On any sunny Sunday, around 11 a.m. or noon, if you step out on my front porch you'll see a steady stream of cars leaving the churches in North Chattanooga. Pedestrians also walk up and down the street—the ones coming and going to Aretha Frankenstein's, about a block away, are easy to distinguish. (I like to joke I'm the next best thing. My pancakes are killer, and not so cakey.) As the sun crosses the sky and heads into early afternoon hours, a diverse crowd—of all colors, shapes and sizes—will have walked, run and rolled past my house.
Along with the masses comes trash. Cigarette butts litter the street like tiny fish washed up on the beach. Broken bottles, Krystal packages and beer caps are all that are left of the previous late-night chaos. Oh, the chaos—part of the other disturbance on my street comes from the numerous cars speeding up and down, many of whose drivers have learned that it's easier to hit the series of speed bumps at a greater rate of speed. Less impact...or something. Two empty lots, now filled with tall grass, dandelions and other weeds, are across the street. Also on the hill are two abandoned-looking houses, their for-sale signs raggedly blowing in the wind with the aforementioned weeds.
Chattanooga natives have described this street, Tremont, as not changing that much since the late '60s and '70s. Some of the houses still shabbier than others, and some of the houses are downright dumpy looking, although charming on the interior. I'm a proud resident of a house that is the latter—a behemoth on the outside, but quite charming on the inside. And I'm a proud renter.
I'm a North Chattanoogan, full-time downtown employee and supporter of local goods and neighborhoods. While I don't have children, I'm not married, and I'm younger than thirty, I realize I don't represent the majority of homeowners in North Chattanooga, who may be seeking good schools, neighbors, nice houses—of which there are many here. As I searched the Internet for a neighborhood association, though, I was shocked to not find one for the area. The Northside Merchants Association has an easy-to-find, attractive website; so does the North Chattanooga Chamber Council. Sally Robinson, my elected councilwoman, was easy enough to find on the city's website. But no North Chattanooga Neighborhood Association was listed.
As a renter, I realize I wouldn't belong at one of their meetings, if the group exists/existed. I don't own land, and therefore, I don't pay property taxes. However, I still choose to live, work, play and spend the majority of my expendable income in the neighborhood. I care about the removing trash on the street, the livability of the streets, the speeding traffic, and ... my neighbors.
I can only imagine that finding where these people and ideas overlap is a truly organic process. I'm eager to get the ball rolling.
Along with the masses comes trash. Cigarette butts litter the street like tiny fish washed up on the beach. Broken bottles, Krystal packages and beer caps are all that are left of the previous late-night chaos. Oh, the chaos—part of the other disturbance on my street comes from the numerous cars speeding up and down, many of whose drivers have learned that it's easier to hit the series of speed bumps at a greater rate of speed. Less impact...or something. Two empty lots, now filled with tall grass, dandelions and other weeds, are across the street. Also on the hill are two abandoned-looking houses, their for-sale signs raggedly blowing in the wind with the aforementioned weeds.
Chattanooga natives have described this street, Tremont, as not changing that much since the late '60s and '70s. Some of the houses still shabbier than others, and some of the houses are downright dumpy looking, although charming on the interior. I'm a proud resident of a house that is the latter—a behemoth on the outside, but quite charming on the inside. And I'm a proud renter.
I'm a North Chattanoogan, full-time downtown employee and supporter of local goods and neighborhoods. While I don't have children, I'm not married, and I'm younger than thirty, I realize I don't represent the majority of homeowners in North Chattanooga, who may be seeking good schools, neighbors, nice houses—of which there are many here. As I searched the Internet for a neighborhood association, though, I was shocked to not find one for the area. The Northside Merchants Association has an easy-to-find, attractive website; so does the North Chattanooga Chamber Council. Sally Robinson, my elected councilwoman, was easy enough to find on the city's website. But no North Chattanooga Neighborhood Association was listed.
As a renter, I realize I wouldn't belong at one of their meetings, if the group exists/existed. I don't own land, and therefore, I don't pay property taxes. However, I still choose to live, work, play and spend the majority of my expendable income in the neighborhood. I care about the removing trash on the street, the livability of the streets, the speeding traffic, and ... my neighbors.
I can only imagine that finding where these people and ideas overlap is a truly organic process. I'm eager to get the ball rolling.
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