Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Thursday, October 09, 2025

DC Strategic Bike Plan and survey

 -- Strategic Bike Plan webpage

(Since we still have our house in Ward 4, I felt justified in answering.) The survey is interesting because it's qualitative--asking questions which require written answers--rather than the usually rote-ness of multiple choice quantitative questions.

I forgot to mention e bikes as a game changer--I've come around this, getting more people to bike who wouldn't before, and/or to commute longer distances.

What about bike share?  The other thing there wasn't a place for is to ask questions of your own.  I think there needs to be serious research about "the overnight success of bike share"--not really, I'm joking.  It has taken 15 years, but now each month seems to have more bike trips than the year before.  

Why did this happen?  Expansion of the system?  I don't think so, it's hard a large number of stations to begin with.  Expansion to other communities?  I don't know, are there a lot of city-to-city bike share trips.  Just seeing it in action and testing it out?  I do think adding electric bicycles is one reason why use has increased, even if the pricing is by the minute, not by the trip.

The two big things I mentioned.

1.  Needing to be more focused on assisting people in making the transition to cycling for transportation.

-- "Revisiting assistance programs to get people biking: 26 programs," 2024

2.  The need for a secure network of bicycle parking, especially with the rise in use of expensive cargo bikes and electric bikes.

-- "Another mention of the idea of creating a network of metropolitan scale secure bicycle parking facilities," 2019


The question that wasn't asked: About equity and the provision of biking infrastructure in the low income areas of the city
.  I actually get worked up about this.  I've argued with black community organizers about the value of biking to work, and they think bikes are toys not to be taken seriously.  

Plus, bike infrastructure has been positioned as a tool of whitey/gentrification.  Which has made take up harder.

Years ago I criticized a study that said since blacks didn't want the biking infrastructure it shouldn't be built.

-- "Urg: bad studies don't push the discourse or policy forward | biking in low income communities (in DC) edition," 2014

To me that's dumb, because the point of planning isn't really choice so much as it is optimality.  For reasons of health, economics, access to jobs, and joy, biking can be a lot more optimal and cheaper than transit, and of course, driving (not to mention the difficulty and cost of parking).

Anyway, there is writing out there implying that less infrastructure in black neighborhoods is a plot ("Bike lane distribution in DC is unequal. DDOT’s new bicycling plan could help," Greater Greater Washington).  It isn't.

FWIW, I plan to write about this, based on reading a couple books looking at equity issues in transportation (Reclaiming the Road: Mobility Justice beyond Complete Streets)and cycling (Cyclescapes of the Unequal City: Bicycle Infrastructure and Uneven Development).

As the now deceased professor Donald Shoup used to stay, it's best to help people who are already helping themselves.  It's a losing proposition to try to "force" infrastructure on people who claim they don't want it.  Sadly, that means they screw themselves.  That's been true in DC with both streetcar service and cycling infrastructure.

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Monday, October 06, 2025

Public Power week: October 5-11 | Let's think more broadly about utility issues

This week is Public Power Week, calling attention to public power producers (federal dams) and local utilities in electricity (and sometimes gas) that are owned by the local government.  The webpage calls these "community owned utilities."  

-- promotional resources

The American Public Power Association doesn't represent public water utilities (although some local governments are exploring the possibility of harnessing energy from temperature-controlled water streams).

October is also National Energy Awareness Month ("October is National Energy Awareness Month," 2021).

Roots in the rural electrification movement.  Public power organizations grew out of the Rural Electrification movement in the 1930s.  

Since outside of center cities it was rural, some public power utilities exist on the outskirts of cities, like the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative in Suburban Maryland.  

The ones, like SMEC, that buy electricity from traditional sources just like "investor owned" utilities, don't have a lot of pricing discount compared to those based on hydroelectric power sources.

Community power boards.  Interestingly, with the TVA, many of the communities have community owned utilities, called Electric Power Boards, although TVA like other federal dams, sell power to both for profit and non profit utilities.

Some, like the EPB in Chattanooga, sell cable and Internet services--they did this because they needed an Internet backbone to run their system of smart meters, and made it more robust and a separate service for their customers.  It's an economic development tool ("Chattanooga, Tenn., Makes Economic Case for Municipal Broadband," Government Technology, "The Infrastructure Success Story in Chattanooga," American Prospect) as well.

Drought and power generation.  Note that in the West, where a majority of federal dams generating electricity are located, drought is making it tougher for the dams to be able to generate electricity in the face of water levels dropping below water entranceways for the generating systems ("Lake Powell forecasts show hydropower generation is at risk next year as water levels drop," Colorado Sun).

Local governments want to buy out investor owned utilities.  Some municipalities like Ann Arbor ("Ann Arbor residents plan ballot initiative to dump DTE and begin shifting city toward public power," Michigan Advance), or previously Montgomery County explore(d) taking over electricity services but the cost of buying out the utility is too high.  

-- "Publicly-owned utilities as a way to move sustainable energy policy and practice forward + better operation," 2020

Already in Ann Arbor, the city "sustainable energy utility"--other cities have them too, like DC, is working to build a parallel system to DTE ("Ann Arbor’s sustainable energy utility aims to build the electric power grid of the future − alongside the old one," The Conversation).

The city, with voters’ strong support, is launching its own sustainable energy utility. This new utility won’t replace DTE Energy, the local investor-owned power company, or even use DTE’s wires.

Instead, Ann Arbor will slowly build out a whole new modern power system, starting with installing rooftop solar and battery storage and reducing energy usage in individual homes and businesses whose owners opt in. The city then plans to expand by connecting homes and neighborhoods into microgrids and by using community solar and networked geothermal to allow broader access to clean energy.

