Search
177 results for “mid_kid”
-
CW: Seventeen Miles Among the Giants (essay, 1/2)
Starting in my mid-30s, I went through a decade where I could suddenly become too sick to follow through on anything. For the first couple of years, every single plan I made fell through.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was falling into autistic burnout, nor did I know I was autistic, so I had no way to define it or manage it.
Last-minute changes can lead to meltdowns for me or, at the very least, steal my spoons,[1] and those are two things that lead to more burnout. It got to the point where I couldn’t even plan to keep a regular job, so I simply stopped making plans altogether.
I turned 50 this summer. I had plans to go to Sequoia National Park over Labor Day weekend with my husband, Adam. The weekend before, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The week before that, a long-anticipated day at the beach. “Long-anticipated” because the beaches get over-crowded on summer weekends, and therefore, dangerous for me, so a special day off must be procured for me to get there. All of this was planned on the heels of an intensive eight week writing class on speculative fiction that was pulling everything out of me. I don’t remember the last time I stacked a schedule like this.
The beach and the pageant went swimmingly, so I was feeling pretty confident, but I was most worried about the Sequoia trip.
When I was a kid, my family drove from Southern California to Yosemite, and on the way back, we were slated to stop and see the giant sequoias. I didn’t sleep the night before in Yosemite because something was biting my feet all night, and upon reflection, I think there were probably fleas in the little canvas hut we’d rented.
Anyway, I’d been anticipating seeing the giant trees for the entire trip, but I fell asleep on the drive back. I woke up in the car and looked out the window and everything looked the same, so I asked when we were getting to the trees. My family told me that they’d already seen them and had decided to not wake me.
They’d stopped, gotten out, had a lovely time viewing the trees, got back in, and drove on. I couldn’t believe it until the vacation photos were developed and there they were, standing in front of the trees, smiling and having a lovely time, just as they’d described.
I was mad about this for years, and like so many other things, I knew that I had to take seeing the trees into my own hands.
Once Adam and I got into the park, every lot was filled to the max, making it so the only transportation between the parking lots and attractions was shuttles, and every shuttle line was an hour long.
We skipped the long shuttle lines and hiked between the attractions. We ended up hiking about 17 miles over two days. The trails were surprisingly empty.
I got to see the trees.
We saw a wild bear cub; a first for both me and Adam. Some other hikers informed us that we’d actually walked right past the mama without even noticing her. We watched as the little cub adorably sprinted in the direction the mother had gone, like a little hairy rag-doll.
Driving up and down the mountain and having to master that whole lower-gear-engine-braking thing was super nail-bitey for me, even though Adam was the one driving.[2]
I took in the sunset from 7000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas as Adam down-shifted out of the park. The purples and blues of the mountains layered and washed over the pinks and oranges of the sky. He asked me if I wanted to stop for a photo. I told him no, saying, “This is one of those views that looks spectacular in real life, but you know the photo will look like an amateur watercolor painting.”
Maybe that was true, maybe not, but it’s not like there’s a pixel shortage. In reality, I was just spent from the hiking, and feeling satisfied, grateful, and a little sad that not everyone gets to see these things the way they are.
#Essay #PersonalEssay #Writing #SequoiaNationalPark #ActuallyAutistic
-
CW: Seventeen Miles Among the Giants (essay, 1/2)
Starting in my mid-30s, I went through a decade where I could suddenly become too sick to follow through on anything. For the first couple of years, every single plan I made fell through.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was falling into autistic burnout, nor did I know I was autistic, so I had no way to define it or manage it.
Last-minute changes can lead to meltdowns for me or, at the very least, steal my spoons,[1] and those are two things that lead to more burnout. It got to the point where I couldn’t even plan to keep a regular job, so I simply stopped making plans altogether.
I turned 50 this summer. I had plans to go to Sequoia National Park over Labor Day weekend with my husband, Adam. The weekend before, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The week before that, a long-anticipated day at the beach. “Long-anticipated” because the beaches get over-crowded on summer weekends, and therefore, dangerous for me, so a special day off must be procured for me to get there. All of this was planned on the heels of an intensive eight week writing class on speculative fiction that was pulling everything out of me. I don’t remember the last time I stacked a schedule like this.
The beach and the pageant went swimmingly, so I was feeling pretty confident, but I was most worried about the Sequoia trip.
When I was a kid, my family drove from Southern California to Yosemite, and on the way back, we were slated to stop and see the giant sequoias. I didn’t sleep the night before in Yosemite because something was biting my feet all night, and upon reflection, I think there were probably fleas in the little canvas hut we’d rented.
