Jillian Finkle
@jillianfinkle.bsky.social
Main Street, Rhode Island, Mom, PLAY!
For my neighbors who may be missing the trees that came down in recent storms, now would be a good time to plant some new ones!
Rhode PVD@rhodepvd.bsky.social · last yr.BTW: Right now is the best time of year to plant most trees, shrubs and perennials in New England! (Wait until Oct/Nov to put in bulbs, and late April-May for annuals.) Nurseries push spring planting for everything as a marketing tactic, not because plants prefer it.
"we are much better off as a society if we create cities safe enough for autonomous kids. When we give kids greater autonomy, we improve the lives of caregivers, as well, and we improve civic life overall."
Qagggy!@qagggy.bsky.social · last yr.I wrote about the new Shared Streets Law.
Kind of a RI dream come true to talk with Bill about my "why," social connection through place (and how @mainstreetri.bsky.social will help do that!) Come hear his keynote at the RI Smart Growth Awards event on Thursday!
Bill Bartholomew@billbartholomew.bsky.social · 2y agoNEW: @growsmartri.bsky.social wants to drive quality of life through investments in main streets btown.buzzsprout.com/163601/episo...
How can the built environment build social connection? Read below, read the book, and then local friends can join the conversation at Grow Smart RI's Awards event on May 8! www.cnu.org/publicsquare...
Social life, not density, makes city dwellers happy
Culdesac in Tempe, Arizona, has people-friendly courtyards and a walkable design, which leads to success. The formula is explained in Happy City.
cnu.org
“This is completely different than our modern, conventional approach to development…We’ve just had this experiment for the last eight decades where we’ve opted to prioritize an isolated transportation system versus our natural way of working together as humans.”
When people live in vibrant, connected environments, they thrive. But in neglected, isolating “cages” issues like addiction and apathy flourish. If we want change, we must build better spaces that foster connection, purpose, and pride. Let’s create communities where people can truly thrive.
Shhh! Our next #MainStreetRI Roundtable explores ...The Secret Lives of Bus Stops! Thurs Feb 27 @12pm. You'd be surprised by how much there is to learn about bus stops & what's involved in installing one on your street. Join us! Free to Register: tinyurl.com/3mp4fh6c
I mapped out how to take the bus to my job. There actually is an express route to my shipyard.... But to get to it, I'd have to leave at 5pm the *day before* and sleep overnight in the PVD bus terminal to make it to my 6am start time. Then I wouldn't get *home* til 6pm. 25 hour day to use a bus.
C.A. Pinkham@eyepatchguy.bsky.social · 2y agoThe thing that bothers me about Europeans who won't shut up about Americans using cars is they really do not seem to get that in large parts (I would even say the majority!) of the country, even in major cities, you cannot function without either a car on reliance on someone who has one
Reclaiming our communities from the car is about more than saving the planet. It’s about saving ourselves from the unsafe, unjust, unhealthy, unloveable places where we live. Sixteen books we read this year that changed how we think about the process of building cities: an #UrbanismBookClub thread.
Visual representation of why it makes sense to invest in our Main Streets and downtowns!
Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2y agoWATCH: If you STILL don’t understand how car-dependent suburbia is HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED by downtown and all the urban parts of your city, watch this EXCELLENT video by #NotJustBikes with Urban3 & @strongtowns.bsky.social. And then PLEASE SHARE it as much as possible. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nw6...
With Bluesky user numbers rocketing, more official news accounts are arriving. Here is a starter pack of major media outlets. Feel free to repost, I’ll keep this updated as more arrive.
Ever notice how there's no such thing as an industrial-scale Main Street? Go to a great one and step off the storefronts; chances are you can do so in 5-8 seconds. Eminently interesting; you're never bored.
