Attention to detail
 You can learn a lot from other cities. Sometimes all you have to do is look down.Being a self-described pedestrian advocate, walkability wackjob, on my recent trip to New Orleans I refused to rent a car. We walked everywhere. Miles a day. New Orleans has the same challenging mixture of mature trees and heaved sidewalks that Kansas City does. As a sidewalk veteran you know to keep your eyes on the ground in front of you or you will most likely end up face down on the concrete. Something I noticed right away was the watermeter covers. I shot this one in the Garden District but they are everywhere. If you can't read the text, it says "Sewerage and Water Board Crescent Box Watermeter Ford Meter Box Co. Wabash, IND New Orleans, LA." You wouldn't think something as insignificant as a watermeter cover would make an impression, but it does. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks these covers are pretty cool. A jeweler in the French Quarter sells sterling silver cuff links which are exact replicas. The whole watermeter cover thing got me to thinking that even the smallest details make a difference in your pedestrian experience. A well-maintained fence, trimmed shrubbery that doesn't hang out and attempt to remove an eye. Even a metal cover made to be a little more aesthetically pleasing. It's this attention to detail that gets lost sometimes. It's attention to detail that can make a better place to live. I'm not saying that a redesign of Kansas City's watermeter covers is some silver bullet that will make our neighborhoods better, but if we as a community can show thoughtfulness in everything we do, imagine the possibilities. |
posted by Mark at 9:56 AM
Comments on "Attention to detail"
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Millie said ... (3:36 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (10:12 PM) :
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Mark said ... (10:02 AM) :
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Dan said ... (2:15 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (2:36 PM) :
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Mark said ... (4:17 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (5:45 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (5:54 PM) :
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adrianne said ... (6:05 PM) :
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hip critic said ... (7:59 PM) :
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Brent said ... (11:08 PM) :
post a commentThat's pretty neat but what's wrong with the KCMO covers? How would you change them?
Millie--
Its not the meter cover itself that Mark is talking about here lady. It's detail. Did you read his post? It sounded like he was describing most peoples houses in KC (mine included) that if we only would take care of our own it would be a nicer place to live collectively. I agree. In the meantime, I plan to hold the city to the very same standard they are trying to hold us to and then some. I think Mark is very sincere in wanting to incite change in our city. Hopefully he is not a Codes Enforcement Nazi though. If so, I'm geting a horse and buggy because thats what the people who built this house drove. You want Historic, we'll show you historic if we are backed into a corner. Slaves too. No true historic district is complete without maids in those quaint little quarters above the garage. Lets not do this deal halfass Forsythe. Detail Mark, detail. For real.
Millie,
I would have a contest for the best cover design. What aspiring artist wouldn't want a chance to have their work displayed throughout the city for decades?
Hip Critic,
Codes Enforcement is a major issue with most struggling neighborhoods. I'm a big believer in Broken Windows Theory. I think inspectors should use discretion though. There are many triage cases that need to be cleared before we start worrying about peeling paint. As you say, a lot of housing stock in KC is nearing 100 years in age. While I support property rights, I also support the rights of the community in that we are all caretakers and have the responsibility to pass on these beautiful homes in good condition to the next generation.
You know, those metal plates that cover our streets - some of them are HUGE. Maybe we could have big etchings on them, so we could see pretty pictures as they knock off our hubcaps and ruin our suspensions.
And I was dismayed by the color of the traffic ticket I received - an ugly shade of yellow. These days, people get their checks printed with all sorts of cool designs, like unicorns and college mascots. Why not have cool background colors on our tickets?
(No, I'm not disagreeing with you - just having fun with your concept!)
Mark--
The problem I have with current codes enforcement is that say your a member of the neighborhood association. You don't like someone. Not only that, you'd like to live in their house or have one of your friends purchase it. You or your friends could certainly take better care of it than the poor old common fool living there presently. The immediate neighbors have no problems and have even pitched in to help. Unfortunately, it's not for sale. So, you go over there and have tea with them and make them a offer (ridiculous offer by the way). They flat refuse you and ask you to leave. So....you have friends. You call codes enforcement and after ten years of living in the same place this guy is now in jeopardy of losing his place. Why? Sure, the house has its flaws, but do you(as the city) condemn it after some (excuse me) asshole made the complaint after having been ejected from the game. Thats wrong. It's immoral. It's Un-American. By the way, the house was built in 1862 and rumour has it Pendergrass or whatever his name lived here. Thats where I live. Beautiful house. Needs work. We are slowly doing this. I do not own it, but I live here.
