City Affair Saint Louis

It's the middle of the summer, it's hot and humid and only a 4 day work week. The City Affair crew thought it wouldn't be good enough to just host another discussion, so we're throwing a picnic!

Not just any picnic, July City Affair will focus on bold plans for the North Riverfront of St. Louis with a walking tour of the future site of Great Rivers Greenway's Iron Horse Trestle Project.

St. Louis is poised to become the site of the third linear park in the world. The Iron Horse Trestle, like the High Line in New York and the Promenade Plantée in Paris, will face a challenging implementation. At the same time as engineering for this visionary project is underway, the St. Louis Development Corporation is preparing to relegate 3,000 acres of the North Riverfront to only industrial use. What can we do as interested citizens to secure room for recreation and redevelopment on the North Riverfront?

Addressing these issues will be:
Todd Antoine - Deputy Director of Planning for Great Rivers Greenway
Phil Valko - Active Living Program Manager at Trailnet
Jennifer Allen - Program Coordinator for Trailnet

We will picnic at 7:00PM at the corner of Howard and Hadley.
We will bring grilling apparatus, fuel, plates and cups. Please consider purchasing picnic supplies at the community-owned Old North Grocery Co-op (http://oldnorthgrocery.com/).
The Co-op is located at 8 blocks from the picnic site at 2718 N. 13th Street and is open until 7PM.

The Co-op offers a full array of farm-fresh produce, meat from Lee Farms, Vess and Fitz's Soda and other staples. Currently the Co-op does not sell beer.

At 7:45PM, Todd Antoine will lead interested participants on a walking tour of the former Illinois Terminal Railroad trestle that is will be transformed into the Iron Horse Trestle.

Following the walk, Phil Valko will discuss new plans for a pedestrian and bike connection between Old North St. Louis and the St. Louis Riverfront Trail. Jennifer Allen will discuss the impending North Riverfront RFP (request for proposals) process by SLDC and what Trailnet and other organizations are doing to ensure mixed-use and recreational accessibility in the 3,000 acre area.

Open discussion will follow the trestle tour and the brief presentations.

City Affair XXVII: Picnic at the Iron Horse Trestle

July 7th 2011 from 7:00-9:00PM @ the intersection of Howard and Hadley Streets St. Louis Missouri 63106


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Any photographs submitted to grouphugstl@gmail.com by midnight on Friday, May 27 earn TRIPLE tickets and are therefore 3X more likely to win a prize!

Prizes include St. Louis Cinemas movie passes; gift cards to STL-Style, the St. Louis Curio Shoppe, Gelateria Del Leone; mugs and swag from Old North St. Louis Restoration Group; a t-shirt and decal from preservation group ModernSTL; and much more!

Get a foot up on the competition just for submitting early!

As a reminder, the final deadline for submission of photos is Tuesday, May 31 at 5pm.

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Tired of people hating on STL? So are we! It’s time for a GROUPHUG!

IF YOU LOVE ST. LOUIS, SHOW ST. LOUIS!

Calling all lovers of St. Louis! This city needs your tender embrace! Too often we hear more about what’s wrong with our city rather than the things that make it great. And far too often we counter this negativity with words rather than actions. Now is our chance to change that.
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CITY LOVERS UNITE TO GIVE ST. LOUIS A PROVERBIAL HUG

WHAT: GROUPHUG ST. LOUIS

WHO: All lovers of St. Louis

WHEN: Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 7 – 10 pm

WHERE: STyLehouse, 3159 Cherokee St., 63118

HOW MUCH: Free!

City Affair presents GROUPHUG, the first event of its kind in the nation!

WHAT IS IT?

We are asking you and your friends to scour the city for your favorite people, places, and objects—ones that define our city and/or help to explain why you love St. Louis—and HUG these subjects for the camera. Get a friend to snap a photograph of you with your arms wrapped around your favorite St. Louis building, business, monument, person, etc. On June 2, all participants and friends are invited to attend the GROUPHUG party to view pics, imbibe, listen to music and express your love for STL.

Cleveland-based Saving Cities will be filming portions of the event and conducting interviews to document grassroots efforts to “save” Rust Belt cities from the community up. Put forward your best photograph—and our city’s best face—for our guests from Cleveland. For more information, visit www.savingcities.com

OK, I DID IT. NOW WHAT?

E-mail your photograph(s) to: grouphugstl@gmail.com by Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 5 p.m. More than one is encouraged! Tell us your name, where you are or who you are with.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

Each submission is a chance to win prizes at the GROUPHUG event on June 2, including $100 cash, gift certificates to various St. Louis businesses, and, of course, free hugs. Prize will be awarded to Jury’s Selection for best submission.

For a list of submission rules and guidelines, event news and sneak peaks, visit http://grouphugstl.tumblr.com/.

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Where: Elvis Room, Bluebbery Hill in University City

When: May 5, 2011 7pm – 9pm



The big new trend in urban development is Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) – mixed-use residential and commercial development focused around transit that seeks to encourage transit ridership and dense, walkable livable neighborhoods. Examples of TOD are touted in Washington, D.C. and Portland, but what about St. Louis? What are the challenges and opportunities for transit-oriented development in our region? Our panelists will discuss current opportunities for development around transit and a mid-town trolley, as well future markets and challenges.

Seth Teel, Associate Director of Citizens for Modern Transit

Mark Phillips, Long-Range Planner, Metro

Melanie Rippetoe, Saint Louis University Master's in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development

Justin Chick, editor and contributor to TransitTurningPoint.com

Doors open at 7:00 PM; discussion begins at 7:30.

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