When their multi-state utility went bankrupt, the City of Portland tried to buy the city electric utility infrastructure but were denied by the Bankruptcy Court.

LA has a municipal power authority, while San Diego has the capability to do it, but keeps selling franchise rights to San Diego Gas & Electric.  While not cheap either, LA's electricity costs are significantly less than SDGE.

Should California buy PGE.  Because of the wildfire issue, it's even been suggested that the State of California should buy and operate Pacific Gas & Electric, to get them focused on service, and hardening, not just generating profits ("Let’s end the devastation by making PG&E public," San Francisco Chronicle).  Regardless, the Wall Street Journal, "Here are 5 fixes for PG&E," suggests fixes:

  1. Stop running equipment til it breaks [and only then replacing it].
  2. Use predictive tools to assess risk.
  3. Regulate utility safety separate from rates.
  4. Manage forests more aggressively.
  5. Threaten PG&E's monopoly franchise.

Utility costs are rising.  While not directly a part of the Public Power Week promotion, it should be part of National Energy Awareness Month and provides an interesting opportunity to think about that state of utility costs--electricity and gas--in the US.  Because most markets are profit driven and prices are based on international and national pricing systems, prices are going up.

Over the past 15 years, many companies switched from coal to natural gas because prices were cheaper.  This has combined with increased solar and wind energy to keep prices down, until recently.

But now that international systems for selling and delivering natural gas have been developed, US electricity costs are trending higher, because utilities have many more competitors ("Fracking didn't drive down PA energy bills. What happened?," Spotlight PA).

The Trump Administration is addicted to fossil fuels.  One reason is because the Trump Administration is deliberately de-supporting cheaper forms of electricity generated by solar and wind power ("Trump’s hatred for renewables means the US is falling behind the rest of the world," Guardian, "Puerto Rico’s rooftop solar boom is strengthening grid resilience — why is a federal board trying to stop it?," UtilityDive, "New Report Examines Fossil Fuel Ties of Dozens of Trump Administration Hires," Inside Climate News, "The Trump administration's war on wind & renewable energy," KALW/NPR).

It's also de-funding a wide range of clean energy programs ("US green energy forecast cut by half under Trump despite global surge in solar and win" Financial Times).  From the article:

The IEA said a major factor in the US downgrade was President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has sped up the end of tax credits for green developments. Permits for wind and solar projects on federal land or waters have also been suspended.

“With the pushing forward of deadlines, renewable capacity additions are now projected to peak in 2027, then decline in 2028 and remain stable through 2030,” the IEA said. 

Doubling back on "conservative fuels/a conservative economy" [I read about this idea recently but I can't find the citation--that for example fossil fuels are conservative and renewable energy sources progressive) reduces US economic competitiveness and resiliency.

Focusing on coal, to some extent oil, and the revived interest in nuclear power ("The New Nuclear Age: Why the World Is Rethinking Atomic Power," Goldman Sachs, "Trump dreams of nuclear as he axes grid projects," Politico) will only increase rates. 

Conservative state action against "progressive power" is an increasing problem as well ("Blaming the Wind for the Mess in Texas Is Painfully Absurd," New Yorker, "With Federal Support for Wind and Solar Waning, States Are Trying to Push Policy Through on Their Own," Inside Climate News

Other issues are:

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Definition of insanity, National Parks/federal government shutdown

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

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For almost 15 years, I've written entries about how local governments need to do scenario planning vis a vis state and federal government installations in their cities, similarly states vis a vis the federal government.

This was spurred by federal government shutdowns leading to the closure of national parks, the impact on states and local governments, and their plaintive calls for opening the parks.  But also because of the impact on parks in DC, where the National Park Service runs a majority of the city's parks.

-- "Contingency planning in parks planning: Montgomery County Maryland edition," 2013
-- "Federal shutdown as another example of why local jurisdictions should have more robust contingency and master planning processes," 2013

This comes up with the SF Chronicle article, "Tourists from around the world blindsided by Muir Woods closure."

On any given year, Muir Woods National Monument draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to take in the pristine views, trails and wildlife that make up one of the last ancient redwood forests left in the Bay Area.

On Wednesday, however, tourists were greeted by an unexpected sight at the entrance: a sign informing them the Marin County park was “closed due to a lapse in appropriations” after the federal government shutdown went into effect at 12:01 that morning. A ranger on duty stood in front of a growing line of cars and tried to offer alternative nearby parks for them to visit, but there was no way around the disappointment. The reservations many of the visitors had booked months in advance had been cancelled.

The thing is, there is a system where states (or local) governments can pay to keep parks open.

It's not like this hasn't happened before.

Tourists might be blindsided by this.  Local and state governments have no excuse.

Just like in 2013, the State of Utah is stepping in to fund national parks ("Utah will fund national parks amid government shutdown. Here’s what it will keep open," Salt Lake Tribune).  

Visitors may have better luck accessing information soon, though. The state of Utah is stepping in to keep national parks open, including visitor centers, which act as central hubs of information.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity is dedicating funds to cover visitor center costs in Utah’s five national parks, as well as Cedar Breaks National Monument, according to a Friday news release. “Utah’s National Parks will remain open,” said Natalie Randall, director of the Utah Office of Tourism and Film. “We are committed to supporting visitors in planning and preparing for their best trip to Utah, preserving our parks, and ensuring Utah communities and businesses that rely on national park visitation are supported.”