NOTE: Paint pictures of people who were murdered in the area on manhole covers and water covers. Then, while pedestrians are walking with their heads down, they could easily spot the wrong place to be. A public service message so to speak.
Funny you should mention manhole covers. Chicago sells doormats that are duplicates of their manhole covers. Creative. I almost bought one, but I'm holding out for the KC version.
I understand your frustration about vindictive codes complaints. I currently sit on the 311 Action Center oversight committee and believe me when I tell you the Action Center folks are frustrated with it too. There are remedies, but the current leadership has no interest in the Action Center. Not one sitting councilperson has taken the time to come down and sit with the call takers and find out what's really going on with our single point of contact with their constituents. Crazy I know.
As I've said before, it's a fine line. I've never seen your house so I don't know. I can think of one gorgeous Victorian right now that is literally rotting in on the owners because they can't afford to maintain it. Broken windows with pigeons flying in and out. Rotting brackets and turned spindles from lack of paint. Leaking roof which I'm sure is causing internal damage. Do we sit back as a community and let that happen, or do we step in and save a piece of our history?
This is a good discussion. I may blog this topic tomorrow morning.
Mark--
The fine line is this really. If someone buys a house and refuses to work on it, it's theres really. If an argument could be made that the public could be harmed by the building collapsing (which is rarely the case)the city should step in and say "fix it". If it isn't fixed you could then condemn. BUT...to choose a property and automatically assume the shape of it devalues the area is a longshot. Even in the presence of a seemingly honest appraiser (which we all know is nonexistent).If we were sitting in the middle of $3,000,000 homes one could clearly make an argument to force the owner to fix it up. Or...if we had a homeowners association they could do so. A Neighborhood Association with a monthly attendance average of 20 out of 2,000 homes should not dictate the standard for the rest and shame on the city for allowing them to do so. Clearly, most people don't want any part of what they're trying to do in Scarritt. This sort of tyranny is a stonethrow away from determining sexual positions in the bedroom, kinds of cars you can park in your driveway, etc for area residents. People are getting fed up with being forcefed shit in KC and made to believe it's filet mignon.
NOTE: I know people that raise pigeons. Whats wrong with pigeons as long as they're not flying into your living room from theirs.
Mark--
Also, we have far deeper issues than hanging gutters, torn screens, and pigeons flying into dilapitated structures around here.
For instance...we are redlined for insurance purposes, lending purposes, and other purposes. We pay excessive rates on everything around here; for consumer goods, insurance rates, and can hardly get a pizza delivered around here after dark. Why? The Police have preserved a nice little area of the city for crimninals to exist so they'll stay out of everywhere else. I won't even go into the illegal immigration problem in Northeast Kansas City that all candidates (including yourself!) fail to address. Good day sir. I do believe there is one Mayoral candidate that plans to address the immigration issue which will be her greatest strength. In spite of being the least favorite of all the candidates she will probably win because of it.
I called 311 today to follow up on a request to fix a cave-in of the pavement on my street corner. The Action Center has great people that show concern when you call them and have no problem being the squeaky wheel until the work gets done. I made sure the person taking my call knew how much I appreciated their work.
Adrianne--
I have also have experienced very good luck with the call takers at 311. Unfortunately, it's the knotheads they dispatch that repeatedly drop the ball. Very nice people actually. If well-meaning people were sufficient to bring KC out of the slumps we would have improved long ago. By admission, the lady I've talked to realizes it's a painful process for callers.
Mark,
Funny that you mention that the current council has ignored the action center people. Without question, the folks at the Action Center have been far and away the most responsive people in helping out the people in the city.
As for codes violations, it's a huge problem in this city. It is seldom the homes that have live-in residents in them. The major problems in our midtown neighborhood come from vacant homes (some have been abandoned for 15 years or more) or absentee landlords who have lower-income people living in way-below standards for acceptable housing.
We're not talking peeling paint and wacked out paint jobs -- we're talking blue tarps acting as actual roofing, windowless homes and porches that really are a danger to people having it fall on them.
It's a huge issue, and our codes department is VERY slow at handling the problems, and completely tapped out that they have no ability to be proactive...