Joining the Club

[life_boy]

Hello,
I have been reading bits and pieces of this site for the past couple of days now and decided to join. City/urban planning is of great interest to me, although I am not a city planner by trade. I'm more of an armchair city planner so please forgive me if my ideas seem amatuerish or dumb. Everything I've learned about city planning I've read in books or gathered from my own personal observations. I've never had any formal schooling in this area. I thought this would be a nice place to learn and I hope that is the outcome of my being here.

I'm from a small town (35,000) in northeast Mississippi called Tupelo. It's a nice little town, I suppose, but it does seem to have the-newer-the-building-the-better-the-building syndrome and most of the commercial activity takes place at and around the Barnes Crossing Mall area. This is also the birthplace of Elvis Presley and the home of the largest rural hospital in the United States (North Mississippi Medical Center).

Anyway, thank you for allowing me to participate and I'll see you all around the boards.

 

[nerudite]

Welcome! No need to be a planner to participate. It's good to see some more southerners in here... we were getting overrun with midwest folks.

 

[SkeLeton]

Welcome to the boards! Don't feel weird because you're not a planner (I'm not). Hope you have fun and stick around here! :b: :b: :b:

 

[JNA]

Welcome
Love travelling along the Trace.

 

[steveanne]

Hello!

I too am a wanna-be planner. I actually work in the corporate office of a (the) major RX chain, so it is nice to see some others that enjoy it as a hobby! Welcome!

 

[Budgie]

Welcome from a former resident of Kosciusko and occassional visitor to Canton. I think people who are not in the planning field, but have an interest in their communities bring alot of common sense into the discussion. If you really want to get involved, I would encourage you to consider serving on your City or County Planning Commission. Believe me, we're always looking for a few good men/women to serve.

 

[NHPlanner]

welcome :b:

 

[PlannerGirl]

Welcome!

 

[H]

Welcome.

I lived in Oxford Miss for 5 years during undergrad and my wife lived there for 10 years in all.

I know Tupelo and Barnes Crossing well. Many of my friends during school were from Tupelo so I have been to countless weddings, birthdays, and nights out in your town so I feel to have a decent grasp of what goes on there. It is the classic example of interchange = mall = everything in town moves from downtown to mall area. The Wal-mart distributing center north of town doesn’t help much either.

I see a lot of potential in Tupelo though. Even though it is only around pop. 35,000 it functions as a regional hub and feels much larger than it actually is, attracting restaurants and businesses that would normally not be found in a city of such size. Are you involved in the furniture business there by chance? Seems to be the place for that.

Anyway, look forward to hearing about the haps in Tupelo on the boards.

 

[Cardinal]

Re: Hello!

Welcome!


[ot]

I too am a wanna-be planner. I actually work in the corporate office of a (the) major RX chain, so it is nice to see some others that enjoy it as a hobby! Welcome!

OMG! I worked (for a very short time) for probably the same company. I hated it, thought they were evil, and was looking for a new job within three months of starting.[/ot]

 

[life_boy]

Are you involved in the furniture business there by chance? Seems to be the place for that.

No, I'm not. This is very much the place for that in Mississippi. The Furniture Market is a big deal. I have a friend who is a furniture designer and a couple others who will work the furniture market for extra cash.

I am an artist and student. I will be in Oxford this spring finishing up a year of college. I will then be moving on to become a filmmaker and I plan on attending an art school next fall (perhaps in Savannah, GA).

I think the Wal-Mart distribution warehouse you were referring to is actually just north of New Albany (about 28 miles northwest of Tupelo along US 78). But, that isn't to say that Wal-Mart is not very much a part of Tupelo life. It is (but that's a whole other thread of which I plan on participating in after finishing this response).

Thank you everyone for the kind welcome. This seems like a very nice place. Honestly, I was a little intimidated at first because I've recently read (and enjoyed) two Kunstler books and then saw the thread on him and what some of the current schools of thought on him and his methods were. That, along with my lack of formal planning knowledge and experience made me a little uneasy about speaking up. But, I don't feel quite so bad about it anymore. The warm welcome helped.

 

[JNL]

Welcome life_boy I'm not a city planner by trade either but have been made very welcome here. We have a bar called Tupelo in Wellington, didn't know it was Elvis's birthplace!

