"There's good points and bad points
But it all works out
I'm a little freaked out
Find a city
Find myself a city to live in"
 - lyrics from The Talking Heads "Cities"

David Byrne is someone for whom our respect transcends his obvious musical contributions to society and allows us to be equally enamored by his social contributions and his tireless dedication, bringing awareness to bicycling and alternative transportation, city planning, development and growth issues, and the arts - and of course the dynamic relationship and interaction of all of them.  

So it was only fitting that Byrne was given an opportunity recently to write about his ideas of a perfect city for the Wall Street Journal.  His thoughts on different aspects of a city got us thinking about our own fair city - and what we like and don't like about it. 

Through his writing, Byrne eventually concludes that, "Of course, it's not really possible to cherry pick like this—mainly because a city's qualities cannot thrive out of context. A place's cuisine and architecture and language are all somehow interwoven. But one can dream."  So dream we will do, with your help of course.  

What are you thoughts on Spokane's size, density, sensibility and attitude? What are some legitimate goals and aspirations in the development process? What do you think about Spokane's security, chaos and danger factor, and human scale?  Do you take issue with parking, boulevards, mixed use, and public spaces? Do we have a public environment that marginalizes pedestrians, bicyclists, and bus riders? Read through Byrne's wonderful article and respond in the comments section with your thoughts about Spokane.  We will gather the responses and do a follow-up post with what you have to say, sharing our commentary as well. This is your opportunity to toast or roast our mid-size city by the river.  What are we doing right, what are we doing wrong, ask yourself---well...how did we get here?

 

---

---