Go Adelaide!

Oh yes, there is much talk about how we can make Adelaide go and grow. If you look back at Adelaide from high up in Fullarton, it is starting to look like Melbourne. That'll help. Cloning ourselves to somewhere else. Being another version of what people already can have. Much of the talk about sticking up big buildings is about getting us to move with the times. Oh yes? Profit, of course would have nothing to do with it. Big building, more bang for your acreage buck. The big buildings will come because greed predominates in our society and rich people like to get richer. So we are not going to avoid the big buildings but we can avoid the patronising tripe which comes with erecting them and recognise property speculation for what it is. Adelaide was always its own city with its own drive and atmosphere. The critics have got to us and made us feel inadequate so they can do as they please. Time to fix this , I think. Those who want to change Adelaide into Melbourne, Shanghai, New York, wherever  they have come from big cities. We don't actually need another one but we do need something which will help us thrive and grow into this century and create a sense that we are able to offer something and somewhere other places cannot offer. We are very much nautical people and so marinas, nautical sports, swimming centres and wonderful boating and fishing areas are something we can develop. We are good at spawning successful women and politicians so we need to grow that aspect of our city and encourage more participation in a natural way in these areas. We need to be better at offering those who like leadership to have opportunities to develop those skills. We have a strong film, artistic, musical and writing tradition and we have not done enough to inject enthusiasm and development into those areas and yet our Fringe is getting bigger and better and Womadelaide is becoming legendary. We love sport. No need to clash sport and cultural events. We can rethink that. No need to go for the either or , the tut tuts and the confusion. We can resolve those issues because we are both. Then there is our food. We offer a great cafe lifestyle. We offer great fresh food but we keep blocking its growth. Instead of our growers having to beg us to be considered we can incorporate them naturally into our lives. Instead of making us look like our interstate counterparts we need to start inventing areas and initiatives which make us Adelaide. Instead of being the state which people bypass to get to Perth or Sydney we need to recreate the Adelaide which makes people want to come and participate, kick back and relax and go wow, that is so nice in Adelaide. People say we are friendly. When I go away I really miss our good food at good prices and the fact we offer rest facilities. I do not miss our transport. I don't miss our shops all selling the same thing. I do not miss our loss of fashion sense. We used to really dress up and show some flair. We have home grown designers and products. So if redevelopment is just about shoving up big buildings to make a profit, then we are lost.  We have to get rid of the ho hum approach and start harnessing some real enthusiasm and participation. What's wrong with having a real Adelaide that is us?