What are you searching for?

Here's today's Charlotte Photo of the Day, taken last Friday from Cordilia Park near NoDa (it's actually in Villa Heights, people). I have a story behind this photo that I'll tell later.

View this photo on Flickr

I don't know anything about SEO. I know a little bit more about Flickr, and I make sure I tag my photos thoroughly when I upload them. I'm hoping to hit a half million views on Flickr by New Years. I love tracking what websites link to my Flickr photos and what people are entering in search engines to get to my photos. Anyway, in case anybody finds it interesting, here are my top 20 hits from Google Image Searches for today, Monday November 15th. Enjoy:

1	charlotte skyline
2	duke energy center
3	birmingham alabama
4	charlotte skyline 2009
5	duke energy center charlotte
6	new charlotte skyline
7	alabama million dollar band
8	sky scrapper constructions
9	epi center charlotte
10	birmingham
11	nishiki
12	skyline 2010
13	government housing
14	san juan puerto rico beach
15	duhaney park community
16	birminghan alabama
17	anthony foxx
18	charlotte nc
19	birmingham city station
20	fat city lofts charlotte nc

Observer Goofs the Charlotte Skyline Photo Contest

Today the Charlotte Observer announced the winner of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce skyline photo competition.

Photo by Larry Harwell as seen on the Observer website. Can you spot the mouse pointer?

I like the photo, but I wanted to point out a few thoughts in the Observer's coverage.

1) The most obvious error is the date when the article says the photo was taken, " the panoramic photo was taken in July." The progress of the Duke Energy Center in this photo is between the beginning of Feb. and the end of March. Definitely not summer.

2) The headline, by Observer Business and Development writer Kerry Hall Singe, reads "Winning Skyline Image Reflects Downturn" - I'm not sure how you can get that from the image. Let's examine:

3) "As uptown development has slowed, this year's photo features fewer cranes than in prior years." Maybe. After all, the Ritz-Carlton, Catalyst, 440 South Church, Aloft Hotel, and NASCAR tower had all topped out, and their cranes had come down. Still, this photo does not show two cranes for the Vue, two cranes for 1 Bank of America, and a crane for the new UNC-Charlotte uptown building. If anything, it is a "downturn to normal."

4) "Also visible toward the right, however, is The Park condo tower, which has been stalled since last year." True, but the writer fails to mention The Park has been bought by a developer with a scheduled construction restart this coming Feb. Why bother going into detail about how much Mark Martin spent on a condo at Royal Court but leave off this fact?

5) Just a personal preference, but it is obvious the green coloration has been Photoshoped onto the construction dirt at the bottom of the photo. This is just personal opinion, but I prefer a bit more honesty in my photos. You know who else likes to Photoshop their photos, don't you?

6) The "hi-resolution" version isn't by any definition. Actually, it is a screen cap - with the mouse pointer visible.

7) I miss Doug Smith.

8) If you want development news, just read the Charlotte forum at urbanplanet.org

9) Why, no, I'm not bitter about not winning the contest. I just find the Observer's coverage to be pretty funny. "But the mouse pointer is still visible. Ah, who will notice."

Veterans Day Photo of the Day

In honor of Veterans Day, a photo of a North Carolina Air National Guard C-130 taking off at Charlotte-Douglas. Notice the corkscrew-shaped moisture vapor on the props.

View this photo on Flickr

National story with a local connection

The Observer recently picked this story up from the AP:

High-speed chase ends when OnStar halts stolen SUV

What's interesting to me is that overlooked in this story on the Observer's website is the fact that the person at OnStar who halted the vehicle almost certainly works in Charlotte.

Many people don't know, but one of OnStar's main call centers is located in the University Research Park. It is staffed by Convergys. It is also the location of VLAT - the Vehicle Location Assistance Team, part of the Emergency Department which handles things like airbag deployments. Charlotte's location is also home to the media team, and almost every radio or TV ad that features an actual call was recorded at the Charlotte site.

So, congrats to our fellow Charlottean who assisted in ending this high speed chase. If I find out any more information, I'll let you guys know.

ChArLOTte's got A LOT, but Portland has more

Many have bemoaned the current tourist slogan for Charlotte, but what I feel is lacking is a great video of Charlotte promoting the city. There have been some, but they haven't been on quite the level of this Portland video. I've halfway got my bags packed already! There are some decent videos on the Charlotte's Got A Lot website, but even one of the better ones (the last video on this page) could stand improvement. Well, I at least think we do better than Cleveland.

A city for Charlotte to watch: Virginia Beach

View the full presentation PDF from the city

While many cities are setting themselves up for failure by allowing poorly designed, unsustainable car-centric sprawl, this city has created a design based on the needs in 2050, not 1950. Virginia Beach's new vision prepares itself to survive and thrive in the post-oil world. According to the plan:

The vision for the Pembroke Implementation Plan embodies a central urban core
with a vertical mix of urban uses, great streets, mobility and transit alternatives,
urban gathering places, environmental and neighborhood protection, green
buildings and infrastructure opportunities providing a variety of civic, commercial,
artistic and ethnically diverse areas.

The plan will provide for:

• 13,000- 14,000 new housing units for 20,000 new downtown residents.
• 9-10 million square feet more of office space on top of the current 2.5 million.
• 6 million square feet of retail.
• 1 million square feet of civic use.
• 3000 additional hotel rooms.

Sustainable growth
Design will be controlled by form-based code. Providing a good human scale and an inviting urban streetscape are important components, along with encouraging mixed-use development. Green, sustainable building designs are important, and Transit Orientated Development (TOD) will be key around the four planned downtown light rail stations. Parks and greenspace will be cleaned up and preserved as well.

Transportation designed for 2050, not 1950
The downtown Virginia Beach transportation plan is comprehensive, and provides clean, sustainable options for a post-oil world. The backbones of transportation will be light rail, and a new urban street grid that provided for complete streets - streets that are inclusive of pedestrians, cars, bicycles, and buses. Urban placemarking and human scale will be incorporated into the streetfront.

Off-street trails/greenways will also help move bicycles and pedestrians around some parts of downtown. Virginia Beach Blvd. will incorporate traffic calming devices. It will be lined with artwork, trees, and street frontages.

Goals
Urban services will be improved with more fire stations, police stations, and schools that will be needed. Downtown will be high density, a financial District, a cultural arts district, and will include new theaters and museums.

Goals include:

• Attract employers.
• Retain creative class.
• Create a place for youth to return and have good careers.
• Attract more visitors through urban tourism.
• Smart, sustainable growth.

Virginia Beach has an ambitious and progressive plan. They are on the right track by incorporating a design that prepares them for 2050, not 1950. Charlotte would be wise to take notes - cities that do not prepare to meet the challenges of environmental sustainability in a post-oil world will wither and die. Maybe copies of Virginia Beach's plan should be passed out at a Charlotte City Council meeting?

Charlotte Photo of the Day: Rest for the Weary

View this photo on Flickr.

Man sleeping on Tryon street in Uptown, or in "the jar" as Bill would say. What is the jar? "The jar is the area inside the uptown beltway where the lid is on really tight and nobody is paying attention."

Or, perhaps you could call it "Uptoon." The toon. Uptoon and Ballantoon. What is the toon? According to Bill, "The toon is what the toon is. The toon is toonery. The toon is everything that is bigger than it has to be, and wasting because it come from nowhere."