Purpose of this blog

I moved to Baton Rouge in 2006. Honestly, the first time I visited Government Street I wasn't impressed. When I came to Baton Rouge I moved to Spanish Town to try and get some urban lifestyles out of Baton Rouge, so obviously I had to leave downtown to do all my shopping. (Minus the Spanish Town market, which is was awesomly amazing - yes, that's an adjective). After a year in Baton Rouge I decided to buy a place. I had been in the city a year and come to the realization of the resources midcity, and more centrally Government Street, provided. Along the three and a half mile stretch are numerous art shops, restaurants, supermarkets, and services; beginning at the Mississippi River to the visual terminus at Jefferson Highway. Many neighborhoods line the street from lower income communities to high valued homes, and everything in between.

All of these positive qualities scream urban lifestyle, something that seems to be lacking in Baton Rouge. Why the urban lifestyle is missing is a mystery. Historically Louisiana is an urban state. The automobile has only been present for fifty years, while the Acadians settled here in the late 1700's and New Orlean's was founded fifty years before. Although Baton Rouge originate until after New Orleans, and (lets face it) lacks the cultural beginnings of Southern Louisiana, its a mystery why Baton Rouge didn't inherited some of the popular traits of New Orleans. The same traits which makes it famous worldwide. Instead, we have seen our urban landscape collapse to the vehicle in as little as thirty years. The car, while convenient (and the enables us to sing out loud), it comes with a lot of costs to both ourselves and society. Death, obesity, monetary, etc. People have been known to give up habits relating to just one of these problems. Yet the majority of people won't give up the automobile, even while being suffocated by all three. Every day we step into the car and partake in the most dangerous activity most of us will ever partake (and I'm paying an extra mortgage for this privilege).

So a year later I purchased a townhouse in midcity. I am now within a mile of Calandros, Piggly Wiggly, Albertsons, YMCA, La Caretta, Phil Brady's, the Jumbala Shop, Rolly Polly, Jack in the Box, Cains, Smoothi King, Popeyes, Oriental Pearl, Sonic, Opies, Albasha, Brew HaHa, Serops... gasp; and on and on. The majority of people in Baton Rouge need their car and ten miles (with millions of infrastructure taxes) to access all of these. I just need a five foot sidewalk, which I have (if I'm not in a wheel chair, or it hasn't rained in two days, or the utility company hasn't ripped out the sidewalk). So I walk all these places. Yet I still am taking my life into my own hands. I'm walking within feet of cars traveling at forty miles an hour, dodging cars backing out of parking spaces, crossing countless curb cuts; all while viewing awful urban landscapes.

Yet I still love it. The residents are ecliptic, forward thinking, and diverse. It's a planners wet dream. The social qualities of this area are unprecedent across the country. Yet it looks ugly. Virtual culture, if I may (Sonjay). Not pretty to look at, but give it a week and you love it here.

So what are the problems? The entries to follow will focus on in depth analysis of the urban qualities of Government Street that (I feel) need 'tweaked'. This includes (but won't be limited to) entries relating to sidewalks, transit, traffic, design guidelines, and street side appearance. Government Street has all the physical needs, it just needs infrastructure (both private and public). The city has done an amazing job fixing the downtown in these aspects, which is vital to the entire city's success. But we need investment (not just new traffic signals) in our neighborhoods.