Carrboro, our westerly neighbor, hosted the Open Streets Festival on Sunday.
Parts of Weaver Street were closed to cars, allowing people to reclaim the space for public life. Toddlers, musicians and small businesses were able to benefit from a truly walkable Carrboro, if only for an afternoon.
Open Streets is one strategy Chapel Hill could adopt to enhance equitable urban experiences.
After the Sylvan Esso concert at Carrboro’s Town Commons, hordes traveled to and from the venue on foot or bicycle, stopping at local businesses on the way to eat and drink.
But Chapel Hill lacks an outdoor venue close to its urban core — the intersection of Franklin and Columbia. Close by sits University Square in squalid emptiness. It’s slated to become Carolina Square, a mixed-use development.
The town has approved the project, but its planners should consider working with developers to create public space within the new development and prevent it from becoming another exclusive space in an increasingly exclusive town.
Chapel Hill is facing a cultural decline. Businesses continue to shutter and attitudes about how the economically disadvantaged should use public space could not be more at odds, whether they panhandle or not.
Events and development practices that encourage people from all walks of life to embrace the town’s walkability and engage with public spaces could provide a partial solution.
