On Wednesday, the mayor is touring the city's "peripheral" developments with city planning director Brad Murphy and some others. This conjures up thoughts of an expedition, of sorts, into the great unknown of new construction. Perhaps while they're driving out to the city's far reaches, they can consider dropping the use of the pejorative term "peripheral" for neighborhoods that are as much a part of the city of Madison as Williamson-Marquette and Dudgeon-Monroe.
This city's preoccupation with new urbanism and the creative class means some areas are held up as shining examples of positive lifestyles while others get dismissed as "the periphery." But anyone who has spent any time at all in parts of the city like Stone Meadows, on the southwest side, knows that the population there is young and very active with at least as much pedestrian traffic as the previously-mentioned neighborhoods. Parks like Manchester are busy, as are the bike paths.
If there's a problem with these new neighborhoods on the city's edge, it's that they haven't been well served by the city's planning and approval process over the years. Shopping malls have been able to turn stretches of streets like Whitney Way into gigantic parking lots with no aesthetic appeal. Intersections like that at Hwy. PD and Maple Grove Dr. aren't very friendly to pedestrians, even though the mix of retail should encourage walking or biking trips from a few blocks away.
A lot of people who live in these new neighborhoods already feel a little disconnected from their city because they didn't grow up here or didn't go the UW. In many cases, however, they're the kind of young professionals Madison is allegedly trying to attract and retain. True, they might not fit so neatly into Richard Florida's idea of the latte-chugging creative class, simply because they're too busy working and starting families to hang out in cafes. Also, many of them don't have the resources, patience or family size to deal with the old houses and new condos in Madison's more traditional neighborhoods.
However, it would be a good idea to recognize not only that their tax dollars are worth as much as those of a Double Income No Kids household on Jenifer St., but that the so-called periphery developments need to be just as strong, stable and vibrant as the parts of the city getting substantially more ink.
MAYOR CIESLEWICZ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Monday, October 9, 2006
10:00 a.m. Policy staff meeting
11:00 a.m. David Denig-Chakroff, Janet Piraino, and Jeanne Hoffman
12:00 noon Lunch with Michael Blumenfeld
1:30 p.m. Andy Heidt, Julia Kerr, and Jeanne Hoffman
4:30 p.m. Board of Estimates meeting, MMB 260
7:00 p.m. Speak at Madison Community Foundation Donor Recognition Party, Alliant Energy Center
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
10:00 a.m. Brad Murphy and Jeanne Hoffman
1:00 p.m. Grand opening of Engineering Division Emil Street "green" building, 1602 Emil Street
2:00 p.m. Pam Williamson and mayoral assistants regarding appointments to City boards, commissions, and committees
4:30 p.m. Board of Estimates meeting, MMB 260
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
10:00 a.m. Staff meeting
2:00 p.m. Tour of peripheral development with Brad Murphy, Larry Nelson, and Jeanne Hoffman
7:00 p.m. Guest on The Queery Show, WORT
Thursday, October 12, 2006
9:00 a.m. Meet with Lowell School kindergarteners, 401 Maple Avenue
10:00 a.m. Chief Noble Wray quarterly meeting
12:00 noon Danisco groundbreaking ceremony, 3325 Agriculture Drive
1:30 p.m. Correspondence and phone calls
3:00 p.m. Jeanne Hoffman
9:00 p.m. Ride-along with South District police officer
Friday, October 13, 2006
12:00 noon Walk the Square with the Mayor
12:30 p.m. Common Council leadership meeting
6:00 p.m. UW Homecoming Parade
