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The Urban Dream Life
by Mountain Girl ~ September 22nd, 2008. Filed under: Community, Development.Every now and again, I read an article that makes enough of an impact on me that I know I’ll hang out to it for awhile. This particular one, Where the Urban Dream Life is Going Cheap, has much to do with a sense of place that I think we all have about Pittsburgh, but don’t articulate in the same way, or at all. And it’s not a sense of place based solely on geographic identifiers. It’s a sense of place that can only be evoked by the people that live there, together, in a very specific period of time. Like now. Right here in Mt. Washington even.
The author interviews people that couldn’t wait to move out of Rust Belt cities (Buffalo in particular) and live the dream in New York City. Then reality set it and they all came to the conclusion that their dream lives in New York City were possible…just not in New York City. So they moved back and they’re invested in Buffalo and trying to break all of the stereotypes and antiquated ways of doing things that have kept Buffalo stagnant for so long.
Although this piece wasn’t about Pittsburgh, it could have been. The following excerpt (when you replace Buffalo mentions with Pittsburgh) really resonated with me and how I feel about growing up here and moving somewhere else and then feeling the need to come back here and why. It also makes me want to focus less on how we’re all going about making change and appreciate the fact that there are so many of us trying—often on our own time and with our own resources. If we do it right, all of the different paths we’re taking will eventually converge into a spectacularly unique, walkable, affordable, sustainable Mt. Washington.
“But what a city like Pittsburgh offers is a very different promise of what could be. It offers the chance to live on the cheap and start a nonprofit organization, or rent an abandoned church for $1,000 a month, or finish your album without having to hold down two temp jobs at the same time, or simply have more space and a better view and enough money left over each month to buy yourself a painting once in awhile. A city like Pittsburgh reminds you that, beyond New York, there are still frontiers.”
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:43 pm
As a native Buffalonian, transplanted to Pittsburgh, I must say I’m glad you posted this article. And although Pittsburgh and Buffalo are a lot alike, they are also very different.
I was drawn to the second page of the article and this paragraph in particular:
You test yourself against the stresses of the city. If it’s not the
expense, it’s the overcrowding. If not the overcrowding, then the
crime. If not the crime, then the tension, or the roaches, or the
smells, or the guy screaming obscenities at you for no reason on the
stifling subway platform while you wait for a train that’s jam-packed
and twenty minutes late.
And you were right! If you just insert “Pittsburgh” in there, it does sound like it was written about this area
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
This resonates with me as well. After spending 3 years out west in Phoenix AZ, I longed to return to Pittsburgh and focus my career on helping to transform Pittsburgh into the best city it can be. It took going away and experiencing other places, to really appreciate what we have here and not take it for granted. I made a great choice to live in Mt. Washington and it just keeps getting better all the time.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
[…] http://15211.org/the-urban-dream-life/ […]
September 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Mountain Girl - I know you’ll love this too. Fresh Views from Sharon Eakes
Why can’t we all be more like geese?
I’ve heard the first few honkings from geese flying overhead, and yesterday I saw a V of them. It reminded me of a wonderful piece about geese I first saw years ago. I know that many communities have too many geese (I imagine the geese in those communities saying, “This community has too many people.”) Still each time I read about geese, I think how valuable it will be when we learn these lessons from them.
Lessons from Geese - author unknown
FACT 1: As each goose flaps its wings it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
LESSON: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
FACT 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
LESSON: If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
FACT 3: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
LESSON: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangement of gifts, talents or resources.
FACT 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
LESSON: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
FACT 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
LESSON: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
Each month FRESH VIEWS focuses on a single topic, relates it to one of the five disciplines of a learning community, and offers a coaching tip and a follow-up telegathering. Please forward it to friends and colleagues. My purpose in writing FRESH VIEWS is to nurture, prod and encourage readers to think and talk about these topics with their families, friends and colleagues. Mine is only one view. Multiple conversations may deliver us to insights only hinted at here. Such a process sustains the vitality of learning relationships, learning families, learning organizations and learning communities.