Urban Revival – My TEDx Lansing Blog

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I had the honor of being asked to write a blog for the TEDx Lansing website recently.  TEDx Lansing is tomorrow, May 21st, 9am to 5pm. While I won’t be speaking at TEDx Lansing (…not quite ready for that), I will be in attendance, and I can’t wait.

Ivy, my editor while she was at Capital Gains, asked me a few weeks ago to contribute a blog for the TEDx Lansing website. I of course said yes.  For those who don’t know, TEDx events are related to the TED talks.

My blog entry is pasted here, but you should check it out on the TEDx Lansing site as well. I decided to write about leaving the suburbs of West Lansing and moving downtown.

I’m moving in July.

No, not out of Michigan. And not out of Lansing either. My move is more inward. I’m moving to downtown Lansing, and leaving the suburbs to the west. Yes, I’m becoming an urban pioneer even though the only river I’ll have to fjord has plenty of pre-built bridges.

Why am I moving downtown? Lots of reasons. But more importantly, why not?

I went on a trip to San Francisco recently and it was my first time in California and in such a dense, urban city. I was there nearly a week and stayed with a friend in his apartment. I noticed a few things about urban living. I liked that he could easily walk to dozens of amazing things. I enjoyed the proximity of the cafes, bars and restaurants.

Do I want to move to San Francisco? No. It is a lovely city, but a bit too fast paced for me. I like how things are bit slower here in Michigan and I enjoy Lansing’s quirky blend of a big city and a small town. But I did decide I wanted to move downtown.

I’ll be a mere nine-minute walk to work (so long parking fees) and the City Market and Roma Bakery are but a hop-skip-and-a-jump away (…what’s that in meters?). I can make use of the River Trail right outside my door. I can walk to a Lugnuts games with friends and swing by the Tin Can or Michigan Brewing Company afterwards. On a lazy Saturday morning, I can wander down to Decker’s Coffee on Washington Square and maybe buy a comic book to read at Clem’s Collectibles next door.

There is this feeling I get when I’m downtown with my friends, a feeling like something is on the horizon and we’re going to be a part of something special. A change. A metamorphosis. A gear shift. It is coming.

And in some ways it is already here.

We have business incubators. We have downtown redevelopment. A new generation of community leaders is changing the city for the better.

And I’m glad I’ll be here to see how it all unfolds.

Daniel J. Hogan is a blogger and the co-host of the Internet talk show LansingNext.