The bottom line is private cars don't scale

Czech Village parking lot, November 2020

My latest brush with fame came last weekend, when the Cedar Rapids Gazette published a long article by reporter Steve Gravelle on the Czech Village-New Bohemia district, suggesting that development in the area has reached a sort of inflection point: 

A wave of new residential and mixed-use building construction over the past decade nearly tripled property values in the neighborhood, from $12.9 million in 2015 to $37 million last year, according to Jennifer Vavra Borcherding, director of The District: Czech Village and New Bohemia.... The recent projects were built on property the city acquired through post-flood buyouts, replacing dozens of single-family homes that were swept away. The shift to high-density apartments and town houses has altered NewBo's historic aesthetic.

The article included a number of quotes from me, including:

Ten years ago, when I started hanging out down here, I hoped it would evolve in the direction of urban village--places for people to work, places for people to shop, places for people to live. It's probably not done that. The direction now is economic development as a tourist destination, which is OK.

I'll own those statements, though I hope my original comments followed "OK" with "but" or "if." In any case, despite much new residential construction, commercial development has been specialized rather than fulfilling "normal daily needs;" and that prospects for hotel construction seem optimistic given the city has been unable to find a private buyer for the big downtown hotel it pushed in 2013. I wrote more about all that last fall.

My participation in the article got a fair amount of reaction. A few people expressed to me concern about proposed additional development discussed in the article. I heard a lot about the difficulty of parking for events in the district, and worries that additional residential and commercial development would bring more people competing for fewer parking spaces. Not everyone can walk to places, I was told, which while true, gets psychically translated into "Not anyone should be expected to walk to places." 

Given the amount of space this blog has given to tracking the vast waste of space that parking lots represent--even on Black Friday--I had trouble identifying with their concerns. Everyone should understand, if they don't already, that car storage takes up enormous amounts of land at low taxable value, increasing the distance between destinations, squashing vibe, and making any other way of getting around inconvenient if not outright impossible. (See Grabar 2023.)

My friends didn't comment on a related concern discussed in the article: the impact of enormous  amounts of investment in the district on the price of property. In a common scenario, artists began to move in decades ago, raising the area's profile and attracting a lot of investment, which ended up pricing property beyond the means of artists. 

• Mel Andringa, co-founder, Legion Arts: As much as we promoted the place as an arts and entertainment district, artists didn't settle here.... People with art-adjacent sensibilities moved in. Affordability down here is gone.
• Missa Coffman, co-owner, Tree of Liminality: We can't afford to live here.... They're not calling it 'affordable' housing anymore. They're calling it 'attainable' housing.'

Is there another alternative besides living on the spot or commuting from far away? Pricey condos in Czech Village and New Bohemia notwithstanding, you only have to go a few blocks before prices are more reasonable.

And yet. I'm not here to preach about personal choices, to residents or shoppers. This blog is first and foremost about public policy, which should make personal choices possible. But Cedar Rapids has developed in a way that Czech Village and New Bohemia are heavily dependent on recreational consumers coming from elsewhere, and the vast proportion of those consumers are simply not in a position to get there except by private motor vehicle. That's not the fault of individuals, it's the fault of the community.

The district is basically Edgewood Road, except for being a whole lot cuter. Maybe this all was inevitable, and the urban village was always going to be a pipedream. Or a sales pitch.

Drive-to urbanism is a thing, but without the valuable attributes of real urbanism. (For an egregious nearby example, see Kaplan 2016.) You can't drive your way to real urbanism. Driving requires parking; you've seen the aerial photos of a 75,000-seat sports stadium surrounded by untold acres of parking. Or how many bicycles fit into a single car-parking space. People don't take up much room, but their cars do.

Parking lot, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg FL

If getting someplace, whether it's New Bohemia or Lindale Mall, requires driving, it's going to require parking. Parking requires way more space per person than practically any other use of urban land. Way more space requires way more city infrastructure without the revenue to pay for it (Mieleszko 2025). Land used for parking can't be used for housing or shops or parks or schools or anything else that contributes to quality of life. Without the ability of people to walk or bike or take public transit to places, locations become placeless. Roads then need to become wider in an (ultimately fruitless) effort to keep up with the demand to drive. This too is a financial loser for the city.

The bottom line is private cars don't scale. I don't know how New Bohemia ultimately solves that problem, but you can't parking lot your way to long-term prosperity.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Steve Gravelle, "New Bo Comes of Age," Cedar Rapids Gazette, 3 August 2025, 1A, 4-5A

Can special events help activate parks?