The National Park Service has estimated that it costs $8,000 per day to operate visitor centers at Utah’s five national parks and Cedar Breaks National Monument, according to a statement from Randall. “This is a fiscally responsible decision and we will continue to evaluate, as national parks visitor centers serve as an essential hub for visitor safety, sanitation, and public security,” she said.

Not California.

According to the SLT article, the daily cost to keep multiple parks open isn't very much.  So there isn't really an excuse except for lack of planning.

Note that the Republicans understand that closing parks is bad for them, given how "front facing" they are as public assets and places where citizens go to recreate.  So they try to keep them open, skating on the law ("National Parks Told to Remain Open During Shutdown Despite Risks," Bloomberg).

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Vilnius: 2025 European Green Capital

Vilnius.   Flickr photo by Martin Brummie.

I've been remiss this year in not calling attention to the European "Capitals" programs, the Cultural Capital--this year, Chemnitz, Germany and the twin cities of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy; the Green Capital; Vilnius, Lithuania; and the Youth Capital, Lviv, Ukraine.

There is also a program new to me, an environmental recognition program for smaller cities, called the European Green LeafTreviso, Italy and Viladecans, Spain are the award winners for 2025.

These programs are used to highlight existing programs and to drive forward new programs and ideas.  The Cultural Capital designates two cities, one bigger, one smaller.  Cities are picked based on their achievements and initiatives in seven areas:

  • Air Quality 
  • Water 
  • Biodiversity, Green areas & Sustainable Land Use 
  • Waste & Circular Economy 
  • Noise 
  • Climate Change: Mitigation 
  • Climate Change: Adaptation

I wrote about these EU programs as part of an EU National Institutes of Culture Washington Chapter program in Europe, sharing best practices about art and culture programs primarily.

-- "Richard Layman Reflects on EU in Baltimore and Blog," Europe in Baltimore blog

I think it would be fantastic for the US to devise and launch similar programs, as a way to call attention to best practice, and to build bridges and community within a nation that is increasingly divided.

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Vilnius, Lithuania ("Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is entering a new stage: the general plan has been approved," Baltic Review) is this year's Green Capital.

“Achieving the title of European Green Capital is not just an honor for Vilnius but a commitment to the future,” said Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas. “The city has evolved into an oasis of green spaces, clean air, and thriving biodiversity. With innovative solutions like electric vehicle charging via streetlight poles and empowering residents with open data access, Vilnius is setting an example for a greener, smarter, and more inclusive future.”

The city is 61% forest, parks, gardens, and green spaces, and is crossed by two rivers, the Neris and Vilnia.  A forest lies in the city center, along with campgrounds! 

The city's Green Capital website is full of great information and ideas, organized by four main categories: urban mobility; environment and biodiversity; green transformation; and sustainable ideas.  For example, one program provides small grants to implement student initiated sustainability projects in their schools.  

Flickr photo by Martin Brummie.

Vilnius is the national capital and the Old Town is a UNESCO Heritage Site with a large ensemble of  baroque architecture.  

Commerce.  The city is a commercial finance center and is considered the most "business friendly" city in Central Europe and the Baltic States ("Vilnius once again seen as the most business-friendly city in CEE and the Baltics," Emerging Europe, "As Lithuania Joins Eurozone, Relief and Hesitation," New York Times, 2014).  

It's a major center for IT and startup businesses, especially in the financial sector.

Skyscrapers edge Old Town Vilnius.

Vilnius is the most populated and wealthiest city in the Baltics ("Vilnius Officially Becomes the Largest City in the Baltics," We Love Lithuania).

In keeping with its place as the national capital, Vilnius is where the country's premier higher education and scientific research enterprises are located.

Tourism.  Vilnius is an up and coming destination for tourism, with moderate summer temperatures ideal for summer vacations in a world where the climate is getting much hotter in Southern Europe ("Vilnius Surging Ahead Will It Become the Ultimate Destination for Cool, Green, and Affordable Travel Experiences?," Travel and Tour World).  "A first-time guide to Vilnius," Lonely Planet).

-- Go Vilnius tourism promotion organization

Public saunas dot the banks of the Neris River. In-city water activities abound on the rivers and lakes.

Arts.  Justifying its selection as the 2009 European Capital of Culture ("Ex-Post Evaluation of 2009 European Capitals of Culture," "Cultural Policy and Politics of Culture in Lithuania - Vilnius -- European Capital of Culture 2009, an Anthropological View," Santalka), Vilnius is the national hub for visual and performing arts, with major museums, concert halls, galleries, and performance spaces for music and dance ("New Era in the Baltics Cultural Space: Vilnius Begins Construction of the Lithuanian National Concert Hall," We Love Lithuania).

The EU article series I wrote often featured examples of the adaptive reuse of otherwise abandoned buildings and sites into multifaceted arts and culture centers, such as Cablefactory in Helsinki, Friche la belle de Mai in Marseilles, and an old bus terminal in Dublin's Temple Bar district.  

Vilnius' contribution to that end is the adaptation of the LUKIŠKĖS Prison into version 2.0 ("I Went to Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania, you can too," Travel Magazine, "How this Lithuanian prison (with a dark past) became a stronghold of art and festivals," National Geographic). From the article:

Lukiškės continued its function as a high-security prison until its closure in 2019, when Lithuania was well into its independence from the Soviet Union, and the prison was seen as a relic of an era best left behind. According to tour guides, its conditions were subpar; cells were overcrowded, and ventilation was poor, according to tour guides.

