Martin Luther King Subarea Plan - Tomorrow is Their Open House and I Have More Comments

Boomerang density / Service organizations, density, and green / History tour emphasis and density / Non-car buildings, public transportation, and density / Pebbles On The Pond / Women-owned businesses, women's concerns and density

Boomerang density - density can be re-examined in reference to anticipated boomerang adult children. 

Graduate boomerangs should be appreciated as achievers, if unemployment immediately follows graduation, their concerns should be met appropriately.

If difficult financial times bring adult children to their old childhood neighborhoods, their presence in their family home turns that home into a home of two families because an adult in its own right is a family of one, or an adult child with children of his or her own is a larger family.  Sometimes this is tangible in the presence of a car-dependent adult child with a car parked at the family home.  Neighborhoods have a zoning code, the presence of more than one family in a single family house will be in violation of the zoning code. 

If the parents wish to remain in compliance of the zoning code, they will encourage the adult children to relocate.  The density apartments at the high density areas may anticipate a progression like this.  Perhaps group housing would be a happier progression from the return to the childhood home.  Perhaps several old houses on a block could be reused as housing in rooms with one manager at one house where breakfast and dinner were prepared five days a week.  Boomerang adult children may need gathering places where they can get away from the family home and can assess their situation. 

Service organizations, density, and green - Mr. Anderson pointed out that there are many service organization that wish to be involved in the MLK Subarea.  Many ordinary people are asked to recycle and do other green things.  Service organizations should not feel that in budgeting money and time they need to forgo green.  The largest groups in the MLK should especially focus on green to set the largest example.  New buildings should be green buildings.

History tour emphasis and density - History tours focus on separate single family housing.  Their usual emphasis leaves them not flexing to include apartments.  Off

Non-car buildings, public transportation, and density - To encourage alternative transportation use, non-car buildings could be built - apartments would have built-in wall racks and the buildings would have bike cages and racks.  Windows would be away from the traffic streets, a setting of seclusion would reward those who do not use private cars for an Earth-friendly behavior.  Perhaps separate wings with different floor plans could serve non-car couples or aging non-car people who might use a trike.

Recently I learned that an important mental health program, Pebbles On The Pond, has stopped temporarily because of funding issues.  The presence of psycho-education classes is not common-place in communities, but Tacoma has featured this service since ___.  When faced with a psychological diagnosis the chance to learn about Psychology and Psychiatry's interpretation of mental health and mental illness is can be very important.  There are many helpful books at the public library but Pebbles on the Pond is a survey course which clarifies the whole topic. 

Women-owned businesses, women's concerns and density - At the city website I see a reference to women-owned businesses and prioritizing. 

sixth avenue

at Wright Park is a sign that identifies a building as a hundred years old.  This hundred-year-old density can be an example for planned density.  History groups can also do walking tours instead of drive-yourself tours.