Welcome booth, Art in the Park 2024
(My brain overheated in 2025 so I took no pictures)

Sunday's exuberant Art in the Park at Redmond Park had possibly the biggest turnout yet, with the park full of people thumbing their nose at the steamy weather (while respecting it by staying hydrated). Big events like Art in the Park, Marion's Thursday night Uptown Getdown, Lisbon's Sauerkraut Days, and downtown farmers' markets can bring big crowds to parks or wherever in town they're held. For those who take the lead in planning, they are a lot of work, with the hope of a lot of reward in seeing your event pop in real time. Sophia Joseph of the Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association, who had a big hand in planning the event, posted on Facebook:

It's a lot of work, a lot of heart, a lot of community, and a lot of joy. I'm tired. After we rest up, we are excited for our 5th annual event next year, which is sure to be our biggest and best yet.

2024 Sidewalk chalk competition on 3rd Avenue

For one day last weekend, Art in the Park brought the crowds and the fun and the sidewalk chalk to Redmond Park in the Wellington Heights neighborhood. Marion's Uptown Getdown and Cedar Rapids's Summer on the Square do it for several summer evenings. What about the many other days in the year? A successful park is a place for neighbors to gather and play all year around. The presence of a natural gathering place, whether a park or a town square, is one element of the Strong Towns Strength Test, asked provocatively: If there were a revolution in your town, would people instinctively know where to gather to participate? More to the point: If you can't envision your neighbors gathering together in a central location, it's hard to envision coming together to solve day to day problems and build strong towns--much less demonstrating publicly for a common goal. (Strong Towns 2017)

But first, play time: Packing the Redmond Park playground
after the 2024 Easter Egg hunt

As space that includes some natural elements, parks in particular provide other benefits. Nadina Galle, in her book The Nature of Our Cities--not to mention all the other aspects of her public work--commends natural spaces for providing individuals with awareness of "the extraordinary richness of life that surrounds us" (2024: 133) as well as "restoring the ability to concentrate and triggering a physiological response that lowers stress levels" (2024: 185). 

But they can't do that if we're not there. And that means that park spaces large and small must be interesting and feel safe (Jacobs 1961 ch 5, Kaplan, Kaplan and Ryan 1998), as well as providing for our toileting needs, and maybe so comfortable that one could grab a nap (Sucher 2016: 144, 219). Jacobs (1961: 135-145) talks about connection to a vibrant neighborhood outside the park, internal intricacy (appropriate for multiple uses), centering (one clear climactic point), sunshine (and shade), enclosure, and demand goods. 

Redmond Park splashpad in operation, 2014

Jane Jacobs is focused on large city parks, but the Reimagining the Civic Commons folk argue in their latest post (Reimagining the Civic Commons 2025) that the same considerations apply to small neighborhood parks as well, like River Garden in Memphis and Akron's Summit Lake Beachhead. River Garden, they note, "layers different uses within close proximity to each other to promote connection and casual conversation." Some of the places they profile offer ongoing programming; others rely on a diverse set of demand goods. 

Do big events like Art in the Park help with any of this?

I think they can, under certain circumstances.

1. The park is connected to a successful (or potentially successful neighborhood). There should be, in short, a ready set of nearby people who could populate the park. There should be sidewalks connecting the park to its surroundings, and infrastructure (street lighting, street trees, narrow driving area) conducive to getting to the park. Ben Kaplan's 2019 photo essay on Viola Gibson Park in Cedar Rapids shows what happens when these elements are neglected.

   

   Chicago's Walsh Park is accessible by street or the 606 Trail

   
   
2. The park has a reasonable set of demand goods. Walsh Park on Chicago's north side (pictured above) has a dog park as well as a big play area. Redmond Park in CR has playground equipment, a splash pad, and picnic benches for public use, although they could use some more trees. Our city's biggest parks have a greater variety of features, including swimming pools, ball diamonds, and wooded trails.

   

   walking trail at Bever Park

3. The special events serve the purpose of bringing people into contact with the park's everyday uses. Come for the chalk art, stay for the swingset. If people come to the park for a municipal band concert, and are inspired to return on their own some day soon, that's good. That's why I'm cool even with closing streets for Art in the Park and the downtown farmers market, but think having a NASCAR race in downtown Chicago is grotesque. Auto racing, whatever its attractions, prevents rather than promotes everyday public use.
4. Commitment to regular programming. San Francisco's Noe Valley Town Square, cited by Reimagining the Civic Commons, "serves as the neighborhood's 'living room,' hosting weekly farmers' markets, concerts, yoga and dance classes, family events and more" That's great, if there are the staff and resources for it, but not necessary for successful public space.

