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Kitchen Table Kibitzing July 7, 2024 [1]

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Date: 2024-07-07  

Vibrant City

On our trip to Santa Ana susans drove us to an area of the city called Old Town. Many blocks full of restaurants, stores, parks, and other venues. It was jammed with people, mostly young, and it was like a party for blocks and blocks. We have had similar experiences at meetups in San Francisco; streets full of young and affluent folks, such that even getting into a bar or restaurant was difficult. This was despite the difficulty of finding parking. (Of course, S.F. does have public transportation).

Here in Sonoma County both Healdsburg and Sonoma have peaceful city squares surrounded by shops and places to eat. These are generally full of people. With the trend toward urban living, cities have to provide for reasons to go downtown, with safety and ease of transportation and parking. The vitality of a city depends on it.

Our city of Santa Rosa is grappling with this problem. The newly renovated Courthouse Square is great for protests and demonstrations, but it’s not inviting. There are a few blocks of downtown with bars and sidewalk spaces, but compared with the above-mentioned areas, they are subdued. Parking has to be easy and plentiful, and affluent younger folks attracted. Due to the loss of homes in recent fires we have been building large apartment buildings all over the city. These, most will agree, are unattractive and add no vibrancy to downtown. And I personally wonder if they will ever be filled. There are good plans proposed, like a convention center with added entertainment venues, but they are expensive, and far in the future.

There’s a wide variety of opinions on what would make a city vibrant and inviting. Do y’all have any ideas or or special favorites for your city? Of course, I acknowledge that cities aren’t important to everyone. There are folks here that live in a hut in the boonies!

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