A column by Eleanor Scott about Knoxville’s untidy corners.

• The Arts and Gardens District: Parkridge Still Has Plenty of Room for Dreamers Published 5/8/2013 at 10:58 a.m. 0 comments

  I’ve been interested for a while about pinning down exactly what gentrification means, and my last column—a definition and general overview of gentrification—was the result.

• Does Gentrification Deserve Our Support, or Warrant an Intervention? Published 4/24/2013 at 11:42 a.m. 0 comments

  Gentrification. In the past month, I’ve seen the concept defended on a local Internet forum, heard it derided in front-porch gabfests, and seen it awkwardly danced around in community meetings.

• Shooting the Moon: Aiming High and Risking it All in Parkridge Published 4/10/2013 at 10:26 a.m. 0 comments

  The cops say it is not our imagination. The past few months have seen a marked increase in armed home invasions, drive-by shootings, and murders, mostly in East Knoxville. In the violence, one pattern has emerged.

• The Weeds of Civilization: Daffodils as Reminders of What Once Was Published 3/13/2013 at 10:36 a.m. 0 comments

  Why is there a square of daffodils peeking through the crispy brown kudzu off Alcoa Highway?

• A Game of Drones: Adventures in Backyard Beekeeping Published 2/27/2013 at 12:21 p.m. 0 comments

  Spring is coming. In March a new queen will be born. Even now, she’s curled in her queen cup, small and larval-white, floating in a bath of royal jelly. Soon, the workers will cap her cell with wax. When she’s ...

• New Roots: We Live in a City That Cares About Trees Published 2/13/2013 at 10:38 a.m. 0 comments

  “I’m an advocate for trees,” says Kasey Krouse, “that is, the right tree in the right place.”

• Pondering Preservation Published 1/23/2013 at 10:35 a.m. 1 comment

  The house around the corner from mine needs a lot of love. Or to be put out of its misery.

• One of a Kind: Knoxville's Last Rare-Books Store Prepares to Close Published 1/9/2013 at 9:19 a.m. 1 comment

  In December, John Coleman announced on Facebook that his used/rare/antiquarian bookstore, Central Street Books, will close in March. For the first time in 22 years, Coleman will take a “sabbatical” from bricks-and-mortar retail.

• Shopping at Knoxville’s Intriguing Salvage Yards Published 12/26/2012 at 5:00 p.m. 0 comments

  For some time I’ve been meaning to write about three especially thrilling salvage yards in town, their rickety outbuildings and crowded aisles full of history, whimsy, and intrigue. These salvage yards are all are second- and third-generation locally-owned businesses, and ...

• “Shroomer” Bledsoe Shows Off New Digs and Old Stomping Grounds Published 12/12/2012 at 8:49 a.m. 3 comments

  Many readers have asked after the well-being and whereabouts of Charles “Shroomer” Bledsoe, unofficial caretaker and resident of Fort Dickerson Quarry Park, evicted from his hand-built stone cabin in the woods by the city in November. People who know him ...

• Foraging for Edible Weeds Published 11/28/2012 at 10:18 a.m. 0 comments

  My Beardsley Farm benefit calendar says it’s time to harvest fall greens. I only planted a few mustard greens in my garden this year, and they are still too young to eat. That’s all right though, because I can still ...

• Quarry Man: Fort Dickerson Quarry Park's Unofficial Caretaker Gets Evicted Published 11/7/2012 at 11:37 a.m. 2 comments

  Charles “Shroomer” Bledsoe, known as Fort Dickerson Park’s unofficial ranger, groundskeeper, lifeguard, historian, and artist-in-residence, received an eviction notice around 7 a.m. last Friday morning. Knoxville police told him he has until Wednesday to remove his books and things, then ...

• Knoxville's Artful Arch: Artist Kelly Brown's New Sculpture Gives "Props" to the Bicycling Community Published 10/24/2012 at 10:11 a.m. 0 comments

  Kelly Brown has nearly completed his as-yet-untitled sculpture—a “controlled chaos,” as he says, of donated bicycles, tricycles, and bike parts tumbling over the back entrance of the new Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center.

• Broadway Viaduct Construction Project Displaces Local Businesses Published 10/10/2012 at 1:48 p.m. 3 comments

  Beginning in 2013, the Broadway Viaduct, which spans the Norfolk-Southern railroad tracks between Jackson Avenue and Depot Avenue, will be completely demolished along with the odd little buildings perched on it, and replaced with a new structure.

• Community Gardening: What is the Definition of Success? Published 9/12/2012 at 10:31 a.m. 0 comments

  After talking to community gardeners and visiting community gardens all summer, I noticed a few assets and conditions that proved essential to a garden, and, in some cases, spelled its success or failure for the season.

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