Urban Vision And The Sleeping Giant

Evidence of the intense civic interest that exists in Northampton; A series of free meetings are being held by urban design experts, discussing ideas for the city's design future with residents all week.





Update: Adam Cohen commented that more info and video of the sessions can be seen here...

Earlier in the week I found myself amid an entirely different urban design...I was in downtown Springfield Monday evening around 9:30-ish, in a surprisingly quiet night time city. It might as well have been 3 in the morning, for all the quiet going on...





Even the Worthington Street area, usually the hub of night time activity here, was downright serene.







Meandering north, just the occasional bus or odd car hurried by. There were a couple people at the bus stop. But other than that, hardly a person or moving vehicle to be seen.







The unusual quiet was strangely -for Springfield- peaceful...



Not being a local, I decided I'd better draw the line to my night visit here, on the outskirts of a dark north end...



Time to head back. It's not often that I can leave a big city like Springfield in a more relaxed mood than I came in with...