I hope the editorial below from UNC's Daily Tar Heel newspaper (July 20th) isn't serious. First, they show pride in Chapel Hill by insulting Durham, saying our downtown is a "crack supermarket." Even if it is a joking insult to Duke, it hurts Durham's image and many people might believe it. I'm sure there are drugs in downtown, but I haven't seen them. Downtown seems safe and I often feel more comfortable there (and in Carrboro) than I do in parts of central Chapel Hill. I have more experience with Chapel Hill than Durham's downtown, but there seems to be a difference. Durham's downtown is improving and not so bad, just not as vibrant as Franklin St. It is hard to compare the two cities, since Durham is larger and has a very different context from the relatively affluent college town of Chapel Hill. It's more fair to compare Franklin St. to Ninth St., not to downtown. Secondly, Chapel Hill has things to be proud of, but it hasn't solved every problem. Chapel Hill still has crime, homelessness, panhandling, hate crimes, unemployment, traffic and parking, pollution (carbon dioxide, smog, silt, runoff, rampant non-native invasive plants, etc.). And it is still capitalist, so it can't solve many of its social problems, even though it is dominated by social welfare-minded social-democratic types. I hope its editorial gets a response; unfortunately it came out at the end of UNC's summer session II, so the DTH won't come out again until late August or early September.
Our blue heaven: An editorial from another reality
Based on an analysis of local statistical data and the methodology of the American City Business Journals, Chapel Hill is the smartest town in the United States.
Duh.
Just by looking around our bit of paradise on Earth, anyone can see that Chapel Hill is as close to perfect as possible. With a population of the best and the brightest, our town has conquered all of the major social issues of the last decade.
Some cities handle homelessness by pushing individuals to the margins of society and the municipality. They are ignored and forgotten.
Chapel Hill has erased homelessness by spurning economic growth so much that our unemployment level is less than 0.1 percent.
Coupled with an aggressive campaign to make Chapel Hill a community with affordable housing for all, none in our humble little burg struggle on without their basic needs being met.
Some cities have deteriorating downtowns that perpetuate downward cycles of poverty. Just look at Durham, whose downtown is best described as a crack supermarket. If only they had a first-rate university to partner with.
But in Chapel Hill, Franklin Street is a hub of commerce without comparison in North Carolina. Every store front is full of Earth-friendly goods to meet any and every desire. Fine vegetarian dining is never more than 20 feet away, and all of it is a smoke-free environment.
Some say it is the amble and cheap parking; others credit the wireless network that forms an information umbrella across all of Chapel Hill; some even say it is the tax incentives that have created the vast stretch of commercial success that marks Franklin Street.
Whatever it is, it has certainly brought a great deal of prosperity to the Hill.
It is hard to pick the one thing that has made Chapel Hill the mecca of triumph over social ills for the New South. Certainly, though, the strong bond between residents and students has led to a partnership that can conquer all.
A lot of other towns find themselves too caught up in the things that can divide and tear apart a community and do not focus on common concerns. Neighborhoods segregate themselves and are pitted against one another. Instead of welcoming new neighbors, folks try to get them banned. Those who should be friends are foes.
In Chapel Hill divergent groups of all sorts have come together to fight the social ills of our time. We've conquered economic woes and became a model of prosperity for the country.
We took our intelligence and dedicated ourselves to bettering our community. It took hard work, it took putting aside petty, personal interests, but we got it done.
We made Chapel Hill into our blue heaven.
Duh.
Just by looking around our bit of paradise on Earth, anyone can see that Chapel Hill is as close to perfect as possible. With a population of the best and the brightest, our town has conquered all of the major social issues of the last decade.
Some cities handle homelessness by pushing individuals to the margins of society and the municipality. They are ignored and forgotten.
Chapel Hill has erased homelessness by spurning economic growth so much that our unemployment level is less than 0.1 percent.
Coupled with an aggressive campaign to make Chapel Hill a community with affordable housing for all, none in our humble little burg struggle on without their basic needs being met.
Some cities have deteriorating downtowns that perpetuate downward cycles of poverty. Just look at Durham, whose downtown is best described as a crack supermarket. If only they had a first-rate university to partner with.
But in Chapel Hill, Franklin Street is a hub of commerce without comparison in North Carolina. Every store front is full of Earth-friendly goods to meet any and every desire. Fine vegetarian dining is never more than 20 feet away, and all of it is a smoke-free environment.
Some say it is the amble and cheap parking; others credit the wireless network that forms an information umbrella across all of Chapel Hill; some even say it is the tax incentives that have created the vast stretch of commercial success that marks Franklin Street.
Whatever it is, it has certainly brought a great deal of prosperity to the Hill.
It is hard to pick the one thing that has made Chapel Hill the mecca of triumph over social ills for the New South. Certainly, though, the strong bond between residents and students has led to a partnership that can conquer all.
A lot of other towns find themselves too caught up in the things that can divide and tear apart a community and do not focus on common concerns. Neighborhoods segregate themselves and are pitted against one another. Instead of welcoming new neighbors, folks try to get them banned. Those who should be friends are foes.
In Chapel Hill divergent groups of all sorts have come together to fight the social ills of our time. We've conquered economic woes and became a model of prosperity for the country.
We took our intelligence and dedicated ourselves to bettering our community. It took hard work, it took putting aside petty, personal interests, but we got it done.
We made Chapel Hill into our blue heaven.
[Also, I see that somewhow the blog has gotten out of order, with three repeat posts.]
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment