Normal Signs

At the October 5 Normal Town Council meeting the Council voted to spend money on street signs and "district map" signs for the Uptown area. (District map signs are the you-are-here type of signs.) Originally, there were more types of signs proposed but the bids to do all of the signs came in too high. So, going with a few signs now will save some money and more signs can be added later.

I have to say, I really like the "primary gateway boundary" sign that identifies Uptown, although I don't know the best place for it -- on the east, west, north, or south end of Uptown? I also like the "pedestrian directional" signs that list the major destinations along with arrows pointing the way. All of the signs have a nice style so I hope that more are added in the future. Residents probably think that it's silly to have signs for such a small area but people who come for conferences or to deliver their ISU students to the campus might miss out on some great destinations without signs.

Normal Marriott Marvel

I just want to say a few things about the new Marriott Hotel in Uptown Normal. I think that it was nice to name the grill in the hotel “Jesse’s,” after Jesse Fell. It seems like hotels always have quirky names for their eateries and it would have been easy for this hotel to follow suit. But they chose a name with local significance and I appreciate that. I also think that the two presidential suites are a nice touch. Perhaps local fundraisers could offer a two-night stay in one of the suites as a prize??

Normal Sugar Creek Arts/Jewelry Festival

This was the third time that I attended the Sugar Creek Arts Festival. The first time I went was the most enjoyable, probably because it was something new. This time, I was kind of disappointed in the lack of variety of types of art. There was a lot of jewelry. I enjoy looking at jewelry and, in fact, I bought a piece of jewelry (fulfilling my quota for the rest of the year, considering what I spent). But there were so many displays of jewelry and paintings/drawings and not as many displays of pottery and other types of art that it felt somewhat repetitive. The quality of everything was very good, though, and I appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of what the artists have created.

I’m not sure what possesses people to take their dogs to the Festival. Do the dogs like art or do the owners want attention? Even without heat from sunshine, the high level of humidity must have been unpleasant for the dogs (it was for me!). And the brief sprinkles were enough to create a wet-dog smell that even the aromas from the few food vendors couldn’t overpower.

Maybe when the Festival moves back into the Uptown area, where there are shops to visit in between viewing the art displays, it will take on a more festive atmosphere and it will at least seem like there is more variety. I’m looking forward to it.

Postnormal Normal

I just happened upon the label “postnormal science.” It’s used in the article “Postnormal Science, Precautionary Principle, and Worst Cases: The Challenge of Twenty-First Century Catastrophes,” by Brent K. Marshall and J. Steven Picou, in the journal Sociological Inquiry (Vol. 78, No. 2, May 2008, 230-247). The label refers to using science to solve problems following catastrophes when “facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high, and decisions urgent” and when everyone affected by the problems needs to join in the discussion about solving the problems [see footnote]. The article refers to the attacks on 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Indian Ocean tsunami. These events had sudden, major, and in these cases, negative consequences.


So, can we use a similar approach to addressing issues resulting from major (positive?) changes taking place in Normal? Specifically, the consequences of the construction in Uptown Normal, the changing population, and changes in the Unit 5 school system.


Facts are uncertain: We do not yet know if some investors in Uptown will have the finances to complete their projects. We do not know what consequences redistricting will have on schools and students. We do not know what impact demographic changes will have on the community.


Values in dispute: Because of the economic situation, there is increasing debate about how the town’s money should be spent. Some people want most of it spent on basics (road repair, maintaining and upgrading the water system, police and fire services). Other people support spending money on improving Uptown (the central business district) and providing incentives for businesses to come to Normal.


Stakes high: Any major investment of resources by the town means that the stakes are high. If the new hotel is not successful and if the apartments and condos being built in Uptown aren’t rented and sold, the town will end up with empty buildings and not much new money coming in. If, on the other hand, these projects are successful, and people appreciate the new look of the streets and sidewalks, the town will reap some pretty big rewards.


Decisions urgent: The construction decisions are urgent to the extent that investors want a quick decision about their proposed projects. The decisions about the school system are definitely urgent because the students are here and need schools.


Everyone affected needs to join the discussion: I think this has always been the case but there wasn’t an intentional effort made to include everyone in the past because it wasn’t possible to get everyone the information and because social inequality created barriers that kept some people out of the discussion. Now, it is much easier to get the information out to everyone and because more people are aware of what is going on, those in power feel more obligated (or are more pressured) to include as many stakeholders as possible in the discussions.


Even though my application of the idea of postnormal science probably isn’t what the authors of the article intended, I think there are enough parallels to justify using the label “postnormal.” It will be interesting to see what postnormal Normal looks like.

[Footnote: the specific description of postnormal science comes from the article “Three Types of Risk Assessment and Emergence of Post-Normal Science” by Silvio O. Funtowics and Jerome R. Ravetz, in the journal Social Theories of Risk (pp. 251-74, 1992).]