To the Editor:
Despite the huge differences between Old Town Alexandria and Portland, Oregon there are those who seem to believe that all progressive urban ideas should be adopted wholesale from a Western Town whose unofficial motto is “Keep Portland Weird.” It is home to food trucks that genially camp together around town, has an annual nude bike ride, leads the world in microbreweries, and is where the city government is proud to collect … zero sales tax!
All the above characteristics are critical parts of the Portland brand. They are why we like to go there. They are promoted and protected and make a playground for those who thrive on a hands-off and hipster life style. It remains low-cost and geographically isolated, sprawling in a wooded river valley. With only 4,000 people per square mile (Alexandria has 10,000/sq. mi.), its tapestry of public transit is fabulous.
Old Town Alexandria’s brand is rooted in a much longer history of political, civil, and economic activism. The vital residential community, whose energy-knowledge-money maintains the Old and Historic District, embodies the highest level of concern and commitment to sustaining its unique brand. In business terms, these residents are its competitive advantage. They instill Old Town’s unofficial motto, “Keep Old Town Authentic,” with vibrancy.
Branding in a time of uncertainty and transition, as is occurring in the City of Alexandria today, requires that the unique features of the town be intensified, not diluted. Old Town’s goal must be to remain so very authentic that it is impossible for anyone to replicate or replace it. Just as General Mills keeps Cheerios donut shaped, and Disney protected its family-oriented brand by pulling out of National Harbor, ahead of the installation of gambling and outlets.
Old Town will retain its revolutionary and historic progressivism by adapting ideas to fit the unique framework of its urban architecture and living history. Unlike the tourism-based economy of Williamsburg or the proud “weirdness” of Portland, Old Town will benefit from intensifying its ambience, so that when visitors ask if the houses and streets are real (as they do), we can say “yes.”
Today, driven by waterfront redevelopment and massive infill projects, Old Town might slip into a Disney-like version of a Federal period town, defined by the architectural, urban habits, and shops of everywhere USA. Change that is rendered as “fake, phony, imitation, sham” will be a disaster for our small economic base.
Old Town has practiced maximum mobility, interesting eateries, eccentricity, neighborhood diversity, and social activism … for centuries! What is important now is for Old Town Alexandria and its city officials to intensify, not dilute, its unique brand as a highly original, progressive, out-spoken, historic and residential community.
Kathryn Papp
Alexandria