Car-Free in Alexandria...

On the way to CNU Philly, my Car-Free CNU journey stopped Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia for 24 Hours of Car-Free D.C. Urbanism...

Joining me In Search of D.C.'s Best Urbanism is Smart Growth and Mass Transit Guru John Acken who--along with his wife and two young daughters has been "Living the T-4 Life" in Old Town Alexandria (indeed, I'm blogging right now from their townhouse on Queen Street)...

The first thing that I saw after getting off of Amtrak's Crescent was the Washington Memorial (not to be confused with the Washington Monument)...

Oh, by the way, here's the Alexandria train station. It services both Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express...

From the Alexandria Station, we walked several blocks to the DASH bus station for the 10 block journey to the Acken Family Queen Street home...

$1 dollar with DASH service every 10 minutes...

Okay, to recap: from Atlanta to Alexandria via Amtrak's Crescent. From the Alexandria train station to the DASH bus station by foot. From the DASH bus station to the Acken's via bus.

So far so good on the car-free journey.

Wednesday morning I'll update everyone on the Acken/Emerson Wednesday D.C. Urbanism tour...see you then...

The Car-Free CNU Journey Continues...

The Intrepid Travelers Leave Glenwood Park...

The Atlanta Marta Station in Buckhead...small and underwhelming (likely because when it first opened it was a simple suburban whistle stop)...Atlanta is in desperate of a new rail station.

The Crescent's Viewliner Roomette corridor (mini-rooms on both sides)

Co-Traveler's--Harvi Sahota and Anna Lowder--in their first Amtrak roomette ever...

The Crescent's Dining Car circa 11.00pm...

Later today, I'll check in with photos arriving at Alexandria, Virginia and touring the Greater D.C. area--car free, of course!

CNU Philadelphia Stop One...

Well, the first stop on the Car-Free to CNU Philly tour is actually the only non-Car Free stop. I'm meeting husband/wife development team Harvi Sahota and Anna Lowder at Glenwood Park where we'll carpool over to the Atlanta Amtrak Station for the 8pm Crescent to D.C.

Above is a picture of the "Official Car-Free to CNU Philly Laptop" relaxing outside Glenwood Park's new Vino Libro--the first (at least that we've ever seen) bookstore/wine bar combination.

The Next Update will have some new images of Glenwood Park and our departure to D.C....

To Atlanta...

Well, my car-free journey from Atlanta to Philadelphia (with a stop in D.C.) begins this evening. I'm heading to Philadelphia for this event where I'll be speaking here (click on the New Urbanism 202 Implementing Form-Based Codes link for more details).

The rules of the game are--once I leave Atlanta--no personal vehicles until I return.

And I'll be blogging along the way about the smart growth places and people that I see. So, stop by frequently this week for new updates.

The journey starts here on the Crescent...

Montgomery Mall Sale...

Well, alot of readers have been wondering what I thought about the Montgomery Mall sale. Unfortunately, the answer is not a simple one.

For starters, I'm pleased that Glimcher finally unloaded it because that firm was not going to do anything with it other than realize some accelerated depreciation.

At the same time, there's nothing to say that the new firm--though apparently based in Alabama--is going to take any steps to prevent Montgomery Mall's slow death march to here.

Of course, that would be a shame as incredibly wise people have noted that the per capita income within a 5 mile radius of Montgomery Mall is much higher than Eastdale Mall and in the same league as EastChase (okay, maybe the "incredibly wise" is a bit exaggerated but, hey, this is the Internet after all).

So what?

Well, the good news is that the property itself is located near plenty of disposable income that could support development "if". The big "if" being that if it was redesigned in a safe, convenient, pedestrian-friendly way.

You know, something like this former conventional mall.

Now, I know that plenty of people will say something akin to "but Montgomery Mall is just in the wrong part of town" or "there's no way people will go to a dangerous place like that".

Memo to whomever suggests that: there are plenty of popular places in Montgomery (like Cloverdale and the Garden District) that are very popular despite the fact that they are located within miles (and sometimes even blocks) of some pretty rough stuff.

The difference is that they are well-designed which in turn makes them well-loved.

Right now, the Montgomery Mall area is horribly designed--and thus horribly unloved.

The first step for Venture 1--if they really are serious about this property ever amounting to something--is to hire an experience design firm to redesign Montgomery Mall as an urban village-type of development.

And, here and now, I volunteer my time to help with that first steop however I can!

More interesting articles on...

...smart growth and schools. This one on funding and this one on school siting.

Smart Growth & Schools...

Here's a well-written fact sheet by an Alabama advocacy group that discusses the benefits of small, neighborhood schools.

Considering that news outlets are reporting that Alabama legislators may consider a $1 billion bond for new school construction in Alabama, it is crucial that such money not be spent on school locations and design that proliferate sprawl.

Doing so very well could significantly hurt a generations worth of new students...