Missouri Japanese Garden / Japanese Japanese Garden

In a recent visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens after many years away, I found myself quite surprised by the American qualities of the Japanese Garden.

Specifically, I was surprised by how much grass was there.  It was the main thing I saw.  I visited a garden in Japan just last year and I was struck not by grass, but by the density and maintaining of the plantings.  These images are from Fukuoka.

While walking about MoBot, and reflecting upon the garden in Fukuoka, I had trouble remembering any grass there at all.  Going back and looking at my pictures, it turns out there there was indeed grass, but it a lot more subtle.  Like framing material rather than canvas.

The paths were also a lot less like concrete sidewalks, and more a part of the experience.

There was a certain cleverness to them.

Rather than being an amazing jewel in a pocket park or palace, the Japanese garden in St. Louis (supposedly the largest in the US) is just one garden in a collection of gardens.  It's interesting that the American aspects of the park, like the sidewalk and tendency for expansive lawns, bleed into the Japanese section. 

   

Missouri Botanical Gardens / Singapore Botanic Gardens

Walking from Shaw to the Southwest Garden neighborhood yesterday, I was presented with a very large wall. 

Being out of town for so long, and perhaps thinking too fondly of the free museums in St. Louis, I managed to forget that the taxpayer-subsidized Missouri Botanical Gardens charge admission.

For quite some time I have felt that the Botanical Gardens, as a publically funded institution ought to do more for the region's public spaces.  Tower Grove Park, though wonderful as it is, really ought to be better integrated into the Botanical Gardens, and the Gardens into the park.  The birds don't see a difference, but sadly the powers-that-be do.

Why can't an organisation with a huge endowment, vast membership, public funds, and an oft-repeated claim of international fame lose its walls?  Let people walk through.  Open it to everyone.  That rusted cyclone fence on Alfred has got to go.

I think while away from St. Louis I was affected by the Singapore Botanic Gardens without realizing it. 

The Singapore Botanic Gardens are not only beautiful, but like the Chinese and Japanese Gardens on the island... they're free.

The garden has walls, but the gates are usually open.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is like a public park, only better.  In my pride, I somehow forgot that  my hometown botanical garden is a private non-profit.

It looks like the apartment hunt is over.  I'm going to be a resident of Southwest Garden, and a neighbor to a walled off botanical garden.  How do I go about mobilizing a wall wrecking crew?  Spraypaint, wirecutters, and trucks are not acceptable options, but some sternly worded letters might happen.

Of course, MoBot charges admission and has a reason for putting up walls.  Why does the Zoo have so few entrances?  There's a wall behind Animals Always.  Grrrr....

Blank MetroBus / Informative Seoul Bus

The best way to learn how to use a bus system is to pay attention every time a bus passes you while you're standing on the sidewalk.  Take note of the bus number and your location.  That bus must serve that location.  Later, you might see the same bus number in a different part of the city.  Put those observations together and you know that a specific bus will get you back and forth between two points.

Next, it's a good idea to pay attention to what the bus says.  In St. Louis, they say only their name and their final destination.  Sometimes this is helpful, but really the buses actual route is almost completely unknown.  The bus stops aren't informative, and some of the bus drivers are surprisingly reluctant to answer questions, so...  those without smart phones might as well walk.

Names like Red Line and Gold Line are particularly informative.  Are they part of the MetroLink map?  No, so why are they called lines? 

Here's a bus in Seoul.

The bus is blue, so it must cross the river.  It has about a dozen indicators on it's face.  Most importantly, when it is waiting at a light or stopped to drop people off, one can get a good look at the major destinations along its route by checking out the list posted on its side.

This is a green bus, so it doesn't cross the river.  It goes to Yongsan Station and Wangshimri among other destinations. 

Metro could do a lot more to educate the public about where the buses go.

High Fives / Arrows

Waiting for the MetroLink at Union Station, the doors opened and two gentlemen emerged.  A guy next to me knew them.  They high fived each other and started chatting right in front of the open doors.  People on the train could not get off, and people on the platform could not get on.  Just returning to my hometown, I was immediately happy to see how friendly people were, but saddened to see how poorly they use the train.

St. Louis doesn't have a transit culture, and educating the public takes a lot of work.  Let's begin with these arrows from the MRT system in Sinapore.  When the doors open, the people on the train get off.  After they are gone, the people on the platform board the train.  If you push onto the train when the doors open, you'll trap someone inside.  If you wait for them to get off, then there will be more space for you to board. 

People exiting the train have priority.  People boarding the train should stand out of the way.  When stepping off the train, you should immediately clear the path so others may board.  You cannot linger and chat with your friend.