Anyway, I’d been anticipating seeing the giant trees for the entire trip, but I fell asleep on the drive back. I woke up in the car and looked out the window and everything looked the same, so I asked when we were getting to the trees. My family told me that they’d already seen them and had decided to not wake me.
They’d stopped, gotten out, had a lovely time viewing the trees, got back in, and drove on. I couldn’t believe it until the vacation photos were developed and there they were, standing in front of the trees, smiling and having a lovely time, just as they’d described.
I was mad about this for years, and like so many other things, I knew that I had to take seeing the trees into my own hands.
Once Adam and I got into the park, every lot was filled to the max, making it so the only transportation between the parking lots and attractions was shuttles, and every shuttle line was an hour long.
We skipped the long shuttle lines and hiked between the attractions. We ended up hiking about 17 miles over two days. The trails were surprisingly empty.
I got to see the trees.
We saw a wild bear cub; a first for both me and Adam. Some other hikers informed us that we’d actually walked right past the mama without even noticing her. We watched as the little cub adorably sprinted in the direction the mother had gone, like a little hairy rag-doll.
Driving up and down the mountain and having to master that whole lower-gear-engine-braking thing was super nail-bitey for me, even though Adam was the one driving.[2]
I took in the sunset from 7000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas as Adam down-shifted out of the park. The purples and blues of the mountains layered and washed over the pinks and oranges of the sky. He asked me if I wanted to stop for a photo. I told him no, saying, “This is one of those views that looks spectacular in real life, but you know the photo will look like an amateur watercolor painting.”
Maybe that was true, maybe not, but it’s not like there’s a pixel shortage. In reality, I was just spent from the hiking, and feeling satisfied, grateful, and a little sad that not everyone gets to see these things the way they are.
#Essay #PersonalEssay #Writing #SequoiaNationalPark #ActuallyAutistic
-
CW: Seventeen Miles Among the Giants (essay, 1/2)
Starting in my mid-30s, I went through a decade where I could suddenly become too sick to follow through on anything. For the first couple of years, every single plan I made fell through.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was falling into autistic burnout, nor did I know I was autistic, so I had no way to define it or manage it.
Last-minute changes can lead to meltdowns for me or, at the very least, steal my spoons,[1] and those are two things that lead to more burnout. It got to the point where I couldn’t even plan to keep a regular job, so I simply stopped making plans altogether.
I turned 50 this summer. I had plans to go to Sequoia National Park over Labor Day weekend with my husband, Adam. The weekend before, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The week before that, a long-anticipated day at the beach. “Long-anticipated” because the beaches get over-crowded on summer weekends, and therefore, dangerous for me, so a special day off must be procured for me to get there. All of this was planned on the heels of an intensive eight week writing class on speculative fiction that was pulling everything out of me. I don’t remember the last time I stacked a schedule like this.
The beach and the pageant went swimmingly, so I was feeling pretty confident, but I was most worried about the Sequoia trip.
When I was a kid, my family drove from Southern California to Yosemite, and on the way back, we were slated to stop and see the giant sequoias. I didn’t sleep the night before in Yosemite because something was biting my feet all night, and upon reflection, I think there were probably fleas in the little canvas hut we’d rented.
Anyway, I’d been anticipating seeing the giant trees for the entire trip, but I fell asleep on the drive back. I woke up in the car and looked out the window and everything looked the same, so I asked when we were getting to the trees. My family told me that they’d already seen them and had decided to not wake me.
They’d stopped, gotten out, had a lovely time viewing the trees, got back in, and drove on. I couldn’t believe it until the vacation photos were developed and there they were, standing in front of the trees, smiling and having a lovely time, just as they’d described.
I was mad about this for years, and like so many other things, I knew that I had to take seeing the trees into my own hands.
Once Adam and I got into the park, every lot was filled to the max, making it so the only transportation between the parking lots and attractions was shuttles, and every shuttle line was an hour long.
We skipped the long shuttle lines and hiked between the attractions. We ended up hiking about 17 miles over two days. The trails were surprisingly empty.
I got to see the trees.
We saw a wild bear cub; a first for both me and Adam. Some other hikers informed us that we’d actually walked right past the mama without even noticing her. We watched as the little cub adorably sprinted in the direction the mother had gone, like a little hairy rag-doll.
