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I love this kind of creativity: so simple, its just brilliant but its also intelligently made and funny and human and and and…

Simple Isn’t Always Easy
I find that ideas like these usually either come in a moment’s insight or with very hard work. And even if you’ve got the right idea, its hard to keep it simple while going through the production process (at least we’re finding that to be the case in our projects). Doing it right can be very hard to nail: in this case, taking what most people would consider a mundane topic (the wind) and doing a simple but unexpected twist (personalizing it) that becomes a poignant message (I won’t spoil that…).

Of course, it helps that the guy has a French accent and a memorable face.

Now Jump to the City
We need fresh thought coming into cities and sustainability, and I want the kind of creativity that went into “The Wind” to epitomize this eco-urban revolution. Cities should be simple, they should be intelligent, they should be human and they should be fun: if they aren’t, we’re not tapping the right kind of creativity.

Jason

If anyone wonders what outdoor movie theaters will look like in the future, look no further than what the folks at the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen are doing. Find a projector, get some relevant billing (documentary or bike flick) and blast that image onto the side of a building. Reminds me of one of the all-time greatest film scenes I know of (see above)…

Tomorrow night, the group is showing one of my favorite docs, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (well timed with today’s announcement in the Bee that a Vermont federal judge ruled against Big Auto’s lawsuit against state regulations — ahem, lead by our own great state’s Assembly Bill 1493, adopted 5 years ago, ahem — requiring a decrease in “climate-warming emissions” in automobiles sold in the state by 30% by 2016).

And, to lighten the fare, they’re also showing, Breaking Away, dubbed on the flyer as “quite possibly the best cycling movie ever made” and 8th on the List of America’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by The American Film Institute in 2006.

The weather’s turning (I rode against gusts yesterday), so catch this last of the summer-type activity while you can.

Date: Friday, September 14th
Time: Dusk
Location: On the Lawn, corner of 36th and Broadway
Cost: FREE!
BYO: Beverages, snacks, lawn seating.

Jason

I’ve got this ongoing joke with my wife.

Whenever we drive around a few blocks in Midtown looking for parking or when we get detoured onto a different route because a road has closed down thanks to a redevelopment project (like 28th Street at present or the congestion around 10th and J), I like to pretend to gripe and get really mad about “the lack of adequate parking and all this freakin’ development” but really it makes me all happy inside.

Inside, I’m saying “Bring it On!”

I love the visible signs of re-development and a healthy urban core and certain inconveniences are some of the most poignant of signs. Parking problems are welcome (they remind me to walk and ride); detours are welcome (heck, I do that all the time on my bike, its a more interesting ride and it sure beats being pushed miles down a strip mall boulevard by unending medians and “No U-Turn” signs); narrower streets are welcome (they remind me to drive more carefully).

So today, I read in the online version of the Sacramento Business Journal about the forthcoming closure of the Towers Bridge and had a jolly time thinking of more jokes with my wife every time we’re re-routed to the I Street Bridge.

As a developer in the Washington Area bordered on the South side by West Capitol and the Towers Bridge, this particular inconvenience is one I’ve been anticipating for a couple of years now… every time I’ll be re-routed, it will reinforce the hope we have for re-envisioning this neighborhood as a walkable/bike-able urban village. Last month the Bee made the connection:

It may not seem evident now, but someday — soon, West Sacramento officials hope — the west riverbank will become a teeming urban center of condos, offices, stores and restaurants.

A walkable bridge, they say, means people will not have to get into cars to go from home to work on the opposite bank of the river.

I even have this (highly idealistic) idea that maybe, just maybe even some of the folks re-routed up Third and 5th Streets will stop at our “Sit Here and Dream Big” sites and get a little inspired…

But I imagine there will be a fair share of genuine grumbling about this forthcoming “granddaddy” of bridge closure inconvenience when people are late to work or meetings or movies or when it takes 3 minutes longer to get home from the office because they had to take a different path– we don’t tend to be a very patient culture, addicted as we are to instant gratification and on-demand everything.

So, before any of that starts, and for the record, I say “Bring it ON!” Inconvenience me.

And, when the two cities decide to take the next big leap and redesign the I-5 (the “great grand-daddy” of inconvenience) to connect downtown with the riverfront, I’ll be the first to say “yes! do that! inconvenience me! please!”

Jason

I’ve been sitting on this article from Good Magazine for awhile and just found it at the bottom of a stack of papers on my desk. Derrik Ashong articulates something that I’ve been musing on for a while now and I imagine many of you have as well: a knowing sense of change in the air coupled with the difficulty in defining it. I like his description:

It’s the unbridled optimism of we who see our time has come. The “Change Agents” coming soon to a theater near you, with a look and vibe that defies definition.

What Signifies the Turning Point?
Some look for big events to mark a big shift–a million people walking to DC in protest of racism, a man walking on the moon, sleek skyscrapers rising, sweeping policy changes… I’m inclined to think differently. Grandiose events may be a birthplace but they started with a conception: a woman refusing to get off the bus, an idealistic President saying something crazy like “we’re going to walk on the moon,” a small group of people asking hard questions about the best use of a plot of land, a gathering of people giving up a Friday night to watch a documentary together.

Biology teaches us that conception begins with a simple exchange, a timely merging,…

I don’t know about you but I’ve been pondering where all this (the unbridled optimism of we who see our time has come) will lead 9 months from now, 2 years from now, 5 years from now, 100 years from now.

You’re the Signifier
You “Change Agents” are the reason we’re doing what we are…and it will be because of you that this city begins the arduous process of redefining itself…its not going to come from slogans or good intentions or finger-pointing or even the most promising green-tech breakthrough, it will be because people like you in your individual spheres of influence are making a difference, challenging the status quo, asking probing questions, being willing to be challenged, getting together with others and DOING SOMETHING about it.

I’ve been hearing back from a lot of people about the Radiant City Screening and our first “Sit Here… and Dream Big” video (anyone checked out a rock yet?). The common thread running through them all is this:

Let’s keep this going

Do you hear it? I do. Unbridled optimism…

Jason

A few weeks ago, I hinted in a post about some surprises to come…

Here are a few… we’ve been having a lot of fun these days…

Surprise! Leftist Talk Radio?

I’m guessing one the last places in the world you’d expect to find a developer would be sitting with Christine Craft at the sound board of the region’s leftist Talk Radio channel 1250AM and chatting it up for a full hour. But that’s what happened Friday at 5pm. And it was a lot of fun! And we got invited back.

Favorite moment: Seeing Christine break her own rule about not eating on the show, thanks to our eco-urban fortune cookies which she couldn’t resist. Crunch, crunch… great audio moment.

Surprise! Developer or Underground Theater?

Last night, around 120 people packed our work/play space to watch the screening of Radiant City. Folks were standing in back and sitting on the concrete floor, which astounded us (ever sat for 2 hours on a concrete floor?) …afterward, a rousing collective discussion ensued with about 50 folks for about an hour. I think my only regret was that we couldn’t get to all of the comments and questions– I seem to recall a blur of hands popping up throughout and I’m sure some never got a chance to share… if that was you, please feel free to share your thoughts below…

Really, we were stunned by the response to this, and I think everyone who came was encouraged to see so many others who really care about our city and how we can make it better.

Favorite Moment: when architect Craig Stradley walked in right when an audience member was taking Craig’s firm to task for not designing their office building with awnings or over-hangings, stating “there are two fundamental needs buildings provide for: protection from rain and protection from sun.”

Having been under the gun of public critique ourselves, it was great to see how both panelist Renner Johnston and Craig responded with humility and openness (and humor).

Surprise! Sit on a Rock and Dream Big

First we asked you to come write on our car, now we’re inviting (daring) you to sit on our rocks and dream big.

We’ve all seen the chain-link fences bordering vacant land under development… check out the subsequent post for our alternative to this.

Stay tuned…

Jason

Since our last post, its been fun seeing the momentum already beginning to build for Sacramento’s first installation of REBAR’s National (Park)ing Day. We’ve had several e-mails from people wanting to get plugged in, and it sounds like a fun group of eco-urbanists are gathering around this event.

The first Planning Meeting is this next Tuesday night and the event isn’t that far off (September 21st) so lots of volunteers will be needed to pull it off. If you got something you’d like to contribute (time, ideas, talent, media connections, etc.), shoot an e-mail our way (jason at ljurban dot com) or post a comment below and I’ll make sure you get connected with Nancy and Lindsey, the coordinators.

Jason

National (Park)ing Day: September 21st, 2007
In the last 24 hours, I got two e-mails — one from an photographer and one from a landscape designer, neither of whom know each other — pointing me to the fun, eco-urban efforts behind REBAR’s National (Park)ing Day.

You gotta check this out.

From the Site: National (Park)ing Day is…

a one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.

The mission is to rethink the way streets are used, call attention to the need for urban parks, and improve the quality of urban human habitat… at least until the meter runs out!

Cities participating this year include: New York City, Boston, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and others.

On National Park(ing) Day - Friday, September 21, 2007 - metered public parking spots nationwide will become public parks. The goals, organizers say, are to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America’s cities.

