My most recent article for Urban Times discusses ways neighborhoods can develop strategies to challenge blight.
Every city has at least one: the neighborhood with rampant crime,
boarded up buildings, empty lots. Few stroll its streets and the
businesses that remain have bars on the windows. This kind of place had a
heyday once, but is now in a tragic state of demise. Often, such places
are in strategic urban locations and ripe for
revitalization.
But, short of calling in the bulldozers, how does a neighborhood go
about fomenting its renaissance? It starts with properly diagnosing the
reasons for decline (every story is not the same) and working closely
with neighborhood residents and businesses to develop the prescription
to turn things around.
Read the Symptoms, Treat the Problem
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| A
sketch I did showing the importance of mixed use and a variety of
building textures, styles and colors as part of a charrette for the
revitalization of Phoenix's Wilson neighborhood. |
So often, response to
urban decline
is reactionary: high crime translates to constructing fences and more
security, for example. However, responding defensively to a series of
symptoms has the unintended consequences of creating an even more
hostile environment, sending not the message of toughness, but a message
that no one, not even the neighborhood residents, are very welcome in
the neighborhood. Most people don’t understand this, neither do most
planning and
zoning commissions.
Hence, we end up with everyone’s fears written into the codes, instead
of everyone’s hopes. Something like higher crime is usually a symptom
of a greater urban disease, which is why applying the aspirin of
“lockdown” to the cancer of urban decay seldom works. What a community
really needs to do is take a long hard look at itself and begin to look
at social and economic factors that have changed for the worse, then
look at strategies for making a change:
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| Urban decay Vandalism at the Broadford Works on Ann Street. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
- Character is Brand – Most struggling neighborhoods are suffering from an identity crisis, while they know they need to have a more walkable community
that feels safe and is clean, they need help figuring out their unique
path to revitalization. No two neighborhoods are exactly alike. If you
take the time to talk to the people who live there you’ll find out why
they stay, and even more, why they’re willing to fight so hard for
revitalization. That character, which is an experience not available
elsewhere in the city, is what needs to be celebrated and cultivated in
everything from the streetscape and plantings, to the type of businesses
that are courted, to the density and style of the buildings. Think
about traffic patterns and flows, the accessibility of parking
and how parking impacts the feel of the space. The brand that develops
is what can be used to court new businesses. Brand builds the
expectation of the customer/user. It needs to be based on a solid and
clear vision, integrated as an experience, and it has to deliver on its
promise.
- Leverage Assets – For any community, being able to achieve
what it wants (its vision for a future), from what it has (its character
and history) involves knowing what it needs. Copying what worked for
another neighborhood is no guarantee of success. People are not
attracted to generic, soulless communities to live, work and play. They
are attracted to the quirky, wonderful little neighborhood with the
interesting mix of shops and restaurants that is worth the trip. Once
they spend enough time there, they may even become interested in living
nearby. Communities must be being willing to start small – maybe just a
few blocks on a main road to develop a critical mass. Look at the
merchant mix and think about the message that it sends, then work with
the owners of the businesses you want to keep to help them find
locations where they can be grouped in a way that they help one another
succeed (i.e. a series of restaurants and shops in a row).
- Get Momentum – Even the most thorough and realistic of
plans won’t lead to revitalization if the community itself isn’t
engaged. While it may be impossible to have complete agreement, it is
not impossible to reach out to local businesses and law enforcement as
well as grant programs and other opportunities available at a municipal
level. Seeing these first steps of positive change allays fears and
suspicion and encourages residents to be more involved as well because
they can see the effect of their actions. Most struggling neighborhoods
have plenty of missing teeth in the form of abandoned or under-occupied
buildings and vacant lots. However, in order to convince new businesses
to locate there, a neighborhood must have some momentum going. Even
something as simple as a streetscape improvement project
shows a commitment to change and reinforces that all-important brand.
Don’t forget to grow entrepreneurs from local residents and always aim
for authenticity.
Seek Alternative Therapies
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| Photo c/o dennoir (flickr) |
While they may have had their place, traditional zoning codes with
their restrictive description of uses have little relevance for the
modern city.
Zoning codes
are about achieving uniformity and compliance, not about cultivating
character – kind of like Mom saying “no.” What if, instead, we thought
about codes as a list of everything you can do, should do, might do?
Form-based codes are a great alternative for urban areas because they are not about segregating uses, but about encouraging density,
walkability
and character. Many cities have implemented them and many more like my
home city of Cincinnati, Ohio are in the process of doing so because
they allow redevelopment to be shepherded in a way that reinforces
identity of place over simply following rules. Form-based codes focus
on the fine grain aspect of experience, looking at things like human
scale and pedestrian friendliness. True to their name, this code system
is less about land use than urban form, with an emphasis on creating
public space shaped by private buildings.
Communities that take the time to really know their needs, and are
willing to fight for them, do get better. What’s critical is to stay
true to a vision, pull the community into the effort, support
local businesses
and never stop improving. Think of redevelopment as a bird flapping
its wings – it can soar as long as it continues the effort, but can
glide only so long before it will plummet. It takes time, patience and
tireless commitment for an ailing neighborhood to recover, but blight is
curable.
