Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM
What are your expectations for the City?
In Albuquerque we don’t have the same urban density as larger cities but I would argue that we have parts of the City that are more urban than others.
In the past month I have heard people who live in what I consider to be the urban parts of the city( uptown, near heights) complaining about things that I think are normal city things. New buildings that are the same kind of buildings as are currently there, traffic, too many people, the fact that the City has changed over the past 50 years are all complaints I have heard. I just wasn’t getting it. I live near a busy street and I expect regular street noise, the occasional clanking dumpster , some traffic. I also expect that the vacant lot across from our subdivision won’t stay that way. It will become housing or shops or offices or some combination there of.
I admit that I am getting grumpier as I age and may need to go live in a cave by myself before I hit 40, just down the road.
I just think that even here in ABQ you can tell where the urban bits are.
I would like to know what other people who live in the City proper expect.
In the past month I have heard people who live in what I consider to be the urban parts of the city( uptown, near heights) complaining about things that I think are normal city things. New buildings that are the same kind of buildings as are currently there, traffic, too many people, the fact that the City has changed over the past 50 years are all complaints I have heard. I just wasn’t getting it. I live near a busy street and I expect regular street noise, the occasional clanking dumpster , some traffic. I also expect that the vacant lot across from our subdivision won’t stay that way. It will become housing or shops or offices or some combination there of.
I admit that I am getting grumpier as I age and may need to go live in a cave by myself before I hit 40, just down the road.
I just think that even here in ABQ you can tell where the urban bits are.
I would like to know what other people who live in the City proper expect.
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jay Brotz on -
Your points are taken well and I would love to see an area of ABQ where a significant portion of the residents (including myself) do not need to own a car. I do wonder though whether we have the population pressure to support such a neighborhood, or the will of the people to create one without the population pressure. I'm not sure about the former, but I believe the latter is coming. My generation (younger than about 30) is far more interested in high-density, car-free living than earlier generations are, in my opinion. There are plenty Gen-X'ers and baby boomers that would like to live that way, but there won't be critical mass until my generation grows up enough to buy their own place and decide that they want an urban home.
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Permalink Reply by East Ghost on -
Not making assumptions at all. I'm speaking from experience. Having lived in several truly high density neighborhoods, I can say this: If you need toilet paper you go downstairs, walk 20 seconds down the street, buy some, and return home. This is what high income and low income people do all the time. Those with children and those without.
Shopping for groceries more frequently means it takes far less time. People adapt to the lack of personal transportation in all sorts of ways. It is not uncommon to see carts or wagons full of groceries. And again, the stores are right there. Going to the store in a high density neighborhood is the equivalent of walking to a neighbor's home in a low density neighborhood. People do it all the time and think nothing of it. You want some beer? Go to the liquor store and buy a six pack. These trips are measured in terms of a few minutes each, so people tend not to go on big shopping excursions that necessitate having to get a ton of stuff home at once. They get what they need when they need it.
Yes, large, poor families might have a harder time than wealthy single people, but you could probably say that holds true in general regardless of the neighborhood type.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Brotz on
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I lived like that when I was in grad school in Pittsburgh (the Shadyside neighborhood for anyone in the know). It was about half a mile to the supermarket, so it was an easy 10 minute walk. I rarely had more than one or two bags, and we started using our own canvas bags which made the carrying much easier. Of course, I didn't have a family then (just my pre-wife) and I couldn't easily buy a six-pack. Damn Pennsylvania liquor laws....
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Permalink Reply by East Ghost on
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It's even easier when it's a 1-2 minute walk...
(You're below "reply-to" depth)
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Permalink Reply by bonnie on -
Wait, are you implying that encouraging pedestrian accessibility will limit ADA accessibility? I guess I don't really see how making an area more "walkable" will limit those who use alternate forms of mobility (i.e. wheelchairs, etc.) I encourage all of us to spend a day in a wheelchair and learn a little about how accessible our city is.
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Permalink Reply by Pat OConnell on -
"This core should ideally be walkable and vibrant..."
Almost any part of Albuquerque has sidewalks, and so is walkable, with the exception of parts of the north and south valleys. That doesn't mean we'll be able to (for instance) carry groceries home from the supermarket. Still gotta have that car, I'm afraid.
Putting new sidewalks in the North and South Valleys to make them walkable also destroys their rural character. Which one do you want?
I have no idea what you mean by the core being "vibrant." Is the Frontier vibrant (well I think so)? How about tattoo parlors? One person's "Vibrant" may be another person's "tacky" or "overpriced." It takes all kinds.
From East Ghost:
"What is so bad about radically altering the character of existing neighborhoods? Much of what we have is sprawl."
Whose homes do you want to destroy to eliminate the sprawl? People live in those houses. From what I've seen, most former vacant lots in this city have already been occupied with homes, apartments or businesses, though I still laugh at the still empty "loft offices" across the street from Flying Star downtown, not far from where I live.
On bike service: We have plenty of streets and a fair number of bike trails and routes. What we need is more secure bike racks (had my locked bike stolen years ago while in college).
On transit: I've used buses in the past. If possible, I'd rather plan to drive a car or bicycle.
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Permalink Reply by East Ghost on
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Um, huh? Are you under the impression that infill development takes place at gunpoint or something? Forced evictions and bulldozers?
Typically real estate changes hands through the market...
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Permalink Reply by Pat OConnell on
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"What is so bad about radically altering the character of existing neighborhoods? Much of what we have is sprawl."
You seem to be talking about redevelopment, implied by the phrase "radically altering" a neighborhood.
What if people buy or already own those houses and they don't want to follow your "master plan?" People in NM tend to live the way they want. Homes in the Valley may have chickens or horses. I even saw a sheep once in a north valley yard, and I remember the buffalo herd that used to be in Los Ranchos (Sandia Pueblo has them now).
Homes in may have pools or hot tubs in the back yard, or keep things very simple with a swing set in the back yard for the kids or roses and a vegetable garden (had all those things at various times in homes I've had in the past).
To do a redevelopment you would probably have to buy a bunch of houses and remodel them en masse, to turn them into your vision. It's that radical a change.
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Permalink Reply by Barelas Babe on -
I wonder if the complaints might have something to do with how long people have lived in an area and how old they are?
Senior citizens who are living in a home that was once on the outskirts might be a bit frustrated by greater 'urban' density, which they might not have anticipated 40-50 years ago. More recent arrivals probably have a good idea of what parts of the city have greater density and should expect whatever effects come with this.
Not to quibble or anything, but calling the near NE heights urban seems to be stretching it a bit. Then again, I have trouble thinking of much as urban in Albuquerque, given my point of reference. It would be interesting to know how many areas of this city really carry 1000 people per square mile, which is a number (from the U.S. Census 2000) that I've seen used at work to define urban.
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Permalink Reply by mombat on -
I just looked at the census quickfactsfor ABQ and according to them we have an average 2,400 people per square mile.
Chicago has 12,000 and LA 2,300.
I didn't find a map, which is what i wanted because this was news to me, maybe I am looking at the chart wrong.
I do agree that length of time has do to with how people view the city.
I the cases I am talking about one person has been in the place for 40 years, one 15 years.
I understand when people object to 7 story hotels in their back yard or other things that are out of scale. I don't get the expectation that if you live on a major( for ABQ) street that you can argue that you are not in the city. I grew up here and these places have been the "city" for my whole life. But I guess the point here is perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Barelas Babe on
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Yikes - I'm behind the times, or my memory was thinking NM urban/rural stats, and not Albuquerque. From those numbers, it seems that several parts of the city might qualify for urban density.
Thanks for the update Mombat! Let us know if you find a map.
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