DCStreetsBlog.org
Sarah Goodyear // January 20, 2010
Today on the Streetsblog Network, a fascinating look at the top 50 "low-car cities" in the United States -- that is, cities in which a high proportion of households do not own a car at all. Human Transit's Jarrett Walker digs into a list (from Wikipedia) of the US cities with populations over 100,000 with the highest percentage of zero-car households.
New York City, unsurprisingly, ranks first, with 55.7 percent. Seattle is number 50, with 16.32. Looking at the entire list, Walker comes to the conclusion that each municipality on it has at least one of three factors in play: age (older cities were in great part designed before automobiles came into use); poverty; and/or the presence of a large university.
Walker poses an important question: for those of us who see a "low-car" future as something to strive for, what conditions need to come into play in communities without those big three factors? He writes:
So here's the question: How long will it take for a city that lacks age, poverty, or dominant universities to achieve the kind of low car ownership that these 50 demonstrate? How soon, for example, will a city be able to create a combination of density, design, and mixture of uses that yields the same performance as an old city that naturally has those features?
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Showing posts with label Density. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Density. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Taxing Density
Austin Contrarian
January 11, 2010
ROMA, the outfit charged with developing a plan for downtown Austin, has proposed a density bonus ordinance for downtown residential development. ROMA would allow commercial and hotel developments an automatic bonus if they comply with "gatekeeper" requirements, which mainly means complying with the city's urban design guidelines and submitting a detailed site plan for review and approval. ROMA and its economics consultant concluded that the market for office and hotel space will not support a density bonus program.
The big change is for residential. Residential properties seeking an increase from the district's base zoning must not only comply with the gatekeeper requirements but also must pay a bonus on the extra square footage. Half the bonus must be satisfied by providing on-site affordable housing or an in-lieu fee of $10/sf. The other half must be satisfied by providing a "community benefit.
A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot.
MORE
January 11, 2010
ROMA, the outfit charged with developing a plan for downtown Austin, has proposed a density bonus ordinance for downtown residential development. ROMA would allow commercial and hotel developments an automatic bonus if they comply with "gatekeeper" requirements, which mainly means complying with the city's urban design guidelines and submitting a detailed site plan for review and approval. ROMA and its economics consultant concluded that the market for office and hotel space will not support a density bonus program.
The big change is for residential. Residential properties seeking an increase from the district's base zoning must not only comply with the gatekeeper requirements but also must pay a bonus on the extra square footage. Half the bonus must be satisfied by providing on-site affordable housing or an in-lieu fee of $10/sf. The other half must be satisfied by providing a "community benefit.
A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot.
MORE
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Taxing Density
Austin Contrarian
January 11, 2010
A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot. The claim that it does not raise the price because no one is entitled to an increase in density is a bit of misdirection. The fact is that the city has an unwritten policy allowing increases in base square footage. A property owner who wants more square footage can reasonably expect to get it for the payment of a nominal amount. And it is expectations that determine property values, not the words written in the code. Raising that cost -- frustrating those expectations -- reduces the incentive to build that last square foot.
The density bonus program is a bad idea because extra space downtown is an unmitigated good. We shouldn't tax economic goods; we should tax economic bads.
More space means room for more people. And more is better, at least for downtown. More people means more demand for downtown businesses, a livelier streetscape, more eyes on the street. We should encourage the clustering of people downtown. Density bonuses shunt people elsewhere.
MORE
January 11, 2010
A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot. The claim that it does not raise the price because no one is entitled to an increase in density is a bit of misdirection. The fact is that the city has an unwritten policy allowing increases in base square footage. A property owner who wants more square footage can reasonably expect to get it for the payment of a nominal amount. And it is expectations that determine property values, not the words written in the code. Raising that cost -- frustrating those expectations -- reduces the incentive to build that last square foot.
The density bonus program is a bad idea because extra space downtown is an unmitigated good. We shouldn't tax economic goods; we should tax economic bads.
More space means room for more people. And more is better, at least for downtown. More people means more demand for downtown businesses, a livelier streetscape, more eyes on the street. We should encourage the clustering of people downtown. Density bonuses shunt people elsewhere.
