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<br />About•the Author
<br />David isthe principq[ -in- charge
<br />`of planning and urban design at Goody
<br />Clancy and a coauthor of Urban Design for
<br />an Urban. C (Wiley, 2009).
<br />use, walkable environments. Real estate
<br />consultant Sarah Woodworth of W -ZHA, LLC,
<br />foresees little net new demand over the next
<br />decade for larger floorplate, suburban office
<br />buildings along arterial corridors. However,
<br />she identifies significant growing demand
<br />from emerging "creative industries" (technol-
<br />ogy, design, communications) in amenity -
<br />rich, walkable environments characteristic
<br />of more urban environments. In December,
<br />2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that
<br />during the first three quarters of 2010,16
<br />million square feet of suburban office space
<br />became vacant, while downtown office va-
<br />cancy remained essentially unchanged.
<br />Increased Demand for Multifamily Housing
<br />As recently as the 197os roughly three - quarters
<br />of households in the housing market included
<br />children. Today, housing analyst Laurie Volk
<br />of Zimmerman /Volk Associates reports that
<br />half to two- thirds of all households in most
<br />regions are singles and couples, and urban
<br />qualities like nearby stores, sidewalks, a va-
<br />riety of housing options, and transit now rate
<br />highly in neighborhood - preference surveys.
<br />Urban economist Chris Nelson points out that
<br />America faces a growing shortage of multifam-
<br />ily housing in more urban settings while the
<br />stock of large -lot, single- family houses in 2010
<br />already exceeds 2030 demand.
<br />Feasibility and Density
<br />Woodworth notes that owners of older strip
<br />developments often have little incentive
<br />to redevelop because their developments
<br />produce steady, predictable cash flow. As a
<br />rough rule of thumb, Woodworth and Nelson
<br />both estimate that tripling, or increasing
<br />even more, the existing density of strip de-
<br />velopment is often necessary to incentivize
<br />redevelopment. While premiums associated
<br />with higher density redevelopment once
<br />represented an obstacle, Chris Leinberger,
<br />a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution,
<br />reports that mixed use, walkable develop-
<br />ments now claim a value premium of 3o
<br />to 5o percent over comparable single -use,
<br />auto- oriented development in many urban
<br />and suburban settings. Carol Colette, who
<br />heads CEOs for Cities, reports that a survey
<br />of 24 major metropolitan areas indicates
<br />that values for comparable housing in-
<br />creases as walkability increases (as mea-
<br />sured by the website www.walkscore.com).
<br />Community Benefits of Corridor
<br />Redevelopment
<br />In 2005, John Rahaim, then Seattle's plan-
<br />ning director (now San Francisco's) esti-
<br />mated that because of demographic shifts
<br />the city of Seattle needed 35 percent more
<br />housing units to accommodate its 196o
<br />population —and that while 8o percent of
<br />housing stock was single family, roughly half
<br />the demand was for multifamily housing. At
<br />the same time, the city lacked opportuni-
<br />ties to accommodate new retail formats and
<br />"cool" office space. In many communities,
<br />low- density corridors represent the best
<br />opportunity to accommodate this demand,
<br />concentrate growth as an alternative to
<br />sprawl, and promote sustainability.
<br />Higher value mixed use developments
<br />produce distinct fiscal benefits. A study for
<br />Asheville, North Carolina, by Joe Minacozzi,
<br />the new products director of Public Interest
<br />Projects, Inc., found thatAsheville's higher
<br />density, mixed use redevelopment produced
<br />roughly six times more revenue per acre than
<br />auto - oriented strips. Goody Clancy planners
<br />hear about other advantages. A walkable main
<br />street is the top aspiration for many urban and
<br />suburban residents —to enhance neighbor-
<br />hood character, provide walk -to amenities,
<br />and offer healthier lifestyles. Human resource
<br />directors say they have an easier time recruit-
<br />ing educated, skilled employees to walkable,
<br />amenity -rich environments -an observation
<br />supported by CEOs for Cities research.
<br />CASE STUDIES
<br />There are many models for transforming arterial
<br />corridors. In Opa- locka, Florida, a depressed city
<br />just outside Miami, the Opa -locka Community
<br />Development Corporation has launched a com-
<br />munity -based planning initiative to revitalize
<br />the Ali Baba Road corridor —now dominated by
<br />auto - repair shops —that is attracting significant
<br />federal investment. Prince George's County,
<br />Maryland, is completing plans to transform an
<br />anonymous stretch of Annapolis Road outside
<br />of Washington, D.C., into a transit - oriented dis-
<br />trict. A proposal in New Orleans's new Master
<br />Plan to remove an elevated expressway and
<br />restore the Claiborne Corridor adjacent to down-
<br />town is gaining popular support.
<br />These and the three case studies below
<br />(located in urban Columbus, Ohio, mature
<br />suburbs at the edge of Atlanta, and rapidly
<br />growing, suburban Dublin, Ohio) draw on the
<br />author's direct experience. The case -study cor-
<br />ridors offer lessons more readily transferable
<br />to other communities. They do not depend on
<br />federal dollars, major transit investment, ora
<br />citywide campaign. Instead they illustrate how
<br />three communities used market - driven strate-
<br />gies to redevelop arterial corridors to reap
<br />significant community benefits.
<br />While contexts differ, transforming
<br />these corridors involved planning and urban
<br />design objectives that are applicable to
<br />many arterial corridors:
<br />• Sufficient density to transform auto -
<br />oriented environments into walkable ones
<br />© Replacing automobile - scaled corridors
<br />with defined walkable centers and street
<br />grids designed and scaled for pedestrians
<br />• A lively public realm lined with retail or
<br />other activities that invite pedestrian use
<br />9 A mix of uses that take advantage of mul-
<br />tiple markets and contribute to vitality
<br />® Connectivity in terms of physical con-
<br />nections and uses valued by the larger
<br />community
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 2.11
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