What you need is a reason, preferably multiple reasons, for people to be there, and easy access so they can get there without great effort. Urbanism is mostly about daily life, about creating spaces that can be enjoyed in community every day. As such big special events are more of a distraction than a feature. But they too have their place, when the uniquely special contributes to the routinely special.

On the other hand...
Redmond Park on an ordinary Sunday afternoon

MORE ON THIS SUBJECT:

Gilbert Penalosa's terrific Cities for Everyone webinar series will feature Shannon Baker of Waterfront Toronto on Tuesday 8/19 at 10:00 a.m. CT. Her topic is "Connecting Nature and the City." Register here. Recording is available a few days after the presentation at gpenalosa.ca.

PRINT SOURCES

Nadina Galle, The Nature of Our Cities: Harnessing the Power of the Natural World to Survive a Changing Planet (Mariner, 2024)

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Modern Library, 1961)

Rachel Kaplan, Steven Kaplan, and Robert L. Ryan, With People in Mind: Design and Management of Everyday Nature (Island Press, 1998)

David Sucher, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village (City Comfort Inc, rev ed, 2016)

National Public Housing Museum

 

National Public Housing Museum, 919 S. Ada St., Chicago

Of all the wicked problems facing western countries these days, housing may be the wickedest. The latest report from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies shows (1) rental and owner-occupied housing prices at record highs, (2) unprecedented levels of homelessness, and (3) record amounts of claims from natural disasters (McCue 2025). Even in places where housing prices are in retreat, writes Strong Towns' Charles Marohn (2025), the result has not been great joy, but widespread pulling back by builders and financial institutions. 

In other words, the new National Public Housing Museum could not have opened at a better time. Located in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood, near the University of Illinois Chicago campus, it exists on land once occupied by the Jane Addams Houses, the first public housing constructed in the United States (in 1938). Four residences from various decades of the Jane Addams Houses are recreated in part of the museum.

Admission to the museum is free.

Public housing brochures from around the country

Some possessions of public housing residents

There are a number of exhibits still under construction...

...but you can see the activism room, highlighting organized efforts of residents to improve conditions and/or prevent eviction...

Activism room

...and the music room, a library of recordings by former public housing residents. These include Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Kenny Rogers, and Barbra Streisand.

Music room

The heart and soul of the museum, however, is found on the tours of recreated public housing residences. These cost $25 (lower for seniors and students), and require reservations on the museum's website. There seem to be three tours, and I can't remember whether mine was "A," "B," or "C;" anyhow, your tour may have different content. (That's also the case at the Tenement Museum in New York.)

1940s: entrance to the Turovitz apartment

Turovitz family living room

Turovitz family kitchen

Displays are enhanced with oral histories; members of two of the families were present for the museum's grand opening earlier this year.

In the 1950s recreations, we saw a shadow play that included a crisp explanation of how housing policy, both public and private. through much of this period worked for whites and against blacks.

1950s: anti-integration protests

1960s: record player and 45s

living room TV console showing test pattern
(both the Sears Tower and the station's call letters are from the 1970s)

The biggest message of the Public Housing Museum experience was to humanize public housing residents. We meet real people, who have to deal with school and work and love and child-rearing just like everyone else, except more precariously. This is something worth remembering as government programs are mauled by the Trump administration gang, and as we collectively struggle with housing policy.

As seen above, the museum doesn't ignore public policy, but as a policy guy, I could have used a lot more. Public housing has gone through historical phases, from the early mid-rises to the infamous high rises to Section 8 vouchers, but the museum says very little about this history. It begs rather than addresses the question: Could public housing be the answer to some of the housing problems we face today?

It is bad form to critique any work based on what you wish it did, rather than what it does. Yet here I am, doing just that. I hope I've communicated that what the museum does, it does exceptionally well. It may be that future exhibits address policy more; that's an important part of the story, too.

