Neglect of Fairview Cemetery merely reflects generational neglect of entire downtown neighborhoods, but hey -- we'll have a pool.

I went for a long walk yesterday and found myself in Fairview Cemetery, a place I haven't been for a very long time.

Obviously, cemeteries tell us much -- at times, far too much -- about priorities, local culture and our place in history, and perhaps inadvertently, Fairview itself illustrates in mind-numbing detail New Albany's myriad deficiencies.

The photo above hints at the depth of the cemetery's message. See those houses along 8th Street? The cemetery is abutted on one side by some of the city's most degraded housing stock, ramshackle and filth-encrusted, as well as adjoining the seemingly endless expanse of industrial Padgett's "800-lb downtown gorilla" property on the other.

By contrast, think of Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery's park-like setting or any number of places you've been where a cemetery's metaphorical peacefulness is a base for better surroundings, not slums.

With these memories still fresh, the following article came over the wire. Art, design, creativity ... not foo foo and effete, but in "once-grungy inner-city areas," precisely like those surrounding Fairview now.

And you still can't grasp how and why a $9 million aquatics center is so very annoying .. and sadly indicative of New Albany's generational missed opportunities?

A tour of Cape Town, World Design Capital 2014; Forget fancy galleries – in Cape Town, 2014 World Design Capital, the most exciting work is in the townships and once-grungy inner-city areas, by Lisa Grainger (Guardian)

... "This country is not a place for ninnies," the passionate South African says, pointing at the thousands of shacks that one in four Capetonians call home. "Our crime statistics are horrific. Our economy is in a frightening position and inflation is rocketing. Many of these people don't have food, education or healthcare.

"So why have I brought you here? Because it is in these townships that some of the most inspiring people live: people who are incredible, positive, engaging, brave. And I want visitors to see the good there is here, the real heart of South Africa" ...