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JANUARY 1999
<br />
<br />AMERICAN
<br />PLANNING
<br />ASSOCIATION
<br />
<br />Lofty Housing Trends
<br />
<br />By Chris Burke
<br />
<br />Cdit gentrification, urban renewal, the downtown loft
<br /> or
<br /> revolution: Downtown housing is hot, hip, and springing up
<br />everywhere, from big cities like Chicago to smaller southern cities
<br />like Columbia, Mississippi. Downtowns are making a strong
<br />comeback with the aid of a strong development push from the
<br />residential market. This issue of ZoningNews examines both the
<br />demographic trends accelerating the development of downtown
<br />housing and the ways in which planners can use zoning tools to
<br />guide quality development in downtown neighborhoods.
<br />
<br />The idea of building housing in the heart of the
<br />central business district.., has been evolving
<br />slowly since the I950s. For many),ears... -
<br />downtown housing fought a mostly losing battle
<br />against suburban development, which often was
<br />more attractive because of its aff0rdability,
<br />amenities, and better public education.
<br />
<br /> Evolution of Downtowns
<br />Historically, Americans have regarded the downtown area as the
<br />choice place of business, entertainment, luxurious hotels, fine dining,
<br />museums, and fancy retail shopping. During the 1950s, however,
<br />downtowns lost much of that special status. Central cities lost a
<br />significant portion of their population to the sugurbs, and the
<br />development of interstate highways facilitated much of the outward
<br />migration. Many businesses continued to locate downtown but, after
<br />traditional work hours, central business districts became more like
<br />ghost'towns than entertainment hubs. By the 1970s, businesses were
<br />relocating to office parks, specialty stores were moving to increasingly
<br />large suburban malls, and cars replaced pedestrian shopping traffic.
<br />These trends became so universal that for planners they virtually
<br />constitute common knowledge. .
<br /> Suburban living, now the predominant lifestyle for American
<br />families, has corfie to overshadow the role of thriving
<br />downtowns in most metropolitan areas. In many cities,
<br />downtowns were thought of'as dwelling places for homeless
<br />persons, drug addicts, and vagrants. Downtowns came to be
<br />perceived as dangerous and undesirable places after dark. In
<br />desperation, developers and city leaders sought ways to revive
<br />their formerly thriving
<br />entertainment hubs. Mayors,
<br />planners, and city councils Mixed-use districts are
<br />decided that their downtowns common zonlngfor downtown
<br />could become viable again if housing. These lofts are located
<br />they could keep people in the on the second story of
<br />area after business hours and commercial developments in
<br />create a residential market, downtown Atlanta.
<br />
<br /> The idea of building housing in the heart of the central
<br /> business district is not new. In fact, it has been evolving slowly
<br /> since the 1950s. For many years, however, downtown housing
<br /> fought a mostly losing battle against suburban development,
<br /> which often was more attractive because of its affordability,
<br /> amenities, and better public education. In many cities of varying
<br /> sizes, inner-city residential development has faced the challenge
<br /> of providing affordable housing in a safe environment.
<br /> During the late 1970s and early 1980s, downtown housing
<br /> was viewed as either serving the upper echelon of society or
<br /> providing an undesirable place to live because of high crime
<br /> rates, the lack ora strong commercial market, and a poor overall
<br /> economy. The decline of downtowns during the early 1970s
<br /> continued with a new wave of suburban development that
<br /> offered more property for the same money, the improvement of
<br /> mass transit systems, the expansion of highways, and the
<br /> relocation of retail and other businesses as a result of the
<br /> continued outmigration from tile inner city.
<br /> In the late 1970s and early 1980s, downtown housing
<br /> acquired new momentum as a response to the growth suburban
<br /> areas were experiencing. In a 1986 article in Urban Lana~
<br /> Colleen Grogan Moore noted that cities had to do something
<br /> "to bolster and ensure a continuing market for the booming
<br /> retail and office development." Although downtown housing
<br /> generated mixed emotions among city leaders, many agreed that
<br /> bringing people back into the central business district was
<br /> necessary to save many downtowns fi'om increasing desolation.
<br /> James Rouse emerged as a key urban planning visionary. His
<br /> Rouse Company set out to revive downtowns by using the
<br /> shopping mall, the same institution that had drawn people out
<br />· of the inner cities, to reverse the flow. With projects in the late
<br /> 1970s and early 1980s such as the Baltimore Harbbr,
<br /> Underground Atlanta, and Boston's Faneuil Hall, Rouse
<br /> Company stirred a renewed interest in moving back downtown.
<br /> Rouse's simple formula was to convert an old historic structure
<br /> into a festival marketplace full of specialty shops and otherretail
<br /> stores. This tool served as an effective catalyst in cities such as
<br />
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