Dark and Dangerous
Yes, dark and dangerous...Antonio Banderas? Nope. Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing? Not quite. George Clooney as a bad boy? Unfortunately not, and I suppose I should stop there before I start to drool all over myself. What I am referring to are certain Minneapolis poorly lit alleys and neighborhoods that breed crime.
I volunteer in North Minneapolis, and during the day, I am always on my guard, but more mildly scared to scared than really scared to terrified. However, as sunset approaches, more and more shady characters seem to enter the darkening streets. One time, the bus I take back broke down before it reached the stop where I was waiting, so I stood on a street corner for over half an hour past sunset, at which point my fright scale went through the roof. Despite what keeps being printed in the newspapers about the reasons people should move there, it is not someplace I would want to live. Several people approached me, offering me "candy," among other things, and I was even standing as close to a streetlight as I could while still being in the general bus-stop area. Not too far away, in the literally more shady areas, I saw/heard a few people yelling at each other, and kept hoping they did not resort to weapons, and saw another two men passing God knows what between them.
More recently, I read an article in the Daily about crime near campus, where it talked about more crime in poorly lit areas. This got me thinking about dark areas that I encounter. Downtown is relatively well-lit, but has its share of dark alleys that scare the crap out of me. The same goes for Dinkytown, except for a few outer blocks that have less businesses, and therefore less light. And, of course, there is Cedar-Riverside, with almost no light at night, and the North Minneapolis example, which I have already explained in as much detail as I would like to recall (I am sure there are plenty of psychological reasons to block that out...)
Why, I wonder, were so many places planned/designed in ways that created such dark, dangerous areas? At first, I was going to write this blog about eliminating alleys, but since they do serve some practical purposes (drainage, a place to put garbage, extra building exits for emergencies, etc.), I decided that eliminating alleys has limited feasibility. Since alleys cannot really be eliminated, I think efforts should be taken to make them safer. Perhaps the most obvious way involves adding light. Now, I am not talking about just a little so that there is maybe a dim yellow glow with some shadows, but at least enough so that their brightness matches the light quality of the sidewalk downtown on Hennepin or First Avenue (or really, anywhere with a lot of flashing lights and neon signs).
Yes, I know, this does not immediately sound at all cost-effective or environmentally friendly. However, enter...solar lights! When I was trying to debate how to fund this it hit me--the landscape lights at my parents’ small town/suburban home are solar powered. Of course, these are all in relatively open areas, and get a lot of light during the day. However, my guess is that solar receptors (hmm...that sounds a little space-age, so I may be using the incorrect word...) could be placed on the roofs of the buildings bordering the dark alleys, therefore getting lots of sunlight. Also, these buildings are generally tall enough that anything placed on top would not be visible from the street, and therefore not ruin the aesthetics.
Of course, there would be some start-up/installation cost, but for this, it would be wise to petition the government (local or state) to give incentives (grants, funding, tax breaks) to businesses along these alleys that install solar lighting. Also, http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/US/byS/MN/byB/dist/dist.shtml has a whole list of Minnesota (mostly Twin Cities) businesses that offer solar power and lighting, as well as other environmentally friendly energy solutions, so shipping costs would be small, and money would be added to the local economy.
To me, this sounds like a winning proposition--increased safety, green energy, and a local economic boost.
Well, I did try to format this for about four hours, and at least managed to change the font. This site will become more jazzy. I promise.