With all this talk of “Joe the Plumber” in this election campaign, I must add my two cents from “Joe the Urbanist.” Regardless of who wins tomorrow, the real campaign begins early in 2009 when congress convenes and the new president takes office. The next president and congress must have an urban agenda. We urban professionals have a major role to play in informing this agenda. One important source of research for future urban policy decisions is the Blueprint for American Prosperity at the Brookings Institution. I had the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Katz, vice-president of policy and founding director…
“It isn’t sustainable to go broke,” Dennis Quaintance explained to me during my tour of the Proximity Hotel, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Quaintance is the developer of the Proximity, the first hotel to be certified LEED Platinum by the USGBC. He was referring to careful balance between wanting to do the right thing and doing so in a manner that makes sense to the bottom line. Or as he put it, “you need to be idealistic and practical and not sell your soul to either.” The Proximity is a great place. Highlights include rooftop solar panels for hot water…
I recommend reading Neal Peirce’s latest column about urban policy as it relates to the upcoming presidential election. Read “McCain Versus Obama: Who’s Best for Cities” here. I think this column is enlightening to say the least, and should remind us of the importance of good metropolitan policy at the local, state and especially the federal level.
On a recent visit to Charlotte, I took some time to ride their new light rail line and check out some good old fashioned transit oriented development. The line connects Charlotte’s strong central business district with the South End neighborhood and on towards the southwest of the city. Ridership has already exceeded forecasts for years from now, and the day I was there a newspaper article noted that transit ridership in Charlotte is at record levels. I was impressed by development I saw around stations, and of the train operation itself. It seems the good people of Charlotte have a…
Gordon Price stopped me in the middle of a street in Vancouver, and said, “Now look around and count the number of pedestrians you see. Fourteen. Now how many cars? One.” Sure enough, here I was in Vancouver’s West End, a neighborhood as dense and urban as Manhattan (75 people per acre), and it was pedestrian dominated. That was just the first lesson in a six-hour walking tour by Gordon Price, a fellow urbanist and former city council member in Vancouver, British Columbia. The tour included inspecting infill housing sites, analyzing building height and massing, tree canopies, awnings, sidewalk and…
In a sign of the times, some of my friends that used to develop condos are now developing wind farms. The condo market may have dried up, but the wind still blows. And indeed it blows, especially here in Minneapolis, so much so that one particularly windy day last sping, one of those days that would be pleasant but for the wind, I signed our household up to receive a portion of our electricity from the wind. Those friends of mine, the former condo developers, recently put on a presentation about wind power for our local Young Leaders Group of…
My latest ULI Case Study is The Syndicate in St. Louis. Located in downtown, the building formerly known as the Syndicate Trust Tower was built in 1907 and previously a department store and offices. It is now renovated into condos, artist apartments and retail space. Taking advantage of state and federal affordable housing and historic tax credits, the Syndicate has no fewer than eight financing sources. Credit goes to the developers, Minneapolis based Sherman Associates and St. Louis based LoftWorks. The building is a beautiful example of the Chicago School style, with a gorgeous off-white terra cotta exterior. It was…
On a recent visit to Chicago to tour a huge logistics hub, I spent an afternoon wandering around happily in Naperville, a suburb about 20 miles west and a little south of the loop. I spent hours exploring their pleasant downtown and Riverwalk area. It was a wonderful way to spend a summer day. I heard good things from colleagues about Naperville. They were right. I parked my car at a nice diagonal parking stall with a bumpout from the curb designed to preserve a street tree. Already impressed by that, I headed to the Riverwalk. The city has plenty…
The immortal words of John F. Kennedy are quite relevant these days. But change the word “country” to “community” and you get “Ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community.” That how I look at it. I believe strong neighborhoods and community bonds are vital to democracy, and it is up to neighbors to work together to make it so by being involved at the local level and electing sensible officials who will make good decisions at the higher level. The work of Richard Florida and the “creative class” is interesting…
Three recent articles got me thinking about neighborhoods and their importance in society. The first, a column by David Brooks in the New York Times, was a discussion of the rise of conservatism in Britain. It contains references to the importance of neighborhoods, community, and dense social bonds as ways to improve society rather than top-down government policy. I’m no expert on British politics, but it strikes me that the notion of strong neighborhoods and community can be both a liberal and conservative virtue. All politics is local, right? Dare I say it, neighborhoods may be the only places where…
