Monday, November 10, 2008

The Necessary Jackson Discussion

Today that BIG EAR was featured in the Clarion Ledger.

Our letter to the editor:

What’s wrong with Jackson? It’s unsafe. It’s boring. Its politics are divisive. It’s hot and humid. There’s nothing to do after 5pm. Underneath the misconceptions and overstated rhetoric lies a truth: Jackson and the perception of Jackson are in need of improvement. Since the 1980’s, population has been declining. Suburban sprawl has increased the size and wealth of suburbs, but the city itself has seen limited development.

The condition of Jackson is not unique; similar cities all across America suffer from the same deadness. Just like many other cities, Jackson has great potential. What do we do? Listen. The typical master planning exercise often comes from a problem-solution approach. Experts are brought in to propose answers to problems that often aren’t understood. Instead of proposing solutions, we are listening to the problems. We are finding the trajectories that make up Jackson, specifically the State Street corridor. We are uncovering the past and present in order to better understand the complex situation in which we participate.

We are That BIG EAR. That BIG EAR is a group of 5th year architecture students from Mississippi State University located at 509 East Capitol Street, and we are in the process of an urban analysis of the evolution of Jackson, MS and the State Street corridor. We want to know what the community thinks. We want to hear stories about your experiences in Jackson. We want to hear about Jackson’s past. We want to know what you think is good and bad about Jackson now. We want to hear how you think Jackson should develop. Let us know what you think by joining in the discussion at our blog (http://thatbigear.blogspot.com). Take our surveys. Speak out about your city and keep your eyes peeled for big ears.


Written by Bryan Norwood, that BIG EAR

Click here to see our letter on the Clarion Ledger website.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

jackson need more jail space, put the criminal off the street,it's not that hard to figure out,make them work cleaning up the city,why is it taking the supervisor so long to see the problem,more jail space and make them work. these are criminals even if it is their childrens.

Anonymous said...

militarized urbanism (police state) is exactly what jackson does NOT need.

Anonymous said...

why not put a rail sytem from rankin and madison since that is where the money is.