But instead of demolishing this bleak monument, Lithuania chose a different path. Recognizing the prison’s historical significance and unique structure, Martynas Butkevičius and Povilas Oželis won a public tender lease of the prison and reopened it as Lukiškės Prison 2.0. It was an opportunity to breathe new life into its empty halls. The idea was radical yet simple. Turn the prison, once a symbol of oppression, into a space for creativity and self-expression. This approach echoed the country’s desire to remember its past while embracing a future rooted in innovation and cultural exploration.

Besides tours, art exhibits and music gigs are a regular part of programming at the center.  In addition it has served as a film location, including for the US tv show, "Stranger Things."

The Vilnius Light Festival is held in late January. "A Reason to Visit Vilnius: Vilnius Light Festival," FTN News.

The city is marked by community festivals such as the Kaziukas Fair spring festival, Street Music Day where musicians perform throughout the city, and Vilnius Days, a weekend festival in September, devoted to the arts, with innovative features such as a temporary "Avenue of Arts," an "Avenue of Flavors" devoted to food, and "Book Square" featuring authors and the book arts, at Cathedral Square.

This year, the festival featured a "Green Capital Meadow" leveraging the Green Capital designation and program.

Besides soup, the Pink Soup Festival celebrates all things pink.

The Pink Soup Festival honoring the country's version of cold beet soup ("Vilnius Radiates in Pink, Uniting Food, Fun, & Tradition at Pink Soup Fest 2023," Luxurious Magazine, "In Lithuania, there’s a festival dedicated to a cold, pink soup," Adventure)--next year it's May 30th and 31st.  

The city is also is developing its reputation as a destination for innovative cuisine ("A local’s guide to Vilnius, Lithuania: the best bars, culture and bargain hotels," Guardian).

The Artagonist Art Hotel features art throughout the building, bringing together art and tourism via smart accommodations ("Hotel Review: Artagonist Art Hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania," Travel Magazine).

Green City Action Plan.  Vilnius joined the European Green Cities program, the first Baltic Sea state to do so.  

To achieve environmental goals including carbon-neutrality by 2030, the city created the Vilnius Green City Action Plan, with funding by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and a consultant team led by Arup

-- EBRD Green Cities Policy Selection Tool

Focus on sustainable mobility.  Interestingly, given the Trump Administration's antipathy towards the environment, climate change action ("Energy Dept. Cancels $7.5 Billion for Hundreds of Projects, Mostly in Blue States," New York Times) and non-car mobility ("Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars," Bloomberg), it's notable that Vilnius is forward looking.  

Among other foci, the Vilnius Green Capital program has a big emphasis on biking, walking and transit.  The walking trail network is about 100km.

The city's population is just over 600,000 and the local bus transit service serves about that many trips each day--routes include small buses and articulated buses and electrified trolleybuses ("NIB and EBRD finance greener public transport in Vilnius," Baltic Times).  Like London's congestion zone, motor vehicle traffic is restricted in the city center ("Collaboration and reinvention: How Vilnius has become a mobility innovation hub," Emerging Europe).  The Trafi app facilitates use of local transport.

Like many European cities the city has pedestrianized areas, including Gediminas Avenue in the Old Town.  

The city is a railroad passenger hub and has recently introduced ferry service on the Neris River ("Zero-emission commuter ferry to serve historic river in European capital." Valley Vanguard).  There's a bike sharing system too. 

One somewhat unique element is the creation of a Citizen's Assembly to guide sustainable mobility practice and improvements throughout the city.  

(It's a variation of a concept I put in the Baltimore County Western Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan, where I suggested that in addition to a county-wide committee, each political district could have a subcommittee, guiding improvements based on the plan recommendations, and bringing the citizens, legislative and executive branches together.)

Trolleybus.  Flickr photo by Mariusz Krawczyk.

Sustainability as a way of life. The city is working to develop and expand the green lifestyle through greening activities throughout the city and within different sectors of civil society.

For example, the city is developing a classroom program, called Vilnius is a School, aiming for 10% of classes to be held in the outdoors or in buildings with significant historic culture.  So far more than 120 schools, including kindergartens are participating. 

The city's bike lane expansion program is an element of building sustainable practices in everyday life, shifting from the automobile.  While a bottle and can deposit program has a 90% recycling rate and in the last five years the city has introduced programs to reduce use.  The city aims to reduce landfill emissions through composting, and other initiatives, including  

Dėk’ui (Thank You)—stations that allow people to leave their unwanted but good quality items such as clothing, furniture, books, and other household items for others to take for free. The city says that the initiative significantly reduces waste and encourages sustainable reuse.

But population expansion and the construction of new housing districts is reducing the city's green cover and green space, and remains an issue the city grapples with in terms of balancing its identity as a green community while accommodating growth.

A tool for balance is an online "greenness calculator," the Green Space Index, that architects and urban designers can use to measure the potential impact of their projects ("Vilnius architects can check the greenness index of projects with free online calculator," MayorEU).

Clean energy.  The city has cut greenhouse gas emissions by upgrading outdated heating systems and adding solar power to the energy mix.  

Programs provide financial incentives for residents to install solar energy panels.  The bus fleet is being overhauled, focused on electrification.   

Conclusion.  Europe's Green Capital Program is a great way to move sustainability practices forward and would be a great program for the US to export and implement, were the country focused on developing environmental best practice.

The range of programs and creativity in Vilnius demonstrates that cities of all sizes can be places of best practice and provide examples and initiatives that can be adaptable for implementation in other cities, regardless of their size.

