THEY MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADOPT A CAT
I say I’ll decide.
She refuses to let me see the cat.
I go back, but even though it is 100% Animal Services’
fault, I go to the back of the end of the line again.
20 minutes to wait for the cat with the infection.
Now I’m told it also has FIV and I cannot have.
THEY MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADOPT A CAT
I find out my first choice is FIV positive and they will
not adopt that cat out to a home that has another cat. I have a cat.
It would take two minutes to print out this info and put
it on the cage – so I wouldn’t get enamored with a cat I cannot have.
There will be many heartbreaks that could be avoided by
taking all of two minutes to update information on cats in the cat adoption
zone.
I am told my second choice has a respiratory infection
and I cannot touch another cat after him, so I should pick another cat to see
first.
I share my third pick.
They tell me that cat is available.
THEY MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADOPT A CAT
I fall for a few.
I take pictures of the data card next to them.
I got to the desk labeled adoptions.
I get some annoyed looks, then hear a number called.
I realize I was standing in a line that went by number
called.
But unlike a grocery store deli, there no little machine
from which to grab a number.
You have to talk to a lady. She wanders off frequently,
so I had no way of knowing that I could not take my place in line without her
interviewing me and printing a ticket.
THEY MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADOPT A CAT
It’s a pretty building and modern facility.
Any semblance of competency and care is an illusion.
I went to adopt a cat.
There is about one half as much needed parking, because
it’s in the middle of nowhere, miles from fixed rail transit.
Google Maps shows it would take 2 hours of multiple bus
transfers to get there from my Little Havana home less than 10 miles away.
I wait 20 minutes for a parking space.
THE EVENT WAS PART OF DESIGNING CITIES 2024: MIAMI-DADE
I
was thrilled to join Raissa Fernandez of Healthy Little Havana for a tour
highlighting walkability, transit and mobility for all this week.
It was part of the National Association of City Transportation Officials annual meeting, hosted in Miami this year.
The NACTO Designing Cities Conference brings together 1,000 officials, planners, and practitioners to advance the state of transportation in cities across North America.
Healthy Little Havana is a local nonprofit that actively co-designs -- with other residents and partner organizations-- a dynamic Community Action Plan that addresses the root causes of poor health and health inequities.
Currently HLH focuses on: housing, healthcare access, education to employment, and food and public space.
Led by Raissa, our tour had more than two dozen top professionals from across the U.S.
We highlighted:
Sidewalks too narrow for people with disabilities – that ironically cover more than a city block adjacent to the accessible entrances to a city services center and performing arts hall.
The three-lane, one-way couplets (Flagler westbound/SW 1st Street eastbound, SW 7th Street westbound/Calle Ocho eastbound) that are very dangerous to cross for people with disabilities, children and elderly residents.
The lack of shade canopy in East Little Havana. The transit stop where the group joined the tour – has zero shade despite hosting two (bus and trolley) major transit shelters.
The threat of over development that is both robbing Little Havana of its rich architectural heritage, but also shrinking the supply of affordable housing in one of the most rent-burdened cities in America.
PEACE GUARD LISBON
Shepard Fairey’s Peace Guard Lisbon mural is a faded, but still striking, piece.
Fairey’s subject holds a gun with a flower in it, a symbolic reference to the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
Named for the demonstrators who placed
carnations in the muzzles of guns and on the soldiers' uniforms, the 1974
military coup and civil resistance campaign transitioned the country from a
dictatorship to a democracy.
TROPICAL FADO IN RGB TONES
OzeArv’s
2021 Tropical Fado in RGB Tones is an explosion of color on Rua da Graça.
A face gazes
out through a halo of plants and animals expressed in the street artist’s
signature style.
NATALIA CORREIA MURAL
This is a close up of the Natalia Correia mural on Rua Natalia Correia at Rua Da Graca, Sao Vicente, Lisbon, Portugal.
Poet, author and National Assembly member — she championed
arts and culture + human and women's rights.
SÃO VICENTE
Leafy streets, modest apartments, affordable restaurants, mom and pop shops, local bakeries, street art, tiled facades and excellent transit define Graca, Sao Vicente, Lisbon, Portugal.
BELA LISBOA
The view from Miradouro da Graca (Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen).
The view takes in magnificently preserved buildings, the blue waters of Rio Tejo and Almada on the horizon.
ICONIC, POETIC LISBON
If poetic Lisbon could be summed up in one image, this might be it.
Historic tram winding
through narrow street in Sao Vicente past azulejo adorned buildings on the way
through the city core to Prazeres.
I’M HONORED TO BE IN THE FILM: “MARK – A CALL TO ACTION”
I'm proud to share details of U.S. premiere of the documentary that features me as our nation's preeminent Universal Design expert.
Mark--A Call to Action debuts June 19 at Bryn Mawr Film
Institute.
Every mayor, planner, architect, engineer & urban designer can
learn from this film.
It is NOT simply a disability film.
It is about what great things a person with a severe disability
can achieve -- when the built environment is inclusive.
Director Ron Small's film chronicles the life and work of
scholar/activist Dr. Mark Bookman, who improved the lives of disabled people
from the U.S. to Japan.
The late Bookman created a legacy that inspires others to plan for
and create a world where no one is left behind.
SAO VICENTE
Why do we love Lisbon?
Look at this
night shot in Sao Vicente.
There are
endless alleys and historic buildings to give a Medieval feeling among modern
transit and amenities.
BECO DO ROSENDO
Beco do Rosendo in the central Lisbon Santa Maria Maior neighborhood.
Lisbon must have thousands of alleys and narrow staircases.
At first, at night, they feel a bit foreboding. Soon, you realize they are a way of life.
B-MAD ART DECO
Spectacular grille and decor at Berardo - Art Deco Museum (B-MAD).
The Art Deco museum in
Lisbon also displays Art Nouveau pieces, in an historic tiled mansion.
