What does DTK need?

[tomh009]

People's perception of an environment has nothing to do with where they live in the city. When you are around it each day like most of us who live in urban cores are, yeah you get a bit desensitized to it I guess. But ultimately, nobody wants to be around that and if they claim otherwise they're full of shit. Nobody wants their community to be full of people who are high on drugs 18 hours a day or suffering from higher crime rates. And yes, it is crime ridden...the WRPS publishes data that shows downtown has some of the highest concentrations of various times in the region.

Oh, but the perceptions are indeed affected by where you live. If you see only the suburban lawnscape every day, seeing people who struggle every day to make it to the next is indeed going to be shocking.

But the downtown isn't "full of people who are high on drugs"--yes, there are those who are, but they are still a small minority. And while DTK may have more crime than the suburbs, that doesn't make it crime-ridden. Is Tokyo crime-ridden because it has a higher crime rate than Kyoto?

And while you say we don't elect the right people, you don't tell us what your solution is to these complex problems.

The whole discussion of this article probably should have been in the "what does DTK need" thread, but anyways: It's incredible how we can have such drastically different experiences and perceptions from each other. I would estimate that the majority of people I know, which is a healthy mix of people who live downtown, used to live downtown, or live suburban, are uncomfortable to varying degrees downtown. Personally I am uncomfortable and unable to generally relax downtown, though I don't let it stop me from enjoying what downtown has to offer. Many people I know who live downtown do let it prevent them from going out, at least alone.

I think one factor is that I live in a condo building with a secure parking garage, which mitigates some of the issues that I think you have experienced in the past. But, in general, the people in my building do not have an issue going out downtown for dinner or otherwise. Of course, everyone would love for our homelessness and drug problems to go away, but those issues are not keeping them from walking downtown.

I don't personally know anyone, male or female (both our building and my office are fairly evenly split) that has been physically or verbally assaulted. Yes, I also see the mentally-ill people who yell at no one, and at times switch their attention to you, but they are not typically aggressive. Not nice, but not unsafe either.

I do not by any means intend to belittle the problem we--and other cities--have, but I don't think it's preventing people from walking downtown. (Alone after dark, I really don't know, I have not explored that question.)