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The ‘New’ Urbanism

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Compass and pencil
Photo: Sanja Gjenero

Imagine buying a city. Completed in 2004, the sale of the Rouse Company included the city of Columbia, Maryland, and 37 malls. The cost was $7.2 billion.

Actually, according to the June 19, 2006, Washington Post article, “[The new owner] General Growth owns 246 of the 493 acres that make up Columbia’s town center, including 65 undeveloped acres. It makes money by selling land to builders, collecting rent from offices and restaurants, and redeveloping its properties.

“David Fick, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, said the planned-community division sets General Growth apart from its rivals because few companies build entire cities.

“Fick is so sure that Columbia Town Center will prosper under General Growth, he moved there after selling his house in the county’s priciest neighborhood. His townhouse is on a road that rings the [Columbia] mall, overlooking the Cheesecake Factory.”

Columbia is a planned city that the Rouse Company started in 1967. An early brochure waxed eloquent about the new approach to building a community: “The heart of the city will be the home of art and music schools, theatres, museums and galleries. By day, one edge of the lake will be a park with restaurants, coffee shops, carousels and entertainment; by night, it will be transformed into a gay and playful wonderland for people of every age.”

A Reconfigured Community

That same year, another planned community was begun by a company in northern Virginia: Reston Town Center. Since then Reston Town Center has had four owners as compared to the two owners of Columbia. Each of the owners of Reston Town Center has implemented new concepts, with “new urbanism” shaping the most recent reconfiguration. While it has a mall, restaurants, and some office complexes, Columbia currently is not configured as a high-density town center.

In reaction to suburban sprawl, community development in the 1980s began to follow a model dubbed “new urbanism.” Such communities have a carefully planned mix of high-density residences (such as condos and townhouses) and high-rise office properties linked by pedestrian-friendly areas such as wide sidewalks, fountains, and pocket parks. A mixture of retail, entertainment, and restaurants within walking distance of the homes and offices evokes small-town America during the early 20th century. Each town center has a different density in line with local zoning ordinances.

Is this new concept of urbanism the answer for communities today?

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Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2006 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Read more at the source: The ‘New’ Urbanism

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from City Lights.

Cody’s Closes

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Photo: Hemera

Cody’s Books opened on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California, in 1956. It soon became a neighborhood cultural institution of the type that helps to give a community real character. While many cities are seeking local  businesses of this type to make the kind of ambiance that attracts creative and affluent people to urban neighborhoods, Cody’s is closing and Berkeley leaders are concerned.

This is really a historic shop. It is the place where Allen Ginsberg read his “howl” poem. Mario Savio was a student employee before he led the campus revolution of the 1960s. Salman Rushdie showed up unannounced and read from his work in defiance of a fatwa. Countless other discussion forums, lectures by authors and poetry readings made this more than just a place to buy books.

In recent years big-box stores like Borders have been causing the demise of many small, independent bookstores. The corporate influence has reached all the way to left-wing Berkeley where Cody’s owner—Andy Ross—told the New York Times last week that he has been losing money for years. He simply cannot afford to keep going.

Changing Times

The neighborhood has changed over the years and so has the campus. Today’s students are less interested in political action and social change, and more oriented toward success in business. The “mix of freedom and unpredictable grit” that has always marked Telegraph Avenue is beginning to mellow or at least be out of favor with new generations.

What local businesses shape the character of the neighborhood where you live? How are they impacted by changes in the economy and culture? What important values do they bring to your community, and how can those values be preserved and the character of the neighborhood protected or even strengthened? Those are questions that require neighbors to get together, talk through the issues and then take creative action. If everyone is too busy or too preoccupied with their own individual and family needs to ask these questions, then the day will come when important community institutions, just like Cody’s Books in Berkeley, will close in your neighborhood.

Respond to this article
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Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2006 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Read more at the source: Cody’s Closes

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from City Lights.

AOK 2nd floor

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With classrooms

Read more at the source: AOK 2nd floor

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Jon Wood.

AOK Control Room

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Read more at the source: AOK Control Room

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Jon Wood.

JFA VideoWall

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Read more at the source: JFA VideoWall

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Jon Wood.

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