St. Louis Freedoms / Seoul Freedoms

I will be moving back to St. Louis next week from Seoul, and I've been thinking a lot about some of the new freedoms and limitations I'll be stepping into.  I figured listing them here might generate some angry comments from both sides of the pond. 

Computer Access
In Seoul, computers are fast, new, and everywhere.  No matter where I am, I can find a PC room in less than ten minutes.  I can access online maps from the nearest lamp post.

In St. Louis, I can use my computer at home with a slower connection, I can take a laptop to a coffee shop, or I can go to the library and be subjected to a time limit that's eaten up entirely by the slowness of the machine I'm given.

Eating
In Seoul, it is ok to eat on the subway and the bus.  Most buses have trash cans, and most subway stations sell food right on the platform.

In St. Louis, you cannot eat on the MetroLink, and any of the dozens of security officers walking around will tell you so.

Safety
In Seoul, crime is a thing in movies.  Most people can't imagine a violent crime actually happening to them.  Women walk alone at night, anywhere, and feel generally fine with it.  The police are usually young boys with blanks in their guns that are there to offer you directions and do their military service.

In St. Louis, like the rest of America, police officers are generally unkind to the public.  Muggings happen.  Murders happen.  People believe in bad neighborhoods, and they say you shouldn't walk around at night.  Houses get broken into.

Groceries
In Seoul, small family owned grocery stores are always within walking distance.  Slightly larger corporate grocery stores (still urban) are also spread around every neighborhood.  Large, big box grocery stores can be found next to certain subway stations.
In St. Louis, all the grocery stores are large and far away.  Only a few are urban and easily walked to. 

Drinking
In Seoul, you can drink in the park, day or night.  You can drink in the street.  You can drink even if a police officer tells you not to because you happen to be older than him.  However, if you're out late at night, the train will not get you home.
In St. Louis, you can't even be in the park at night, much less drink in it.  You can't drink on the street.  You can't get home drunk any way but driving.

Driving
In Seoul, driving is expensive and not really necessary.  If you drive drunk, you never drive again.
In St. Louis, driving is seen as a right.  If you drive drunk, you need your friend to breathe into a tube so you can start your car.

Walking
In Seoul, you can walk anywhere, and people do.  People are generally slim and healthy because of it.
In St. Louis, it's hard to walk anywhere, and people don't.  People are generally overweight because of it.

Biking
In Seoul, there's a nice greenway network, but the streets are at crazy inclines and traffic moves too fast.
In St. Louis, you can bike anywhere on a gentle and comparatively calm surface... in the city.

Public Transit
In South Korea, you can get pretty much anywhere in the country by public transit.  The people you sit next to are polite, but silent and sad looking.
In St. Louis, you can wait for hours at a bus stop and not have any idea what's going on.  The people you sit next to like to talk and are generally cheerful, though some are clearly insane.

Books
In Seoul, there are huge underground bookstores spread around the city where books are sold at high prices.  Libraries are hard to find and generally not usable.
In St. Louis, a number of great library systems provide all the books I need, but they make me carry around a bunch of different cards.

Clean Air and Biodiversity
In Seoul, the air is generally smoggy.  All trees are ginko, cherry, or sycamore.  All birds are pidgeons, sparrows, magpies, or turtle doves.  Insects and spiders are strangely absent most of the time.

In St. Louis, the sunsets are great and Forest Park has more than 100 bird species.

Shade
In Seoul, the trees are topped and generally offer no relief.  I bake in the sun.
In St. Louis, the trees were chopped down for no clear reason and never replaced.  I bake in the sun.

Water
In Seoul, pavers are used instead of concrete, and water generally goes into the ground.  The government constantly checks residential water and tells people it is safe to drink.  Yet we boil the water before we drink it.
In St. Louis, the water runs right off the concrete and picks up all sorts of toxins on its way to the river.  People constantly talk about the EPA's failure to enforce the Clean Water Act, but I drink it straight from the tap.

Music and Art
In Seoul, the arts are everywhere and well funded.  There are many museums and countless galleries.  Seeing traditional performances in parks is fantastic.

In St. Louis the arts are everywhere and reasonably well funded.  There are a few great museums, and the art galleries offer wine.  Mississippi Nights is gone!  Creepy Crawl?  Beatle Bob celebrated his 10,000th concert just recently...

GRBT in St. Louis / GRBT in the Twin Cities

The Mississippi River is a national treasure for the United States with international significance for birds.

As stated by the MVVA design team, 40% of North America's waterfowl use the Mississippi Flyway for their annual migration (Cardinals however are neither migratory nor waterfowl...). 

Most North American birds funnel down through Central America, but some brave little birds are crazy enough to fly across the Gulf of Mexico.  This means it is critical for them to get as much food as they can on their way down the Mississippi.  They need habitat and food in multiple places, or they tucker out and fall into the oily water below.