MUSEUM WEBSITE: Welcome to the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago

RELATED POSTS:

"Everything is Connected, Including Housing Issues," 14 November 2024

"Metro Housing Update," 7 February 2024

SEE ALSO:

Charles Marohn, "What Happens When Housing Prices Go Down? (Because They Are)," Strong Towns, 21 July 2025

Daniel McCue, "A Year for the Record Books: The State of the Nation's Housing in Perspective," Joint Center for Housing Studies, 9 July 2025

"Supportive Housing Offers High-Impact, Cost-Effective Response to Homelessness and Opioid Use," Stanford Report, 27 June 2025

10th anniversary post: CR churches

 

Apartments across from Greene Square,
part of a surge of building in the core of Cedar Rapids

Ten years ago this month, I hosted two events featuring Charles Marohn, founder and CEO of Strong Towns: an evening public event at the Iowa City Public Library, and a meeting of the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization the next morning in Ely. Remarkably, I wrote nothing about those events and took no pictures; all I did was post a link to the video on Iowa City's website, which link has, alas, now expired. (A subsequent Iowa City appearance by Chuck, in 2019, can be found here:)

I did take pictures in July 2015, lots of them, of churches in the Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood. The idea was that there were a number of houses of worship remaining from the era when the core of Cedar Rapids was bustling and dense, and that when--as I anticipated--urbanism returned bustle and density to the city center, these religious institutions would be ready to support the new arrivals and be the basis for renewed community.

Since that post, three more churches have been started in Oak Hill Jackson, and I have acquired editions of Polk's Directory for 1953 and 1998 that show changes in the property uses as well as in the surrounding areas.

New Churches

Veritas is a non-denominational church that
hosts a coffeehouse on weekdays

Veritas Church, 509 3rd St SE

In 1953 this building was Nash Finch wholesale grocers (the folks who operated the Econo Foods and Sun Mart chains). There was a Sinclair station on the other side of 3rd. In 1998 there was no listing for the church's current address, while Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity occupied the building across the street that is now their ReStore. The oldest Google Earth photo, from 2012, shows the Intermec company occupying this building.

Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1103 3rd St SE

This congregation was started in 2020, and is affiliated with the conservative Presbyterian Church of America. They hold services in the theater at CSPS Hall, a historic Czech and Slovak community center dating from the 1890s. In 1953, this block of 3rd Street had, besides CSPS, six single-family households, one duplex, and 11 businesses, as well as the Salvation Army at 1119-1123 (now Parlor City). In 1998, there were two households and five businesses sharing the block with CSPS.

Revolution Community Church, 1202 10th St SE

This congregation, along with the ROC (Recovering Our City) Center, is using the building that ten years ago was occupied by Oak Hill Jackson Community Church. The sign above the door actually says "Refuge City Church," which testifies to the versatility of the abbreviation "RCC." In 1953 this was St. George Syrian Orthodox Church, which built the church in 1914; they moved to Cottage Grove Avenue SE in 1992. In the 1998 Polk's Directory there was no listing on 10th Street SE between 12th and 15th Avenues.

Older White Denominations

First Presbyterian Church, 310 5th St SE

This venerable church was built in 1869, and occupies the same block as the also-historic YWCA, opposite Greene Square Park. "First Pres" is the first of the oldline Third Avenue Churches; now, with the departure of First Christian Church and People's Church (Unitarian Universalist) in the 2010s, it is also the only mainline church on the southeast side below 10th Street.

St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, 1224 5th St SE

Built in 1904, this church long served the working class neighborhood around the Sinclair meatpacking plant. In 1953 just that block of 5th Street had 14 households containing 47 residents, as well as two vacant houses and the Sisters of Mercy at 1230 5th. In 1998, the block still had seven occupied residences, but all the older houses in the area were bought up and leveled after the 2008 flood. 

Historically Black Congregations

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 512 6th St SE 

Built in 1931, Bethel AME Church has, like St. Wenceslaus, has continued its ministry after losing many of its closest neighbors. In 1953, the 500 block of 6th Street had seven single-family homes and two duplexes with a total population of 45. By 1998 it was down to two single-family homes, two vacant apartments at 514 6th, and four residences "not verified." Today there is just a vacant lot between Bethel and 5th Avenue.

New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ, 631 9th Av SE 

This church was built by Hus Presbyterian Church in 1915; Hus moved to Schaeffer Drive SW in 1973, and then closed in 2021. The 9th Avenue block had seven single-family homes and four duplexes in 1953, with a total of 68 residents. By 1998, the New Jerusalem congregation was established in the building, and the block listed five single-family homes and two duplexes.

