I've decided to try something new with the blog. Instead of doing polls that last for a month or so, I am going to start doing weekly polls. They will be open from Sunday to Saturday, and I will sort of recap and discuss the results in a post at the end of the week. I will still be doing posts outside of the "weekly theme," so this is going to be an addition to the activity in the blog, not just a change.
These changes are coming about because I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of page views and activity on this blog in the past few weeks, which has come as a complete shock to me. I feel that I have hindered my own growth by not posting nearly enough and therefore causing this to be a website that you only want to check once every week or two for an update. My goal is to change that. I would like to thank all of my readers by way of making this a more interesting website to visit. That's not going to happen unless I make some changes to how I run this blog.
As always, thank you very much for reading and caring about what I have to say. I feel like I say this all the time, but I truly cannot thank you all enough. You are what make and grow this blog.
Whoops....almost forgot. This week's theme will be the "One Place" development, and speculation on what is to come with the second phase, or whether or not it will even happen. I'll have the poll up and running tonight so be sure to vote!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Will the Land Legacy park ever be built?
Apparently, those that participated in the poll think not. And I think that I agree with them. My biggest reason for saying this is that I haven't seen (or at least can't remember seeing) any detailed plans for the proposed park. Someone please point me in the right direction if I have simply missed the plans.
I would absolutely love to be proved wrong though. I want to see a park built on that location, as I think it would really spur development in the East End. However, the developers behind the project a few posts back seem to think that this project has a chance, and I'm sure they know more than I.
Perhaps more will surface soon, as it definitely seems as though the East End is gaining some momentum. I think there is much more going on behind the scenes than we know, so here's to hoping that we will be surprised with something great in the East End very soon.
I would absolutely love to be proved wrong though. I want to see a park built on that location, as I think it would really spur development in the East End. However, the developers behind the project a few posts back seem to think that this project has a chance, and I'm sure they know more than I.
Perhaps more will surface soon, as it definitely seems as though the East End is gaining some momentum. I think there is much more going on behind the scenes than we know, so here's to hoping that we will be surprised with something great in the East End very soon.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Why we don't need to keep up with OKC
This post is written as a response to Jake, who left a comment on the previous post regarding the talk in OKC of another new skyscraper(s) that will most likely be announced relatively soon. He also said that Tulsa needs to build one to "get in on the race." I will preface this post by stating that I do not intend to be rude or put anyone down, it is just me giving my full and unedited opinion. I enjoy all feedback from readers of this site, and I welcome differing opinions from mine.
Let me start by saying this, the city of Tulsa cannot simply build a new skyscraper at will. It takes a corporation willing to spend the money to do so. It doesn't matter how much we *really* want a new skyscraper, it will not happen until either a corporation or investor sees the need for one. OKC has seen this with Devon, and will probably end up seeing it again with another company.
"Wait, what? You mean that OKC currently has a skyscraper under construction and is likely to see at least one more in the coming years? But what about us? We must build a taller one in order to proclaim our superiority!" In my opinion, this thought process is totally wrong. I have grown tired of the attitude that we must mimick everything OKC does, or we will fall behind. This next part will damage the prides of many of you, but I believe it's true. OKC has already "outdone" us in terms of business and population growth. I don't think Tulsa will ever be as big as OKC, and that is okay. That does not mean that Tulsa cannot be as good as, or even better than OKC in terms of actual human-scale day to day life.
Why does it matter to us if OKC has the bigger skyline, or is adding population at a faster rate? Bigger does not equal better.
Here in Tulsa we have beautiful, historic neighborhoods. A downtown that is growing and revitalizing at an extremely quick pace, and many neighborhoods around it that are beginning to gentrify. We also have several very nice and rapidly growing suburbs.
So why are we so worried about OKC "outdoing" us? They are simply experiencing different circumstances than we are now. Who knows, we could be in their shoes in 5-10 years. Besides, some of the citizens are starting to get inflated heads, we should be happy that we're keeping all the nice people here. :)
Let me start by saying this, the city of Tulsa cannot simply build a new skyscraper at will. It takes a corporation willing to spend the money to do so. It doesn't matter how much we *really* want a new skyscraper, it will not happen until either a corporation or investor sees the need for one. OKC has seen this with Devon, and will probably end up seeing it again with another company.
"Wait, what? You mean that OKC currently has a skyscraper under construction and is likely to see at least one more in the coming years? But what about us? We must build a taller one in order to proclaim our superiority!" In my opinion, this thought process is totally wrong. I have grown tired of the attitude that we must mimick everything OKC does, or we will fall behind. This next part will damage the prides of many of you, but I believe it's true. OKC has already "outdone" us in terms of business and population growth. I don't think Tulsa will ever be as big as OKC, and that is okay. That does not mean that Tulsa cannot be as good as, or even better than OKC in terms of actual human-scale day to day life.
Why does it matter to us if OKC has the bigger skyline, or is adding population at a faster rate? Bigger does not equal better.
Here in Tulsa we have beautiful, historic neighborhoods. A downtown that is growing and revitalizing at an extremely quick pace, and many neighborhoods around it that are beginning to gentrify. We also have several very nice and rapidly growing suburbs.
So why are we so worried about OKC "outdoing" us? They are simply experiencing different circumstances than we are now. Who knows, we could be in their shoes in 5-10 years. Besides, some of the citizens are starting to get inflated heads, we should be happy that we're keeping all the nice people here. :)
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