This post was written for The Ground Floor by Bill Hudnut, former ULI Senior Resident Fellow, and founder of Bill Hudnut Consulting LLC in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Not long ago, I received a plea from an official in my old city of Indianapolis that read like this: “The fundamental, existential challenge facing Indianapolis today is competition with suburbs in surrounding counties. In recent years, the city has been losing this battle as higher earners have been moving out and lower earners have been moving in. It seemed to me that you might have some insights into this problem with your experiences here, in a wealthy suburb in Bethesda and at the Urban Land Institute. I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts if you have a few minutes to spare some time.”
Well…let’s do a little brainstorming for him. Here were some of the quick thoughts I shared with him, but he needs more answers, because this is a huge problem throughout urban America. The competition from “urbanizing” suburbs is exerting a centrifugal pull on the center again, even as it did after World War II, and many towns are experiencing disinvestment after the rebound of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Of course, they are in a helluva bind now because of the meltdown in our economy, the loss of great value in properties, and in income tax, and so on. A very existential problem--to use my friend’s word. I suggested to him:
1. In Indianapolis, higher taxes than outside of the city may induce people to move out.
2. As gas prices go up, it may redound to the benefit of central cities because they will make people think twice about commuting time and distance.
3. There are three demographic cohorts that like the amenities of downtown: the young laptop crowd of singles; the couples; the graphic artists; craftspersons; worker-bee types; and empty nesters who have tired of suburban living and want to be closer to the cultural and entertainment facilities of downtown. Exploit this market niche!
4. Why don’t you pull together a brainstorming group to discuss the issue with the mayor—leaders of neighborhood associations; mover and shaker types; and a bipartisan group of political types.
5. Utilize government incentives like tax abatement, grants, etc. to keep businesses in Indy, and make sure the burbs are included in a meeting you might convene to discuss the noncompete agreement of a few years ago.
6. Emphasize green space and place making.
7. Provide as much affordable housing and compact development in town as you can.
8. Keep city services running—trash pickup, street resurfacing, plowing, etc. Your first job is to “mind the store.”
9. Prune the zoning. In my opinion, Indianapolis has too many strip malls, too much clutter, along many of its main thoroughfares.
Let’s see what we can come up with to help out my friend. Thanks.
