A couple of weekends ago I took advantage of a quick family trip to New York City to visit one of my favorite places, Washington Square Park. In spring-like weather on a February Sunday afternoon, I listened to old-time banjo music, classical grand piano, straight-ahead jazz and dueling baritone saxes. I watched gymnastics shenanigans by a set of twins from the Bronx and sand painting, among others. Multi-generational families with dogs and young children, decked out hipsters on bikes, tourists from all over, denizens of the street, and well-to-do suits all seemed to coexist in this maelstrom around the dry fountain.
As usual when I visit great places these days, I think, could we have this in Spartanburg? I ask it out of possibility, not exasperation. How do we create places in our small city where people gather for little other reason than to be together?
There are characteristics of great places that exist around Washington Square that we can replicate. Having people live within walking distance of the place is important for night-life and other amenities; we are seeing more residential and mixed use development downtown, and the new hotel will bring in added population in the heart of downtown.
Being able to walk safely may be the most crucial element of a great place. Great places center around people, not cars. Wide sidewalks, slow traffic, and lots of storefronts to look at make walking to the park as interesting as sitting in it.
Could our Morgan Square be such a place? We’ve seen it full for Jazz on the Square and other events. That’s when there are reasons to be there: music, food, drink, and most importantly, other people. But how about when there isn’t a planned event? The City has been at work designing streets for people, with Wall Street the most recent example. When the streets leading to the center are interesting and feel safe, the walk from parking lots is less a barrier. More people will meander, stopping to window shop, deciding to get ice cream, participating in the three-mile-an-hour economy, and maybe just sit around doing nothing. Might we encourage busking? How else might we attract people into downtown? It can’t be just shopping, or just restaurants, or just a pretty place to be. There have to be choices.
New York City isn’t for everybody, not even on sunny Sunday afternoons, and I’m not suggesting we try to become more like it. I’m suggesting that if we all—business and building owners, elected officials, developers, and citizens speaking out about what we want and giving voice to us all—if we all focus on creating the elements of a place like Washington Square Park, we could have that kind of active center.