Historically Black Congregations (possibly shut)

Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 1030 7th St SE 

This church was built in 1965, but it's not clear that it's still in operation. Their Facebook page last updated 2022, and they're no longer listed on American Baptist Churches website. The banner still appears on the building, and the lawn is cut, but a sign on the door says "Mask required to enter," which surely is a vestige of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-21.

In 1953, this address was the home of John D. Malbrue, a factory worker for Collins Radio, and his family of five. The block had 13 homes for 45 people, as well as a grocery store at 1000 7th. In 1998, the block had three homes, the church, and a social service organization called Options; 1000 7th was vacant. (Today 1000 7th is the site of the charming Sacred Cow tavern.)

Southeast Church of Christ, 930 9th St SE 

A handsome "Church of Christ" sign has been added to the exterior since 2015, but the charming garden I noticed is gone. Its web and Facebook links are to churches in Texas. In 1953, the building contained the grocery store of William W. Krejci; the block had 10 single-family homes and five duplexes, with a total population of 68. The 1998 Polk's Directory lists the Church of Christ, nine homes, and two "not verified." It's still a well-settled block.

Here in 1998, but no longer

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 824 8th St SE

Mt. Zion moved to the edge of town after the 2008 flood, after nearly a century in the neighborhood. Its location is now part of a parking lot for the MedQuarter. Before the move, that block of 8th Street, which once was home to 56 people besides the church and a funeral home, was down to the church and one vacant property. 

Church of Jesus Christ of the Apostolic, 916 10th St SE

In 1953 this address was the house owned by Mrs. Francis Leksa. It is now part of an apartment complex constructed post-flood.

Plenty of churches remain nearby: Harris Oak Hill Apartments

Holy Ghost Missionary Baptist Church, 1003 6th St SE

There is no listing for this address in the 1953 Polk's Directory, but 1001 6th was the home and store of grocer Milo Grubhoffer. What was probably the church building was for some time post-flood used for storage by the nonprofit Feed Iowa First. Something new is being constructed in its place even as we speak.

Construction at former Holy Ghost site

Ten years on, the church scene in Oak Hill Jackson is different, but similar. In the meantime, there's been a lot of building.

New Bo Lofts addition, across from St. Wenceslaus

Loftus Lofts, in the heart of New Bohemia

Will all this new construction be populated? Will the new residents find, or even look for, community in their neighborhood churches? Do the churches even want to play the role of community rebuilder, or are they focused on their present membership? To answer these questions, we would need data, which I famously don't have.

ORIGINAL POST (with more pictures): "CR Churches," 20 July 2015

Book review: The Nature of Our Cities

 

Nadina Galle (left) and Lieve Mertens,
with Dutch language editions of the book
(Source: nadinagalle.com)

Galle, Nadina. The Nature of Our Cities: Harnessing the Power of the Natural World to Survive a Changing Planet. Mariner, 2024, 304 pp.

Anyone who wants to make healthy choices in America today knows how difficult it is. So many of us live in neighborhoods without green spaces to play in, without public transit or cycling infrastructure, or where temptations lurk in vending machines in every corner of our offices and schools. And suppose we manage to find the time to exercise in our stressful lives. In that case, the limitations of our outdoor spaces push us onto stationary bikes, where we either stare at news headlines that spike our cortisol levels, or "travel" through virtual landscapes from within a windowless basement gym. (2024: 194)

I finished reading Nadina Galle's book this morning on my back deck, enjoying what was an inexpressively lovely day in Cedar Rapids: the air was clear, the previous week's humidity had gone, a bee was investigating Jane's lilacs, and a variety of birds were making their presences known from high above me. It was the sort of morning where a person can revel in pure existence, regardless of personal problems or America's problems or natural disasters.

Much of the rest of the world is not as easily able to relax with a good book and a pad of paper. After the hottest-ever June in England and Spain, London experienced its hottest day of the year today. Heat deaths are reported in France, Spain and Portugal, and wildfires in Turkey have caused mass evacuations (Robins 2025, "Heatwave Across Europe" 2025). Wildfires across Canada earlier this summer produced smoke and haze even here in Iowa.  Many cities are experiencing increased rat populations as their climate warms (Simon 2025).

The Nature of Our Cities references other recent catastrophes: a record European heatwave in 2019 that was surpassed in 2022, a 2021 heat dome over the U.S. Pacific Northwest, a worldwide heatwave that began in the U.S. in 2023, the Camp Fire in California in 2018, heat wildfires and then massive flooding in British Columbia in 2021, and numerous urban tree die-offs and air quality alerts. Along the way she introduces us to a number of people working on improving their region's resilience to a climate gone haywire.

