Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / March 24, 2000, edition 1 / Page 14
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March 24, 2000 THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM IN G'BORO By Honor McElroy STAFF WRITER It is all around me these days. New Urbanism. I look at the cityscapes, or cringe at the suburban zombified houses sag ging, sleeping, and living under the eternal buzzing of neon lights. I feel more at ease know ing there is a movement sweep ing America which attempts to counter-act the two-car garage, white picket fence, and the SUV. New Urbanism is a new philosophy that emphasizes de stroying what a car-oriented, consumer culture, and living in suburbia causes. In the Geog raphy of Nowhere, James Kunstler, a supporter of this new trend of thought, states, "The living arrangement Ameri cans now think of as normal is I tffffJljSflfljfljfl Example of "New Urbanism" bit board art. fa Student Voice Bush's snow versus Clinton's pot "It speaks to the hypocrisy of the Republican party as well as the media. Both de cided that draft-dodging hippie should be crucified, but apparantly coke hits to close to home for them to dredge it up." Call The Guilfordian at 316-2306 and speak your mind. Each week we'll print a sampling of your messages. NO explicit language please! We will print messages verbatim, so if you look stupid, it's all you. Forum bankrupting us economically, socially, ecologically, and spiri tually. The physical setting it self—the cartoon landscape of car clogged highways, strip malls, tract houses, franchise fry pits, parking lots, junked cit ies, and ravaged countryside— is not merely a symptom of our troubled culture but in many ways a primary cause of our troubles." I see New Urbanism in D.C., in the attempt to create NoMa, LoDo in Denver, and SoMa in San Francisco. These sections of big cities are sort of like New York's SoHo and the village combined. They are neighborhoods centered on art and a more intellectual culture. Finally, yesterday I found New Urbanism in, hold your breath, . . Greensboro. It set my chi to waltzing. That's right, just below ADBUSTERS SPRING 2000 MAGAZINE "It'spretty hard to find some one in this day and age who has never experimented, and even harder to find someone from the baby-boom genera tion. Okay, so they did drugs. What's the big deal? It shouldn't be an issue. " The Guilfordian town area was a place full of prostitutes and drugs. Now the city is waking up to the sleeping giant. Right now at Guilford a lot of people are upset about the questions of the reality of Guilford College as a real com munity. We have com mittees drawing up compacts, forums on the future of the col lege, and endless complaints about the lack of a social scene on any Friday night. But it's not just our campus that doesn't understand how to exist as a community, it is our entire coun try. Look to the heart of most cities and what do you find? Your eyes will en counter a desolate, boarded up street. Where is the hub of activity? It is cen tered on the consum erism of Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. This rehabilita tion isn't just about more money. It's about actually getting out of the car and hav ing a place to walk. People might actually begin to think of com munity in terms of something other than their fellow Wal-Mart shoppers. Perhaps in both the college cul ture and the country's South Elm Street, a pur ist New Ur banist con struction company, Bowman De velopment Group ■ of Huntersville, will rehabili tate old houses, small shops, and sidewalks. They will also create more parks and a more aes thetically pleasing area to walk around in. Ten years ago this down- culture we can begin to move past materialism, towards a "Let me telly 'all a story, 'bout this chick I know. They call her Amphetamine Annie. She's always shovelin ' snow." "Cv ■■ >'"■ ■ *rSililHtv' II | ! jl| \ I^l f '\i x New Urbanism art. Yes, it is a tree. more actualized satisfaction and standard of living. THIS WEEK'S SUGGESTED TOPIC: WHAT'S UP WITH THIS STUDENT AGAINST STUDENT THING, HUH? I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL TOGETHER. Page 13 ADBUSTERS SPRING 2000 MAGAZINE
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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March 24, 2000, edition 1
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