Fun with Parking
I think this is, hands down, one of the coolest ideas I’ve come across in awhile. Parking lots are abysmal concrete monstrosities and, the idea of transforming them, even for a day, into a park is a hilarious bit of ironic activism.

It’s also a visual pun. Double-take stuff.

And I just like saying, “Parking parks.”
“What is it?,” you ask.
“Its a place for a park to park.”

Very Dr. Seuss. My 8-year-old daughter, who just this morning described herself as “wordy”, will love it.

Note: they target metered public parking. So for those of you who have gotten ticket after ticket (ahem, yours truly), this is a lovely bit of payback…

Making it Happen Here in Sacramento
Anyways, there’s a group of people coming together to organize one here in downtown Sacramento (possibly on 16th Street). If anyone is interested in jumping in, let me know– jason at ljurban dot com.

And spread the word…

Jason

Fool’s vs. Code
Late last week, we got wind that Fool’s Foundation has been temporarily shut down as a music/movie venue. Aargh! We’re hoping its only temporary. If not, it would be a loss for Sacramento’s urban core and the cultural/arts scene here. Maybe there’s a phoenix in this somewhere… let’s hope so.

Where to Show Radiant City?
In the meantime, this little fiasco presented a bit of a dilemma regarding where to show Radiant City, since the group who has helped us bring this movie to Sacramento, Movies on a Big Screen, was using Fool’s Foundation as a permanent venue. Robert from Shiny Object and I put our heads together and, in the midst of exploring possibilities, I threw out the suggestion that we take the Lounge area in our office and do the screening here. He came out and looked at the space, determined it was as big as the space at Fool’s and Voila!, we’re now showing the only Sacramento screening of this documentary at our digs on 20th and H. It’ll be a bit more DYI than typical screenings at Fool’s, where the audio/visual is already pre-wired, but the point is that the show will go on.

And the point is that Sprawl needs some impassioned, action-oriented arch-enemies with real solutions if its going to be stopped… I’m beginning to sound a bit like a comic book, aren’t I… must be the Sprawl monster animation idea coming back to haunt me.

Here’s a shot of The Lounge, where we’ll be doing the showing. The furniture in the back will be gone and we’ll have about 100 fold-up chairs for seating.

Fun, huh!

Post-Film Discussion
Of course, the whole point of films like this is to stir up some dialogue, so, towards that end, we’ve invited Graham Brownstein, Executive Director of ECOS, to join us on stage panel/Q&A-style to help us digest the implications of the film for Sacramento and process what we all can be doing to make our city a better place to live. We’re also talking with a few other eco-urbanists about joining the panel to make it even more interesting.

But Wait, There’s More!!
As a way of helping the momentum of Movies on a Big Screen during this transition as they scramble to find a new venue, we’re putting the show on for free. We like the idea of cramming a bunch of people into our retro-fitted brick warehouse space to watch a film that decries the impact of sprawl on our lives in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner.

Here’s a bit of verbiage about the film from Shiny-Object.

Gary Burns, Canada’s king of surreal comedy, joins journalist Jim Brown on an outing to the suburbs. Venturing into territory both familiar and foreign, they turn the documentary genre inside out, crafting a vivid account of life in The Late Suburban Age.

Urban sprawl is eating the planet. Across the continent the landscape is being leveled - blasted clean of distinctive features and overlaid with zombie monoculture. Politicians call it growth. Developers call it business. The Moss family call it home.

While Evan Moss zones out in commuter traffic, Ann boils over in her dream kitchen and the kids play sinister games amidst the fresh foundations of monster houses.

A chorus of cultural prophets provide insight on the spectacle. James Howard Kunstler, author of “The Geography of Nowhere,” rails against the brutalizing aesthetic of strip malls. Philosopher Joseph Heath fears the soul-eating suburbs but admits they offer good value for money. And urban planner Beverly Sandalack dares to ask, Why can’t we walk anywhere anymore?

Burns and Brown rummage through a toybox of cultural references, from Jane Jacobs to “The Sopranos,” to create a provocative reflection on why we live the way we do. Riffing off sitcoms and reality TV, they play fast and loose with a range of cinematic devices to consider what happens when cities get sick and mutate.

If you haven’t watched the trailers yet, you can see them here. I can’t wait to get my hands on the advance copy.

Date/Time/Location/Cost
August 24th
Doors open at 7pm: first come, first chance at the good seats…
New Location: 1941 H Street (corner of 20th and H, side entrance)… walk/ride if you can.
Cost: Free!

Jason

Wired did a funny thing this month; which shouldn’t surprise me really because I think they do some funny things quite often, in their own little techno/pop culture view of reality. This one really got me though.