Driving up and down the mountain and having to master that whole lower-gear-engine-braking thing was super nail-bitey for me, even though Adam was the one driving.[2]
I took in the sunset from 7000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas as Adam down-shifted out of the park. The purples and blues of the mountains layered and washed over the pinks and oranges of the sky. He asked me if I wanted to stop for a photo. I told him no, saying, “This is one of those views that looks spectacular in real life, but you know the photo will look like an amateur watercolor painting.”
Maybe that was true, maybe not, but it’s not like there’s a pixel shortage. In reality, I was just spent from the hiking, and feeling satisfied, grateful, and a little sad that not everyone gets to see these things the way they are.
#Essay #PersonalEssay #Writing #SequoiaNationalPark #ActuallyAutistic
-
CW: Seventeen Miles Among the Giants (essay, 1/2)
Starting in my mid-30s, I went through a decade where I could suddenly become too sick to follow through on anything. For the first couple of years, every single plan I made fell through.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was falling into autistic burnout, nor did I know I was autistic, so I had no way to define it or manage it.
Last-minute changes can lead to meltdowns for me or, at the very least, steal my spoons,[1] and those are two things that lead to more burnout. It got to the point where I couldn’t even plan to keep a regular job, so I simply stopped making plans altogether.
I turned 50 this summer. I had plans to go to Sequoia National Park over Labor Day weekend with my husband, Adam. The weekend before, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The week before that, a long-anticipated day at the beach. “Long-anticipated” because the beaches get over-crowded on summer weekends, and therefore, dangerous for me, so a special day off must be procured for me to get there. All of this was planned on the heels of an intensive eight week writing class on speculative fiction that was pulling everything out of me. I don’t remember the last time I stacked a schedule like this.
The beach and the pageant went swimmingly, so I was feeling pretty confident, but I was most worried about the Sequoia trip.
When I was a kid, my family drove from Southern California to Yosemite, and on the way back, we were slated to stop and see the giant sequoias. I didn’t sleep the night before in Yosemite because something was biting my feet all night, and upon reflection, I think there were probably fleas in the little canvas hut we’d rented.
Anyway, I’d been anticipating seeing the giant trees for the entire trip, but I fell asleep on the drive back. I woke up in the car and looked out the window and everything looked the same, so I asked when we were getting to the trees. My family told me that they’d already seen them and had decided to not wake me.
They’d stopped, gotten out, had a lovely time viewing the trees, got back in, and drove on. I couldn’t believe it until the vacation photos were developed and there they were, standing in front of the trees, smiling and having a lovely time, just as they’d described.
I was mad about this for years, and like so many other things, I knew that I had to take seeing the trees into my own hands.
Once Adam and I got into the park, every lot was filled to the max, making it so the only transportation between the parking lots and attractions was shuttles, and every shuttle line was an hour long.
We skipped the long shuttle lines and hiked between the attractions. We ended up hiking about 17 miles over two days. The trails were surprisingly empty.
I got to see the trees.
We saw a wild bear cub; a first for both me and Adam. Some other hikers informed us that we’d actually walked right past the mama without even noticing her. We watched as the little cub adorably sprinted in the direction the mother had gone, like a little hairy rag-doll.
Driving up and down the mountain and having to master that whole lower-gear-engine-braking thing was super nail-bitey for me, even though Adam was the one driving.[2]
I took in the sunset from 7000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas as Adam down-shifted out of the park. The purples and blues of the mountains layered and washed over the pinks and oranges of the sky. He asked me if I wanted to stop for a photo. I told him no, saying, “This is one of those views that looks spectacular in real life, but you know the photo will look like an amateur watercolor painting.”
Maybe that was true, maybe not, but it’s not like there’s a pixel shortage. In reality, I was just spent from the hiking, and feeling satisfied, grateful, and a little sad that not everyone gets to see these things the way they are.
#Essay #PersonalEssay #Writing #SequoiaNationalPark #ActuallyAutistic
-
CW: Seventeen Miles Among the Giants (essay, 1/2)
Starting in my mid-30s, I went through a decade where I could suddenly become too sick to follow through on anything. For the first couple of years, every single plan I made fell through.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was falling into autistic burnout, nor did I know I was autistic, so I had no way to define it or manage it.
Last-minute changes can lead to meltdowns for me or, at the very least, steal my spoons,[1] and those are two things that lead to more burnout. It got to the point where I couldn’t even plan to keep a regular job, so I simply stopped making plans altogether.
I turned 50 this summer. I had plans to go to Sequoia National Park over Labor Day weekend with my husband, Adam. The weekend before, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The week before that, a long-anticipated day at the beach. “Long-anticipated” because the beaches get over-crowded on summer weekends, and therefore, dangerous for me, so a special day off must be procured for me to get there. All of this was planned on the heels of an intensive eight week writing class on speculative fiction that was pulling everything out of me. I don’t remember the last time I stacked a schedule like this.
