My elevator pitch for Albany, take 1

I'm egregiously behind in writing this, largely because I just want to second most of what was said in response to my original post and here. But here's one idea. This isn't anything new really, just with an organizing principle:

Albany encompasses the best of both worlds. (I originally wrote "middle ground," which, while more accurate, sounded so not exciting enough for a sales pitch.)
--Size: Albany is large enough to have a wide range of neighborhoods and growing retail and a decent bus system and a lot of culture and downtown jobs, but it's also small enough that you get to know people, that both daily living and going out are fairly affordable, and there's a little space to breath.
--Location: Albany's a true city itself, has quick access to great natural areas, both very nearby (Hudson River, Tivoli Preserve) and in the surrounding area (Adirondacks, Catskills, Berkshires), and has quick access to several big cities.
--(what to call this item?): Albany is fairly cosmopolitan, tolerant of diversity, and full of activists and intellectuals, and yet it's not pretentious. You don't have to be a fashion plate to feel comfortable walking down the street, nor do you need to drive a Prius with the right bumper stickers. (Someone told me the other day, "I don't feel dirty in Albany. I felt dirty in Ithaca.")
--Livability: Albany has an incredible amount of history, gorgeous views, and  great old architecture. Much of the city has a great quality of life while still being affordable.
--Future: Albany is neither a disaster or a "success story." In many ways its future is wide open, and it has a lot of choices and opportunities in front of it.

This, however, is still more list making than getting at the essence of the city, as Sarah talked about in the comments to the last post. I think I'll have to give it another try with that lens. Another day.

Comments

[trh]

Interesting link here RE: efforts to remake cities.

"To walk down the streets of a major US city is to experience the impacts of decades of bad design, in streets and sidewalks, in architecture, in density and use of space. . I do not use the word design as some subjective stand-in for ‘what I like’ (though aesthetics are a valid basis for criticism); I mean design for the future, design for human beings. Our cities are designed with an overwhelming bias towards the needs of automobiles, rather than people. They are designed with expectations of transportation, energy needs, and economic relationships that are badly out of date. They are often designed against known practices in what makes cities more livable, more beautiful, and more functional – cities that might survive this wildly unpredictable century."

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007765.html