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Sunday, October 05, 2025

More examples of cinemas

This article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Uptown movie theaters were once about facades, ceilings. Now they are about luxury chairs, cocktails," makes the interesting point that the focus of modern cinemas has shifted from a focus on the exterior of the building, to the experientially-oriented benefits package offered to the movie-goer or the interior experience.  Also see "Is there a future for neighborhood theaters in the Twin Cities?," which makes the point that if you don't patronize local theaters they can't survive.

The Los Angeles Times writes about the rise in retro movie showing and going ("Retro movies are hitting big at the box office. Why cinephiles and theaters are going back in time").

1.  In the past, I've written about multi-site nonprofit groups running cinemas in Seattle and how this is a model to keep places open ("Seattle preservation: Pike Place Market, Neptune Theater, and the Cinerama," 2021).  Apparently, it's not working out for the Seattle International Film Festival, which bought the historic Cinerama from the Paul Allen estate ("SIFF lays off staff amid financial challenges," Seattle Times).

I think it's partly because of a post-covid drop in people going out more generally, plus past problems with order in Downtown.

2. "Saving the Garden movie house in Greenfield," Boston Globe
Garden Theater marquee, Greenfield, Mass.

The cinema, a key anchor of the community's downtown, is owned by a resident couple and run as a for profit. Necessary renovations and the $500,000 cost to accommodate digital delivery of movies have been significant costs.

3.  Expansion of the Coolidge Corner Cinema, Boston ("Coolidge Corner Theatre unveils $14m expansion that’s nothing short of cinematic," Boston Globe).

These are just some of the expansion’s marquee features: a pair of theaters that offer an additional 200 seats, an indoor lobby where moviegoers can buy popcorn and beer at the same time, and a third-floor education and events center with sweeping views of Brookline and beyond. 

All told, the $14 million, three-story addition to the rear of the original structure gives the Coolidge six working theaters. The generously proportioned lobby, with sly Art Deco nods to the original building, houses the new box office, so guests no longer have to wait outside in bad weather. Plentiful bathrooms offer amenities on every floor, the education center doubles as a screening room, and projectionists no longer have to clamber up the fire escape to bring film cans to the upper booth. 

Less obvious, perhaps, is that the 14,000-square-foot expansion is the brick-and-mortar embodiment of the Coolidge’s twin ambitions: It promises to secure the art house’s financial future by strengthening its earning potential, while also burnishing the theater’s reputation as a leading regional center for film and culture. 

“This really brings us into that next level,” said Katherine Tallman, executive director and chief executive of the foundation that operates the nonprofit Coolidge. “There won’t be a better place to see a movie.” 

The theater leaned into its repertory programming after it reopened during the pandemic, showing old classics, foreign films, midnight movies, and more. The result: The Coolidge is less dependent on new films than most theaters, last year garnering some 30 percent of revenue from this type of programming. 

But people will only pay so much for a movie ticket. And with four theaters, the Coolidge could only fill so many seats, even as demand (and expenses) continued to rise. “We’re revenue-capped in the current space ... Two additional theaters will not only mean more seats, she said, but will also allow the theater to offer more diverse programming, enabling it to fulfill its daily screenings obligations to distributors, while also beefing up its repertory offerings. 
The Noyo Theater’s neon is a mainstay of Willits’ evening ambiance. Photo taken in December 2024. Matt LaFever/SFGATE

4.  The Noyo Theater in California's North Coast ("A movie theater clings to life in California's 'Gateway to the Redwoods'," San Francisco Chronicle).

Hutchins laid out the theater’s financial reality six months into the endeavor: “We paid $650,000 for the theater. Right now, we’re losing about $9,000 a month. The building’s old and expensive to heat and cool, plus California’s minimum wage is $16.50. What people don’t realize is 60% of ticket sales go directly to the studios. Hard to make money under that model.” 

Devine has bold ideas for boosting revenue. In October 2024, they hosted a successful John Carpenter horror film festival and plan to organize more. Last fall, the theater proved its potential for live events by hosting a comedy show, further expanding its entertainment offerings. With its versatile space, the venue could become a hub for concerts, theater performances and community events.

The Guild 45th Theatre, in Wallingford across the freeway from the U District, closed in 2017. (Peter Liddell / The Seattle Times, 1982)

5.  U District Seattle as a hub of cinema on the decline ("Seattle’s U District no longer the moviegoing hub it once was," Seattle Times).  From the article:

Of course, movie-loving University of Washington students these days don’t need to go out to see “Moonstruck,” or any other title, like we did in the ’80s and ’90s, and that’s in large part why these once-magical spaces are gone. We stay home and stream, where it’s comfortable and there aren’t strangers sitting next to us texting at inappropriate moments. And for most of us that works just fine. I thought it worked fine for me, when I stayed home watching movies for 15 months during the pandemic — but when I finally saw a movie in a theater again, I suddenly remembered why I’d missed it: the bigness, the darkness, the place where I could lose myself and once again be that very young woman dazzled by movies. In a column I wrote in 2021, after that first screening back, I noted that there isn’t a practical justification for going out to the movies, “except that it’s wonderful, and maybe that’s enough.”

6.  A mayor threatened a local cinema for showing a film from the Palestinian perspective ("Miami Beach mayor drops proposal to evict O Cinema for ‘No Other Land’ screening," Miami Herald).

7.  "Classic movie theaters are making a comeback around Philly," Philadelphia Inquirer.  Like the article from the LAT, retro programming is a point of differentiation in a declining market.

Single-screen movie theaters in urban downtowns and on small town main streets began closing nationwide in the late 1940s with the advent of television. This cultural shift also was driven by competition from new theaters near or inside suburban malls and shopping centers. 

