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Showing posts from May, 2019

Enfield Square Redevelopment: What Enfield Could Have Asked For—And Didn’t

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The town approved millions in public support—without tying the deal to walkability, entertainment, or shared spaces residents said they wanted. Proposed project presented to Town Council last year. The Target store is to the right rear. Redeveloping Enfield Square is critical. Once our downtown—a hub of activity and identity—the mall is now a shell of its former self. In public comments and a survey of over 1,000 people, residents voiced a clear desire for the redevelopment: not just retail, but gathering places—entertainment venues, a movie theater, live music, family-friendly spaces, and walkability. Yet on June 2, when Enfield had the most leverage, the Town Council approved a generous package of financial incentives without securing any binding commitments to many of those community goals. Progress, But Not Vision   For sure, the town is taking steps to address the problems at Enfield Square.  The developer, Woodsonia Acquisitions, will redevelop the site into a mix of hou...

The three phases of climate change conversion

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Bushnell Park, Hartford, May, 2019 Unless you live on the shore, climate change in Connecticut isn't all that noticeable. Spring still seems like a spring. A little wetter, perhaps, but people don't associate an increase in precipitation with a changing climate. The most noticeable impact may winter's polar vortex. Polar air that is otherwise blocked off by the jet stream breaks free and plunges south. But our single digit cold is nothing like what the people in the Midwest experience. Most people don't consider these low temperatures far outside the usual. But awareness that something is changing is arriving, slowly still. The average person who truly understands what's happening goes through a life-altering climate change conversion that comes in three phases. First, they may be aware of the issue, recognize it's something of problem, and generally agree on the need to end use of fossil fuels. They may even know what the Keeling Curve is. But ...

Pix: Hats in Hartford

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Hartford CT, May, 2019. Random street photo. 

Hartford, Connecticut, scene, May 4, 2019

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