25 Jun 2013

Things We Will Sorely Miss: JDLand Signs Off

Camera warfare

by Kyrre Gjerstad on Flickr

When I began thinking about starting The Hill is Home, I found myself poring over the content-rich, super-thoughtful and well-researched local blogging trove JDLand. Its creator, Jacqueline Dupree, recently let readers know she was retiring the blog for the foreseeable future to help care for her aging mother. The gift she’s given us, in the form of hours and hours of reporting on hundreds of Near Southeast development projects she’s been tracking since 2000, will be sorely missed. Perhaps we have taken her posts for granted. We’ve certainly been more informed for her efforts.

Dupree took her first photos of the urban landscape of Southeast in 2000, and began blogging in January 2003, almost two years before the baseball stadium project was announced and the tides turned for the once sleepy and somewhat decrepit neighborhood. I always gape when I look out at the vista to the south from I-395 and think back to its humble beginnings. The amazing photo archives, meticulously organized, provide some stunning reminders of how much difference ten years can make.

Thank you, Jacqueline for everything that JDLand is to the residents and developers impacted by the crazy growth of  Near Southeast. Your blog has been a pivot point, documenting the neighborhood’s transformation and keeping us up to date and invested. Your prolificity falls right in line with hyperlocal blogging, and those of us who get nerdy-curious about urban planning and renewal, and smart development are mourning your your focus and big picture/big photo, and your occasionally-snarky voice. Your time on JDLand was incredibly well spent, as will be the time you’re now dedicating to your family. Take good care and be so proud of the legacy you’ve left us. We look forward to welcoming you whenever you come back.

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