“In the 1980s and ’90s, movie theaters helped generate foot traffic for suburban malls,” said Daniel Loria, a senior vice president at the film trade publication Box Office Pro. The launch of online movie streaming platforms — Netflix was first in 2007 — as well as the pandemic kept away people who otherwise would have watched movies in theaters. 

According to the most recent data available from the Cinema Foundation, the number of screens in the United States declined from 41,172 in 2018 to 39,007 in 2022. 

The 2004 opening of the nonprofit Bryn Mawr Film Institute in the former Bryn Mawr movie theater in Lower Merion preserved screens and demonstrated that a mix of classic films, film series, classes, and current movies could breathe life into old theaters. ”We’re not simply taking what Hollywood is giving us, like a Despicable Me 10,” said Collier, whose theaters are in the center of Doylestown, Jenkintown, Ambler, and Princeton.

“Movie theaters are now boosting foot traffic for restaurants and coffee shops in local downtowns,” said Loria.

The Gap Theatre opened in 1949 in the town of Wind Gap. It shut down in January 2020, reopening in March. Photo: Stephen Silver

8.  "The hottest ‘new’ movie theater this summer is a two hours’ drive from Philly," 

In a Northampton County town of fewer than 3,000 people — about two hours’ drive from Center City — a newly restored movie theater is drawing crowds with an ambitious programming schedule that rivals many urban repertory cinemas.

The Gap Theatre, in the town of Wind Gap, first opened in 1949. After operating as a first-run theater for a time, it closed its doors in January 2020, shortly before the pandemic. Revived in March, it now shows all kinds of older films, from acclaimed classics to genre films to rarities, six days a week, with more than 50 films a month. And that includes plenty of double and triple features.

... “What Harry, Michael, and Kaitlyn have done is not only bring NYC-style repertory programming to a nonurban space, but also revitalize a small-town cinema — giving it a second life when it might easily have sat vacant, eventually sold off to developers eager to turn it into a parking lot or something equally soulless,” said Santelli, who long worked at Ardmore’s Viva Video and now programs at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville.

Eltrym Theater.

9.  When traveling to the Oregon Coast, came across this cinema on a street parallel to the main street.  

Photo in the daytime.

I'm sure it's well known to residents, but would be missed by travelers unwilling to explore ("Secret Screens: Your Guide to Oregon’s Best Unsung Movie Theaters," Willamette Week). 

They offer a loyalty program which provides various types of awards, including free admission, based on patronage.

10.  "Reinvigorated as Row House Hollywood, an old Dormont theater is almost ready to 'bring some energy'," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

With the former Hollywood Theater’s grand reopening only two months away, Dormont businesses and residents are gearing up to once again have a cinema in the heart of their community.

The theater on Potomac Avenue has shuttered a few times in recent years, including in 2008, again in 2010 and, most recently, in 2023. Rebranded as Row House Hollywood, it is slated to open to the public on Nov. 6, with a film nearly as old as the theater itself — Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent classic “Metropolis.”

Owner Brian Mendelssohn, who also runs Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville, estimated the theater will bring anywhere from 300 to 1,000 people to Dormont daily, and that has some residents and surrounding businesses excited for the expected impact on the area’s vitality.

The tough thing about cinemas and commercial district revitalization is that a lot of the patrons only want to do one thing, see the film.  Perhaps the cinema could work with restaurants to provide meal + cinema promotions and deals.

Fitting in with the LAT article on retro cinema, the operator, Row House Cinemas, says it's focused on providing experiences, not just a film showing, so there is potential.

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Saturday, October 04, 2025

Suburban Virginia's Silver Line Metrorail after 10 years

There's a piece in GGW, "How the Silver Line has shaped transit-oriented development in Northern Virginia," about the impact of the Silver Line on transit oriented development in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.

The author points out development has occurred in Tysons and Reston, but less so in other areas.  

That shouldn't be surprising.  The Silver Line is very much a polycentric extension of the system, and the stations are very spread out.  

Blots of development along the line are unlikely because residents don't want to live in pods, and the distance to the core is so significant--for example the Loudoun Gateway station is about 30 miles from DC.

Plus, the supra block nature of suburban development--massive sites, massive buildings--makes the walkability element of a benefit from transit development somewhat remote.

Herndon station.

It reminds me of my 2011 piece, making the point that developers wanted that transit line in order to keep their properties relevant in the 21st century development and land use paradigm. 

And that like with DC proper, it would take 20-40 years to fully reap the impact, which Bisnow didn't take into consideration ("Much Was Planned, But Little Is Built As Final Piece Of Metro's Silver Line Approaches Its Debut").  

-- "Short term vs. long term thinking: transit, the Washington Examiner, Fairfax/Loudoun Counties vs. DC"

Related posts over the years include:

-- "Silver line reshaping commercial office market in Fairfax County," 2015
-- "Tysons (Corner) 10 Years after the plan to make it more walkable: the necessity of implementation mechanisms," 2020
-- "Brief follow up to intra-district transit proposal for Tysons: Toyama City Compact City initiative (Japan)," 2020
-- "A thought about an intra-district transit network for Tysons," 2020

And ideally some lessons:

-- "Metro sees the opportunity to continue the Silver Line into DC (the former separated blue line proposal)," 2011
-- "Tysons, White Flint and the continued "maturation" of the suburbs," 2013
-- "Ultimately, WMATA blue line riders have been dissed by the State of Virginia, not WMATA...," 2013
-- "Transit, stations, and placemaking: stations as entrypoints into neighborhoods," 2013
-- "Silver Line delays: maybe the real lesson is that contracting out construction to the private sector doesn't always work so well," 2014
-- "The Silver Line WMATA story that WJLA-TV missed," 2014
-- "Using the Silver Line as the priming event, what would a transit network improvement program look like for NoVA?," 2017
-- "To and from origin stations can be difficult: More on the Silver Line and intra-neighborhood transit (tertiary network)," 2022
-- "Transit oriented development station typology revisited," 2024

One where I was wrong, opining that not tunneling the Silver Line in the Tysons area was a big mistake.  

