Sometimes a step back in time can be a step into the future. At the Michigan Folk School in Superior Township, back-to-basics living isn't just seen as nostalgia for arts and crafts, but rather a community-based counterbalance to the alienating advances of technology.
The power of dogonomics is undeniable, and Ann Arbor is finally beginning to recognize the fact. From pup salons to doggie daycare centers to off-leash parks, canines and their owners are expecting more and better accommodations. So, how are we doing when it comes to man's best friend? Concentrate's Richard Retyi looks for answers.
At our last speaker event local blogger Mark Maynard moderated a fascinating discussion with four soon-to-be ex Ann Arborites about why they were leaving, what they'd miss, and what might have convinced them to stay. If you missed it, well, we've got the video replay.
If you've ever read Mark Maynard's blog you may have stumbled across his exit interviews with soon-to-be ex-locals. The Concentrate Speaker Series has asked Mark to bring his blog to life by interviewing a panel of Ann Arborites about their plans to move away. Why are they leaving? What might get them to stay? What will they miss? What are they eager to leave behind? For these answers and more SIGN UP NOW for TOMRROW'S event!
To the editors at USA Today it might seem "weird" that a public library would offer seeds, energy meters, microscopes, and skeletal models. To others it looks like a beloved public institution is evolving its mission. Excerpt: "American Library Association President Maureen Sullivan considers the seed collections a powerful way to help people pursue "self-directed learning and education." Sullivan, interim dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston, said she has been encouraging librarians "to get out of the four walls of the library and really be out and about in the community." Seed libraries, she said, are perhaps the most visible sign that libraries get it. Choate, of the Ann Arbor library, said seed libraries and skeletons aren't necessarily a sign that libraries are trying to stay relevant — it's in the very nature of libraries to change. Many of the items we now take for granted — paperback books, pulp fiction and children's books, for instance — were novelties, or worse, when libraries first introduced them. "Back in the day," she said, "having fiction was scandalous."" Read the rest here.
Last week, Concentrate's speaker event asked 826Michigan's executive director Amanda Uhle how her organization attracts and activates so many volunteers and what a robot repair store has to do with teaching kids to write. If you missed the event you can still learn the answers in our video.
How do you turn a community of artists into an arts community? It's a question many in Washtenaw County struggle to answer. In Saline, Margie Bovee has helped to make the TwoTwelve Art Center part of the solution, creating a space that teaches, exhibits, and advances both the expression and profession of art.
What do you know, navigating streets and roadways is different for bicycles than it is for cars. Who'd of guessed? Austin is leading the way with mapping out its streets to make info about them safer, more relevant, and more accurate for local cyclists. Hopefully other communities (cough-AnnArbor-cough) will take note. Excerpt: "In other words, the majority of people might want to give biking for transport a try, but they’re worried they might not be able to handle the stress and danger of riding on their city’s roads. That 60 percent is the coveted demographic slice that Wilkes and others want to encourage. And for Austin, a better bike map is a key part of an overall strategy to get those folks out and riding. The city’s map prioritizes rider comfort in its symbology. "We tried to make it real intuitive," says Wilkes, who has been refining the concept for several years now. Bike trails, separated cycle tracks, and what the city terms "quiet streets" – in peaceful, low-traffic neighborhoods – are marked in vivid green. "High comfort" roads are bright blue."Medium comfort" is marked in a darker blue. "Low comfort" is indicated by a cautionary yellow. And red signifies "extremely low comfort," as in, you probably don’t want to go there unless you are one of the rodeo-riding one percent. Directional arrows indicate hills and how steep they are." Read the rest here.
Folks paid $75 each for the privilege of jumping into a pool of ice cold water this past weekend, raising nearly $130,000 for Specia Olympics Michigan. Excerpt: "With a raucous crowd shouting their support, more than 300 plungers -- including five Special Olympians -- leaped one by one from a wooden platform into one of two above-ground pools set up on the partially snow-covered football field for the U-M Polar Plunge. Plungers wore costumes ranging from basketball jerseys to bowling pins and superheroes. "Ahh, it's great. I loved it," Patty Carden, 52, a special-education teacher and coach at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, said as water dripped from her green St. Patrick's Day-themed jacket and hat. "Fantastic. You should try it."" Read and see more about the event here.
A new draft plan to guide development along the South State Street Corridor has been approved for distribution to stakeholders. With more than 40 recommendations for the two miles of S. State Street between Ellsworth and Stimson Street, the plan is intended to eventually become a part of the City of Ann Arbor's Master Plan. Corridor planning is a relatively new concept, and an important one, says the City of Ann Arbor's Jeff Kahan. "These corridors are where a lot of the action is going to be taking place over the next half a century," he says. Because these are typically areas that function as entrances to the city and border neighboring communities, the South State Street Corridor Plan is a collaborative effort, not only with area stakeholders, but also with other ongoing planning efforts, such as Reimagine Washtenaw and AATA's Connector Study. "One of the interested facets of the South State Street Corridor is there aren't tons of residents who live within the study area," says Kahan. "There is an apartment community and one single-owner occupant " With better public transportation nodes and improved walkability, that could change, says Kahan. In addition to attracting more housing, these factors would improve the experience of visitors to Ann Arbor in a key hotel area. "If you are staying in a hotel near Briarwood, it is not easy to get over to those restaurants," he says. "We want to create activity zones near transit sites." The State Street Corridor Plan is the result of a study that included public forums and stakeholder interviews. Now that the draft plan has been developed, it has been authorized by city council to be distributed to neighboring municipalities. Those entities will have 42 days to submit feedback on the plan, after which an additional public hearing will take place before the South State Street Plan is ready for final approval. Source: Jeff Kahan, City of Ann Arbor Writer: Natalie Burg, Development News Editor
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