The beach and the pageant went swimmingly, so I was feeling pretty confident, but I was most worried about the Sequoia trip.
When I was a kid, my family drove from Southern California to Yosemite, and on the way back, we were slated to stop and see the giant sequoias. I didn’t sleep the night before in Yosemite because something was biting my feet all night, and upon reflection, I think there were probably fleas in the little canvas hut we’d rented.
Anyway, I’d been anticipating seeing the giant trees for the entire trip, but I fell asleep on the drive back. I woke up in the car and looked out the window and everything looked the same, so I asked when we were getting to the trees. My family told me that they’d already seen them and had decided to not wake me.
They’d stopped, gotten out, had a lovely time viewing the trees, got back in, and drove on. I couldn’t believe it until the vacation photos were developed and there they were, standing in front of the trees, smiling and having a lovely time, just as they’d described.
I was mad about this for years, and like so many other things, I knew that I had to take seeing the trees into my own hands.
Once Adam and I got into the park, every lot was filled to the max, making it so the only transportation between the parking lots and attractions was shuttles, and every shuttle line was an hour long.
We skipped the long shuttle lines and hiked between the attractions. We ended up hiking about 17 miles over two days. The trails were surprisingly empty.
I got to see the trees.
We saw a wild bear cub; a first for both me and Adam. Some other hikers informed us that we’d actually walked right past the mama without even noticing her. We watched as the little cub adorably sprinted in the direction the mother had gone, like a little hairy rag-doll.
Driving up and down the mountain and having to master that whole lower-gear-engine-braking thing was super nail-bitey for me, even though Adam was the one driving.[2]
I took in the sunset from 7000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas as Adam down-shifted out of the park. The purples and blues of the mountains layered and washed over the pinks and oranges of the sky. He asked me if I wanted to stop for a photo. I told him no, saying, “This is one of those views that looks spectacular in real life, but you know the photo will look like an amateur watercolor painting.”
Maybe that was true, maybe not, but it’s not like there’s a pixel shortage. In reality, I was just spent from the hiking, and feeling satisfied, grateful, and a little sad that not everyone gets to see these things the way they are.
#Essay #PersonalEssay #Writing #SequoiaNationalPark #ActuallyAutistic
-
Lookout for a Mountain of Chattanooga Planning Lessons
Listed below are a series of interesting and unique planning observations from the historically important southern crossroads city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a kid, I clearly recall the varied and impressive landscapes of this city as we traversed our way to Florida and back over Spring Break. Today, Chattanooga is a much larger city that has earned plaudits for its revitalization efforts. Hope you enjoy the set of planning lessons listed below.
Peace!
Chattanooga from atop Lookout Mountain- The immensely popular Tennessee Aquarium may have been the primary catalyst for revitalization, but it took many stakeholders in the community working together to direct Chattanooga’s future in a positive direction.
- Northshore, St. Elmo, Bluff View, and the Choo/Southside Historic District are varied examples of successful mid-city restoration and revitalization. They are four positive cases of tailoring redevelopment efforts to best fit the specific location. One riverfront, one set at the base of the mountain, one arts-oriented, and one tied to the city’s rail heritage.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Boise, and Spokane, where the downtown core is off center (lopsided) from where the bulk of the metropolitan population is concentrated, can face unique transportation and development challenges.
- It seems that Chattanooga’s development pattern would be more evenly dispersed (especially to the west) if the line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone did not pass so close to the western edge of the city. Two counties in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (Marion and Sequatchie) are not even in the same time zone as the core city of Chattanooga. Notice on the maps below how the city limits skew east and north. This may be the only metropolitan area in the country that is split by two time zones.
- The rugged terrain surrounding Chattanooga plays a significant role in how, where, and why the city developed. It also plays a big role in its identity. It would be hard to imagine Chattanooga without its linear ridges and valleys.
- Routing the lone limited access freeway link between four key Interstate Highway corridors (I-24 northwest to Nashville, I-59 southwest to Birmingham, I-75 northeast to Knoxville, and I-75 southeast to Atlanta) through midtown Chattanooga may have been the easiest approach, but it tears through the gut of the city and creates heavily congested chaos, noise, and pollution.
- One has to wonder how much the wealthy residents living atop Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain or beyond the basin’s “Eastern Wall” Missionary Ridge can relate to the noise, traffic, pollution, higher temperatures, disinvestment, and other factors impacting those residing in the heavily developed valley basin where many of the working class and minority populations reside.
