Category / Events

by Leo Suarez

NCSU Landscape Architects Show Off Vision For Capital Blvd on First Friday

First Friday is filled with tons of great events and things to see. Since we’ve been following the Capital Boulevard corridor study, there’s one event I wanted to highlight. Landscape architecture students from NC State will be showing off some of their designs for the Capital Blvd corridor at the Urban Design Center tomorrow starting at 6pm.

Currently, the corridor study is pretty wide open so new ideas are welcome. I’m hoping to see designs for the corridor that balances the people aspects, sidewalks, parks, with the need for transit, mainly cars, which is what currently dominates there.

Urban Design Center
133 Fayetteville Street
6pm

by Leo Suarez

Public Screening of Urbanized, November 7 at The Rialto

Here’s an event that any fans of urban design and cities should enjoy. Director Gary Hustwit brings the documentary Urbanized here to Raleigh for a special screening. Hustwit is behind the documentaries Helvetica and Objectified and wraps up his design trilogy with Urbanized.

The screening will be at the Rialto on Monday, November 7 starting at 7:00 pm. You can view the trailer above and buy tickets here.

Some more information for you:

The film tackles issues of urban development around the world and asks who is allowed to shape our cities, and how do they do it? How does the design of our cities affect our lives? Traveling to over 40 cities and exploring a diverse range of urban design projects around the world, from massive infrastructure initiatives to temporary interventions, URBANIZED frames a global discussion on the future of cities.

The film features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, and thinkers, including Sir Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Jan Gehl, Oscar Niemeyer, Amanda Burden, Enrique Peñalosa, Alejandro Aravena, Eduardo Paes, Ricky Burdett, Michael Sorkin, Bruce Katz, Candy Chang, and many more, including extraordinary citizens who have affected change in their cities.

by Leo Suarez

Capital Boulevard Corridor Study Open House On September 29, 2011

From my e-mail directly to you, take note of this upcoming meeting on the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study.

Where: Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in the Meymandi Concert Hall and Lobby
When: September 29, 2011, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Related link:
Capital Blvd Corridor Study via RaleighNC.gov

Raleigh residents are encouraged to attend the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study open house and public comment opportunity on September 29 at Meymandi Concert Hall. The open house is a chance for residents to hear plans and options for one of Raleigh’s main thoroughfares.

The corridor study will look at options regarding the roadway, transit and high speed rail, bicycle and pedestrian needs, greenways, stream restoration, and economic development along Capital Boulevard. Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will be on hand to discuss the replacements of the Peace Street and Wade Avenue bridges. Residents are invited to make comments and ask questions about the corridor plan.

The meeting will be an open house format held in collaboration with NCDOT. Displays will include:

  • The City: vision options for the corridor including roadways; transit and high-speed rail; bicycle/pedestrian; greenway and stream restoration; and economic development
  • NCDOT: bridge replacement plans at Peace Street and Wade Avenue for public comment
  • Triangle Transit: rail alternatives under recent discussion
  • Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) plans under development
by Leo Suarez

Get Fed, Talk Infrastructure at the Raleigh Public Record Fundraiser Tuesday June 28th

I recently read, “On The Grid” by Scott Huler, a local Raleigh Author who wanted to investigate the infrastructure that powered his home, ran it water and connected it to all the roads around the city. Any RalCon readers who may be infrastructure geeks will enjoy this book as Huler traces the infrastructure in Raleigh from source to destination. About a month ago, Huler was on WUNC’s The State of Things so give it a listen if you are at all interested.

[Update: WUNC has taken down the link to the episode]

On Tuesday June 28th, Huler will be speaking at the Raleigh Public Record’s fundraiser about the topic, “Infrastructure: You Get What You Pay For”. Come out for what should be a very interesting discussion about the wires, pipes and roads that connect our society.

Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm

Location: Dos TaQuitos Centro
106 S. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC

Facebook Event: A Fundraiser for Raleigh Public Record

Support Local Journalism

Enjoy Dinner as Piedmont Laureate & Author Scott Huler discusses:

“Infrastructure: You Get What You Pay For”

Our systems of infrastructure are not only shrouded in mystery, many are woefully out of date. In his latest book, On the Grid, Scott Huler takes the time to understand the systems that sustain our way of life, starting from his own quarter of an acre in North Carolina and traveling as far as Ancient Rome.

Join Huler as he discusses what happens when we neglect infrastructure, drawing parallels to the role free online news is playing in journalism.

CASH BAR
$20 PER PERSON
Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres

By the way, I’ll be there so if you are a regular reader, make sure and say hi!

by Leo Suarez

Your Comments Needed on CAT Buses

No, the Hurricanes aren’t in the Stanley Cup. But when they do go back, if you would like to see more CAT buses decked out in red and white, you need to comment on the Short Range Transit Plan being carried out by the City of Raleigh and a few other organizations. Comments about your current use and how you feel about investing in more buses would be helpful too. You can find a survey on the city’s website here. From the site:

Project Scope
The purpose of the plan is to identify ways to increase mobility in the Capital Area. The plan will be based on input Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the City of Raleigh, the Town of Cary, Wake County, the North Carolina State Wolfline and other Wake County municipalities, agencies, businesses, community leaders, residents and other interested parties. The Bus Transit Development Plan will look at the transit needs for all of Wake County and will be designed to integrate with regional transit routes.

I feel bad talking about this a bit late as two of the four public meetings have already occurred but here are the dates for two more meetings to discuss this plan.

