The Barlew Blog
Urbanism in Chattanooga: Animating the Street
by David Barlew, Jr. on 05/16/12
Last night, Idea Channel presented their plans for Fountain Square and the Vine Street Corridor in the fifth installment of the Urban Design Challenge. Idea Channel's thoroughly urban design calls for linking the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with the downtown district via improved pedestrianism along Vine Street and the expansion of historic Fountain Square. Throughout their excellent presentation, in which they introduced the term Woonerf to Chattanooga, Idea Channel emphasized the important notion that streets are public spaces that should be animated by layers of activity: vehicles moving in travel lanes; public transit making stops; pedestrians walking on sidewalks; runners jogging by; patrons dining at streetside cafes; and customers entering and exiting shops. Streets, in other words, should be enlivened with the activity of people. And, after Idea Channel's presentation, that is precisely what occurred on Vine Street:
Streets should be animated with layers of activity and enlivened by people. The enlargement of downtown Chattanooga's 125 year old Fountain Square, which is dedicated to firemen who lost their lives in the fire of 1887, has been discussed since 1981. It is time for that thirty year old vision to become a reality so that this scene, an urban scene and one of activity, becomes less of an exception and more of a regular occurrence.
Urbanism in Chattanooga: Multimodal Transportation
by David Barlew, Jr. on 05/14/12
On the days when I hit the gym after work, I usually catch CARTA's "Number 4" for the commute home. A few days ago, while I was sitting at my preferred bus stop at the corner of Fourth and Market, I had the opportunity to snap this shot.
A bicycle and a bus, side by side.
I saw this simple vignette as an appropriate image for Chattanooga's urban downtown and a testament to Chattanoogans' efforts to explore varied methods of travelling about town.
This picture is evidence of an emerging and growing multimodal approach to transportation in Chattanooga by the city and its residents, myself included.
Multimodal transportation systems are the future, and I am happy to see that Chattanooga is leading the charge into that future.
Grace Episcopal Farmers' Market - Grand Opening Tomorrow!
by David Barlew, Jr. on 05/04/12
Grace Episcopal Church is hosting this season's Grand Opening of the Brainerd Farmers' Market tomorrow! The market will be open on Saturday from 10:00 am until noon near the corner of Belvoir Avenue and Brainerd Road.
An on-site ATM is available, and food stamps are accepted.
So what can a shopper expect from the Brainerd Farmers' Market?
For one, the market greets its shoppers with beautiful floral displays and mounds of gorgeous color.
The Brainerd Farmers' Market features a wide variety of local vendors offering an impressive assortment of goods and merchandise.
Textiles. Shown here: handmade items by Mulberry Jam Studio.
Handmade baskets.
Baked goods. Shown here: breads by Neidlov's Breadworks.
Cage-free eggs. Shown here: Green eggs! (yes, there really is such a thing!) and brown eggs from Hoehop Valley Farm and Conasauga Valley Farm.
Vegetable plants. Please note that food stamps can be used to purchase both plants and seeds.
In addition to plants sold at the market proper, a plant sale will be taking place on site as well. The plant sale benefits the Brainerd Farmers' Market. Organized by Lisa Lemza, the "Take Home a Bit of Grace" plant sale will take place in the pavilion at Grace Episcopal Church from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. The pavilion is located just uphill from the Brainerd Farmers' Market.
Plants available for purchase at the "Take Home a Bit Of Grace" plant sale include Double Knock Out roses; 'Rosecreek' dwarf Abelia; 'Blue Chip buddleia; Hydrangea, 'Limelight'; Hydrangea, 'Pee Wee'; Itea, (native Virginia Sweetspire); Achillea 'Moonshine'; Echinacea 'Wild Berry' or 'Magnus'; Guara, pink, 'Whirling Butteflies'; Huechera, 'Citronella'; Heuchera, 'Palace Purple'; Nepeta, 'Walkers Low'; Rosemary prostrate; Aster, 'Purple Dome'; Aster, 'English Countryside'; Chrysanthemum, fall, 'Sheffield'; Chrysanthemum (daisy), spring/summer; and Chrysanthemum 'Clara Curtis'.
Garden stakes.
And, finally handmade soaps. Shown here: goat milk soaps by Dixie Soaps.
But, wait, there's more! Tomorrow's Brainerd Farmers' Market Grand Opening will feature a rain barrel demonstration and sale presented by the City's Department of Education, Arts & Culture and the office of City Councilwoman Carol Berz.
The Brainerd Farmers' Market is a rich community event celebrating fresh food, local farms, handmade crafts, local art, and health and wellness. Come see what a great community event looks like! Come to the Brainerd Farmers' Market hosted by Grace Episcopal Church!
Chattanooga's Guerrilla-Style Pedestrian Signage
by David Barlew, Jr. on 04/30/12
Check this out: in what is (I assume) an effort to encourage walking in the central city, someone has put up guerrilla-style walk time signage in downtown
The signs list popular downtown locations, attractions and destinations along with average walk times. For each location, it seems, the average walking time listed is very reasonable. This, to me, is an invitation to walk and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of downtown Chattanooga along the way.
The pro-pedestrian guerrilla signage I saw is located at
These signs point out how convenient walking to errands, meetings, and events downtown can be. The more downtown workers, visitors and guests realize how convenient walking can be, the more likely they are to choose to walk.
I'm glad to see that someone is encouraging downtown workers, visitors and guests to get out, walk, and enjoy the streets in downtown
The Making of HERE
by David Barlew, Jr. on 04/26/12
Last Saturday I attended a daylong block party in East Chattanooga called Glass Street Live Twenty/Twelve. Hosted by the community-building nonprofit, Glass House Collective, Glass Street Live Twenty/Twelve sought to "bring the street back to life through fun, food, and community." The block party, which animated the corner of Glass and Chamberlain with hundreds of people, featured an incredible amount of activities and amenities including historic train rides, live music, T-shirt silkscreening, and birdhouse decorating. Glass Street Live Twenty/Twelve also featured a particpatory mural making.
It all started with a big, pristine-white canvas on the side of Glass House Collective's headquarters in East Chattanooga. Prior to the block party, Glass House Collective volunteers wrote the word HERE using brown paper and painters' tape. Others prepared rubber balloons filled with a mixture of paint and water.
At the appointed time, a crowd of neighborhood kids and kids-at-heart hurled the paint-filled projectiles at the canvas.
Flip through the pictures below to see the making of HERE.
Bam! The first hit!
Splat!
Splort!
Boom! Boom! Pow!
Splosh!
After making a run for more paint, the mural was finally complete! Say hello to HERE!
You can watch a time-lapse video of the last steps in maing HERE here.
I think this spontaneous mural created at Glass Street Live Twenty/Twelve by East Chattanooga residents is a wonderful and fun contribution to the urban community surrounding Glass Street.
HERE, most importantly, is an excellent, physical example of what can happen when people come together to celebrate and build community.
Photograph Source:
All photographs by David Barlew, Jr.
