Want to add some color to a gray winter day at the office?  Take a virtual visit to Charlottesville’s refurbished Downtown Mall with two University of Virginia planning students. Charlotteville’s Downtown Mall Rap, a musical look (Hey C’ville!) at one of the nation’s few high-performing pedestrian malls was completed for a studio course. Complete with urban-sprawl combating karate kicks and pink, louvered sunglasses, the video has had more than 3,500 views. There’s no word on the student’s final grades.

For communities about to undertake a streetscape improvement or other major physical improvements that will affect merchants and the community, check out this terrific Web site (albeit one without infectious lyrics) used during the planning and construction phases on the Downtown Mall: www.mydowntownmall.com.

We need more breaks in the day like this.  Send us a link to your downtown video homage to: douglas.jackson@dhcd.virginia.gov and we’ll share them.