The New Nashville

I did a lot of reading over the weekend (multi-hour plane flights will do that for ya) and wanted to point out two articles that are very Nashville-centric but could likely be applied to much of the changing face of the nation.

• High Rises vs Honky Tonks: Gentrification is Threatening Nashville's Soul - a great NY Times piece from Steve Haruch (long time Nashville resident) that points out the struggle between the residents wanting to maintain their history and combating the massive influx of new realty development. Many historic homes and locations are being replaced by multi-use condos. This is not a problem that is restricted to Nashville. How does a city grow and maintain the thing that made it appealing in the first place?
• Chris Crofton, East Nashville Soundoff - Christ Crofton is a comedian who spent many years in Nashville. He doesn't live there anymore but he's still involved in many of the scenes that make it special. He also gives scathing advice on a weekly basis lambasting folks who ask dumb questions. His explanation of why rents are skyrocketing helps to answer the question posed in the NYT article - Nashville sold its soul and is suffering the repercussions. It's a volatile response but not wrong.

I am sure these problems apply to Austin and Seattle and even bigger places like Atlanta. Your history is immediately threatened when you welcome new development that needs to make room and cut down on sprawl. How can your residents be a part of larger cultural movements and economy enriching endeavors (tourism, movie studios finding you desirable, food scenes, etc) but not become another anonymous city.

I don't have the answers but I find the questions very intriguing. Working to keep the soul of a city certainly seems like a worthwhile endeavor if you know there are others willing to join the fight with you.