Chattanooga on NPR

[Felix]

On this morning's Weekend Edition on NPR, the semi-revitalized Main Street area was featured. Not exactly an entirely positive piece. The new shops, arts venues and renovated housing were all mentioned, but the focus of the story was the prevalence of older businesses still there, including the Oldest Profession. And homeless camps in wooded lots nearby.

Link

[kroisis]

Whoo Boy...

this is gonna go over with predictable results.

might as well tag the flaming icon to this one from teh start.

[Kordax]

What group(s) of people decided, years ago, to hype up the Southside along with a small part of Main St? Existing land owners? Those who had options on land? Existing businesses? I know the foundations jumped on board late 80's / early 90's, but who steered them into this part of town & why? When you have a vested interest in seeing property values inflate, it makes sense. When you have a vested interest in seeing A1 space commercial tenants attracted to buildings you own, it makes sense. When you have a blighted area that might make a turnaround similar to sections like North Chatt, it makes sense to speculate while property values are in the dirt.

But there are tons of blighted neighborhoods that get no massive injections of foundation cash or cash-like abatements / inducements, no local media boosterific puff pieces praising every little orchestrated block party designed to manufacture buzzbuzz; the Southside has been hyped to the max for a long time now prostitutes notwithstanding. It would be refreshing if an out of town media source exposed the interlocking layers of hypesters & identified their particular vested interests that the general public around here is oblivious to .....

[LimitedRecourse]

I believe that various special interest groups felt that "in the name of fairness" that particular part of the city should see some of the City's investment capital.

[coffeeshooter]

Aug 22, 2009 21:20:46 GMT -5 Kordax said:

What group(s) of people decided, years ago, to hype up the Southside along with a small part of Main St? Existing land owners? Those who had options on land? Existing businesses? I know the foundations jumped on board late 80's / early 90's, but who steered them into this part of town & why? When you have a vested interest in seeing property values inflate, it makes sense. When you have a vested interest in seeing A1 space commercial tenants attracted to buildings you own, it makes sense. When you have a blighted area that might make a turnaround similar to sections like North Chatt, it makes sense to speculate while property values are in the dirt.

But there are tons of blighted neighborhoods that get no massive injections of foundation cash or cash-like abatements / inducements, no local media boosterific puff pieces praising every little orchestrated block party designed to manufacture buzzbuzz; the Southside has been hyped to the max for a long time now prostitutes notwithstanding. It would be refreshing if an out of town media source exposed the interlocking layers of hypesters & identified their particular vested interests that the general public around here is oblivious to .....

So?
At least one area of town is improving, even if only a little bit.
It sounds as if you'd be happy if it was still in decline.

[bluckarma]

Hookers are good for the convention business.

[coffeeshooter]

Aug 23, 2009 16:00:56 GMT -5 bluckarma said:

Hookers are good for the convention business.

True. However, the convention goers only have to go downstairs to the bar.
The article was referring to street walkers and crack addicts. They are the people living in the bushes.
Not all of them are women, if you catch my drift.

[dvc]

I thought all the hookers moved down to Rossville Blvd.