The latest CommonWealth magazine includes an article, "A tale of two Valleys," by Amherst-based writer Melissa DaPonte Katz. From the article:
Not surprisingly, many of the area’s cultural and recreational offerings are concentrated in the Upper Valley. When Hampden County residents want to see an East African drum ensemble or enjoy an artfully prepared meal, they get on I-91 and drive north. The traffic rarely goes the other way.
It’s not that Springfield and Holyoke have nothing to offer their neighbors to the north. These cities have museums, performance halls, attractive parks, and ethnic restaurants and festivals. Yet rarely does one hear of plans to head into either city except, perhaps, for work.
“Sometimes the Holyoke Range seems like the Berlin Wall,” says Tim Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, referring to the mountain range that divides the region. “It’s not just a physical barrier, but also a psychological one.”
To confront our problems, first we have to admit them. Holyoke’s Open Square owner and developer John Aubin is quoted saying, "This region doesn’t know what a city is anymore. Our [target] market is made up of people from outside the area or people from the area who have lived in urban areas and come back." The article cites Aubin saying that "living in New York gave him a different sense of the possibilities for economically mixed urban neighborhoods."
Update: Business West published an October 30 article, by Jaclyn Stevenson, about Open Square and John Aubin, called, "Corporate Funky: Holyoke’s Open Square Moves Forward with Technology and Culture."
