M II A II R II K
Sep 18, 2010, 4:42 PM
Alaskan city has lessons for Calgary
September 18, 2010
By Richard White
Read More: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Alaskan+city+lessons+Calgary/3543746/story.html
For me, a vacation isn't about sitting back and relaxing -- it is about exploring how cities work and don't work. As a result of a home exchange with friends, I got to explore Anchorage, Alaska, for 10 days this past summer. Although Anchorage wasn't on my list of must-see cities, when opportunity knocks, you take advantage of it. Some quick, pre-trip research on Anchorage got me excited. This city of almost 300,000 people is surrounded by the Turnagain Arm fjord -- which has some of the largest tides in the world -- and the Chugach Mountains to create what is called the Anchorage Bowl.
- With mountains and water, it is not surprising that Anchorage is a recreational mecca: Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Flattop Mountain trails, world-class cross-country skiing trails in Kincaid Park (think Fish Creek Park) and more than 650 kilometres of walking and cycling trails within its city limits. Like Calgary, Anchorage is a young city with a median age of 32 -- and yes, they love their toys, such as SUVs, ATVs, pickups, bikes, as well as boats of all types and planes. Yes, planes. Anchorage boasts more pilots per capita than any other city in the world -- one registered pilot for every 58 residents.
- There is even a residential development in the city, the Flying Crown district in the Oceanview subdivision, where residents park their planes in their backyards and take off from a private grass airstrip. This adds a whole new dimension to having a back alley. The first lesson I learned was how to live in the suburbs and "flaneur" with a car instead of the usual foot and transit shuffle.
Lessons learned:
- Flaneuring with a vehicle can be fun.
- Importance of flowers in humanizing urban spaces.
- It doesn't get much better than pizza, movie and beer at Bearstooth Theatre Pub.
- Focus on timeless architecture not the fad of the day.
- Hospital/airport as museum brings art to where the people already are.
- To develop a sense of the uniqueness of each of the nine different Alaskan native communities. Like a museum, the centre also had a small but well-stocked gift shop that is open limited hours.
- What I also learned was that art seemed so much more authentic in this environment, which was full of indigenous people.
- Anchorage also embraces the idea of an airport as museum at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
- A lookout lounge in a loft area serves not only as a great place to watch the comings and goings of planes, there are also 21 display cases -- each, again, with a different genre of native art, from whalebone and dolls and from ivory to wood carvings. I was fascinated by the contemporary native art that incorporated many found objects with native imagery to create provocative objects that would fit nicely into any international contemporary exhibition.
- When you think West Coast Playground (entertainment/adventure/ recreation), I expect Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver pop to mind for most people. However, for those lusting for new urban experiences, Anchorage could well be the West Coast's new urban playground -- and a showcase for some thought-provoking ideas that Calgarians could experiment with.
September 18, 2010
By Richard White
Read More: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Alaskan+city+lessons+Calgary/3543746/story.html
For me, a vacation isn't about sitting back and relaxing -- it is about exploring how cities work and don't work. As a result of a home exchange with friends, I got to explore Anchorage, Alaska, for 10 days this past summer. Although Anchorage wasn't on my list of must-see cities, when opportunity knocks, you take advantage of it. Some quick, pre-trip research on Anchorage got me excited. This city of almost 300,000 people is surrounded by the Turnagain Arm fjord -- which has some of the largest tides in the world -- and the Chugach Mountains to create what is called the Anchorage Bowl.
- With mountains and water, it is not surprising that Anchorage is a recreational mecca: Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Flattop Mountain trails, world-class cross-country skiing trails in Kincaid Park (think Fish Creek Park) and more than 650 kilometres of walking and cycling trails within its city limits. Like Calgary, Anchorage is a young city with a median age of 32 -- and yes, they love their toys, such as SUVs, ATVs, pickups, bikes, as well as boats of all types and planes. Yes, planes. Anchorage boasts more pilots per capita than any other city in the world -- one registered pilot for every 58 residents.
- There is even a residential development in the city, the Flying Crown district in the Oceanview subdivision, where residents park their planes in their backyards and take off from a private grass airstrip. This adds a whole new dimension to having a back alley. The first lesson I learned was how to live in the suburbs and "flaneur" with a car instead of the usual foot and transit shuffle.
Lessons learned:
- Flaneuring with a vehicle can be fun.
- Importance of flowers in humanizing urban spaces.
- It doesn't get much better than pizza, movie and beer at Bearstooth Theatre Pub.
- Focus on timeless architecture not the fad of the day.
- Hospital/airport as museum brings art to where the people already are.
- To develop a sense of the uniqueness of each of the nine different Alaskan native communities. Like a museum, the centre also had a small but well-stocked gift shop that is open limited hours.
- What I also learned was that art seemed so much more authentic in this environment, which was full of indigenous people.
- Anchorage also embraces the idea of an airport as museum at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
- A lookout lounge in a loft area serves not only as a great place to watch the comings and goings of planes, there are also 21 display cases -- each, again, with a different genre of native art, from whalebone and dolls and from ivory to wood carvings. I was fascinated by the contemporary native art that incorporated many found objects with native imagery to create provocative objects that would fit nicely into any international contemporary exhibition.
- When you think West Coast Playground (entertainment/adventure/ recreation), I expect Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver pop to mind for most people. However, for those lusting for new urban experiences, Anchorage could well be the West Coast's new urban playground -- and a showcase for some thought-provoking ideas that Calgarians could experiment with.