They put a picture of Martha Stewart on their cover. It’s a classic Martha shot: head tilted to one side, the signature blouse, the Colgate teeth, the ageless golden coif… and next to her is a Wii Cake. Yeah, a cake that looks like a Wii.

Classic.

How to:.. Surprise Your Readers
Its Wired’s “How To” issue. At the bottom of their list of topics like, “rule the blogosphere”, “keep batteries charged”, and “get fired properly”, they have “bake a Wii cake.” Scattered on the cover are other tongue-in-cheek references: the issue is dubbed at the bottom, “piece of cake.” At the top, the sub-title “Martha geeks out.” Clearly they’re having some fun with this particular cultural oxymoron. Martha’s probably the last person we’d expect on the cover of a Wired magazine… well, maybe not the last person (considering her sizable branding power)… nominations, anyone?

So, on one hand, while I know both Wired and Martha are cashing in on the Grand Dame of Domesticity… I do appreciate the element of surprise and Wired’s ability to not take itself too seriously.

And maybe it’s the context, but even Martha seems to not be taking herself seriously. Her signature grin almost looks a tad “heh-heh-ish”, like “I know none of you are expecting me to be here, but here I am.” She even says “crap” in her interview (which got her some points from commenter’s).

Granted, my cynical side is arguing against this, saying “prison taught her the financial benefit of the unexpected; she’s just capitalizing on it… and Wired too.” This part of me would probably side with the anti-Martha TreeHugger readers offended by even the slightest Martha endorsement (which this isn’t).

But… aww… that’s just no fun. Its comedy!… and, what with Climate Change and “The War” and AIDS and the fact that Sacramento is spraying pesticide all over our city (and my organic garden) for some lousy mosquito’s, I’m grateful for a visual joke, a witty double-take every once in awhile, even if I know it’s a sales gimmick, contrived to stir up some talk.

These days, Humor and Surprise, anywhere you encounter it, is a breath of fresh air. It’s the same reason why certain YouTube videos like this one (”that’s why they call it business socks”) flit across the globe faster than Superman spinning back time to save Louis Lane from the earthquake. Sometimes you have to go over-the-top to shake things up, to stay out of ruts, to save the planet from the Lex Luthors of the world.

Where’s The Surprise in Development
In our own industry, the elements of surprise and humor are so rare they’re almost non-existent. I think its rather sad, myself, because they are fundamentally human experiences: it’s one of the subtle reasons why development has seemed so distant and removed from the populace— nobody can relate to it.

This is some of what we’re trying to change: Surprise! Development can be Humane. Surprise! Developers can be real people; not a suit and tie with an ego the size of… well… a skyscraper. Surprise! Developers can blog openly and invite others into a dialogue about their work. Surprise! Developers can drive a funny-looking electric car with hand-writing all over it (and think it’s really fun).

I also think the concept of eco-urban is somewhat of a surprise for a lot of people: for so long, cities themselves were viewed (correctly in many cases) as unsafe, unclean, and unattractive (largely thanks to the automobile…). So much so that I sometimes get looks of confusion from people when I talk about the ecological and sociological benefits of building in the urban core of a city. Surprise! Cities are actually the greenest technology we have available. Surprise! Cities will be safer, cleaner places to live in the future. Surprise! Cities built right have a richer quality of life and a greater sense of community, a more established sense of place.

Over the next six months, we’re hoping to do some surprising things… sssshhh, don’t tell… break a few more (breakable) rules and have some fun.

Now we just need Wired to find us… “How to:… redefine an industry.”

Jason

Continuing yesterday’s post, I’ve distilled the conversation we had about our G316 project at our Blogger Dinner down to a few main themes.

Retail Forthcoming?
One of the first topics centered around retail. Would this be a mixed use project? No surprises there— we’re big fans of mixed use and are itching to do more of this. At present, The Gallery is the only project that is situated with the right zoning according to the city’s master plan for the neighborhood, which has slated 3rd streets (where the Ziggurat and CalStyrs are located) and C Street as the retail strips. Based on our own research of this, we’d have a pretty hard battle ahead to get the city to change zoning laws in this neighborhood, especially since commercial requires even more parking, which is something we’re really trying to minimize in our existing projects.

But, regardless the point is valid: this neighborhood will need more retail if its going to become a thriving, healthy, walkable, urban community. Without enough diverse retail, Washington will simply become an urban bedroom community.

So, while we haven’t completely ruled out taking on this challenge with existing projects, we also think our resources might be better spent exploring opportunities to acquire parcels that already lend themselves to a retail use. We do know of 4-5 proposed retail projects, all within 4 blocks of each project; most, if not all, of these projects appear to be some kind of restaurant use. While this doesn’t necessarily translate to the self-contained Urban Village concept, it’s a start.

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