Hi y'all.

This is my story of finding home.

I found out I was pregnant with my son the night before our first trip to Raleigh. Raleigh seemed like the perfect place on paper, but we wanted to really get a feel for this place before setting our trajectory from California.
It was June 2017, a hot and humid weekend in Raleigh. I remember pulling into Yellow Dog Bakery before we drove to the beach to meet my husband’s family. As I got into the car with my lemonade, I started to cry, because I didn’t want to leave. I just knew. This would be the place. It was just a matter of time. 

It look nearly a year and a half before we actually made it here, because of jobs and life, but we finally moved. And then, after renting downtown, moved again, to our long-term home. As I listened to the rustling of the verdant leaves above us in our backyard -- a sound I’d missed in the desert -- I knew again: this is the place. This is home.

One of the features of the newsletter I included is a conversation prompt about the some of the big-T Truths of living here. I want to know: What’s your Raleigh becoming home story? Please hit reply and share with me -- I’ll read and respond to each one, and I’ll include some in future newsletters.

To finding home, Sarah Day

📸: Devin Desjarlais Photography

Sarah Day: I read a little about you -- you’re from Akron, just like the Black Keys.

David: Exactly!

Sarah Day: And you went to school to Miami University in Ohio. So how did you get to where you are now?

David: I knew I always wanted to work with people, and i think that’s been the best part about what I do, is that I continue to get to go and work with people and create solutions around people and improving their lives. I originally applied to Miami University as an architecture major, and then I changed that to political science… and then changed that to urban planning.

In the end I graduated with a degree in urban planning and American studies, which was amazing, especially my American studies background. If anything, it’s taught me so much about people and how we work and the reasons why we made decisions over the years and how history and design and marketing have played into how our communities have been designed. Thinking about people, what led us to this situation and how to fix it.

I was unemployed for about three months after graduation in Ohio, doing my best to find something. Then I saw an urban planning fellowship with my last company, Newtown Macon, which does downtown revitalization in Macon, Ga. And then a month later I moved down there.

And now I serve as the placemaking and activations manager at Downtown Raleigh Alliance, which is like a dream come true for me. Because I love what I do working with downtown organizations, but sometimes placemaking can fall through the cracks as a position to put effort into, so it was refreshing to see that Downtown Raleigh Alliance wanted someone to specifically fill that void on the staff and work on projects that inspire folks to enjoy the community they live in, encourage them to walk around, bike around, and figure out more opportunities on how we can change the experience of people downtown.

Sarah Day: Placemaking, is this not a term that was around, or people didn’t talk about it as much as they do now?

David: I think it’s a new buzzword.

Sarah Day: What does it mean?

David: I’m not a philosopher of placemaking, but I believe placemaking came about from a need for communities to better connect with their members. For me, I like to use placemaking as a test, and as a tool to try something out before we pay for the permanent installment. Whether that’s a pop-up bike lane, as we’re trying to advocate for biking infrastructure, or whether that’s turning a parking lot into a community plaza with furniture, in hopes that it inspires the city to pay for permanent installation, I think there’s some examples of placemaking gone wrong when you’re not constantly considering people who use it and how it’s going to affect the community. … It can go the wrong way if you’re not being sincere or not being transparent with the people you’re doing it for.

I feel like it’s being thrown around more, which is pretty cool.

Sarah Day: As you were thinking about this next challenge here in Raleigh, what were the ideas you thought of? I know you’re new!

David: It’s challenging, because to get to the point of the projects I was doing in middle Georgia and in Macon, it took some time to get to know my community. This is my sixth week in town (at time of interview). I’m still trying to figure out who’s done what, who’s doing what, when is it happening, how we fit in.

In Macon, I was on the Open Streets Macon Committee, which involves closing the streets to cars. ... It’s really transformative when you see a street closed and it’s not a festival or not cars going down it and people have reclaimed it as a public space. You bring out activity partners for games and programs. It’s one of the best events I’ve been a part of. And the great thing is, there’s so many organizations that would be, I’m guessing, ready to work with me. I’m already getting to know Oaks and Spokes. I love how there’s an active bike and pedestrian advisory committee, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with groups like that. In Macon, it’s a problem that’s not always being addressed, so it was refreshing to come here and see there are strides being made to improve those things.

Sarah Day: What was attractive to you about Raleigh?