- Despite the aforementioned disparities, the city/region have made significant improvements since 1969 when Chattanooga has the worst particulate particle air pollution in the nation.
- Being situated at the intersection of three states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama) affords Chattanooga a richer mix of cultures that would be derived from just one or two. Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Fayetteville-Springdale are some of the other larger American cities that benefit from such a unique geographical alignment.
- Chattanooga, like Asheville has one of the most scenic physical settings in the Eastern half of the United States. Planning the city and its environs in a manner that respects the beauty of the local geography is critical to long-term socio-economic health and vibrancy.
- Despite the tragic horror of what happened upon them, preserved battlefields do protect green/open space. Greater Chattanooga benefits from its multiple battlefield spaces not just from a tourism aspect, but also by providing space for passive recreation, fresh air, habitat for wildlife, and an appreciation for history.
- Chattanooga has the rare opportunity to be a world-class site for archeological research and discovery in an urban setting, through the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District It’s the first “archaeological district” in the United States and spans some 12,000 years of history.
-
Lookout for a Mountain of Chattanooga Planning Lessons
Listed below are a series of interesting and unique planning observations from the historically important southern crossroads city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a kid, I clearly recall the varied and impressive landscapes of this city as we traversed our way to Florida and back over Spring Break. Today, Chattanooga is a much larger city that has earned plaudits for its revitalization efforts. Hope you enjoy the set of planning lessons listed below.
Peace!
Chattanooga from atop Lookout Mountain- The immensely popular Tennessee Aquarium may have been the primary catalyst for revitalization, but it took many stakeholders in the community working together to direct Chattanooga’s future in a positive direction.
- Northshore, St. Elmo, Bluff View, and the Choo/Southside Historic District are varied examples of successful mid-city restoration and revitalization. They are four positive cases of tailoring redevelopment efforts to best fit the specific location. One riverfront, one set at the base of the mountain, one arts-oriented, and one tied to the city’s rail heritage.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Boise, and Spokane, where the downtown core is off center (lopsided) from where the bulk of the metropolitan population is concentrated, can face unique transportation and development challenges.
- It seems that Chattanooga’s development pattern would be more evenly dispersed (especially to the west) if the line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone did not pass so close to the western edge of the city. Two counties in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (Marion and Sequatchie) are not even in the same time zone as the core city of Chattanooga. Notice on the maps below how the city limits skew east and north. This may be the only metropolitan area in the country that is split by two time zones.
- The rugged terrain surrounding Chattanooga plays a significant role in how, where, and why the city developed. It also plays a big role in its identity. It would be hard to imagine Chattanooga without its linear ridges and valleys.
- Routing the lone limited access freeway link between four key Interstate Highway corridors (I-24 northwest to Nashville, I-59 southwest to Birmingham, I-75 northeast to Knoxville, and I-75 southeast to Atlanta) through midtown Chattanooga may have been the easiest approach, but it tears through the gut of the city and creates heavily congested chaos, noise, and pollution.
- One has to wonder how much the wealthy residents living atop Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain or beyond the basin’s “Eastern Wall” Missionary Ridge can relate to the noise, traffic, pollution, higher temperatures, disinvestment, and other factors impacting those residing in the heavily developed valley basin where many of the working class and minority populations reside.
- Despite the aforementioned disparities, the city/region have made significant improvements since 1969 when Chattanooga has the worst particulate particle air pollution in the nation.
- Being situated at the intersection of three states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama) affords Chattanooga a richer mix of cultures that would be derived from just one or two. Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Fayetteville-Springdale are some of the other larger American cities that benefit from such a unique geographical alignment.
- Chattanooga, like Asheville has one of the most scenic physical settings in the Eastern half of the United States. Planning the city and its environs in a manner that respects the beauty of the local geography is critical to long-term socio-economic health and vibrancy.
- Despite the tragic horror of what happened upon them, preserved battlefields do protect green/open space. Greater Chattanooga benefits from its multiple battlefield spaces not just from a tourism aspect, but also by providing space for passive recreation, fresh air, habitat for wildlife, and an appreciation for history.
- Chattanooga has the rare opportunity to be a world-class site for archeological research and discovery in an urban setting, through the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District It’s the first “archaeological district” in the United States and spans some 12,000 years of history.
