In his brilliant 1969 work, Streets for People: a primer for Americans, Bernard Rudofsky laments the state of American urbanity stating, "The American city has always been the repository of the inhabitants' collective lack of know-how, and no other facet of national life illustrates the shortage of instinct, imagination, and grace as does the urban environment."
He later goes further saying that "Altogether, cities correspond closely to the ideas and ideals of their inhabitants. They are the tangible expression of a nation's spirit, or lack of spirit, and Americans are perhaps to be commended for their honesty in showing their true colors."
If New Albany is indeed an expression of collective spirit and Develop New Albany is attempting to harness and market that spirit as renaissance, it seems that now, with a pivotal change in the their leadership imminent, would be a prudent time to ask:
In a perfect world, what would DNA do?
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ReplyDeleteBrett,
ReplyDeleteI'm not in total agreement with some of the specifics of the Corradino plan but it's definitely an overall big step in the right direction. It seems, though, that it was a five year plan completed nearly five years ago.
Your suggestion of working with a bank or even becoming a community development bank is an especially good one.
What has DNA been doing for the past five years if not facilitating the plan as you mention?
Wasn't the first item in the Corridino plan for DNA to raise money for capital fund?
ReplyDeleteSeems like one of the things hampering DNA (there are others) is a lack of money. If DNA loses the limited funding it currently has will it even be a viable organization?