April 2013

Downtown Partnership Social Hour

Downtown Partnership Social Hour
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
5pm to 7pm

Join the Downtown Partnership for a social hour at Cholanad Restaurant. Enjoy free hors d'oeuvres on their new outdoor deck. Drop by and catch up with old friends and make some new ones!  All are invited. 

Date: 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Cholanad

Vishaan Chakrabarti - A Country of Cities (One of America's foremost urbanists)

Vishaan Chakrabarti - A Country of Cities
April 18 @ 7:00 PM (Reception starts @ 5:30)
G-100 Genomic Sciences Building (campus location - free parking next door)

One of America's foremost urbanists, Vishaan Chakrabarti is a planner, architect, real estate developer and educator who-though still in his 40s-has already left an indelible mark on New York City's built environment. Currently Holliday Professor and Director of the Center for Urban Real Estate (CURE) at Columbia University, Chakrabarti is also a principal of SHoP Architects, whose project portfolio includes the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, The Seaport at Pier 17, and master plans for Governor's Island and the Domino Sugar redevelopment in Williamsburg. He also advises The Related Companies on design and planning operations for the vast Moynihan Station and Hudson Rail Yards projects.

Chakrabarti was previously Director of the Manhattan Office of the New York City Department of City Planning, where he played a key role in the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan in the wake of 9/11, the expansion of Columbia University, the makeover of Lincoln Center, the extension of the #7 subway line to Manhattan's far West Side, and the transformation of the High Line into the city's most innovative new park. Earlier in his career he was director of urban design for the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and a transportation planner with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

A licensed architect, Chakrabarti studied engineering and art history at Cornell University, and holds an MCP from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.Arch. from the University of California at Berkeley. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Architectural League of New York, and is a trustee of the Citizens Budget Commission and emeritus board member of Friends of the High Line. He is also a member of the Young Leaders Forum of the National Council on US-China Relations. Metropolis magazine named Chakrabarti one of the top 12 Game Changers for 2012. He is a David Rockefeller Fellow and was a Crain's "40 under 40" in 2000.

In this year's Robert and Helen Siler Lecture, Chakrabarti will speak on the subject of his forthcoming book, A Country of Cities (Metropolis Books, May 2013), in which he argues that dense, well-designed cities are the key to solving America's great national challenges: environmental degradation, unsustainable consumption, economic stagnation, rising public health costs and decreasing social mobility. A County of Cities presents a wealth of compelling information about cities, suburbs and exurbs, looking at how they developed across the 50 states and their roles in enabling prosperity and globalization, sustainability and resilience, and heath and joy. In the book Chakrabarti shows how American cities today are growing faster than their suburban counterparts for the first time since the 1920s, and that strategically increasing the density of our cities-and building the transit systems, schools, parks and other infrastructure to support them-will both improve job opportunities and put environmental sustainability within reach. The book closes with a manifesto rallying us to imagine a new urban America-to build "a country of cities" and turn a nation of highways, houses and hedges one of towers, trains and trees.

A selection of Chakrabarti's writings for Urban Omnibus are available here:
http://urbanomnibus.net/author/vishaan/

Date: 

Thursday, April 18, 2013 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: 

G-100 Genomic Sciences Building - UNC Campus (free parking)

Central West Focus Area Community Drop-By Session

Central West Focus Area Community Drop-By Session

Share your thoughts about the draft Central West Planning Principles!

All are welcome to attend, and please invite your friends and neighbors!

The Central West Steering Committee has developed draft planning principles that define the important elements to be considered in Central West Focus Area small area plan. We invite the community to provide their thoughts and feedback about the principles during this drop-by session!

Community Drop-By Session Details

When: Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 5:30-7:00pm

Where: Meeting Room B, Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill

What: An opportunity for community members to review the draft planning principles, speak with Steering Committee members, and provide feedback

For more information about the Central West Focus Area process, please visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest

Have questions? Contact Megan Wooley at 919-969-5059 or compplan@townofchapelhill.org

Central West map

Date: 

Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Meeting Room B, Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill

Count-down on rural curbside recycling

On Tuesday evening, the Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on recycling. There has been a change in the way the law is being interpreted which makes the current fee system questionable. Currently the county is divided into 3 sections. Some of the rural community pays for 2 of the 3R fees (availability and convenience centers) and the portion of the rural community that gets curbside collection on recycling pays for those same 2 + an additional fee of $38 for collections. A new funding source is needed for the curbside collections portion of the fee (a service that effects about 13,000 residents).

