Flogs, the Post, and "activists"

From the Old Convention Center website.

An email I wrote about my blog entry from Saturday, "If you don't get it you don't get it*," was communicated to the target so-to-speak, Colbert King, and he responded on the list. I wrote a couple more long responses (in email) which may or may not make it into the blog. The basic point is that where you stand depends on where you sit.

One of the things I rementioned in the email was my Monday criticism of Dana Hedgpeth, the Business section columnist about development issues. She rarely interviews people outside of the real estate industry, except for Terry Lynch, who gets interviewed today. See "I know that the business of Washington is development...."

It's funny because in my emails yesterday I mentioned Terry Lynch, one-time candidate for City Council, and longtime community organizer for the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and social activist.

I commented that since Terry was appointed to the DC Public Library Planning Task Force (which produced a very ordinary report and sponsored an odious disrespectful to civic engagement public participation process) his independence and quality of observation seems to have suffered, at least in my opinion.

Today's quote:

"I'm very excited about Hines's efforts," said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. "It seems to be one of the few District-related projects that's moving forward and that will maximize jobs, benefits for D.C. residents and create revenues for the District.

in Hedgpeth's article, "New Look at Old Center," about the design plan for the Old Convention Center site confirms my criticism. Despite the quotes from Rich Bradley, director of the Downtown BID, and Kingdon Gould, a developer, the little plaza there and the site generally is unlikely to become "a focal point for downtown." The Old Convention Center site design is problematic for a couple reasons

(1) it's merely a ho-hum development for the most part. That's no big deal really, except for the fact that Mayor Williams raised the expectations sky high about what the site could be. See "(G)Rumblings over plans for redeveloping DC's Old Convention Center site."

(2) the public plaza space as part of the development is middling. And a number of well-respected urban designers have criticized the "public space" as not going very far or doing much. Aty 1/2 acre, it is half the size of Portland's very successful Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Photo of Pioneer Courthouse Square from the Project for Public Spaces.

Why didn't Dana Hedgpeth include quotes from any of the people concerned about this? Why is every development great as is and unable to be improved according to most of the coverage in the Business section of the Washington Post?

(3) One of the reasons imo that this process failed is that the City didn't get the planners to look at the resources and opportunities in the area more expansively. For example, think of these parks and plazas along Mass. Ave. and New York Avenue together. You have:

• the park across from the 6&I Historic Synagogue on Massachusetts Ave.;
• the square at Reservation 8, the Carnegie Building site;
• a potential great plaza on the Old Convention Center site
and note if a great library had been proposed on this site (which I argue hasn't been proposed) it could have been complemented by a GREAT public square, like the Library Plaza in Salt Lake City, or Bryant Park behind the 42nd Street branch of the New York Public Library, BUT SUCH WASN'T SUGGESTED;
• the park at 9th and I Streets NW.

Instead, we'll probably end up with something more akin to the restaurant patios in front of buildings in the Ballston area of Arlington.
Restaurant patio on Fairfax Drive, Ballston.

According to today's Online Media Daily:

PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY EDELMAN WILL likely need to completely overhaul its online blogging strategy for its large retail client Wal-Mart if it hopes to maintain its membership in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

Earlier this month, Edelman was placed on 90-days' probation with the organization, after the public relations firm acknowledged it was behind a series of flogs, or fake blogs, for Wal-Mart: Wal-Marting Across America, Paid Critics and Working Families for Wal-Mart.

What makes the Post any different from Edelman public relations when they don't work harder to interview people outside of the party line.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization