OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

The Great Synagogue on Maarif Caddesi, which was built in 1906, has been restored and reopened to the public.

Shenandoah Exhibit Video at Dade Heritage Trust

We love living in Shenandoah -- Miami's best urban enclave. 

We've been here 20 years in our Spanish Mission style cottage.

We have the only 100-year old house preserved and updated for wheelchair access.

Shenandoah Exhibit Video at Dade Heritage Trust https://youtu.be/wKvtsXdfBfo 

Kudos to PlusUrbia Design and Dade Heritage Trust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKvtsXdfBfo&t=455s

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

The third capital of the Ottoman Empire, Edirne is near Turkey’s boarders with Greece and Bulgaria.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Many of Edirne's traditional houses are in a sad state of disrepair.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

The Mihran Hanım Konağı on Gazipaşa Caddesi has undergone a careful restoration.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Beyond the timbered houses, Kaleici also boasts some stone civic buildings.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Kaleici Ottoman houses date from the 18^th, 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

HAPPY (BELATED)

 NATIONAL PET DAY

We share four images of a raffish, beloved street kedi (cat).

From the Kaleici historic district in Edirne, Turkey.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Kaleici features many ornately decorated timber houses.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

 KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

The district dates to the medieval period and is the heart of the old city.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Kaleici in Edirne describes the old streets south of Talat Pasa Caddessi and west of Saraclar Caddessi.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Roughly translated, kaleici means “inside the castle.”

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Edirne features many grand mosques, souks and old houses.

OTTOMAN HOUSES

KALEICI DISTRICT EDIRNE, TURKEY

Edirne is a three-hour bus ride from Istanbul.

RockNRoll is out cat baby in Rome

We are his distance adoption guardians

RockNRoll is our latest distance adoption cat at the Largo Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in the heart of Rome.

He came to the shelter, which is among ancient and very historic ruins, with his brother RockABilly.

Sadly, RockABilly passed away earlier this year.

RockNRoll is our adopted boy, as we send Euros to help provide for his care including food, shelter and vet visits.

He became ours after the sad passing of Atreju, our other distance adoption baby.

What we contribute doesn’t begin to match the needs of the gattara – the ladies (and gentleman) who care for hundreds of stray cats in the most modest of conditions and with no help from the government of Rome.

To find out more about distance adoption, click here

https://www.gattidiroma.net/web/en/distance-cat-adoption-from-rome-largo-argentina-cat-sanctuary/

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Founded out of a passion for public sector excellence, Best Practice Cities (www.bestpracticecities.com) is a strategic and innovative association of high-integrity, high-performing experts that help local governments reach and sustain operational and organizational success. 

It is led by Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, who served as City Manager for two dynamic full-service South Florida cities.

In addition to designing successful strategic plans and operational alignments that are still followed today, she led economic development activities resulting in multimillion-dollar private sector investments, diversification of the economic base, enhanced quality of life and increased property values.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Swanson-Rivenbark praised Bober for his leadership and the Commission’s political courage to allow a professionally-run RFP process that addressed the public’s need for transparency.

"The true test of a public/private redevelopment is not a signed deal or completed construction – it is once it’s fully operational and you can ask the question: `did it capture the dreams, fulfill the goals and meet the expectations of the community?’,” she said. 

“For Margaritaville and Hollywood Beach, it’s a resounding `yes’.”

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Debra Case -- owner of Ocean Alley restaurant and bar -- has served as president of the Hollywood Beach Association, a small business organization, and as a Hollywood City Commissioner. She said the beach had a lot of slum and blight before the Margaritaville project.

“Margaritaville opened and all of a sudden, people were here. Mom and pop shops have cleaned up, put in landscaping and tapped into CRA grants to upgrade,” said Case. 

“Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark pulled us up by the bootstraps. If she hadn’t gotten Margaritaville off the ground, we may not have an anchor here in the central beach.”

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

“The proof of success is all the redevelopment that occurred on Johnson Street and up and down the central broadwalk,” Tabatchnick said.

“When this effort started, no new hotels had been built for over a decade and it was the 2009 financial crisis,” he said. “When Margaritaville opened, people had confidence in investing capital. One of the key reasons for the RFP was to encourage other redevelopment and upgrades at the small properties.”

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Bober said Margaritaville has transformed the beach and created the spinoff development and reinvestment that it promised. 

“But for the tenacity -- within the context of a very difficult economy – of Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, myself and the developer, I don’t think this project would have come to fruition.”

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Lon Tabatchnick, who developed Margaritaville in partnership with Starwood Capital, from concept to opening in 2015, said the project delivered everything promised, including a resort with a coveted Four Diamond rating. 

Margaritaville enhances the beach with free concerts at the historic bandshell at the edge of the resort and it achieves a goal of linking the ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway – with a water taxi stop at the resort’s 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill on the intracoastal.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Peter Bober, who served as Mayor of Hollywood during the successful redevelopment process, said Margaritaville revitalized a care-worn but storied property that dates back to the founding years of the city. 

The site once was home to Florida’s largest bathing pavilion, the Hollywood Beach Casino, that featured a shopping arcade and Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Margaritaville is the greatest thing to happen to Hollywood Beach since the 1920s,” Bober said.

“It’s a textbook example of how a public/private partnership can actually happen with the public being completely engaged in the process. The finished product exceeded my wildest expectations.”

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

The Margaritaville development created hundreds of jobs, a revenue stream for the city that will be worth hundreds of millions and an activity generator that has boosted tourism in the historic beach district between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway.

“In 2009, the City of Hollywood was teetering on bankruptcy. City attempts to develop the parcel that became Margaritaville had failed three times. 

The result is a 99-year lease agreement that provides the City's General Fund with a significant revenue stream, a 1,000-car parking garage for beach visitors, a catalyst for additional private sector investment and increased foot traffic for hundreds of small Hollywood Beach businesses,” said Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH REDEVELOPMENT HONORED WITH TOP RANKING

BEST PRACTICE CITIES' CATHY SWANSON-RIVENBARK LED COMPLEX PROCESS THAT CREATED WINNING PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

A top 10 ranking in Conde Nast Traveler, AAA Four Diamond status and resilience through the pandemic have proven the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort to be one of the best public/private redevelopment projects in the nation.

Best Practice Cities (www.bestpracticecities.com) Founding principal Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, while serving as City Manager for Hollywood Florida, steered the project through uncharted and difficult waters.

Her leadership created not only the #7 resort among all Florida resorts ranked by Conde Nast readers, but also an anchor for redevelopment and reinvestment that has kept hundreds of small businesses on Hollywood Beach alive even in unmatched challenges during COVID-19. 

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (16)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

By promoting accessibility, communities not only support populations who wish to age in place; they also create more flexible, sustainable housing for all.

This feeds into the late architect Ron Mace's concept of Universal Design, which is defined as design usable by all people to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialization.

"We know that an overwhelming majority of older adults desire to remain in their current homes," Peters says. 

"It makes sense to plan on someone having a mobility disability, whether due to accident, illness, or age."

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (15)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

"There is at least a 60 percent probability that a newly built single-family home today will have at least one person with a disability living in it in the next 50 years,"

says Brian Peters, community access and policy specialist for IndependenceFirst, a disability advocacy and resource center in Milwaukee.

Many planners and elected officials think accessible housing is only needed by people with existing disabilities, Peters says, 

but according to a 2018 AARP survey, while 76 percent of Americans over the age of 50 want to age in place in their current residence, a third of those surveyed say it won't be possible without major, often expensive modifications, like in the bathroom above.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (14)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

Builder groups often oppose visitability mandates, claiming they'll halt construction of new homes. 

But Smith says the notion is patently false.

She points to Pima County, Arizona; the village of Bolingbrook, Illinois; and other municipalities where accessible and visitable homes have held and increased in value, and new home starts have not been stifled by existing visitability ordinances and requirements there.

While it is unclear exactly how many homes have been constructed with visitability standards across the country, Smith says more than 60,000 were built under the regulations she championed in these areas and others in the last 30 years.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (13)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

Eleanor Smith

Eleanor Smith, the founder of nonprofit Concrete Change, created the concept of visitability: homes that are not fully accessible, but have one level entrance, a wide threshold, and an accessible bathroom on the ground floor. 

The photo above shows these external design features, which make it possible for someone who uses a wheelchair to visit neighboring houses that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.

"I oppose [visitability] incentives — [they] must be mandated for new construction of every house in a city or county," says Smith, who uses a wheelchair for mobility.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (12)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

Studio Pacifica

Accessible units aren't reserved for people with disabilities (PWD), so inventory doesn't meet demand. Local governments need to create databases where accessible units can be listed when they become available, she says.

"It would be ideal if units were listed when available for rent or sale, and if units could be held for a period of time to allow PWD preference," says Braitmayer, who uses a wheelchair for mobility. 

Tax or floor area ratio (FAR, which is typically calculated by dividing the gross floor area of a building by the total buildable area of the piece of land upon which it is built) incentives to build accessible single-family housing could be provided, with an emphasis on properties that have low slope routes to public transit or walkability to retail centers.

Hello Kitty presents harmonious and inclusive society amidst the pandemic

ON THIS DAY OF RENEWAL

WE RENEW OUR PLEA TO STOP SCOFFLAWS FROM USING ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES THAT THEY DO NOT NEED OR DESERVE

Half the vehicles parked in accessible spaces in South Florida don’t belong there.

Young people “borrow” placards of dead relatives to get a prime space.

Selfish able-bodied jackasses use placards of legitimately disabled family members (who are not present to make use of the blue and white placard legal) to avoid paying for parking.

This denies access to people with disabilities who need safe, van-width parking.

May karma deal swiftly with them.

Quoth the Raven: Nevermore.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (11)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA

"In the Puget Sound area, we have a large number of multifamily units being built with accessibility features that exceed the minimum standard of the Fair Housing Act," says Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA, head of Studio Pacifica in Seattle. 

Five percent of multifamily units in Washington State must have fully accessible bathing features, turning space in the bathroom, knee space at the bathroom and kitchen sink, work space with knee space and lowered counters, and all operable controls on appliances within the reach range.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (10)

PLANNING BEST PRACTICES CAN ACCOMMODATE MORE WHEELCHAIR USERS

"DON's mantra is 'Living at home in the community of your choice is a big part of the American Dream.' 

The area has a lot of housing in bad condition. 

As a nonprofit, we can get them for about 100 bucks from the land bank," says Court Hower, DON's executive vice president of community resources and development.

"We are creating inclusion. We are rehabbing them and making them fully accessible."