This post was written for The Ground Floor by Suzanne Cartwright, director of land use programs at ULI, who recently attended ULI's Reality check program in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A quiet hum settled over the main ballroom of the Raleigh Convention Center as 300 participants at ULI’s 9th Reality Check exercise began its deliberations on February 24. Hailing from every walk of life and 15 different counties, participants were grouped in teams of ten around a map of the Triangle region. Their assignment: decide where the 1.2 million new residents and 700,000 jobs that are forecast for the region by 2030 should go--and what transportation improvements will be needed to serve that growth.
The quiet did not last long. Folks were soon on their feet, debating the need for such things as transit connections, mixed-use development and open space preservation. Using red and yellow Legos® to represent jobs and households, and orange and purple yarn to represent transit and roadways, each table developed a unique vision for the future. The conversations were tinged with a sense of urgency. In the midst of a global recession, participants recognized that the economic vitality of the region depends on its ability to continue to attract growth and incorporate it in a way that enhances the attractiveness and sustainability of its communities.
A clear consensus emerged around the need for a mass transit system to connect the core cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill as well as the Research Triangle Park--80 percent of the tables included such a system in their plan. This consensus held up two days later when a larger group gathered to hear the results of the Reality Check exercise. Over 90 percent of the attendees indicated their support for higher taxes and/or fees to support a regional mass transit system.
The tools may be toys but the goals of Reality Check are very pragmatic. As ULI Senior Resident Fellow Ed McMahon exhorted participants, having a coherent vision counts, but implementing it is priceless. Robert Grow, founding chair of Envision Utah, provided a road map for building the political will to invest $2 billion in a regional transportation system. ULI Triangle, together with Reality Check cosponsor Triangle Tomorrow, clearly has their work cut out for them. Due to the leadership of ULI stalwarts such as Smedes York and Trish and John Healy, they will start the multiyear implementation effort with a war chest of $500,000, the most ever raised for a Reality Check initiative. And they will be leading a region that has a track record of working together to tackle bold ideas.
Look out Charlotte, Richmond, and Atlanta: the Research Triangle region is on the move!