-
Lookout for a Mountain of Chattanooga Planning Lessons
Listed below are a series of interesting and unique planning observations from the historically important southern crossroads city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a kid, I clearly recall the varied and impressive landscapes of this city as we traversed our way to Florida and back over Spring Break. Today, Chattanooga is a much larger city that has earned plaudits for its revitalization efforts. Hope you enjoy the set of planning lessons listed below.
Peace!
Chattanooga from atop Lookout Mountain- The immensely popular Tennessee Aquarium may have been the primary catalyst for revitalization, but it took many stakeholders in the community working together to direct Chattanooga’s future in a positive direction.
- Northshore, St. Elmo, Bluff View, and the Choo/Southside Historic District are varied examples of successful mid-city restoration and revitalization. They are four positive cases of tailoring redevelopment efforts to best fit the specific location. One riverfront, one set at the base of the mountain, one arts-oriented, and one tied to the city’s rail heritage.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Boise, and Spokane, where the downtown core is off center (lopsided) from where the bulk of the metropolitan population is concentrated, can face unique transportation and development challenges.
- It seems that Chattanooga’s development pattern would be more evenly dispersed (especially to the west) if the line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone did not pass so close to the western edge of the city. Two counties in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (Marion and Sequatchie) are not even in the same time zone as the core city of Chattanooga. Notice on the maps below how the city limits skew east and north. This may be the only metropolitan area in the country that is split by two time zones.
- The rugged terrain surrounding Chattanooga plays a significant role in how, where, and why the city developed. It also plays a big role in its identity. It would be hard to imagine Chattanooga without its linear ridges and valleys.
- Routing the lone limited access freeway link between four key Interstate Highway corridors (I-24 northwest to Nashville, I-59 southwest to Birmingham, I-75 northeast to Knoxville, and I-75 southeast to Atlanta) through midtown Chattanooga may have been the easiest approach, but it tears through the gut of the city and creates heavily congested chaos, noise, and pollution.
- One has to wonder how much the wealthy residents living atop Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain or beyond the basin’s “Eastern Wall” Missionary Ridge can relate to the noise, traffic, pollution, higher temperatures, disinvestment, and other factors impacting those residing in the heavily developed valley basin where many of the working class and minority populations reside.
- Despite the aforementioned disparities, the city/region have made significant improvements since 1969 when Chattanooga has the worst particulate particle air pollution in the nation.
- Being situated at the intersection of three states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama) affords Chattanooga a richer mix of cultures that would be derived from just one or two. Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Fayetteville-Springdale are some of the other larger American cities that benefit from such a unique geographical alignment.
- Chattanooga, like Asheville has one of the most scenic physical settings in the Eastern half of the United States. Planning the city and its environs in a manner that respects the beauty of the local geography is critical to long-term socio-economic health and vibrancy.
- Despite the tragic horror of what happened upon them, preserved battlefields do protect green/open space. Greater Chattanooga benefits from its multiple battlefield spaces not just from a tourism aspect, but also by providing space for passive recreation, fresh air, habitat for wildlife, and an appreciation for history.
- Chattanooga has the rare opportunity to be a world-class site for archeological research and discovery in an urban setting, through the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District It’s the first “archaeological district” in the United States and spans some 12,000 years of history.
-
Lookout for a Mountain of Chattanooga Planning Lessons
Listed below are a series of interesting and unique planning observations from the historically important southern crossroads city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a kid, I clearly recall the varied and impressive landscapes of this city as we traversed our way to Florida and back over Spring Break. Today, Chattanooga is a much larger city that has earned plaudits for its revitalization efforts. Hope you enjoy the set of planning lessons listed below.
Peace!
Chattanooga from atop Lookout Mountain- The immensely popular Tennessee Aquarium may have been the primary catalyst for revitalization, but it took many stakeholders in the community working together to direct Chattanooga’s future in a positive direction.
- Northshore, St. Elmo, Bluff View, and the Choo/Southside Historic District are varied examples of successful mid-city restoration and revitalization. They are four positive cases of tailoring redevelopment efforts to best fit the specific location. One riverfront, one set at the base of the mountain, one arts-oriented, and one tied to the city’s rail heritage.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Boise, and Spokane, where the downtown core is off center (lopsided) from where the bulk of the metropolitan population is concentrated, can face unique transportation and development challenges.
- It seems that Chattanooga’s development pattern would be more evenly dispersed (especially to the west) if the line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone did not pass so close to the western edge of the city. Two counties in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (Marion and Sequatchie) are not even in the same time zone as the core city of Chattanooga. Notice on the maps below how the city limits skew east and north. This may be the only metropolitan area in the country that is split by two time zones.
