The City is Alive With Urban Music
What is urban music? Consider the connections you make with various kinds of music. Country and bluegrass music make me think of rural hinterlands. I attached sixties folk and folk rock to cities like New York,...
Life
Smart Trips: A New Director and New Directions
Do you have a favorite department or division of city government? I have several (I’m weird like that), but one of them falls under Knoxville-Knox County Planning (formerly the Metropolitan Planning Commission). I’ve written about Smart...
Scooters: A Week In, What Do You Think?
Well, we’ve had about a week of uninterrupted electric scooters in downtown Knoxville. A lot of people seem to be having a great time on the devices while social media threads and personal conversations I’ve had...
Baseball, Wilderness, an Early Farewell (and Taxes!)
I recently took a walk from downtown to the future site of the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park. The occasion was Mayor Rogero’s final State of the City address. It wasn’t exactly a “farewell,” as she is...
Next Step Initiative: Grass Roots Help for Those Most in Need
In less than two years, sisters Rebecca Parr and Addie Arbach (known on the street as “Miss Addie”) have transformed an idea into a successful intervention on the streets of Knoxville. Next Step Initiative, their state-registered...
Earthfest, Earth Day and More
The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970. With a focus on the environment and environmental action, it is widely accepted to mark the beginning of the modern environmental movement and much of our major...
A New York Moment and a Fine Friday Night into Saturday in Knoxville
Memory is tied to all the senses: a touch on the skin, a glimpse of something familiar, a smell that transports. I have what I call San Francisco mornings. It’s something about a chill on a...
16 Emory Place: Inside a Unique Urban Home
If asked to describe an urban home, many of us would picture a tiny New York City apartment with modest furnishings and maybe a view of the side of the adjacent building. Likely there would be...
Love and Theft in the City: Is Downtown Knoxville Safe?
Do you feel safe in the city? Is that a false sense of security or is Knoxville a safe place? Is downtown more or less safe than the rest of the city? I’ve lived in the...
St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2019
If you were anywhere near downtown Knoxville this weekend, you saw lots of green. Large green hats, green beads and glasses, people dressed in green and dogs dressed in green and even beverages adopting the traditional...