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| This is style |
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| Hire the PIG! |
We shout Buy Local, but instead we buy foreign. We hire others to do what can be done by the very people who have a vested interest in the community.
But, no, we bring in others from out of town, pay them our money to tell us about our community, our town, where we live, work and play.
Then they leave.
I speak of the boyz from Team Better Block
Today’s the day that Team Better Block shows us hicks how to craft a better block, to show us how to lift pieces of bricks and mortar to heavenly heights.
All this for $43,000.
As if we don’t know that already.
As if we’ve lived in a vacuum here in Norfolk most of our lives.
As if what they bring to the table or the streets of Norfolk is something new and hip and hopeful.
As if a 3-day party will create a sense of art and creativity in the community.
It’s already here.
We insist on hiring consultants from other areas of the country, as if us hicks have no idea of art, architecture or anything else related to Our Town and its possibilities
The Better Block Boyz will do their thing, collect their $43,000 and leave town, leaving us with what…
A hangover, still a deserted street and $43,000 less.
Maybe we’ll be all warm and fuzzy by the end of this weekend, knowing we have contributed something to Our Town.
But then we will still be left with crappy streets while the Better Block Boyz hang their shingle in another town for a few days.
Heck, I would even go so far as to suggest hiring Team S (Serrano/Scaccia). At least they have a vested interest in the community. Team BB doesn’t. Or hire the homeless. Who better to give the best advice than those who live on the streets every day?
But, please, buy local. Think local. And act like we have something to offer instead of acting insecure, paranoid and delusional and have someone from another town diagnose us.
Sidebar
Someone took issue about my premise that people make cities, not buildings.
Here is this individual’s comment.
People do make cities, but I couldn't disagree more about buildings not making cities. I've been to many of the great cities in the US and Europe, and architecture and the built environment in general contribute to impact, experience, culture, personality, etc. of a city as much or more than the people within.
Would do you say readers?
Does this individual have a point?
I have to agree with you on this one. After the hype and celebration, just how will this venture sustain itself. I have yet to see any plans on how the business ventures that start there will be sustainable on an ongoing basis.
ReplyDeleteWhat do better block consultants from Texas have in common with our local boy Paul Fraim? They both want to import ideas from elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIn order to be a great city, Norfolk needs a unique identity. That's difficult to accomplish when we take our lead from the consulting industry. Just as with human development, cities must learn to define themselves. If they try to please everyone else then they will never be happy.
Grow up Norfolk. Start acting your age.
There is at least one advantage to bringing in an outside group. They could act as arbiters among Norfolk's feuding creative classes.
ReplyDeleteWhat strikes me as unfortunate, is that the people who love to quote Richard Florida don't seem to actually embrace the creative process when it comes to community building. They are leveraging the same worn and tired tactics that have failed this community for years. They go something like this: here is my constituency. I deem them to be creative. if you want the support of me and my followers, then you must support this project. Silly. Just silly. And old fashioned. The opposite of creative. Formulaic, really. Tired and worn.
Having said all that, I'll try to check out the better block this weekend if I can. I'll try to be supportive. Give people and ideas the benefit of the doubt. Give everyone a chance to shine - that's how I was raised. Maybe it should be a new model for how we do things in this community. The Norfolk Way 2.0.