Even in Cedar Rapids (my backyard, specifically):
Trees tossed by derecho winds, August 2020

About halfway through the book, the focus switches to improving the public's opportunities to experience nature. The most willful climate change deniers cannot be reached, but surely there are a lot of people who already recognize the problem but don't fully realize their personal stakes. Besides, exposure to nature has many physical and mental health benefits (cf. pp. 160-161).

It's in this part of the book where we meet Menno Schilthuizen in the Dutch city of Leiden, teaching people about the enormous diversity of species in a single patch of lawn near the central train station (ch. 6); Blake Ellis, a California-based ecotherapist (ch. 7); Jared Hanley, a former financier who's developed an app that shows the extent of an area's ecosystem (ch. 8); and Richard Louv, who does public talks on the subject of Nature-Deficit Disorder, which term he himself coined (ch. 9). On each of the outdoor adventures during which these conversations occur, Galle lets her interviewees speak for themselves, with descriptions of the environs and additional amusing asides. She does not insist on herself, though it's clear she has a lot of expertise and experience in nature. (She holds a Ph.D. in ecological engineering.)

Her final chapter brings it home, because as the book neared completion, she also found out she was pregnant for the first time (ch. 9). She worries to us about bringing a child into a world that encourages screen time more than nature time. But along the way, as she discusses nature-based apps like AllTrails (p. 164), EarthSnap (pp. 149-151), iNaturalist, Park Rx America (pp. 186-188), Vira (p. 201), World Safari (pp. 234-237), and Giants of the North, a geolocated audio tour of Amsterdam (pp. 170-175), she argues that technology can help us experience nature as well as providing high-tech climate resilience tools.

A mile from the Coe College campus, across the street
from Washington High School: Woodsy trail in Bever Park

Cedar Rapids has a rich array of parks, including two spacious parks (Bever and Ellis) with older-growth wooded areas. Going forward, ensuring access to parks and natural space is a key part of the "complete neighborhood" concept the city has announced, and is listed as an objective for 2050 in the 2023 revision of the city's climate action plan. Funding for any such initiatives is uncertain, or course, and thus far the city's biggest climate action has been (federally funded) construction of flood walls. Whatever we're doing, or say we're doing, is far from offsetting the impact of the two big data centers about which we're very excited.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has disparaged
military research into the impacts of climate change

Climate denial is in full control at the national and state levels (in this state, anyway). U.S. government websites have removed information on climate change impacts (Borenstein 2025). The Trump administration previously clawed back solar installation and climate research grants; withdrew from the Paris climate accord January 21, 2025; threatened Environmental Protection Agency employees studying climate change with firing at any time (Friedman 2025); announced plans to end Department of Transportation climate programs (Pierre-Louis 2025); and fired nearly 1000 employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including all staff at tsunami warning centers (Nilsen and Luhby 2025). This week they're showing off the new federal prison camp built with Federal Emergency Management Agency funds on environmentally sensitive land in Florida's Everglades. Far-sighted public policy is just not going to happen anytime soon; the most we can hope is that they would leave cities alone to do what they can.

The climate doesn't care about politics, of course, and will continue to evolve whether we are prepared or not. Galle's engaging book, and all the people in it, provide hope that the natural world will continue to be accessible, publicly valued, and conducive to human life.

SEE ALSO:

I first encountered Dr. Galle when she was a guest on Gil Penalosa's excellent "Cities for Everyone" webinar series in July 2024. Her talk (38:15) is here.

Nadina Galle blog page

Eight things that make me proud in Cedar Rapids

 

Cedar Rapids sign, taken from the 3rd Avenue Bridge

Our big orange photo op is not one of them. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Many other towns have already done it, so it's not exactly original, and writing your name on everything seems more like a sign of insecurity rather than pride. ("Gulf of America." anyone?) 

Do these photo ops age well? There's this one in New Bohemia from the ill-fated NewBo Evolve festival. It's still there, seven years later...

NewBo sign, 1300 block of 3rd Avenue SE

...and I took this picture of it in a snowstorm in January 2024, so maybe they do?

But I'm not here to complain about the sign. Really, I don't hate it. I'm here because my inability to appreciate its wonderfulness has led me to contemplate the things about Cedar Rapids that do make me proud. These are the things I show visitors and new students. I was going to list five, but I'm up to eight, and might have gone further, but I should get this written, and anyway what I missed might inspire you to make your own list!

