Urban Revitalization and American Cities

[urban_addict]

I am doing a project for school about my hometown Fort Wayne, Indiana and its need for urban revitalization in its downtown core. The city has a population of over 250,000 and is a major hub of transportation in the Midwest. It used to have a remarkable downtown with retail, theaters, hotels, and a major train station. Today there is slight revitalization happening with the current building of Harrison Square, a minor league baseball stadium with a retail/condo portion and a major hotel. Though this is a big step for this small city, there is much more that i feel could be done. So what qualities do you think a small city like this needs in order to turn around the decay caused by sprawl? What is needed to bring people downtown? What cities have been successful in revitalizing downtown/central areas?

Link to the Harrison Square Project

[philadweller]

Change zoning laws to allow retail and residential together. 10 year tax abatements.
Many Midwestern cities are tough to fix though since many of the the economies are directly related to one industry that has floundered. Once blocks of older buildings have been knocked down it is tough to draw people back. People with vision like to wake up sleeping beauties but if there are already surface parking lots forget it. Part of Center City Philadelphia's and South Beach Miami success in revitalization has to do with the fact that the historic buildings were still there in thickets just in time for the preservation league to do their thing.

Location. Cities between Boston and DC have seen major improvements because of their direct rail access to other cities. Maybe if there was a commuter rail to Chicago and Detroit things would be different.

Tax gas heavily and double the price then watch suburbanites move back to cities in droves. Gas is too cheap here for sprawl to stop.

You cannot force people to move back to the city but you can doll up a downtown and it will advertise itself.

[El Mariachi]

Originally Posted by philadweller

Location. Cities between Boston and DC have seen major improvements because of their direct rail access to other cities. Maybe if there was a commuter rail to Chicago and Detroit things would be different.

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Terrible idea, no offense. I don't like the idea of government forcing people to move places and take away their freedom of choice. Cities need to make people want to come there, not be forced. And frankly, most American cities have done a terrible job. Poor schools, crime, high taxes, etc.

[El Mariachi]

Milwaukee has done a good job of revitalizing the its core, however the rest of the city still has its fair share of problems.

So what qualities do you think a small city like this needs in order to turn around the decay caused by sprawl? What is needed to bring people downtown? What cities have been successful in revitalizing downtown/central areas?

Give the people used to sprawl a reason to come to Fort Wayne. Retail, entertainment/nightlife, culture, sports, resturants, etc. You can never revitalize a city if you offer the same options as the suburbs---as many cities the size of Fort Wayne do.

[CityPolice]

Originally Posted by Judge Phillip Banks

Terrible idea, no offense. I don't like the idea of government forcing people to move places and take away their freedom of choice. Cities need to make people want to come there, not be forced. And frankly, most American cities have done a terrible job. Poor schools, crime, high taxes, etc.

I dont know about any other cities but here in NYC no matter what you are not allowed to kick someone out of there home. There are not that many poor schools, taxes are not that high especially we get payed 30% higher than the rest of the country. Crime is not an american thing its a human thing but crime is diminishing and NYC is one of the safest big cities in the US. I dont know anything about be ing forced to live somewhere.

[monkeyronin]

Originally Posted by Judge Phillip Banks

Terrible idea, no offense. I don't like the idea of government forcing people to move places and take away their freedom of choice. Cities need to make people want to come there, not be forced. And frankly, most American cities have done a terrible job. Poor schools, crime, high taxes, etc.

Where did Philadweller mention forcing people to move anywhere?

And American cities are not directly responsible for the poor schools, crime, and high taxes. Those can be blamed more upon the upper levels of government and society at large, though due to poor planning and mismanagement/corruption, some cities did indeed exasperate those problems.

[Beware]

Originally Posted by urban_addict

What is needed to bring people downtown?

If only there was a " Magic Answer " ! A lot, however, depends upon Where the downtown is and Who it serves? What works in one place may not somewhere else for a myriad of reasons ( ex: public appeal, population, demographics, etc.) Fashionable retail cores used to be the activity centers of most vibrant (US) cities until the proliferation of interstate highways, shopping malls, suburbanization, and now the growing popularity of internet shopping.

Countless cities, around the world, have spent trillions building and upgrading convention centers, art and sports venues in pursuit of spectator events.... with lackluster results. These may be the catalyst for further urban renewal, but don't necessarily produce the 24/7 environment that many civic boosters envision. Urban housing, especially condominiums, was supposed to be " the answer " for successful downtowns. But, the latest housing boom turned foreclosure nightmare reveals the fallacy of that theory.

What cities have been successful in revitalizing downtown/central areas?

That depends upon Individual's definition of success. Are You talking about small-city success or big-city success? The answers are unpredictable and can be somewhat obscure. Should Fort Wayne resemble New York City in order to be successful? To some the answer would, automatically, be " YES! " But, would that be practical? A city of approx. 250,000 mimic a city of approx. 9 million? The wisest lesson most cities learn, from experience, is that every (urban) area needs to determine It's own, unique, definition of success. For most, that doesn't simply mean * Manhattanization... a neologism coined to describe the construction of many tall or densely situated buildings which transforms the appearance and character of a city..

Fort Wayne, like ALL cities, must determine It's own measure of success! That will happen easier if it doesn't attempt to become someplace else.

* definition from wikipedia.