MORE
Street Corners vs Cul de Sacs
CEOs for Cities
January 10, 2010
"Walking the Walk" and "Driven to the Brink." Hint: Good urbanism -- strong core cities and mixed-use neighborhoods -- works.
January 10, 2010
"Walking the Walk" and "Driven to the Brink." Hint: Good urbanism -- strong core cities and mixed-use neighborhoods -- works.
Deep Walkability
World Changing
Alex Steffen // January 10, 2010
Several pieces of Net flotsam today (local columnist Danny Westneat's clueless call for more parking lots around Seattle's new light rail stations; a NYT articleon findings that walkable density appears to increase property values and buffer against real estate crashes), got me pondering again the nature of "walkability."
Walkability is clearly critical to bright green cities. You can't advocate for car-free or car-sharing lives if people need cars to get around, and the enticement to walk is key to making density wonderful, to providing realistic transit options, to making smaller greener homes compelling and to growing the kind of digitally-suffused walksheds that post-ownership ideas seem to demand. So knowing how to define "walkable" is important.
MORE
Alex Steffen // January 10, 2010
Several pieces of Net flotsam today (local columnist Danny Westneat's clueless call for more parking lots around Seattle's new light rail stations; a NYT articleon findings that walkable density appears to increase property values and buffer against real estate crashes), got me pondering again the nature of "walkability."
Walkability is clearly critical to bright green cities. You can't advocate for car-free or car-sharing lives if people need cars to get around, and the enticement to walk is key to making density wonderful, to providing realistic transit options, to making smaller greener homes compelling and to growing the kind of digitally-suffused walksheds that post-ownership ideas seem to demand. So knowing how to define "walkable" is important.
MORE
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Andy Sarwal - Austin Mixed Use Developer
AustinAmericanStatesman
January 2, 2010
January 2, 2010
Andy Sarwal
A virtual unknown in the local real estate community, Sarwal is overseeing one of the few large mixed-use projects still going forward in the region: University Park, a $750 million complex that is transforming the former Concordia University campus north of downtown into apartments, townhomes, a hotel, a movie theater, offices and retail space.
Last year, Sarwal and his mystery investors raised $39 million to finance the first office building, now home to Texas Monthly magazine and an Aveda Institute salon training school.
Financing for major real estate developments remains unusually difficult to obtain, but Sarwal said recently that funding is in place for the hotel, a Hyatt concept called Andaz, and a planned 450,000-square-foot building that will include a Premiere Cinema Corp. theater and about 340 apartments.
'I just know I'll drive longer distances and to all the ends of the Earth to accomplish something,' Sarwal said. 'I will get a deal done.'
the Green Top 10 for 2010
the Original Green
December 29, 2009
10 the Offshoring Reversal
9 the Sustainability of Preservation
8 Gizmo Green Gets Exposed
7 the Meltdown Vacuum
6 the Return of the Garden
5 the Re-Coding of the City
4 the Return of Durability
3 the Emergence of the Live-Work
2 the Big Convergence
1 the New City
MORE
December 29, 2009
10 the Offshoring Reversal
9 the Sustainability of Preservation
8 Gizmo Green Gets Exposed
7 the Meltdown Vacuum
6 the Return of the Garden
5 the Re-Coding of the City
4 the Return of Durability
3 the Emergence of the Live-Work
2 the Big Convergence
1 the New City
MORE
Downtown Dallas' bustling success yet to come, but Uptown is already booming
Dallas Morning News
David Flick // December 27, 2009
Downtown Dallas has yet to become the bustling success story that was hoped for a decade ago. But boosters remain undeterred.
"What we had was a little bit too much optimism and a little bit too much recession," said John Crawford, president of the nonprofit DowntownDallas
The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened in October to international fanfare, capping a decade that saw corporate relocations, the opening of new retail stores and the introduction of high-end restaurants
The most encouraging development, Crawford said, has been the growth in the downtown population.
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David Flick // December 27, 2009
Downtown Dallas has yet to become the bustling success story that was hoped for a decade ago. But boosters remain undeterred.
"What we had was a little bit too much optimism and a little bit too much recession," said John Crawford, president of the nonprofit DowntownDallas
The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened in October to international fanfare, capping a decade that saw corporate relocations, the opening of new retail stores and the introduction of high-end restaurants
The most encouraging development, Crawford said, has been the growth in the downtown population.
MORE
Year's Top Smart Growth Stories
NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // December 29, 2009
(10) Despite robust ridership, transit service and quality continued to decline.
(9) Smart growth and sustainable communities were largely missing from the federal stimulus.
(8) Exciting developments in GIS- and web-based technology advanced walkability and smart communities
(7) Local agriculture emerged as a component of green development.
(6) Congress, nonprofits and other parties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(5) Land use solutions continued to get short shrift in climate discussions that matter. ties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(4) The Obama administration stepped up for sustainable communities.
(3) Street design became a major smart-growth issue.
(2) LEED-ND was completed and approved for implementation.
(1) The recession hurt smart development somewhat, but sent sprawl into a virtual coma.
MORE
Kaid Benfield // December 29, 2009
(10) Despite robust ridership, transit service and quality continued to decline.
(9) Smart growth and sustainable communities were largely missing from the federal stimulus.
(8) Exciting developments in GIS- and web-based technology advanced walkability and smart communities
(7) Local agriculture emerged as a component of green development.
(6) Congress, nonprofits and other parties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(5) Land use solutions continued to get short shrift in climate discussions that matter. ties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(4) The Obama administration stepped up for sustainable communities.
(3) Street design became a major smart-growth issue.
(2) LEED-ND was completed and approved for implementation.
(1) The recession hurt smart development somewhat, but sent sprawl into a virtual coma.
MORE
Favorite New Urbanism Posts for 2009
NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield
Transforming the Market for Development Location
In sustainable communities, architecture and preservation, does beauty matter? Should it?
Virginia adopts innovative smart streets rules
Walmart, McCain forge new alliance to fight sprawl
Considering the role of density in smart growth
Smart growth must become more demanding, more community-oriented, and greener
“If you don’t have safe streets, all the light rail lines in the world aren’t going to save your city”
Kaid Benfield
Transforming the Market for Development Location
In sustainable communities, architecture and preservation, does beauty matter? Should it?
Virginia adopts innovative smart streets rules
Walmart, McCain forge new alliance to fight sprawl
Considering the role of density in smart growth
Smart growth must become more demanding, more community-oriented, and greener
“If you don’t have safe streets, all the light rail lines in the world aren’t going to save your city”
Effect of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments on Residential Property Values
Mineta Transporation Institute Report
The development of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) is increasingly being used to increase transit ridership. TOD, apart from providing the transit ridership, has also gained popularity as a “smart growth” tool that addresses the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and other ills of auto-oriented sprawl-like development. TOD’s increasing popularity is evidenced in efforts at all levels of government to promote the coordination of transportation and land use.
MORE OF THIS REPORT
The development of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) is increasingly being used to increase transit ridership. TOD, apart from providing the transit ridership, has also gained popularity as a “smart growth” tool that addresses the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and other ills of auto-oriented sprawl-like development. TOD’s increasing popularity is evidenced in efforts at all levels of government to promote the coordination of transportation and land use.
MORE OF THIS REPORT
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Dallas Design District's second redo takes shape
Dallas Urban Core
December 11, 2009
ustin Tamayo did a double take as he was driving through the Dallas Design District a few months ago."I was amazed to see the all apartments they had built," Tamayo said. "I didn't know all of that was there."
Tamayo was so taken with the neighborhood that he moved there. "I bring my friends down there, and they're surprised at what's here," he said.
Indeed, if you haven't taken a recent spin down Hi Line Drive – or don't even know where it is – the trip will be eye-popping.
Developers have built three big apartment communities just west of Stemmons Freeway, and hundreds of residents have moved in.
Restaurants and shops are on the way.
"Obviously having 1,000 apartment units with a lot of people makes it more of a 24-hour environment," said Mike Ablon of Pegasus Ablon Properties, which is marketing the redevelopment. "There's a lot of excitement about the overall Design District."
MORE
December 11, 2009
ustin Tamayo did a double take as he was driving through the Dallas Design District a few months ago."I was amazed to see the all apartments they had built," Tamayo said. "I didn't know all of that was there."
Tamayo was so taken with the neighborhood that he moved there. "I bring my friends down there, and they're surprised at what's here," he said.
Indeed, if you haven't taken a recent spin down Hi Line Drive – or don't even know where it is – the trip will be eye-popping.
Developers have built three big apartment communities just west of Stemmons Freeway, and hundreds of residents have moved in.
Restaurants and shops are on the way.
"Obviously having 1,000 apartment units with a lot of people makes it more of a 24-hour environment," said Mike Ablon of Pegasus Ablon Properties, which is marketing the redevelopment. "There's a lot of excitement about the overall Design District."
MORE
Realizing the dream in Rowlett
Dallas Morning News
Ron Miller of Rowlett // December 13, 2009
Ron Miller of Rowlett // December 13, 2009
During the settlement years of mid-America, after the Civil War and before 1890, two things almost assured the future of any new town for the first 150 years after its establishment. The first thing needed for a secure future was a railhead. The railroad must come to town. The second thing needed was a cattle trail, which subsequently would become a numbered highway.
Today, development of a prime suburban city takes a little more work.
Rowlett was a sleepy little wide spot in the road 34 years ago. It had 1,500 people. Now it has a population of 55,000. It had no railroad or cattle trail, and any roads were only two lanes without shoulders. There were no stoplights.
Rowlett grew simply because Dallas spilled out over its lip. Mesquite, Garland, Richardson and Plano all grew into major cities. Each of these cities had one feature in common. All had major highways to accommodate them. Rowlett probably should have been gobbled up, since it had few of the required resources. But it wasn't. Somehow, the little town survived and grew modestly.
Then it seemed to grow faster than contemporary civic planning could keep up. Some nice things were missing: nice parks, bike paths, hiking trails, upscale commercial development – and the jobs resulting from commercial development.
Rowlett is only now receiving a railhead and a major highway. A cattle trail was dismissed as unnecessary. DART is busy planning for the construction of the DART Blue Line, and the North Texas Tollway Authority is busy building the extension of the President George BushTurnpike through Rowlett and connecting with Interstate 30.
MOREAustin Considers Density Bonus
The Austin-American Statesman
Shonda Novak // November 29, 2009
Seattle has a plan. So do Tampa, San Diego, Portland, Denver, Nashville and Calgary. Vancouver is the exemplar, a city that has used a developer bonus system to encourage density downtown while assuring that the city core doesn't become a forest of bulky high-rises with a scarcity of parks, public amenities or places for moderate-income people to live.
Now it's Austin's turn.
On Dec. 17, the Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on proposals for a voluntary program under which downtown developers would be rewarded with extra space or height for their projects if they provide certain community benefits, such as affordable housing, child care services or cultural spaces.
MORE
Shonda Novak // November 29, 2009
Seattle has a plan. So do Tampa, San Diego, Portland, Denver, Nashville and Calgary. Vancouver is the exemplar, a city that has used a developer bonus system to encourage density downtown while assuring that the city core doesn't become a forest of bulky high-rises with a scarcity of parks, public amenities or places for moderate-income people to live.
Now it's Austin's turn.
On Dec. 17, the Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on proposals for a voluntary program under which downtown developers would be rewarded with extra space or height for their projects if they provide certain community benefits, such as affordable housing, child care services or cultural spaces.
MORE
Friday, December 25, 2009
Consultant argues for density near Austin's center to offset sprawl
From: The Austin-American Statesman
By: Asher Price // October 22, 2009
By: Asher Price // October 22, 2009
Recommendations by a consultant for the redevelopment of the Brackenridge tract, the 350-acre University of Texas-owned land west of downtown, call for denser construction than City of Austin rules would generally allow.
The difference draws a line of control between the city and the university over the land and reopens a broader discussion of how to encourage growth in West Austin.
The two plans by the New York-based consulting firm, hired by the UT SystemBoard of Regents, imagine the Brackenridge tract — now home to a municipal golf course, a university field lab, stores, offices, restaurantsand two-story apartment complexes along Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake — redeveloped as a densely built, walkable, close-in alternative to suburban sprawl.
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