Sunday, October 7, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
My Article with WILD for the International Examiner
Green Streets: Cleaning up Our Air and Beautifying Our Neighborhood
Category/Issue: Features, Volume 34 No. 18
Story by: Kevin Tain and Phung Vuong
The people in and around the ID neighborhood will soon have better and cleaner lives thanks to Inter*Im Community Development Association’s Green Street project.Inter*Im is a non-profit and a lead neighborhood planning organization for the ID neighborhood. Over the years, their projects have included renovations of affordable housing units such as the Eastern and NP Hotels, as well as development of the newly built Nihonmachi Terrace family apartments. In 2004, they began their Green Street project, under the leadership of urban planner Tom Im.
The Green Street is planned to be built on Maynard between Main and Jackson streets. According to Im, the Green Street project will incorporate natural features like plants and trees into an urban street where there are currently a lot of cars. Beautification is also a primary influence, and thus Inter*Im will create new clean sidewalks and construct urban art throughout the design. Inter*Im also made sure that the design addressed issues of community safety, and built elements like benches and small parks to encourage gathering of community members. The Green Street project also helps to preserve different cultures of our neighborhood by including more elements (such as art) that reflect the Japanese American community.
The challenge the project currently faces is the cost of keeping it going. The project will take $400,000-$500,000 to implement. The Green Street project is expected to be completed in 2008. When it is finished, this project will make the International District more beautiful by adding greenery and public art that celebrates ID history. It will create a healthy environment by planting more trees (which helps to clean our air) and creating a more natural water drainage system (to clean our water and reuse it for watering the greenery). The Green Street project is just one of many ways that the community is addressing some of the environmental issues it faces.
Category/Issue: Features, Volume 34 No. 18
Story by: Kevin Tain and Phung Vuong
The people in and around the ID neighborhood will soon have better and cleaner lives thanks to Inter*Im Community Development Association’s Green Street project.Inter*Im is a non-profit and a lead neighborhood planning organization for the ID neighborhood. Over the years, their projects have included renovations of affordable housing units such as the Eastern and NP Hotels, as well as development of the newly built Nihonmachi Terrace family apartments. In 2004, they began their Green Street project, under the leadership of urban planner Tom Im.
The Green Street is planned to be built on Maynard between Main and Jackson streets. According to Im, the Green Street project will incorporate natural features like plants and trees into an urban street where there are currently a lot of cars. Beautification is also a primary influence, and thus Inter*Im will create new clean sidewalks and construct urban art throughout the design. Inter*Im also made sure that the design addressed issues of community safety, and built elements like benches and small parks to encourage gathering of community members. The Green Street project also helps to preserve different cultures of our neighborhood by including more elements (such as art) that reflect the Japanese American community.
The challenge the project currently faces is the cost of keeping it going. The project will take $400,000-$500,000 to implement. The Green Street project is expected to be completed in 2008. When it is finished, this project will make the International District more beautiful by adding greenery and public art that celebrates ID history. It will create a healthy environment by planting more trees (which helps to clean our air) and creating a more natural water drainage system (to clean our water and reuse it for watering the greenery). The Green Street project is just one of many ways that the community is addressing some of the environmental issues it faces.
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