Blake Shaw performs in CSPS courtyard,
October 2020

1. Arts and theater scene. Whether your art of choice is visual, musical, or theatrical, there's just a lot going on here. CSPS Hall, where I volunteer, has been showcasing eclectic music and art since 1993, and has been an anchor for growth in New Bohemia. The Cherry Building has regular exhibits of art by residents of its studios. There are several theater groups, and our local colleges feature all manner of fine arts productions. This is all on top of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Eastern Iowa Symphony, and Theater Cedar Rapids. There's a lot to appreciate here, most of it accessibly priced and presented. City of Cedar Rapids arts and culture page 

Group ride on the Cedar River Trail, May 2023

2. Bike/trails network. What Cedar Rapids has in common with the host cities for the last three Congresses for the New Urbanism is our bicycle network is progressing, and is just a few connections away from being fully functional. On my side of town, the CeMar Trail will create a direct, paved route from the core of Cedar Rapids to the center of Marion. The Cherokee Trail, when completed, will go from downtown all across the west side. Our separated bike lanes downtown were the first or second in the state, depending on who you're asking. Linn County Trails Association page 

Gazette offices, downtown Cedar Rapids
(two blocks from their old offices)

3. Cedar Rapids Gazette. With limited resources, the Gazette is a solid local daily (at least online) paper that is locally owned, a rarity in a town this size. They do not shy away from exploring, in both news and opinion sections, aspects of issues that don't fit the lines coming from the Statehouse or Chamber of Commerce. And their offices remain downtown, which goes far with me.

Clifford the Big Red Dog helped open the new
main library in August 2013

4. Cedar Rapids Public Library. I got my library card as soon as I moved to town, and have been a satisfied patron ever since. I always find something worth reading in their vast collection. The main library has endured the 2008 flood, at the time the most costly disaster ever suffered by a U.S. library; the expectation they will be a refuge for the increasing unhoused population; and a state government that is suspicious of its efforts to serve a diverse population. A new facility under construction will provide expanded services to the west side.

Interior, Craftd Coffee, downtown CR

5. Coffee. For whatever reason back in the 1990s, the big chains were late in colonizing our town, allowing a rich variety of local shops to emerge. The big boys are here now, but the locals are holding on, mostly in the core of Cedar Rapids as well as Marion and Hiawatha. They are places to sit a spell, enjoy free or cheap refills, and see friends old and new. I have my favorites, but the whole of the coffee scene is even more than its parts.

The Round Barn, longtime home of the 
Indian Creek Nature Center

6. Indian Creek Nature Center and city parks. More than fifty years ago, someone had the vision to establish a place on the outskirts of town where adults and children could learn about nature while in nature, the community could celebrate the joys of homemade maple syrup, and the staff could model sustainable land conservation. To this add Bever and Ellis Parks, the oldest and best of our mixed-use parks, which include natural areas as well as playgrounds and swimming pools.

Cultivate Hope Corner Store grand opening, 2022

7. Matthew 25. There are a lot of social service organizations around town, but this one, begun in 2006 by pastor brothers Clint Twedt-Ball and Courtney Ball, is distinctive. From the start they had the goal of working with the neighbors rather than merely working in the neighborhood (in their case, the Taylor and Time-Check neighborhoods on the near west side). They were forced to pivot by the 2008 flood, and have continued to change over the years in response to new challenges. They opened the Cultivate Hope Corner Store in 2022. With Clint's departure this year, leadership is passing to a new generation.

Ready for Food Truck Tuesday
at New Bo City Market, May 2024

8. New Bo City Market. Since its inception in 2012 it's been more of a food court than a market, but it's a food court unlike any other around, with a variety of ethnic offerings not found elsewhere in town. Some shopkeepers have been able to make the jump from a market stall to their own shop, proving the market's worth as an incubator as well. Their Friday night concert series is a summer tradition now. A capital campaign is underway to expand the size of the facility, including a grocery store, dental clinic, and meeting space.

Post No. 600: Blogging in a World Gone Backwards

 

No Kings Day crowd at the Rhode Island State House

After the heady experience of the nationwide No Kings Day protests last Saturday, a high school friend posted on Facebook: Did all of the No Kings protesting initiate a change process?