- The rugged terrain surrounding Chattanooga plays a significant role in how, where, and why the city developed. It also plays a big role in its identity. It would be hard to imagine Chattanooga without its linear ridges and valleys.
- Routing the lone limited access freeway link between four key Interstate Highway corridors (I-24 northwest to Nashville, I-59 southwest to Birmingham, I-75 northeast to Knoxville, and I-75 southeast to Atlanta) through midtown Chattanooga may have been the easiest approach, but it tears through the gut of the city and creates heavily congested chaos, noise, and pollution.
- One has to wonder how much the wealthy residents living atop Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain or beyond the basin’s “Eastern Wall” Missionary Ridge can relate to the noise, traffic, pollution, higher temperatures, disinvestment, and other factors impacting those residing in the heavily developed valley basin where many of the working class and minority populations reside.
- Despite the aforementioned disparities, the city/region have made significant improvements since 1969 when Chattanooga has the worst particulate particle air pollution in the nation.
- Being situated at the intersection of three states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama) affords Chattanooga a richer mix of cultures that would be derived from just one or two. Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Fayetteville-Springdale are some of the other larger American cities that benefit from such a unique geographical alignment.
- Chattanooga, like Asheville has one of the most scenic physical settings in the Eastern half of the United States. Planning the city and its environs in a manner that respects the beauty of the local geography is critical to long-term socio-economic health and vibrancy.
- Despite the tragic horror of what happened upon them, preserved battlefields do protect green/open space. Greater Chattanooga benefits from its multiple battlefield spaces not just from a tourism aspect, but also by providing space for passive recreation, fresh air, habitat for wildlife, and an appreciation for history.
- Chattanooga has the rare opportunity to be a world-class site for archeological research and discovery in an urban setting, through the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District It’s the first “archaeological district” in the United States and spans some 12,000 years of history.
-
Lookout for a Mountain of Chattanooga Planning Lessons
Listed below are a series of interesting and unique planning observations from the historically important southern crossroads city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a kid, I clearly recall the varied and impressive landscapes of this city as we traversed our way to Florida and back over Spring Break. Today, Chattanooga is a much larger city that has earned plaudits for its revitalization efforts. Hope you enjoy the set of planning lessons listed below.
Peace!
Chattanooga from atop Lookout Mountain- The immensely popular Tennessee Aquarium may have been the primary catalyst for revitalization, but it took many stakeholders in the community working together to direct Chattanooga’s future in a positive direction.
- Northshore, St. Elmo, Bluff View, and the Choo/Southside Historic District are varied examples of successful mid-city restoration and revitalization. They are four positive cases of tailoring redevelopment efforts to best fit the specific location. One riverfront, one set at the base of the mountain, one arts-oriented, and one tied to the city’s rail heritage.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Boise, and Spokane, where the downtown core is off center (lopsided) from where the bulk of the metropolitan population is concentrated, can face unique transportation and development challenges.
- It seems that Chattanooga’s development pattern would be more evenly dispersed (especially to the west) if the line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone did not pass so close to the western edge of the city. Two counties in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (Marion and Sequatchie) are not even in the same time zone as the core city of Chattanooga. Notice on the maps below how the city limits skew east and north. This may be the only metropolitan area in the country that is split by two time zones.
- The rugged terrain surrounding Chattanooga plays a significant role in how, where, and why the city developed. It also plays a big role in its identity. It would be hard to imagine Chattanooga without its linear ridges and valleys.
- Routing the lone limited access freeway link between four key Interstate Highway corridors (I-24 northwest to Nashville, I-59 southwest to Birmingham, I-75 northeast to Knoxville, and I-75 southeast to Atlanta) through midtown Chattanooga may have been the easiest approach, but it tears through the gut of the city and creates heavily congested chaos, noise, and pollution.
- One has to wonder how much the wealthy residents living atop Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain or beyond the basin’s “Eastern Wall” Missionary Ridge can relate to the noise, traffic, pollution, higher temperatures, disinvestment, and other factors impacting those residing in the heavily developed valley basin where many of the working class and minority populations reside.
- Despite the aforementioned disparities, the city/region have made significant improvements since 1969 when Chattanooga has the worst particulate particle air pollution in the nation.
- Being situated at the intersection of three states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama) affords Chattanooga a richer mix of cultures that would be derived from just one or two. Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Fayetteville-Springdale are some of the other larger American cities that benefit from such a unique geographical alignment.
- Chattanooga, like Asheville has one of the most scenic physical settings in the Eastern half of the United States. Planning the city and its environs in a manner that respects the beauty of the local geography is critical to long-term socio-economic health and vibrancy.