[urban_addict]

Thank you for your perspective Beware! In my project I am proposing that Fort Wayne becomes how it used to be. The downtown area of Fort Wayne was once where everything was at (like all cities in the early 1900's. Retail, dining, museums, entertainment and housing were all located downtown. Then once the sprawl happened, it was downtown that started to die because of the highways and shopping strips...etc. I am in no way promoting any sort of Manhattanization because this is out of character for the city. There is however a wealth of historical buildings that need rehab and dozens of parking lots that could be built upon. I would like to see the city create a wonderful and walkable human scale area. I would like to see it similar to River North in Chicago. Some think it is a lost cause here in the Midwest due to our car-centricness but I think that we can change it over time. Visit the page below if you are interested in the small Midwestern city.

Wikipedia's Fort Wayne page

[El Mariachi]

Originally Posted by monkeyronin

Where did Philadweller mention forcing people to move anywhere?

And American cities are not directly responsible for the poor schools, crime, and high taxes. Those can be blamed more upon the upper levels of government and society at large, though due to poor planning and mismanagement/corruption, some cities did indeed exasperate those problems.

He said they should greatly increase gas taxes and make suburban living too expensive--thereby forcing the masses back into the cities.

I disagree about cities not being responsible for these problems. School systems in the U.S. are poorly run and property taxes are high in many cities.

[Beware]

Originally Posted by urban_addict

Thank you for your perspective Beware! In my project I am proposing that Fort Wayne becomes how it used to be. The downtown area of Fort Wayne was once where everything was at (like all cities in the early 1900's. Retail, dining, museums, entertainment and housing were all located downtown. Then once the sprawl happened, it was downtown that started to die because of the highways and shopping strips...etc. I am in no way promoting any sort of Manhattanization because this is out of character for the city. There is however a wealth of historical buildings that need rehab and dozens of parking lots that could be built upon. I would like to see the city create a wonderful and walkable human scale area. I would like to see it similar to River North in Chicago. Some think it is a lost cause here in the Midwest due to our car-centricness but I think that we can change it over time. Visit the page below if you are interested in the small Midwestern city.

Wikipedia's Fort Wayne page

Fort Wayne's predicament is similar to MY hometown (Peoria IL) situation! You know, if the truth be known, most civic planners in small cities aren't sure what would be successful in their respective towns either. Therefore, they copy larger or similar cities ideas in hopes that such attractions would achieve the same results. But, THAT doesn't guarantee success. Downtowns die or struggle in cities that succumb to, strip and suburban mall, interests and discount retailers. But, cities that somewhat resist or limit " mall " and " big box " saturation manage to retain their downtown retail districts.

Want to know " a dirty little secret " ? Unbeknownst to many Americans, unscrupulous business and anti-urban interests will spread fears and " urban legends (ex: " Downtown Fort Wayne isn't safe to be in! " or " I wouldn't want to be alone or park my car down there at night. " Sound familiar? These are, standard, scare tactics utilized to thwart public support and civic mandates for expensive downtown and inner-city neighborhood development used to justify less costly development in more " developer-friendly " fringe and suburban areas. These ploys, for decades, been very effective until the recent surge in the New Urbanism/anti-suburban movement gained widespread popularity.

How much local interest exists in Fort Wayne about downtown development? If it's low, Fort Wayne's business and civic developers may argue the case of allowing " market-driven " demand to dictate the downtown's present state. Young professionals and nostalgics are, largely, responsible for the current restoration of U.S. downtowns. But, these are neo-traditional.... classic with modern updates (ex: street-level retail with storefront windows, upscale housing with modern amenities, accessible arts/entertainment/sports venues, etc.) How active are Fort Wayne's business and civic leaders about restoring the downtown?

[monkeyronin]

Originally Posted by Judge Phillip Banks

He said they should greatly increase gas taxes and make suburban living too expensive--thereby forcing the masses back into the cities.

Thats an incentive. A logical one, at that, which is technically unrelated to suburban living. It is possible to live in the suburbs without an automobile, just as many people live in the city with one. Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything.

I disagree about cities not being responsible for these problems. School systems in the U.S. are poorly run and property taxes are high in many cities.

Schools are underfunded, and property taxes are high because of the small tax base (population) relative to the area and infrastructure of cities which have experienced suburban flight.

[540_804]

Im currently doing a project about the same thing.

[Koen Acacia]

What type of houses do you guys have? How many freestanding, how many rowhouses/apartments/that sort of thing?
What does the city center look like?

[El Mariachi]

Originally Posted by monkeyronin

Thats an incentive. A logical one, at that, which is technically unrelated to suburban living. It is possible to live in the suburbs without an automobile, just as many people live in the city with one. Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything.




Schools are underfunded, and property taxes are high because of the small tax base (population) relative to the area and infrastructure of cities which have experienced suburban flight.

Government drastically raising taxes on gas prices is a disaster. Thats all I can say about that.

Urban schools are not underfunded in America--thats a huge stereotype. Cities like New York, L.A., Chicago,etc. have huge school budgets--yet some of the worst performing school districts in the country. Here in Milwaukee, we have the most highly funded school system in the state and they keep raising taxes to improve it--yet it remains on the absolute bottom for major U.S. cities.

And these cities are hurting themselves by raising taxes. Chicago has a very high sales tax in comparison with its suburban counties. Things like that send people with money out to the suburban shopping malls.

[urban_addict]

Images of Fort Wayne's central area (found online):

[urban_addict]

Harrison Square project u/c:

[urban_addict]

Pictures I found of Fort Wayne in the early 1900's:

[Koen Acacia]

The 1900's pics are the only ones with people on the streets. Is that a coincidence?

[Slartibartfas]

Modern Fort Wayne looks like the antithesis to an urban environment. Hopefully they are able to change that. Maybe that mentioned project is a small step towards that goal.

[Beware]

Congratulations, Urban Addict! Those are very striking (new) projects.