Spectacular, yes, but did it initiate change?
March for Our Lives, Washington, D.C., March 2018

A few days later, the prophet Pete Saunders wondered if America's "anti-city sentiment" is so inherent as to be intractable. If anti-city sentiment just means people don't want to live in Chicago or New York or Providence, that's probably okay; but it seems to mean that efforts to create sustainable, inclusive communities are so threatening that people are quickly and easily frightened off them:

I'm tired of this cycle: Protests occur after some event. Police and protestors spar as police try to contain the protestors and limit damage, and the protestors defiantly try to make their point. Each engagement like this has every opportunity to become violent, and sometimes does. When violence does occur, the general public's attention often moves away from the act that initiated the protests and shifts towards the damage done by the protesters. Then it goes even deeper. Cities get attacked for being crime-plagued and ungovernable.

I understand the frustration that people have with damage from protests. I've witnessed property damage from protests personally and I've had the exact same frustration. But every time this happens, two questions come to mind: (1) Why does the focus shift so quickly from the initial act to the protests? (2) Why do cities bear the brunt of the negativity?... Unfortunately, this will always be the case in America, because cities are social entities in an individualized society (Sanders 2025).

President Trump, love him or hate him, is a master at changing the subject. Less than a week after No Kings Day and his own miserable parade, Trump had moved on to maybe bombing Iran, maybe sic'ing the military on New York and Chicago--there's that anti-city sentiment again, and he plays it so well--and maybe canceling the Juneteenth federal holiday.

Mural, Providence's Downcity Arts District

It was so nice to get away for a few days to CNU33 last week, to hear of hope and see signs of progress. Even so, as Addison Del Maestro--who chose the Strong Towns national gathering instead of CNU--reminds us:

As someone who enjoys debating and thinking about ideas--which is true of many people working in urbanism, broadly--I think I sometimes make the mistake of thinking that urbanism is only about ideas. Urbanism isn't a Philosophy 101 puzzle or math problem that can be solved and which is then, you know, solved. The problem in real life is still there.... For a lot of people, the hump to get over isn't intellectual but political or practical. Do I trust the actual people who would be implementing this stuff? And do I think it will come out successfully and not corrupt/over budget/screwed up? (Del Maestro 2025).

If urbanist ideas are nothing without ensuing action, it's also true that the ideas themselves remain necessary to counter anti-city sentiment, and the cynicism and the oligarchy that it has produced in our day. So, it is time for us to gather for a minute around our screens and celebrate 600 posts over the 13+ years of this blog. Is Holy Mountain leading to meaningful social change?

Westside Library under construction, May 2025

Essays are small things, half teaspoons of sand on the beach, and the results are going to be attenuated, but by golly, four different people or groups have contacted me this year to discuss development in our city. So maybe in time, whatever half-teaspoons and quarter-teaspoons we're able to add to the mix will add up to meaningful change? In the meantime, there's nothing we can do but keep trying.

Besides, I'm writing all the time anyway... I might as well try to do some good with it.

Top posts of the 2020s

Pandemic hearts, April 2020

1. "The Hearts of Cedar Rapids," 11 April 2020
2. "Black Friday Parking 2021," 26 November 2021
3. "The Kind of President Joe Biden Could Be," 3 July 2020
4. "Hy-Vee is a Symptom of a Deeper Problem," 23 May 2024
5. "Move More Week Diary," 10 October 2022
6. "Even a Pretty MedQuarter Isn't Right," 12 September 2023
7. "What Should Go into Brewed Awakenings?" 31 July 2020
8. "More New Less Bo?" 4 July 2022
9. "Project 2025 and Our Common Life," 19 August 2024
10. "The Suburbanization of New Bohemia," 17 September 2024

As yet undiscovered posts of the 2020s

Doing Justice book cover

1. "Book Review: Doing Justice," 4 March 2025
2. "MPO Ride 2024," 11 May 2024
3. "Downtown Dreams and Reality," 31 May 2025
4. "Riding the Districts 2024," 10 June 2024
5. "Book Review: City Limits," 5 June 2024
6. "Don't Blame Trans People for Dems' Loss," 11 November 2024
7. "Film Review: 1946: The Mistranslation That Changed Culture," 8 June 2025
8. "FY25 Budget," 13 March 2024
9. "10th Anniversary Post: Is a Baseball Complex a Merit Good?" 30 September 2024
10. "Iowa's Legislature May Never Run Out of Symbolism," 23 May 2025

SEE ALSO: "Post No. 550: Now What?" 28 June 2024