- Despite the tragic horror of what happened upon them, preserved battlefields do protect green/open space. Greater Chattanooga benefits from its multiple battlefield spaces not just from a tourism aspect, but also by providing space for passive recreation, fresh air, habitat for wildlife, and an appreciation for history.
- Chattanooga has the rare opportunity to be a world-class site for archeological research and discovery in an urban setting, through the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District It’s the first “archaeological district” in the United States and spans some 12,000 years of history.
-
Mid-morning snack secured. 🦗
Caught this Cattle Egret with a fresh katydid in its bill, showing off that intense eye focus right before swallowing.
#Photography #Wildlife #Birds #Birding #Nature #BirdOfTheDay #CattleEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInAction
-
Mid-morning snack secured. 🦗
Caught this Cattle Egret with a fresh katydid in its bill, showing off that intense eye focus right before swallowing.
#Photography #Wildlife #Birds #Birding #Nature #BirdOfTheDay #CattleEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInAction
-
Mid-morning snack secured. 🦗
Caught this Cattle Egret with a fresh katydid in its bill, showing off that intense eye focus right before swallowing.
#Photography #Wildlife #Birds #Birding #Nature #BirdOfTheDay #CattleEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInAction
-
Mid-morning snack secured. 🦗
Caught this Cattle Egret with a fresh katydid in its bill, showing off that intense eye focus right before swallowing.
#Photography #Wildlife #Birds #Birding #Nature #BirdOfTheDay #CattleEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInAction
-
Mid-morning snack secured. 🦗
Caught this Cattle Egret with a fresh katydid in its bill, showing off that intense eye focus right before swallowing.
#Photography #Wildlife #Birds #Birding #Nature #BirdOfTheDay #CattleEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInAction
-
LG BRINGS K-LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCES TO HONG KONG THROUGH CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS
Collaborations at CENTRESTAGE 2026 and Mid-Autumn K-Festival Week Highlight Integration of Technology, Fashion and Food News Summary LG…
#EuropeSays #Korea #KR #LG #brings #CENTRESTAGE2026 #KoreanChamberofCommerceinHongKong #KOTRA #LGElectronics #LGGroup #LGInstaView™refrigerator #LGMultifunctionalMicrowaveSteamOven #LGStyler #Mid-AutumnK-FestivalWeek
https://www.europesays.com/korea/169815/ -
The mid century front door mistake I see most: a busy glass pattern paired with busy hardware.
If the door has staggered windows or a diamond relief, go quiet on everything else. One slim pull, simple numbers, one light. Test paint in morning and late afternoon light before you commit.
https://www.omnihomeideas.com/design/interior/mid-century-modern-front-door-ideas/
-
NYC Mayor hosts Mid-autumn festival celebration
-
NYC Mayor hosts Mid-autumn festival celebration
-
NYC Mayor hosts Mid-autumn festival celebration
-
In the mid-19th century, a photographer named James Mudd delivered a talk titled 'A Photographer's Dream,' whose substance holds true even today.
Are we obsessed with technology at the expense of art?
https://medium.com/essays-on-photography/james-mudd-had-a-dream-9ec8fd34dbd4Do read, comment, share and subscribe!
#photography -
In the mid-19th century, a photographer named James Mudd delivered a talk titled 'A Photographer's Dream,' whose substance holds true even today.
Are we obsessed with technology at the expense of art?
https://medium.com/essays-on-photography/james-mudd-had-a-dream-9ec8fd34dbd4Do read, comment, share and subscribe!
#photography -
In the mid-19th century, a photographer named James Mudd delivered a talk titled 'A Photographer's Dream,' whose substance holds true even today.
Are we obsessed with technology at the expense of art?
https://medium.com/essays-on-photography/james-mudd-had-a-dream-9ec8fd34dbd4Do read, comment, share and subscribe!
#photography -
In the mid-19th century, a photographer named James Mudd delivered a talk titled 'A Photographer's Dream,' whose substance holds true even today.
Are we obsessed with technology at the expense of art?
https://medium.com/essays-on-photography/james-mudd-had-a-dream-9ec8fd34dbd4Do read, comment, share and subscribe!
#photography -
In the mid-19th century, a photographer named James Mudd delivered a talk titled 'A Photographer's Dream,' whose substance holds true even today.
Are we obsessed with technology at the expense of art?
https://medium.com/essays-on-photography/james-mudd-had-a-dream-9ec8fd34dbd4Do read, comment, share and subscribe!
#photography
