boondocks forever...
Posted on 08/08/2010 2:06:20 PM PDT by Willie Green
ROCKVILLE, Md. — This suburb of Washington, D.C., inspired R.E.M.'s 1984 song about the soul-sucking blandness of a suburban adolescence that has been a staple of rock and roll. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" described a town of empty houses, "where nobody says hello."
But some experts in the real estate business believe that in the future, more and more of us will be going back to places like the revamped Rockville — quite happily, in fact.
"They had a point at the time," Sally Sternbach, the head of Rockville's economic development arm, says of R.E.M.'s quiet anthem. "We got it wrong. We built a mall that never found its anchors. It languished for 40 years. It was like the biblical 40 years in the desert."
Then, 15 years ago, Rockville convened hearings and forums to discuss its lackluster downtown, deciding in the end to replace it with a town square lined with shops, restaurants and apartments, all steps away from a subway station — in other words, more of an urban experience.
The citizenry wanted vibrant street life both for the fun of it, and to attract business. So far, it's worked. Teenagers use Facebook to signal spur-of-the-moment breakdance sessions on the town square's bandstand because, as Dominique Estrera, 17, explained, it's really the only place they can "hang out and break."
Adults like to socialize there, too. "I love the Town Square because I can't walk more than a couple feet without seeing someone I know from doing business," said Robin Wiener, president of Get Real Consulting, a firm that helps healthcare providers put their records online.
Rockville's renaissance over the past four years shows how the shift toward urban-style living has reached the suburbs. And urban planners insist the trend has legs.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Sorry I don’t care.. I prefer to live in suburbs and work in the suburbs..
“I love the Town Square because I can’t walk more than a couple feet without seeing someone I know from doing business,” said Robin Wiener
Precisely what I DON’T want when I’m out for a walk (or any other reason). Give me the ‘burbs...
Rockville is 50% Hispanic, mostly from central America. English is definitely a secondary language.
I’m quite a few years from boomerdome.
That said, looking at the current path the government is taking, the last thing I’d do in my twilight years is make it easier to be controlled by the government.
It’s bad enough that most boomers are going to be living off social security as a primary income source. Now move to a an urban area where transportation options can be limited (for the common good of course) and incoming people/products/medicine can be more easily controlled?
No thanks.
I want to be as far away from the cities as reasonably possible and as self-sufficient as I can when the wheels come off this bus that was the USA...
Rockville is only 13% Hispanic according to the most recent figures (58% White & 19% Asian).
The Elite want us to live in central locations for easier control. We don’t need gasoline-powered cars with range and independence — short-range electrical cars are fine. Social Services, much needed by the 20% of the population which is unemployed, are more easily distributed in urban centers. Nature must reclaim the suburbs and return them to wilderness. People were meant to live in high-rise apartments.
Look at the whole county (Mont.), also illegals are never officially counted. When NoVa cracked down on illegals where do you think they went?
It is possible to drive from Rockville south down Viers Mill Rd. through Wheaton Md. to Ga. Ave. to the beltway and not see one white person.
The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River she’s a goin’ dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go downtown
I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
I’m not arguing the point over the problem with illegals (since my area certainly has been), only just citing the figures here for the city itself. As for illegals not officially being counted, that is wrong, they are (for census purposes) officially required to be counted — I don’t actually believe they should be (or rather, to the point, if they are, that they should not count with respect to political representation, only legal citizens should).
Ok, is this how you feel about it. Reality is they are not counted. I am in that area a lot. I am telling you the truth.
Wheaton is little Guatemala...
Again, they are legally required to be counted... now whether they are ALL counted is dubious. But Democrats WANT them counted, especially in places like Rockville, because they want the tax largesse that comes with it. It’s all of that which needs to be changed.
Well you can say I am lying but from first hand knowledge 13% is pure Barbara Streisand, it’s laughable.
I couldn’t be more pleased. The fewer folks that move out to the country, the better.
I have mountains, steams, rivers, lakes, trees and saltwater all around me. Having more neighbors that don’t know how to live out here could spoil it for those of us that love it. I don’t need city folks bitching about my chickens, my shooting, deer killing, critters and dogs.
Let them eat concrete.
I didn’t accuse you of lying, I’m just citing what the estimates say. For Montgomery County for the 2006-08 period, the figures were for about 14.4% Hispanic (135,000). For Rockville proper, they have it at 13.3% or roughly 7,500 people. For there to be 50% of the city proper, there’d be 30,000 of them — but then you’d have had a mass exodus of non-Hispanics or a massive increase in the number of housing stock. The numbers obviously have increased since, regardless, they certainly have where I live.
boondocks forever...
I just read your post to my husband, who then asked:”Did you write that? You could’ve.”
Well, except for the saltwater and mountains part. We have old mountains (hills) and lots of fresh water, instead.
Otherwise, I do agree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.