The Ground Floor

A Look at What's to Come

You may have noticed that we've been a little quieter around here these past few weeks. It's not that we're losing interest, but rather because we are ramping up for blanket coverage of ULI's upcoming fall meeting in Las Vegas, which runs from October 23-26. We have a great schedule of blog postings, webcasts, and podcasts on tap, which we'll be previewing during the coming week.

However, for those of you who will be joining us in Las Vegas, I'd like to invite you to a special session on Wednesday, October 24, which features some interesting thought leaders that we've featured (and linked to) from the blog. City Vision assembles three people writing about and working in the urban development field to discuss where our cities are headed and how some emerging concepts have the potential to transform the way these urban areas are developed. Moderated by Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, this session taps the expertise of Ted Bardacke, senior associate with Global Green USA; BLDGBLOG founder and Dwell magazine senior editor, Geoff Manaugh; and Neil Takemoto, founder of CoolTown Studios. In conjunction with the panel, we have created a Facebook group, ULI Urban Futures Visioning (it is a closed group, so you will need to request permission to join), that we hope will function as a place to begin and continue the conversation around the larger issues that come up on October 24. Also, we'll be podcasting highlights from the discussion for those of you unable to join us in Las Vegas. Bring your most innovative ideas for how to make our cities better to the discussion in Las Vegas, to the Facebook group, or leave them in the comments section of this post. We hope to see many of you on the 24th!

Building Great Places for People

This post was written by The Ground Floor contributor, Matthew Rader.

Can we build great places for people? Helle Soholt, a principal with Gehl Architects in Copenhagen, challenged ULI Place Making Conference attendees in Toronto this week to create livable urban environments by placing human enjoyment and comfort at the top of the design goals. Historically, urban environment mattered less because limited mobility and economic systems required people to use cities. Today, new and old urban centers must create engaging human environments to compete successfully as place to live, work, shop, and play.

Ms. Soholt challenged popular notions that it "takes 300 years" to evolve an engaging urban environment. Developers and designers can create lasting, enjoyable places by designing with a human scale (most engaging architecture at eye level), human pace (manageable at 5 km/h), and human interest (a new stimulus every 4 seconds). Ms. Soholt's recommendations offer a challenging lesson to developers often faced with designing to the standards required by retailers.

The Place Making Conference demonstrated that investors and buyers value mixed use, pedestrian, and transit-oriented development. Speakers like Ms. Soholt demonstrated the need for continued design and development program innovation to continue the evolution of place making efforts. Backed by their success in pioneering mixed use development, developers now have the opportunity to create the next generation of great places to be loved and nurtured by people.

Is Gentrification Good?

Does gentrification hurt poor residents by forcing them out of their neighborhoods?

The tantalizing answer found by most researchers who study the question is no.

In fact, research suggests low-income residents of gentrifying neighborhoods benefit from the influx of higher-income neighbors through greater political clout, enhanced municipal services, new businesses, and safer streets. Such findings are enough to convince writers like Richard Cravatts, who claims gentrification to be good for “the poor and everyone else” in a recent article for the American Thinker. Dismissing opposition to a controversial Columbia University plan to expand into West Harlem, he concludes such a plan should be embraced by the community since it will bring economic activity to the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the research he cites tells a more nuanced story. Although the revitalization of many urban neighborhoods is a positive trend, it is not without downsides. Furthermore, eminent domain, which Columbia has threatened to use to acquire property for their plan should owners refuse to sell, has an entirely different history.

Urban Crisis or Urban Rebirth?

In a recent edition of The Washington Post, a commentary by Ohio State University Professor Kevin Boyle claims that urban areas in the U.S. are largely suffering from the same neglect and racial and economic divisiveness that led to rioting in Detroit and other cities four decades ago. The difference between now and then, he says, is that now no one wants to confront the problems. He bases much of his conclusions on the past and current situation in Detroit.

Boyle, who teaches American history, seems to have overlooked the 1990s. During that time, Census figures show that several U.S. cities -- among them Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, Portland (Ore.), Atlanta, Memphis and San Diego -- experienced greater percentage increases in their downtown populations than in their entire urban areas over that time. The reason? A downtown migration by young childless professionals and, to a lesser extent, empty nesters seeking to live closer to work and  cultural amenities. As a result, much housing was created from redeveloped warehouse, industrial and older office space; and retail started springing up in places long ignored by developers and investors.

To be sure, gentrifying neighborhoods have created a challenge for the public and private sector in meeting the needs of both new residents and existing residents, and in ensuring that people of all incomes benefit from the new investment in cities. Creating such a "win-win" situation is not easy.

Obviously, despite the many economic and social benefits of urban regeneration, cities do have problems. There is crime. There is poverty. There are struggling public school systems. (Education is one of the top reasons that few families are joining their childless counterparts in moving into cities.) Boyle is correct in saying that racial divisions and economic inequalities still exist.

Still, to claim that no progress has been made is wrong. A walk in downtown Chicago, downtown Los Angeles, or downtown Washington shows a vastly different urban core than one would have seen 40 years, or even 20 years ago. These areas are safer, cleaner, and energized. It's a step in the right direction. 

 

A Tree Grows in Tokyo

Working in one of the largest cities in the world (the largest, if you count the entire urban area; 11th or 12th if you're just talking about the 8.5 million people living within the city's boundaries), Tokyo developers are hard-pressed to incorporate large quantities of urban space into their new developments. However, the Tokyo Midtown project in the city's Roppongi District (profiled in the April issue of Urban Land) has bucked that trend, dedicating half of the ten-acre site to public open space, including parks, plazas, promenades, and streetscapes. EDAW, the global landscape architecture powerhouse that designed the project's open spaces, has now put together an interesting slideshow of the ideas that drove the design of Tokyo Midtown. Check it out -- the visuals are stunning.