David: I think the first thing was that it’s closer to home. I’m a big family guy. All of my family lives in Ohio. Now instead of a 14-hour drive, it’s an 8-hour drive. The second, I’d say, was it being a larger city than the last one I was in, was exciting to me. I’ve grown up in an urban setting and so moving to a place that was more conservative, had a population of 90,000 people was a huge change for me.

So it was nice to come back to a larger city, which I’m used to. I’ve also been in the area so many times growing up. I’ve been to so many family reunions at Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, or I’ve been to Greensboro for more family reunions on a different side, but never Raleigh.

When I heard about the job and how rapidly the community is growing, it was intriguing. As a city is growing and changing, there need to be to some conversations. As we’re growing, what do we do to preserve our city’s character and keep people in place? I liked the idea of being a part of that conversation for a community as it prepares for the next 20 years. I think that’s really exciting to be part of that process.

Sarah Day: You mentioned getting in touch with some organizations -- what are some communities that you wish would reach out to you?

David: I feel like this is an ongoing issue with a lot of downtowns that are revitalizing or improving for the better and attracting new or large businesses. I think we need to better facilitate communications with other organizations and people who don’t have the funds to necessarily always be involved as a city’s prices increase. I think we can always do a better job of talking to our less fortunate citizens so they feel welcome and involved with that process, or at least making sure they know what’s going on and how to get involved, what jobs to look out for. I think that’s a conversation cities need to have as they develop that a lot of places aren’t.

Being here, I’d love to meet with some community groups that are advocating for these folks so that people are staying in place and have access to jobs or are creating new businesses that represent all of Raleigh, not just one type of business owner. And I think we’re doing a good job of reaching out to people, but you can only do so much unless someone hears about you or connects you.

Moving forward, I would love to work with some different cultural organizations so we could introduce people to their cultures and have those types of exchanges in public space, where people can come and meet somebody new and learn something new that day and go home feeling better about themselves and just loving the community that they live in, because it is a diverse place, but if we don’t always highlight it, how will people know?

Sarah Day: What’s something else about placemaking that people might not know?

David: Placemaking, in the ways our communities are shaped, it needs to be a two-way street. We as organizations and city officials and people who are a part of the community-building process need to be better at opening those doors to facilitate those conversations, but we need people to attend and give us their ideas and their frustrations so that all of that is thought of as we’re doing our work. That can be a big misconception, is that our mind is already made up as a community-building organization -- that we’re going to do what we think is best for you.

We need people to come and tell us their story, and tell us what they’d like out of their community. But sometimes it’s only the same people. And if it’s the same people showing up, we’re going to get the same results. I think that’s something as community members that we could all do a better job at, is showing up and sharing our voices with people who are making decisions about the community we live in.

Sarah Day: What are some ways people can get engaged with placemaking?

David: Email me, give me a call. When we ask for volunteers, please show up.

Something that attracted me to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance is that in 2018, we redid our strategic plan and made authentic engagement practices a part of what we’re going to do.

Now we have monthly opportunities to get involved, whether that’s our Discover Downtown tours which are behind-the-scenes tours and upcoming construction developments. Quarterly we’ll do some downtown rundowns, where we’ll present ‘here are some projects we’re working on, these are some other projects we know about happening in downtown Raleigh, how do you feel about them, what are some other things you want to see as a downtown resident, as a business owner, as a downtown property owner,’ it’s open to anybody, even if you don’t live, work, any of those things downtown. That’s one way, easily, to get involved. Tell us what we can do to make you love the community you live in more.

Sarah Day: What are your third places, or your homes away from home in Raleigh? Do you have them yet?

David: I don’t have them yet, but I will say I love the investments that have been made into those third places. For example, outside on Union Station plaza, the way that seating is open for anyone to use. I love the connection of nature within the city that Raleigh offers, such as Moore Square and Nash Square, I think those are beautiful spaces. I think once Moore Square opens, that will be another home away from home because I live a block away. There will be so many cool amenities, I’m curious how many people will show up and stick around.

Sarah Day: What else do you want people to know?

David: I want people to know that we are here to implement your vision as a community member, and that’s why I wake up to go to work everyday. I want people to enjoy this place as much as I do. And if I can create that spark, I feel like I’ve done my part in this world. Anytime you have an idea, or want to talk or collaborate, I am open.

Contact David at davidmoore@downtownraleigh.org or 919-821-6982.

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