Daily Loaf

This post is about one of my favorite places in Tampa Bay: Ybor City.

The Ybor City I admire is the community pre “urban renewal”: that pathetic time in the 1960s when vast stretches of this remarkable multi-lingual and multi-ethnic historic district were demolished in the name of the mid-century streamlined suburban dream.  I’ve written about Tampa’s planning history in previous Creative Loafing posts: The Tampa That Might Have Been, The roots of sprawl, and Fixing sprawl and redesigning suburbia.

The idea behind urban renewal (a national program) was that it demolish the existing crumbling old historic fabric of cities, and the newly vacant lots would become modern new development that would spur the economy. In Ybor this Faustian new construction never materialized, as I remember the old 1980s “Rough Riders restaurant” in Ybor being surrounded by vacant lots.

The real premise for urban renewal was most likely racial and socioeconomic, with the goal of moving the poor and disenfranchised out of the cities and into the sparkling new modern housing projects further out. Mind you, this re-location scheme is still being pursued by Tampa and the county to this day as these old housing projects are now meeting the wrecking ball and the unfortunate inhabitants are relocated even further out to places like the USF area (aka “Suitcase City”), Lutz, Carrollwood and Brandon (might I add places that largely lack mass transit). Dear readers, please note that South Tampa is not on the list.
Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this past week:

Why does Florida Fish and Wildlife refuse to protect eagles and tortoises?: contributor and green activist Chris Hrabovsky asks why Florida wildlife is allowed to be sacrificed in order for big businesses to take over that land.

The roots of sprawl: Grant Rimbey explores the origins of sprawl in the United States, describes the difference between sprawl and sustainability, and hints at a future strategy for moving beyond sprawl.

Tampa City Council reclaimed water workshop: a post by John Dingfelder on Tampa City Council wanting to “turn the page” towards a new era of common sense water conservation.

An overview of Green Cities Florida in Orlando and hopes for a greener future: Joshua Michael Poll attended last week’s Green Cities Florida event in Orlando and discusses highlights from it, as well as his hopes for Tampa Bay’s green initiatives.

No acupuncture needles needed when it comes to Meridian Therapy: health and wellness contributor Kevin O’ Dunn looks at the use of toothpicks in place of needles in acupuncture and Meridian Therapy.

Help support the Tampa Theatre by shopping at Barnes and Noble this week: Michelle Schenck gives information on helping the Tampa Theatre by purchasing from Barnes and Noble book stores this week.

Steps to becoming greener: Starting a compost or worm bin: Tips and information from Joshua Michael Poll on creating healthier soil by making a compost or worm bin.

360 Vodka: drink in the name of Mother Earth: Jessica McCormick reviews the “eco-responsible” (and very tasty) 360 Vodka.

VP Biden boosts green jobs and training in Denver: Vice President Joe Biden creates 450,000 green jobs in Denver with $500 million from the economic stimulus bill, as reported by Michelle Schenck.

Lose your lawn and get Florida native plants instead; Free native plants tour Sat. (5/30): Joshua Michael Poll gives us more green tips- this time for our lawns and how to use native Florida plants in place of a time- and money-consuming traditional lawn.

Green office tip of the week: Reduce paper in your office: the latest green office tip from contributor Lisa Assetta.

McLibel and Wal-Suit trials: people who fought against these companies and made a difference: Chris Hrabovsky discusses the long McLibel suit in London and compares it to similar local issues and legal battles with Wal-Mart destroying wetlands and wildlife to build, showing what a few everyday people have done to stand up to these big companies.

Don’t forget to check out our Green Community Calendar for green events and workshops in the Bay Area!

A year ago I was doing microfilm research on local history at the John German Library in Tampa. Anyone who’s done this research knows how tedious it is; there’s no index for microfilm so to find pertinent articles one must scan each newspaper page on each microfilm roll. While doing this I was flabbergasted to discover a Tampa Tribune article from November 25, 1924, that mentioned the work of the famous town planner John Nolen in connection with Tampa.

To my surprise, the City of Tampa commissioned Nolen to survey the city in 1924 in preparation for a master plan which he was to create for the city. I know a good deal about the planning and architectural history of the area but hadn’t heard that Nolen was working in our area. Tragically, Nolen created his survey but was never commissioned by the city to create his master plan for Tampa: 1924 was the height of delirium during the 1920s Florida real estate boom and the development industry of the time did not want to slow down the good times enough to allow the creation of a master plan and code to direct them. The great depression came early to Florida and by the end of 1926 the roaring 20s were over.

The discovery of John Nolen’s survey of Tampa is important as he’s arguably the finest town planner to have worked in Florida and is the namesake of the John Nolen Medal for Contributions to Urbanism in Florida, given by the progressive planning organization Congress for the New Urbanism, Florida Chapter. In Florida, Nolen was the genius behind the town plans of Venice, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Clewiston, and Temple Terrace.

In 1924, the problems that Mr. Nolen identified in Tampa’s planning remain problems to this very day: Read the rest of this entry »