How can one person make Tulsa more urban?

I'd like to start this off by telling you my BEST (;D) kept secret. I am obsessed with all things urban. Urban cities, urban buildings, urban design, etc. It really kind of scares me. A kid my age, espescially one living in the suburbs, usually could care less about such things. Kids my age care about Facebook, Twitter, texting, and what car they plan on getting. While I do enjoy those things, they're not a driving passion, so to speak, for me. (Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of friends...:D) I have a passion, and it is for urban design. When I get out of college, I plan to buy/rent a loft downtown, and enjoy the hard core urban lifestyle for several years. If Tulsa doesn't have a fully urban and walkable area in about 7-8 years, I will move away for a while. Bottom line, I am going to be one of those young professional urbanites for a while. I will have this experience. If it has to be in another city, then so be it. But, I want it to be in Tulsa.

So, with that said, I would like to try and make a list of things that each of us can do to make Tulsa a more urban city. Some may be easy and quick, and others might require going out of your way a little, but I really want everyone who reads this blog to take them into consideration, and apply them to your daily life whenever you can.

1. Take the bus more often. (if its available to you) Even if it's just once a week, or once a month, ride the bus. Increased ridership numbers will mean increased interest in city leaders to better our public transit. It frustrates me so much to see all these empty busses driving around town. If it's available to you, use it! Even if it's only on occasion.

2. Walk. Walk wherever you can. If it's the restaurant a quarter mile away from your house, walk to it. There is no sense in taking your car a quarter to a half mile when it is not raining, hailing, sleeting, or snowing outside. Increased pedestrians enhance the feel of neighborhoods, and could help get zoning codes changed.

3. Ride your bike. If you have a bike, put it to good use and ride it! This sort of ties in with increased walking, it just gives you longer ranges. Instead of driving your car to go pick up the prescription from CVS, ride your bike. And unless there are bike lanes off the street, ride your bike in the road. This will eventually drive even the most anti-bikes person into advocating for bike lanes. They'll get sick of there being so many slow bikes blocking their Suburban's path.

4. Take advantage of the River Parks trails. We have fantastic trails and parks along the Arkansas River, so it's a no brained to visit them on a regular basis. What you don't use you lose, and we definitely don't want to lose these.

5. This is the last one, and the one that I feel to be the most important. Get involved in your community. Whether it's a neighborhood association, meeting friends for coffee, joining a running or biking club, a book club, a church function, or countless other things, they all help make a city livable. Nothing makes a city more livable than involved, connected citizens.

I hope that we can all put these five suggestions into our lives. Tulsa is a great city, filled with wonderful citizens who are capable of making a difference and changing the city for the better. So I ask you all, what else can we do to make Tulsa a more urban, or an overall better city? I welcome, no, I beg your input to this discussion. Please feel free to voice your opinion by leaving a comment, and by voting in the poll.

Downtown Grocery Stores

Two grocery stores have officially been announced now for Downtown Tulsa. They will of Course be Archer Market, a Blake Ewing operation, and Cam's Grocery, run by Daniel Cameron. Archer Market will be located on the first floor of the Detroit Lofts on the NE corner of Archer and Detroit, and Cam's Grocery will be located at 114 S. Detroit.

These announcements are more than just boring news articles to read. They mean something much more significant than that. They are signifying that the continuing change and revitalization of Downtown Tulsa has reached another milestone. A grocery store is really the last piece of the puzzle to make downtown a truly walkable neighborhood.

So will these two new grocery stores spur new development? My answer to that question, is that I honestly don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on downtown here or saying that a new grocery store doesn't mean much. What I'm saying is exactly the opposite. There is SO much planned and under construction right now, that I don't know if these grocery stores will make a noticeable impact in the amount of development. Where I think we will see the largest impact is in the perception of downtown. Walking or driving through other citie's downtowns with grocery stores, they just feels so alive, and well, populated. A new grocery store is a sign of popUlation growth, which is exactly what our downtown needs.

I wish the best Of luck to Blake Ewing and Daniel Cameron as they set out on their new entrepreneurial endeavors. Thanks to both of you for all the hard work you have put in to making yours, and many other people's dreams a reality.

Enterprise Building Mixed-Use Development.

So unless the TDA decides to make another one of their famous blunders, we will see the Enterprise Building commencing with renovation soon. The $10.8 million development will include 77 residential units,13,500 square feet of light office space, and about 7,500 square feet of retail. The developers have stated that these rental units will be affordable, which in my opinion, is a huge plus.

This is just the kind of development that Boston Avenue/Deco District is in need of. With the recent flurry of activity there, this will be a major step towards making Boston Avenue a More vibrant 24/7 neighborhood. It will also provide more residents to utilize the park right across the street. As long as these are not insanely overpriced, I see absolutely no reason as to why these would not sell quickly. Just think about it, living in a modern apartment on historic Boston Avenue, right across from the new Centennial Green. You would be close to two new grocery options, thousands of offices, and a growing retail and restaurant market. I cannot wait to see this project happen!

Finally!!!

We will now see a grocery store opening up in Downtown Tulsa, hopefully by late fall! A location has not been specified, but it has been rumored that it will go in the building south of Enso at 1st and Detroit. It will be called Cam's Grocery, and owned by Dan Cameron. This has the potential to be a catalyst to development, and will be a HUGE step towards creating a full blown urban neighborhood in Tulsa

Way to go Cameron!