The county is considering 3 options to get around this legal issue. 1) go to a solid waste authority (like OWASA) that would be a separate operational and financial unit, 2) create 3 solid waste tax districts, or 3) eliminate curbside collection for neighborhoods outside of a city limit.

Monthly Open OP Editorial Posse Meeting

Join us for our monthly open editorial meeting. Standing agenda:

  • Debrief the past month on the site
  • Upcoming posts & meetings to tweet
  • Editorial and technical issues
  • Drupal upgrade project
  • Recruiting new editors
  • Upcoming OP events

Date: 

Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 

Mellow Mushroom, West Franklin Street

2013 Treehugger's Ball April 27th Benefit Against Fracking

Presenting the acclaimed old-time, Southern Appalachian string band The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers!

Welcome in the Spring with a square dance benefit & silent auction with proceeds going to preserve the Piedmont and stop fracking from coming to North Carolina.

lesson at 7:30 p.m. dance at 8:00 on Saturday April 27th with a silent auction.

Location: The Paperhand Puppet Intervention Studio
6079 Swepsonville Saxapahaw Rd.  in Saxapahaw, NC

Entrance: $10-20 donation $5 for kids under 16

Square Dance FAQ:

Is square dancing hard?

A: Most beginners feel that old-time square dancing is pretty easy. All you need to do is learn a few simple moves like “do-si-do” and “swing yo’ partner”. You can jump in and learn while dancing, or come early for the 7:30 intro to learn all you need to know. No fancy footwork is required and the caller tells you everything to do.

I’m so shy, what happens if I come to the dance all by my lonesome?

A: It’s a friendly scene – if you come all by yourself you’ll meet new people who like to dance and have fun.

Square dancing? Ha ha! Isn’t that the hokey cheeze we done in grade school PE?

A: Well now that you made it through puberty try it again, my friend. No puffy costumes required here, but for the full desired effect you must be willing to get hog wild.

What kind of clothes should I wear?

A: Wear something comfortable that expresses your personality. To say we’re an informal bunch is an understatement. Just make sure your private parts are covered and you are wearing some sort of shoes.

What kind of shoes should I wear?

A: You ought to wear soft-soled shoes. Shoes with smooth, thick leather soles or are preferred. Some tennis shoes or dress shoes with rubber soles could be okay if they have smoother, non-sticky soles. Please avoid wearing boots, tap dancing shoes, soccer cleats, ice-skates, or any other kind of footwear that will scuff the floor. Sandals usually don’t work too well. Bare feet present a high risk of pain and disfigurement, which may or may not be to your liking.

What’s the difference between contra dancing and old-time square dancing?

A: The two styles of dance are pretty similar and there is a lot of overlap in the crowds that attend each. There are a few differences, however:

Square dance callers tend to focus on traditional southern dances that can often be traced back through the centuries. Most contras are modern dances composed within the last 15 years that have been optimized to keep dancers walking through figures continuously, up and down a big line.

In old-time square dancing it is common for the caller to improvise calls on the fly, allowing for a dynamic interaction between the caller and the dancers. Contra dances are highly repetitive, which some people like because they can trance out as they move and up down the line. Old-time squares also have more “space” in the figures for dancers to express themselves with freestyle footwork.

At a typical square dance there will be more variety in dances, often including squares, half-sets, round dances, reels, waltzes, two-steps, and other regional dances that defy categorization. Most contra dances focus on long-line dances with occasional waltzes.

Old-time square dances feature string bands playing straight-up, hard-driving, old school banjo and fiddle music. Contra dances have more variety in the types of bands that play, but tend towards a more modern mix of Celtic, New England, and Old Time music, and often have keyboards and percussion in addition to fiddles

Date: 

Saturday, April 27, 2013 - 7:30pm

Location: 

The Paperhand Puppet Intervention Studio 6079 Swepsonville Saxapahaw Rd. in Saxapahaw, NC

Rosemary Imagined: New process to develop our community dream for Rosemary Street

Rosemary Street in downtown Chapel Hill has a lot of untapped potential and is already a vibrant intersection for students and permanent residents (including long-time residents of the historically African American Northside neighborhood). The Town of Chapel Hill Economic Development Office and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership have teamed up to create a new process they are calling 'Rosemary Imagined,' which they are promoting as "an innovative community-led process to refine our thinking of how Rosemary Street fits into the development and growth of Downtown Chapel Hill."

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