Tuesday, June 7 5-7 PM
Triangle Town Center 2nd Floor, near Belk
5959 Triangle Town Blvd
CAT routes:
1 – Capital
25c – Triangle Town Center
WFX

Thursday, June 9 5-7 PM
NCSU McKimmon Center – Room 3
1101 Gorman St
CAT Routes:
12 – Method

by Leo Suarez

CityCamp Raleigh Announces $5000 Prize For Best Idea of The Weekend

Have you registered yet for CityCamp Raleigh? It’s already been mentioned once on the blog so take another look now that the free event happening this weekend may point some cash your way.

The organizers have announced a $5000 prize to the team or individual with the best idea at the event.

CityCamp Raleigh announces a $5000 prize to be awarded to the top group or individual with a technology solution. The prize will be awarded on creativity, execution, and feasibility. Details will be provided at the event.

Technology and government may not seem like a great team but when the two are combined, great solutions to everyday problems can be created. That is what this event is about. There is a growing list of ideas out there already. Dive in and take a look to get the creative juices flowing.

As a reminder, the agenda for the weekend is as follows.

Friday, June 3, 2011 12:00 – 5pm
Vintage 21, 117 S. West Street, Downtown Raleigh

Friday, June 3, 2011 5.30 – 8pm **GovUp MeetUp Event**
Flying Saucer, 328 West Morgan Street, Downtown Raleigh

Saturday, June 4, 2011 9am – 5pm
Vintage 21, 117 S. West Street, Downtown Raleigh

Sunday, June 5, 2011 10am – 4pm
The Stockroom, 230 Fayetteville Street, Downtown Raleigh

by Leo Suarez

CityCamp Raleigh Will Be on June 3rd-5th, 2011

City Camp SF 2010-10-1626
CityCamp San Francisco via Steve Rhodes, on Flickr

I’m sure there is a quote out there, somewhere that says any idea that isn’t created is worthless. I actually think that complaints without action are also worthless. Well, it is now time to take those complaints and annoyances about our city and create a way to fix it.

As part of a growing group of organizers for CityCamp Raleigh, I wanted to help spread the press release about this event on June 3rd, 4th and 5th, which by the way I am very excited about. There is a huge potential for some great projects to come out of the collaboration between technology enthusiasts and citizens.

Read the press release below and register for the event to join us.

Citizen-led “unconference” brings innovation and cooperation to the capital city June 3, 4, and 5, 2011.

Raleigh, NC, May 11, 2011: CityCamp Raleigh today announced the first city-focused “unconference” in North Carolina that brings together government, business, neighborhood, non-profit, and academic communities working toward next generation solutions for Raleigh. In a world challenged to do more with less, the City of Raleigh is open to ideas from citizens and technology professionals (web developers, programmers, and app developers) on how to streamline procedures, share information and create innovative solutions using the latest technology. According to Mayor Charles Meeker, “our citizens are ready for Raleigh to move forward and be more open sourced focused. The technology is successful. Raleigh is ready to be the worldwide hub for open source.”

The event is free to the public and will kick off Friday, June 3rd at 12.30pm at Vintage 21 downtown Raleigh, S. West Street, and continues Saturday and Sunday, June 4 – 5, 2011. “The City of Raleigh has a long and successful history of citizen participation and engagement,” said City Manager Russell Allen. “The possibility of using technology and software applications as new methods of achieving transparency and interaction is a very exciting opportunity. Strong cities find ways to connect creativity for the benefit of productive outcomes.” Other confirmed speakers at this time include, Michael Tiemann, VP of Open Source Affairs at Red Hat, Inc., as well as president of the Open Source Initiative, and Jimmy Goodmon, VP/GM, Capital Broadcasting New Media Company.

Read the rest of the press release at the CityCamp Raleigh site.

by Leo Suarez

Raleigh Skyline Hyped Up On Versus For All Star Game

If you didn’t know it yet, the Triangle is hosting the NHL All Star game this weekend. Downtown Raleigh is covered with hockey themed images and banners. Prepare for crowds in downtown this weekend as the convention center plays host to a huge hockey themed carnival and some live music in the downtown amphitheater. Yours truly will be volunteering at the event and cannot be more excited.

The sports channel, Versus, is running an ad for their broadcast of the game and a quick snippet shows this little shot of Raleigh, shown above. Thanks goes out to Joe Ovies for the image.

Does this shot even look real? Even if you’ve never been to Raleigh it is obvious this shot was edited for hyping up an event.

I’ve noticed a lot of chatter about how people think that Versus intentionally made the RBC Center seem as if it was in downtown Raleigh and how they are trying to make Raleigh seem bigger then it is. First off, relax.

The commercial that this shot airs in flashes the picture in front of you for maybe two seconds so trying to fit it all in can only be done by the magic of video editing. Its obvious this shot is fake.

The skyline in the picture above is mirrored if you were looking at the South Saunders Street angle so it looks reversed. The RBC tower was also added two additional times, in the top right corner and in the middle. The tallest building in the middle is the BB&T tower from another angle and that light tower down the center is easily one of the City Plaza light towers.

Its obvious Versus didn’t take the time to take a real shot of Raleigh so they stitched some images together and this is the best they can come up with. But there’s no reason to get upset.

Well, maybe the Wachovia tower feels left out a little and can be upset.

I say go with it and get into the hype because this event is big deal for this area.