 

[Richmond Jake]

welcome from the wet and cold inland northwest. :b:

 

[Chet]

welcome from the wet and cold inland midwest.

I think its great when everyday folks take an interest in planning. Its a great, dymanic, profession.

Welcome!

 

[mendelman]

Welcome!

Many great people throughout history were not professional planners and human settlement persists still, so don't worry!

Now that you have read 2 of Kunstler's books, you need to read something at the next level like "Good City Form" by Kevin Lynch. It is one of the top five books on the subject of city/place building, IMHO.

 

[OhioPlanner]

Welcome!

 

[Rem]

Hello and welcome life_boy.

Welcome from a former resident of Kosciusko ....

Budgie, did you know the tallest hill in Australia is called Mount Kosciusko?

 

[The Irish One]

Welcome, enjoy Cyburbia.

WANNABE PLANNERS ROCK!!!!!!!!!

 

[el Guapo]

Greetings and salutations, enjoy the place and don't forget to use the search feature when you run across an unfamiliar term.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

Welcome,

We got forigners here, so we might as well let the sutherners in too! Pssst (whispers), don't tell anyone, but I even think there are a few commies in here also!

Serriously, jump in the pond and have fun!

 

[steveanne]

Re: Re: Hello!

[ot]

OMG! I worked (for a very short time) for probably the same company. I hated it, thought they were evil, and was looking for a new job within three months of starting.[/ot]

We're not evil, I promise (scratching the mark of the Beast off my skull).

Seriously, where did you work? Real Estate or Construction? Or did you have a non-planning related job like myself. And why the thoughts of evilness?

 

[H]

I am an artist and student. I will be in Oxford this spring finishing up a year of college. I will then be moving on to become a filmmaker and I plan on attending an art school next fall (perhaps in Savannah, GA).

SCAD is a great school. My sister in law is seriously looking at going there. And you can’t beat Savannah for an artistically creative atmosphere!

I think the Wal-Mart distribution warehouse you were referring to is actually just north of New Albany (about 28 miles northwest of Tupelo along US 78).

Your right; it has been awhile since my last visit to Tupelo or New Albany since I now fly in to Memphis and then drive 78 to 6 I miss the Tupelo area.

Well, see you around the boards and say hello to Oxford for me (especially Proud Larry’s).

H

 

[Budgie]

Hello and welcome life_boy.


Budgie, did you know the tallest hill in Australia is called Mount Kosciusko?

No, I did not. Thanks for the nugget.

 

[Budgie]

Honestly, I was a little intimidated at first because I've recently read (and enjoyed) two Kunstler books and then saw the thread on him and what some of the current schools of thought on him and his methods were. That, along with my lack of formal planning knowledge and experience made me a little uneasy about speaking up.

A lack of formal training hasn't effected JHK's willingness to speak up. On the thread you referenced, I mentioned that observations by someone not specifically trained in planning are what planning needs more of, IMO. Planners should be facilitators of public discourse more often and create truly local solutions to local problems. This is where the citizen planners are a valuable asset. Jump into the discussion, you won't be ridiculed ---- well, not too badly.

 

[tsc]

Welcome ... want to exchange some Southern Comfort for a little Northern Comfort?

 

[SGB]

Welcome from the warmer-than-normal and wet south central New York State.

 

[PlannerByDay]

Welcome from another state that starts with an "M" the Mitten State.

 

[Tranplanner]

Welcome, eh? You may be in the club, but you've got a ways to go before you're in the clube.

 

[Jeff]

Welcome....public participation is what planning is all about. Post often.

 

[Seabishop]

Welcome!

 

[DecaturHawk]

Welcome aboard! I attended an Economic Development course at Ga. Tech a few years ago where Tupelo was studied in depth as a great economic development success story. Never been to MS (except in John Grisham novels), but I know a guy in Jackson working for FHWA who loves the area. Now we can add a point on Mississippi on Cardinal's "Where are we from?" map. Post often, and be yourself; we got all kinds here.

 

[biscuit]

Welcome! There are plenty of non-planners here so feel free to jump right into the mess of things.

I've never been to Tupelo, but I do own a couple of Blue Mountain albums.

Enjoy

 

[Planderella]

Welcome