Friday 5: Changing Charleston from Dan Conover on Vimeo.
In this week's second episode on the Friday 5 Channel on Vimeo, here's a piece about how rising property values along Upper King Street may be contributing to a migration of artists, entrepreneurs and creative types to the southern edge of North Charleston.
For my money, the creation of Upper King Street as a thriving business district in the late 1990s and early 2000s was one of the best things to happen to the city. And to be clear about things: I think the proposed (and in some cases, approved) developments mentioned in this week's Top 5 will be good for the city as a whole. Dense has its drawbacks, but living cities want to be dense. And dense makes other things possible: better public transit, more walkability, improved business opportunities, etc.
But I can't look at what's happening in Charleston and other parts of the Lowcountry without noticing what's been going on -- to little fanfare -- in North Charleston. Yes, 10 Storehouse Row is on the old Navy Base and it's part of the Noisette Project, but if you think the only good things happening in North Charleston are Noisette developments, you're missing the point.
The areas generally known as Park Circle (but actually more than just Park Circle) have been attracting creative, do-it-yourself homeowners and entrepreneurs for years now. Some of the best young artists, videographers and writers in the Lowcountry now live within easy walking and biking distance of the East Montague district featured in this video essay.
Should Charleston be worried about this shift in creative population? Sure. As Scott Debus says in the video, if you price your artists out of your city, what remains is banality. Charlestonians have been wise to put so much energy into conserving their history, but it would also be wise for them to put some of that energy into conserving the city's creative scene.
Is it the end of the world for Charleston if the Upper King Street vibe migrates to North Charleston? Of course not.
And to be blunt about it, if the Magnolia project pumps up the development of the Charleston Neck, then the divide between the two cities is going to become little more than theoretical. Plus, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how a short commuter rail system -- using existing rail lines -- might connect Park Circle to Magnolia to Midtown to Marion Square.
How should we manage all this change? And can cities with sometimes competing interests work together well enough to make the right moves?
Well, that's another question.
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