Hello Concentrate Media,

I’m writing with a quick question. Why don’t you allow comments on your stories? As an Ann Arbor resident, I have a lot to say about today’s story “A2D2: Evolution Or Status Quo” — and not just about the subject matter. The article reads like an opinion piece, but it’s presented as a feature. Jon Zemke clearly supports further urbanization in downtown AA, but there’s no substantial evidence that this would equate to “evolution”… except for the opinion of the author and the A2D2 committee. For example, Jon asks:

“How can the city continue to compete with surrounding communities, let alone across the nation, if it has to surrender political and economic clout because of stagnant growth? ”

Ann Arbor can be improved in a multitude of ways, none of which involve increasing the population density downtown. Just off the top of my head…all surrounding highways (I-94, 23, and 14) need to be widened. They are constantly overcrowded, and that would only get worse with more development. Not to mention that the pathways in and out of downtown are already slow and riddled with traffic. (I could talk all day about the trials of driving in AA, from people running red lights in alarming numbers, to the unnecessarily low speed limits on roads.) Or we could focus on development. Except for west of downtown, all other surrounding neighborhoods are dilapidated and revolting. Of course much of this is student housing, but that doesn’t change the basic fact.

I want to know who would benefit from these huge buildings you hope to see go up downtown, because it sure wouldn’t be the residents. I’m under the impression that most residents would favor the height restriction on buildings, or even hope to see it dropped below 180 feet. I visited London last year, where most buildings are less than eight stories tall. It was remarkable to be in one of the world’s epicenters, yet constantly feel like I was in a village. Ann Arbor needs to capitalize on it’s village character, not try to pretend that it’s more of a city than Grand Rapids or Detroit.

Regardless, unless you provide a space for audience response and interaction (one of the primary strengths of online publishing), you’re just doing public relations. And if that’s your goal, you should make that clear instead of giving the audience the impression that you’re doing journalism.

Best wishes,
Nick Meador