For the past four days I've been in working phase of my working vacation painting in the Redlands. Like much of California (that I've been to), it's a easy going nice scenic place. When I first pulled in to town I thought to myself, oh, just another suburb. But after peeling back my quick to judge assumption, I've grown to find the area more than pleasant. It's not just pleasant due to the majestic work of plate tectonics, but because of what I assume are progressive zoning controls. I haven't read the code, but the ample amount of strip mall chain stores here don't have the sterile anywhere USA feel that most suburbs do. There is no clutter of erected signs reaching for the sky as well as your attention and the landscaping is abundant. Unlike every commercial site I've designed as a professional planner where parking lot design came in at the beginning of the process, it is apparent that here landscaping and aesthetics are considered early on. While designing all of my sites it was common to factor in the planted landscaping requirements towards the end of the design process whereas planted landscaping in this community is clearly a priority. Although this area sees to lack local recreation (only relying on this from my minimal exposure to the city), if I end up in the design field of planning again I would love to work in a city with controls like this. It feels more like designing for the people instead of designing for the money.
Anyway.....I didn't intend to write much in this blog, especially about issues of urban planning. I'm sure I could write a more insightful and lengthy blog about this subject but at the end of each day of painting I'm too lazy to exercise my brain too much.
This brings me to what I intended to be the short topic of this post. Although I've haven't had the energy to muster up a blog post, I have been keeping up with the ones I follow. And I recommend that you follow them too, check em out, peruse and enjoy. I should note that if you like my friend Matt's blog, he also writes for a local online newspaper. His articles there are equally entertaining.
This wore me out! Going to bed....
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