4 ms·

It seems to me that the fact that Capitol Hill was the unique, Bohemian, and affordable neighborhood that it was in your memories was just an accident of the 20

by txru 11y ago

It seems to me that the fact that Capitol Hill was the unique, Bohemian, and affordable neighborhood that it was in your memories was just an accident of the 20th century. It's: * Right next to downtown * Has great views and * Has very easy access to a major road, I-5. Why on earth wouldn't having credentials like that make it prime property, even if a certain retailer didn't exist? But from 1950 - 1990, nobody wanted to live in a city, they wanted to drive in from their suburbs. So cities became refuges for the interesting and weird, while the rest of America had their half-acre. That trend is reverting now, and the real value of property in major cities is being reevaluated, and at something closer to what it probably should be. Also, I really liked this Wonkblog[1], not just for highlighting the differences in densities in world urban areas, but also because he talks about the mentality of "Well, I've moved here now, but the development can stop now!" [1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/06/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-city-that-has-run-out-of-room/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/06/th...

seathrowa 11y ago
> * Right next to downtown * Has great views and * Has very easy access to a major road, I-5. > Why on earth wouldn't having credentials like that make it prime property, even if a certain retailer didn't exist? Crappy transit (49 is your only bus route for many parts of the hill and is slow and only runs on Broadyway; 10/11/43 serve very specific areas); I wouldn't call the I-5 access great (the intersection at Denny is frequently really slow and backed up because people run lights and block the intersection).
- txru 11y ago
  Bus routes can be fixed, that's a months-years problem. I'm sure the city will adjust at some point, probably before 2018, to give Capitol Hill really amazing service. I was exaggerating a bit... but the highway basically runs right beside the length of the neighborhood. It's pretty convenient to get on, even if Denny is totally packed.
tripplethrendo 11y ago
Can I post this comment to Facebook without retribution?
- txru 11y ago
  Go ahead
nicpottier 11y ago
I don't actually disagree that it is a wonder Capitol Hill was unchanged for so long, but that doesn't mean we can't bemoan the fact that that era has largely ended. I know that in general this is a trite topic and your quote about "no more development" is a valid one, but so is the opposite. There's another funny quote, apparently from Yogi Berra, which is roughly: "Oh that restaurant, nobody goes there anymore, it is too crowded." And I think that kind of touches on the same thing. Some people picked Seattle / Capitol Hill for the characteristics it had (apart from proximity to downtown), and it is only natural for us to bemoan that it isn't that anymore. Maybe that is just a fundamental truth, that with growth you will lose some "flavor", but perhaps it is also worth trying to see if city planning can help a city grow so that it doesn't. That's the point. Of course things change, but maybe appropriate planning and policies can make it so that we don't lose what was so great about these neighborhoods in the first place.

by txru 11y ago

seathrowa 11y ago

> * Right next to downtown * Has great views and * Has very easy access to a major road, I-5. > Why on earth wouldn't having credentials like that make it prime property, even if a certain retailer didn't exist? Crappy transit (49 is your only bus route for many parts of the hill and is slow and only runs on Broadyway; 10/11/43 serve very specific areas); I wouldn't call the I-5 access great (the intersection at Denny is frequently really slow and backed up because people run lights and block the intersection).

txru 11y ago
Bus routes can be fixed, that's a months-years problem. I'm sure the city will adjust at some point, probably before 2018, to give Capitol Hill really amazing service. I was exaggerating a bit... but the highway basically runs right beside the length of the neighborhood. It's pretty convenient to get on, even if Denny is totally packed.

tripplethrendo 11y ago

Can I post this comment to Facebook without retribution?

txru 11y ago
Go ahead

nicpottier 11y ago

I don't actually disagree that it is a wonder Capitol Hill was unchanged for so long, but that doesn't mean we can't bemoan the fact that that era has largely ended. I know that in general this is a trite topic and your quote about "no more development" is a valid one, but so is the opposite. There's another funny quote, apparently from Yogi Berra, which is roughly: "Oh that restaurant, nobody goes there anymore, it is too crowded." And I think that kind of touches on the same thing. Some people picked Seattle / Capitol Hill for the characteristics it had (apart from proximity to downtown), and it is only natural for us to bemoan that it isn't that anymore. Maybe that is just a fundamental truth, that with growth you will lose some "flavor", but perhaps it is also worth trying to see if city planning can help a city grow so that it doesn't. That's the point. Of course things change, but maybe appropriate planning and policies can make it so that we don't lose what was so great about these neighborhoods in the first place.