In his summary of the MVVA designs for the arch grounds, Alex Ihnen at UrbanSTL claims they strike out on the objectives of the competition and the needs of the region.  While their ecologically informed narrative is a wonderful read, and their ideas are worth consideration by the winning team, there are some glaring omissions from their plan.  Most notable is the failure to do much of anything to Eads Bridge and to push the idea of a pedestrian bridge across the river back beyond 2015.

Regarding MVVA's aviary on the east side, Ihnen says the following,

There exist exceptional wetland preserves very near to St. Louis in Illinois. The plan proposes an "avian research center," a use unlikely to draw casual tourists despite the relatively large number of birding hobbyists. A "wetland hydrology research center" would likewise not be a draw. The small restored wetlands would not create a unique birding opportunity for serious birders and the research center would be better placed on nearby Horseshoe Lake or in proximity to the Chain-O-Rocks Bridge, a regionally famous spot for observing Bald Eagles. The plan also emphasizes the natural wetlands landscape on the Arch grounds, making the east side preserve even less of a draw.

He rightly points out that while birding is big, the space could hardly compare to other nearby birding sites.  He makes a reference to the success of Eagle Days, and doesn't dismiss the importance of birding economics.  He just says it isn't the best use of the competition space.  This is reasonable.  Such an important civic area should not be exclusively for used for one purpose.  There must be more than birding.

While it is true that better birding exists elsewhere in the St. Louis area, there is no reason why the competition site couldn't also be spectacular.  We are talking about a national park at the center of the US and the center of the Mississippi River.  It needs to incorporate the Great River Road and the Mississippi River Trail, but also the Great River Birding Trail.  This is the GRBT map for St. Louis,

The trail is thin with birding sites just south of the city, a few spread around the region, and then thinly dotting the river as they go north.  None of  those pins are national parks.  Contrast this with the Twin Cities,

While Minneapolis may be in a land of lakes and bike trails, it is clear from the GRBT map that it also has a lot more birding sites in its metro region than St. Louis.  A diversity of habitats doesn't just mean a diversity of birds, but healthier birds that can handle the long migration.

Good birding sites exist in St. Louis because of investments made over time in the individual sites. The Riverlands area especially took quite a lot of effort to create. Each birding site enhances the others. Good habitat created by the arch ground competition would be successful because there are already successful sites nearby, and conversely those sites would be even more successful with the addition of a valuable space like SOM's mound park or MVVA's aviary

For those unfamiliar with what is proposed, here is a summary of the MVVA plan.

East St. Louis is a nightmare from an environmental health perspective.  The water and soil need to be remediated and cleaned up.  MVVA would design all the drainage in East St. Louis to send runoff into a wetland reserve to be filtered before entering the river.

This wetland would not be the kind of place you could walk around in and damage, but the kind you see from some distance.

You'd walk along these elevated walkways and see canopy birds only.  Waterfowl, worm-diggers, and all other types of birds would be a bit harder to spot down in the brush.  It'd be a specialized birding attraction complimenting the mosaic of other bird habitats around the area.

It would attach to the end of that horrible handicap ramp build by HOK.

Does MVVA do the best job of cleaning up the water and the soil?  Hard to say.  Most of the teams, except PWP and their inevitable fertilizer and pesticide runoff, have some plan to improve the local ecology.

The important thing is that MVVA recognized the Mississippi Flyway in their narrative as an asset for the St. Louis region.  Birding should be a part of the park's vision.  This is the problem Ihnen points out with the MVVA aviary.  It should be part of the vision, not the entire vision.  As mentioned before, the mound park proposed by the SOM team covers birding better than the MVVA team by creating a greater diversity of habitat options with the same canopy walk effect while offering a greater diversity of uses for park visitors.

Most people looking at the mound park probably see the potential for picnics and bike trail connections, but just as clear is the potential for birding.  Creating space for birds in the city and in the arch grounds is not an either/or situation.  Birds and humans can coexist without either needing to steal space from the other.  Picnics in Forest Park are more enhanced by egrets flying overhead than by honking golf carts. 

The arch grounds and the east bank of the river should be an important stop-over oasis for great varieties of flying wildlife.  Why not hang purple martin gourds under the bridges?  Why not make the area a one-stop shop for birders looking to tick species off their list?  With the right diversity of birdfeeders and habitat integrated right into the experience, there could easily be room for dozens of species singing, preening, and strutting about.  It's good economics.

The international birdwatching community is huge.  Depending on which statistics are being used, ten to twenty percent of Americans (mostly white) are into birding.  In the UK, the scene is even bigger.  Wikipedia suggests that the US economy saw 32 billion in spending related to birding in 2001 and 36 billion in 2006.  MVVA's idea to make St. Louis a major benefactor of those billions is worth considering.