or shop in the commercial areas think about this? I would be more likely to guess that people who live around here think of Uptown as a neighborhood, while those who only come here to shop or eat would be more likely to think of it pure terms of its commercial district.

I believe it to be misleading and irrational to say that Uptown is not a neighborhood. Admittedly "district" might be a better term, given that in this city "neighborhood" in some circles carries with it a distinct and formal meaning, but for all intents and purposes Uptown is a neighborhood. I grew up here, and I never once thought that my childhood home - not in the commercial core, but certainly within easy walking distance (and within one of the official neighborhoods encompassing Uptown) was somewhere other than Uptown. I was an Uptowner. And as the writer of this blog, my vision of Uptown today certainly includes both our neighborhood's commercial and its residential areas.

The term Uptown has also grown in popularity in past decades, so perhaps there is some truth to saying that people who moved here long ago (and I'm talking pre-1985 or so) are less likely to have always thought of this area as "Uptown." The term Uptown itself has been around since the 1920s and was initially used to refer specifically to the commercial district, so I suppose the commercial argument supports might get some traction there - IF they were talking about Uptown of years past. There's no question in my mind that in the past 20 years most people living within close walking distance of Hennepin and Lake would define themselves as living in Uptown. Because really, are you seriously going to tell your friends or coworkers from the 'burbs that you live in CARAG or ECCO? No, because no one would have any idea where you were talking about. Tell them "Uptown" and they'll get the picture. If you're talking to someone who knows the area well you might give a different answer, but at that point you're probably going to say "31st and Irving" or "28th and Girard" or some other specific location rather than cite your formal neighborhood or neighborhood association.

Uptown, Minneapolis - commercial district or neighborhood. To me the answer is clear: a residential district (or neighborhood, if you will) anchored by its commercial core.

Uptown Attack

It's things like this that really shock a neighborhood. A local resident - a woman walking home from work, stopping in at the store to get some ice cream before bed - is beaten by men who call her a lesbian. How could this, a hate crime, happen in Uptown of all places? Here, where we pride ourselves on being open and accepting? I don't know the latest, or if they've caught the jerks who did this. I have no idea where they live, or what they have against lesbians. It could just have been that they were out driving (walking?) around looking for trouble, and this woman was the unfortunate victim who first crossed their path.

There's only so much that Uptown can do to protect our streets. Uptown isn't a bubble; even if we rid the area of our own in-house criminals (and unfortunately they do exist) we can't block out others coming in from elsewhere. It's a trade-off - as long as Uptown is a desirable place to visit there will always be both wanted and unwanted visitors. That doesn't mean we should give up. People should be able to walk home from work even late at night. We should be able to stop by the store to pick up a late night quart of rocky road. Gay people, straight people, young people, old people - we should all be able to walk the streets of our own neighborhood without being mugged or assaulted.

Let's avoid the temptation to make this into a "hate crime" issue. Yes, she was possibly attacked because she was (or was perceived to be) a lesbian, but I doubt that this one incident suggests a rise of anti-gay sentiment in Minneapolis or Uptown. I don't care why these guys attacked her - what matters is that they did. Whether it's someone being mugged for $20, a woman beaten because of her sexual orientation, or someone attacked or assaulted for any other reason, the end result is the same. It's not just lesbians who are scared by this horrible attack; these men have shattered everyone's sense of safety. Let's leave it to others to focus on the sexual orientation aspect of this incident; as Uptowners we should be concerned about any such attacks on a fellow resident (or anyone else passing through our streets), regardless of motive. Let's focus on making our streets safer for everyone and make it clear that crimes - hate crimes or otherwise - are not welcome on these streets.

Things I Don't Like About Uptown

While I love Uptown, that doesn't mean I love all things about it. Here's some things that go on my personal dislikes list:

1. Modern Condo Buildings. That doesn't mean I don't think they're well-designed, serve a purpose, or don't belong in the neighborhood, it just means that I prefer the neighborhood's older houses and buildings.
2. Chino Latino. I've had perfectly fine food and drinks here. I think it's that Chino Latino seems almost stereotypically suburban in the way that everything is so artificially fine-tuned to appeal to their audience. Maybe it's just that it doesn't feel connected to the neighborhood, and I'm just not into trendy.
3. People who Don't Shovel. Sure, this happens other places, too. But this blog is about Uptown so I'm singling out Uptown property owners. Who are these people who don't bother to get out their shovels or call a plowing company? Their laziness endangers the rest of us and makes our neighborhood far less pedestrian-friendly.
4. Parking Permits. People who buy houses two blocks away from Hennepin and Lake should realize that tight parking comes with the territory. I might support a one-side permit-only parking option, or possibly two hour parking for those without permits, but permit only all the time? Ridiculous.
5. The Uptown Transit Station. This has potential to move to a list of things I like in the future, but for now it's just not living up to its potential. At the moment it's just a glorified bus stop with uncomfortable seats.