Now, I don't think it matters, given the scale of the super blocks there, above-ground transit isn't the issue.  

The size of the blocks and distance between stations is the issue.  That's the reason for the proposal of an above-ground tram..

-- "Blinking on urban design means you limit your chance for success," 2006

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Thursday, October 02, 2025

Going to the dogs

In the past I've written about dogs as an indicator of people feeling safe living in cities, and that dog walking provides the impetus for many to actually walk outside in a city.  Plus, dogs (and little kids) act as a "social bridge" (what William Whyte called "triangulation") in getting people who don't know each other to interact.

Some say, with justification, that dog parks are an indicator of reproduction of space and gentrification.  This study, "Dog Parks and Coffee Shops: Faux Diversity and Consumption in Gentrifying Neighborhoods" (Journal of Public Policy and Marketing) is based on DC.

-- "Dog Parks and Coffee Shops documentary about gentrification in DC," 2020

OTOH, how many times have you stepped in dog poop or narrowly avoided it?  Even people who do pick up the poop often toss it into recycling cans, contaminating the waste meaning it can't be recycled.

Suzanne was talking to people about my illnesses, and a person opined that I should get a dog.  That's the last thing I'd be interested in, even though health researchers think having a dog is a good thing ("Can’t commit to a dog? Have one for a day — science says it’s good for you.," Washington Post).  

Psychologist Kerri Rodriguez, who leads a group at the University of Arizona that researches animal-human interactions, said spending just five or 10 minutes with a dog can make people happier and decrease their stress.

In fact, research has shown that when people interact with dogs, oxytocin — known as the love hormone — increases in both species. This is true even if you’re petting someone else’s friendly dog.

Actually my response was "F* that."  I can walk and do things without a dog, and without the responsibility of dog maintenance.  Reading and writing makes me happier...

Note that for a long time, urban multiunit apartment buildings have been offering dog-related amenities to tenants ("Pet-Friendly Apartment Amenities Gather Steam Amid Societal Shifts," Commercial Observer).

1.  "America’s Most Dog-Friendly City Has Had Enough," Wall Street Journal

.  People aren't managing their dogs and feel entitled to take them anywhere.  From the article:

Rose Crelli loves dogs. The violinist grew up with sled dogs in Alaska. She stops to pet dogs on the street. If she had to rate her love on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be a 10.

But Crelli, 29, has started thinking maybe San Francisco is too dog-friendly. While she and a friend were having coffee at Alamo Square park, the pair were approached by five different off-leash dogs in an area that requires dogs be leashed. The final visitor, a golden retriever, sent Crelli over the edge. “It literally launched itself at my pastry and got its mouth all over it and covered it with drool,” she said. The dog’s owner saw the whole thing and kept walking.

I had something like this happen to me in DC.  It cost me a cup of coffee and the dog owner felt no compunction for recompense.

2.  "An Italian City Is Considering a Dog Tax for Tourists and Locals," New York Times.  It's to pay for the costs associated with errant dog owners who don't pick up dog poop, etc.

A bill in Bolzano, Italy, would mean that dogs bringing their owners to the Tyrolean Alps for some scenery and mountain air would face a new charge of roughly 1.50 euros ($1.75) per day, the Italian news media reported.

Local dogs won’t escape under the bill, which would come into force in 2026 if it is approved by the provincial council. Residents would be charged an estimated 100 euros per dog, per year, bringing back a dog tax that was abolished in 2008.

Flickr photo by Edgar Zuniga, Jr.  Sugar House Pond.

3.  Sugar House Park, Salt Lake.  We don't have a dog park, dogs are required to be on leash, but the vast open spaces of the park lead many to unleash their dogs.  For the most part it isn't a problem, and we don't have the resources to enforce the rule.

The board member representing the County Parks Department, which operates the park for us under contract, says if we had a dog park, then people would be more inclined to follow the rules.  

Note the dog park denoted at the lower right of the map for SLC's Fairmont Park.

For me, given that there is a city park a couple blocks aware with over 2 acres devoted to a dog park, I think it's unnecessarily duplicative to create one in our park.

4.  Great guidance offered by Salt Lake County Parks.

-- Salt Lake County Off-Leash Dog Park Master Plan

5.  "Chicago restaurants mixed on the prospect of dogs at the table," Crain's Chicago Business.  An alderman has put for legislation to allow dogs in restaurants, not just on patios.  Holy health department Batman!

6.  Private dog parks with bars and play areas are a new type of business on the rise across the country ("Detroit dog park and bar set to open a suburban outpost," Crain's Detroit Business, "Detroit’s first indoor and outdoor dog park with beer garden plans second location," Detroit Free Press).  Usually they have membership fees.  

The Southfield Barkside will have 5,000 square feet of indoor, climate-controlled, off-lease play space and 8,000 square feet of outdoor fenced-in space. The indoor space will feature wi-fi and TVs. The Southfield location will also have dedicated indoor and outdoor play areas for small dogs. The new dog park and bar will have space for 150-200 guests and a staff of 15-20.

Bark Social when it was operative, in Bethesda, Maryland.

