Thursday, August 28, 2008

Hope is the New Rebellion

Listen Audio
So what’s it like to be a young protester at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week? Complicated. That’s because some young organizers and activists are trying to craft critical messages while trying to harness the positive energy of Obama-supporters. Youth Radio’s Martin Macias reports how that conflict is appearing on the streets of Denver among protesters. Read It

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Inner City is the New "In Crowd"

by Jesse Budlong

ATLANTA_We have a lot of SUVs in my "in-town" neighborhood of Atlantic Station. All the roads were built by the State Department of Transportation and are classified as highways stemming from the Interstate -- implying very high speeds and a lack of pedestrian involvement.

This is the “urban lifestyle” toted by many developers as what it’s truly like in a city. Many new glittering high-rises offer more parking than their predecessors and their ground-level retail contains many chains commonly associated with a mall food court.



To bring people into our cities we have to offer them the comfort reminders of their old suburban lifestyles instead of their new urban one. McMansions catering to those who can’t downsize their square footage and roads must be wider to accommodate their habitual car habits. When you compare old in-town neighborhoods such as Inman Park or Candler Park to their newer counterparts of Atlantic Station and Dupont Commons you notice the loss of community and more pronounced sense of mass production. Anything created on such a scale would be considered "in-organic growth," likely found in the suburbs.

I’ve always been able to spot OTP (Outside the Perimeter) from ITP (Inside the Perimeter) people, and quite frankly I don’t want any OPT’ers in my neighborhood. They would just buy a nice cottage, demolish it, build some monstrosity out of Better Homes and Garden then “attempt” to parallel park their Hummer out front.

My parents are still OTP in a sense. They drive a little more than they should and they aren’t very involved in community affairs. Despite my pleas to petition our neighborhood to listen to the needs of it’s residents and opposed to its customers, which is run like a shopping mall.

Now don’t think I don’t appreciate older, more pro-active suburban neighborhoods that reign in growth and promote more efficient lifestyles. It’s just that there aren’t many in the metro Atlanta region, a region that before 1950 didn’t even exist. It’s all one large, pre-fabricated subdivision.

Jesse Budlong is a native of Atlanta, Georgia currently studying Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Thai is the new Latin Flavor





There are TONS of parallels between Thai food and dishes from different Latino cuisines including Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian. Even the spicy, sour and sweet flavor profiles are similar. My aunt started cooking Thai at home—and she didn’t even need to buy new spices!” Youth Radio LA’s Evelyn Martinez says the newest hot spot for Latinos in LA isn’t the taquería, it’s the neighborhood Thai restaurant.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Public is the new Private





Let’s face it, conversations that used to be conducted through private e-mail exchanges are now posted for all to see on Facebook walls. Clothing that used to simply imply “I’m better than you” now actually says “I’m better than you”.

It’s gotten out of hand. For my generation, sharing information is no big deal. I no longer hesitate when I type my phone number and detailed plans for the evening on social networking sites. In fact, sending information through private channels has become unheard of, even out of style. The last time I gota Facebook message (the equivalent to an e-mail), I expected it to be SUPER juicy, since only I would be able to access it. I thought the message would at least include a social security number, or perhaps a dirty comment about a backstabbing friend. Instead, the message was just a simple “what’s up” – this secretive “hello” almost offended me. I mean, who sends a hello message and doesn’t make it public? When wallposts that say things like “I went to this show last night and got so drunk, and then I hooked up with some hot guy named Jake and we spent 14 dollars at the hookah bar on Mission…” what’s left to send as a private message?