A New Year & a Lovely Day in a Future We Can Say YES! To

You’re back at work. As with every December, the long, end-of-year break that comes with the onslaught of various holidays has gone by too quickly. And now, here you are, already one week into January of the new year. Sigh.

Your morning started with a simple, lovely breakfast omelet. You didn’t even panic when you opened the fridge and noticed the empty space where the eggs should be. Thanks to the three-minute walk to that new corner shop on your street you were able to find the perfect eggs for your meal.

You open your laptop to start the day, working from your home office. A few minutes into your work, your Mom calls. Of course. You forgot to have your morning coffee with her. Yes, you say, you’ll be right over, but can only spare 10 minutes right now. You Mom is fine with this, since you live so close. Thank god these duplexes were built a few years ago in her neighborhood.

She was able to stay where she loves, still have some independence since her body started to get the best of her, and thanks to all the new housing all over town, you’ve been able to save extra money since prices have dropped so much. It’s nice, too, seeing all the younger folks and newer families nearby.

A few hours later, back in your office, your son sends you a text.

“Car ths evng?? Need 2 fnsh pntng.”

Your son, a new local artist painting his first mural (one of those cool, new raised intersections near downtown) needs to borrow the car to take his paint to the site and finish up. You were due to take your Mom to the doctor around the same time, so you ask if she would be OK with an Uber. She says she’ll ride the bus instead. You remember that most of the bus routes have buses every 5-10 minutes now, and what a game-changer it is. Traffic is so much less than a few years ago, even with all the new neighbors.

You tell your son he can borrow the car and realize it’s time for lunch. You decide to try one of the new breweries along that one new greenway. Being such an unseasonably warm day, you whip out your e-bike to take it on a spin. On your ride over you immediately feel refreshed, not just from the breeze in your hair, but from seeing all the kids and older folks riding as well. Ever since the City prioritized and funded that bike network plan, you’ve seen neighborhood after neighborhood get safer streets by adding protected bike lanes. Cars are slower, the air is cleaner, and like with the buses, the traffic feels much less stressful because people can get around safely in something other than a personal automobile. What a lovely city.

After lunch, you call your spouse to see when their plane lands later. You’re not worried about getting them from the airport, because the newest light rail line took advantage of one of those old railroad bridges crossing the river and now there’s a train directly from the airport to downtown. How did you ever live without that thing?

That evening, you and your family go to the neighborhood plaza for dinner. You run into a friend you haven’t seen in months, and he and his boyfriend join you for dinner. While chatting, you learn that they just got engaged, and they learn you got a new dog. You love these random encounters. It refreshes your soul.

It dawns on you that you couldn’t have had this type of day at one point. Not if you had lived in Knoxville when your Mom was your current age, not even a while after, in the 2020s, when it was improving.

No, you think, this is a great time to live here, in this new year of 2046.

Thank goodness people started doing and building the right things decades ago.

You smile. It’s been a lovely day.

_____

This future scenario may seem impossible to some, but it isn’t. The specifics would vary, but the only things stopping us from having a Knoxville full of days like this — lovely, livable, vibrant, community-based and individually empowering — are a lack of imagination and political will, pure and simple. We all deserve a city that is more inclusive and freer, but we can’t do that by continuing to design and build our neighborhoods the same way we have for the previous century. We don’t have to continue to say no to building a city full of choices.

In fact, we say yes. Yes to affordability and neighborhood inclusion that comes through more home construction — of all types of homes, in every neighborhood. Yes to the freedom of mobility for all ages and abilities that comes from investment in public transit and proper bike infrastructure — things that make streets safer and more efficient for us all, even when we choose to drive. Yes to beautiful, car-free, mixed-use spaces, designed for people first and foremost — places where we can go, build community, and keep the connections that make us feel fully human.

Yes! Knoxville is a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit that exists to help make this scenario a reality, and we want you to help us make it happen. You can join us this Friday for our first official fundraiser (tickets only $30?! Alan Sims is getting an award!!) or in a variety of other ways this calendar year. Give us a follow on Instagram and shoot us an email if you want to know more or get involved!

The story above may not exist in 2026, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a great year to start planning and building for 2046. Check out our publication from last year for 25 ways to start!