I know one went out of business in DC ("Bark Social dog park, bar files for bankruptcy, shutters all DMV locations"), so I expect the market isn't that big.  Although Bark Social is relaunching on a much smaller scale.

7.  Dog parks issues in Boston ("Boston has few dog parks. It’s led to a pitched battle over public space," Boston Globe).  Apparently Boston is particularly dog friendly.  Many parks it's against the rules to walk dogs, even on leash.  

The article discusses how some park systems across the county have hours where off leash use is allowed, partly as a public safety measure, to crowd out negative uses.

8.  Apparently there is an issue with pet rescue sheltering in DC, which dropped its vendor without a new one on deck ("Inside the Year-End Scramble to Save More Than 100 D.C. Dogs," Washington City Paper).

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When the rule of law means nothing | US federal government shutdown

USPS "forever" priced stamps have the forever marked through for image reproduction purposes.  But the strike through is an ironic comment on the state of liberty and democracy in the US today.

As a national we are truly f*.  Ronald Brownstein opines that the Democrats are going to lose on the shutdown because it should be about the loss of democracy, not health care cuts ("This Shutdown May Help Democrats, But Not Democracy").  I think it's both, even if the messaging is on health care..  

But when there is no support by Republicans in Congress or the US Supreme Court to enforce the rule of law, or to restore old norms about country versus ideology, and when the average person doesn't think about the rule of law or democratic norms all that much, what can be done?

The messages on some of the federal government websites are over the top and certainly seem like a violation of the Hatch Act ("Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law," Politico).  But the first Trump government proved the Hatch Act had no teeth.  So again, norm led following of rules means nothing to Trumpers.

Although I do find it interesting that not all government agency websites include incendiary language about the Democrats.  E.g., Homeland Security, Energy, Treasury, Interior to name a few.

While USDA is the worst, HUD is pretty bad too.

I love the message.  Trump is the guy who cut medical assistance to fund tax cuts for billionaires, and in the realm of USDA, food aid both within the US ("What Happens to School Lunches in the MAHA Era?," New Yorker) and as foreign aid.  Tariffs and trade wars have put significant sectors of farming products at risk, like soybeans ("Farmers fear they have soybeans ‘nobody wants’," Marshall Independent), and many farmers fear going bankrupt.

How is that supporting the agricultural sector?

HUD had an incendiary message before the shutdown ("HUD website blames looming shutdown on ‘Radical Left’," Federal News Network), and one not so great



In housing the Trump Administration aims to cut support to low income people receiving housing subsidies ("Millions Could Lose Housing Aid Under Trump Plan," ProPublica, "Trump Admin Makes Major Update on Section 8 Housing: What to Know," Newsweek), for homelessness services ("Trump admin looks at deep cuts to homeless housing program," Politico), and in housing development programs ("The Trump Administration Has Proposed $27 Billion in Cuts by Block Granting Housing Assistance. That Could Worsen the Housing Affordability Crisis," Urban Institute). 

How is that helping the needy? Especially combined with cuts to medical care and food assistance?

Meanwhile, "HUD secretary ‘not worried at all’ about violating law with website blaming shutdown on Democrats," The Hill.

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Wednesday, October 01, 2025

Best practice innovation and government: bottle deposit bills and DC


Everett Rogers' book Diffusion of Innovations came out of his dissertation where he studied the "diffusion of innovation" through different sectors of the economy-society.  

For example, it took 17 years for a good innovation to percolate out through K-12 education, because of how it is organized--thousands of districts across 50 states and territories.

There used to be talk about how states can be "Laboratories of Democracy" in fostering innovation that is later taken up by other states--Mitt Romney's state health insurance program in Massachusetts ("Mitt Romney Finally Takes Credit For Obamacare," NPR) is one example, another is how the Children's Health Insurance Program started out of a community program in Pittsburgh ("CHILDREN IN CRISIS: The Story of CHIP," PBS documentary).

Today I think it is a lot more difficult than we realize between the lobbying of special interests (the conservatives have an especially good one in the American Legislative Exchange Council, which gets conservative legislation passed across the country), state legislatures that pre-empt local action, and just the amount of time required to organize and get something passed.

Another example is the penny.  We know we don't need it.  But copper interests kept their hand in Congress to keep it minted.  Finally, it won't be newly minted, but will still remain in circulation ("No more pennies? Coin collectors say end of penny will have little impact on hobby," St. Cloud Times).

At the local level, an example is bag charges.  DC did it in 2009.  The Wall Street Journal was up in arms ("In Washington, a Lesson in Bureaucracy Comes in Every Bag"), but a year later said it wasn't so bad ("Capital Takes Bag Tax In Stride").  But it's taken more than a decade for neighboring jurisdictions to pass similar laws, in part because of state action.

-- "Recycling, waste streams, plastic bags, and bottle bills," 2013

I bring this up because the DC City Council is considering a bottle deposit law ("Fight gearing up over D.C. bill to recycle bottles and cans for cash," Post).  Environmental groups put this on the DC ballot in 1988!!!!!!!!!!!! and it was defeated by organizing by the beverage industry.

That was around when I first moved to DC, coming off of about 10 years of Michigan already having such a bill, where it worked well at reducing bottle and can litter from beverages ("How Does Recycling Your Bottle and Cans Help Preserve Michigan’s Environment).

A few years ago, I walked from my house in Manor Park to Columbia Heights and back, and picked up almost 500 recyclable bottles and cans (not all subject to traditional deposit laws, some were from food).

I wonder what Everett Rogers would think of a 40+ year diffusion curve for bottle deposit laws?

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