Are We Really There Yet?

At ULI's recent spring council forum, Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for "The NewsHour" in Washington, D.C., discussed the changing roles being played by cities and suburbs in 21^st century. Both appeal to different types of households for different reasons, and to the same households at different stages of their lives, he noted. "The great resorting of American lifestyles may be over," Suarez said. "In general, people are where they want to be or are planning to get there...There are plenty of Americas for everyone to choose the one they want."

The urbanization of suburbs through more mixed-use, dense development is "making it easier" to live in suburbs by reducing individual trips for errands, Suarez pointed out. However, he said, attempting the reverse -- in terms of making cities more suburban -- would likely backfire. "Cities need to resist the temptation to stop acting like cities...The membrane separating the city and suburb is becoming more permeable, so people can make more choices in (how to live out) different aspects of their lives."

Agree or disagree? Do you think "most people are where they want to be" in terms of living environments? It seems to me that demographic changes alone would challenge this theory. With baby boomers aging, and Gen Y wanting no part of the daily commute grind, I think big changes are in store for suburbs and cities, in terms of who winds up living where.

Lifestyle with a View

Perhaps no city in the United States is a better example of downtown revitalization than Chicago. Its extraordinary Millennium Park is an icon, catalyzing as much as 90 percent of the development that has occurred on the East Loop over the past five years. The extraordinary revival in this area was evident during a mobile workshop hosted this morning during ULI’s Spring Council Forum.

The tour featured The Heritage at Millennium Park, a luxury 57-story high rise condominium building set back one block from the park. The top selling point: the view of Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. With prices ranging from the $400,000s to more than $2.5 million for units ranging from 1,400 square feet to 4,000 square feet, this project, developed by Mesa Development LLC, appeals to affluent buyers seeking a downtown lifestyle rich in culture, entertainment, and recreation.

About half of the residents have moved in from the suburbs; others are already downtown dwellers seeking a prime view of their city. In keeping with Chicago’s focus on environmentally conscious building, The Heritage has green open space on several floors. For those bringing their dogs, there is even a dog run on the ninth floor.

The Future Looks Bright

Five students from the University of California Berkeley walked away with the $50,000 prize in the 2007 Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition for their bold scheme, "Tectonics." UC Berkeley beat out three other finalists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and two teams from Harvard University.

Team leader Christopher Lollini, Aditi Rao, Brooke Ray Smith, Robert McCracken and Andrea Gaffney, adopted the theme of "Tectonics" based on the idea of neighborhoods coming together. "Tectonics" was a mixed-use scheme that incorporated market-rate and affordable housing, retail, green space, civic space, cultural space and linked the two sides of the Los Angeles River.

The plan stayed true to the character of the neighborhoods and to the needs of the three communities represented. The plan also provided open space for community festivals, a 1.2 acre public park, a 43,000-square-foot recreation center, and an arts gallery with subsidized rent and exhibit space.

BIDding for Five More Years

This post was written by Richard Reinhard, deputy executive director of planning and development for the Downtown DC BID.

Last week, the property owners and tenants of downtown Washington, D.C., voted to reauthorize the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District for five more years by the vote of 24,787 to 6. (The vote was weighted, where the more property you own or space you lease, the more votes you get.)

Howard J. Riker, vice president in the Washington office of Hines and chairman of the Downtown D.C. BID Board, noted that the BID has helped create a positive investment climate for developers in Downtown D.C. that didn't exist until its formation ten years ago.

A business improvement district is an area in which property owners pay special assessments above and beyond their normal property taxes, in return for the ability to govern how the money is spent to improve the area.

In an era of careful watch on property taxes -- and sometimes downright revolt -- BIDs have proven to be popular. In addition to downtown, other D.C. area BIDs include those in the Golden Triangle (west of downtown), Georgetown and Capitol Hill; Crystal City and Rosslyn in Virginia; and Bethesda in Maryland. BIDs are currently being formed in the Mount Vernon Triangle and NoMa (east of downtown) areas and in Southeast Washington, around the new baseball stadium.

ULI LA Urban Marketplace to Focus on Underserved Neighborhoods

This post was written by The Ground Floor contributor and ULI Los Angeles Executive Director Phil Hart.

ULI Los Angeles's seventh annual Urban Marketplace (UM 07) -- which focuses on the region's underserved neighborhoods by urging real estate professionals to "Make a Deal, Make a Difference" -- is adding a new twist at its March 21 conference at the L.A. Convention Center. This year's theme, "Where is LA Headed? Solving the Real Estate Puzzle: Case Studies from Hollywood, Downtown LA, East LA and Inglewood," will be podcast on March 23 by ARTSCAPE. Among those participating in the podcast are Tom Murphy, ULI senior resident fellow and ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for Urban Development, who moderates the panel discussion; Jan Perry, who represents L.A. City Council District Nine; Gail Goldberg, director of planning for the city of Los Angeles; and Tom Cody, principal with Gerding Edlen Development & The South Group, Downtown LA. Two roundtables will also be included in the podcast: Team Hollywood and Public Sector Magic.

Councilwoman Perry is to read a poem at UM 07  written by a ULI LA Urban Plan student, Marquise Johnson. More than 800 attendees are expected on March 21, including a delegation from ULI Washington (D.C.), which will be hosting their first Urban Marketplace in September 2007. To learn more about ULI LA's seventh annual Urban Marketplace, go to www.uli-la.org.