Marking the Date: 9-11

My first trip to NYC was planning well before September 11th but it happened that I would be in NYC in late October. I took the picture at right on October 30, 2001, near ground zero. I’ll never forget the horrible stench in the air from the still smoldering “debris.”

I could have shown you pictures of the mangled buildings in the area and the blocked off streets around ground zero. But not today. Today is for the people who lost their lives in New York, DC and in Pennsylvania.

Rather than go off on a ‘we are at war due to sprawl and SUV‘ rant I’ll just direct you to James Howard Kunstler for said perspective.

Peace.

St. Louis Suffers Due to Lack of Urban Design Guidelines

Whenever I speak of making St. Louis’ neighborhoods and commercial streets more “urban” I think people have visions of turning St. Louis Hills into Times Square. Nothing could be further from the truth. It really has to do with how we plan our areas and seek to accommodate people as well as their cars. Pedestrian-friendly is about making it easier for people to walk from A to B to C and back to A. These principals transcend scale and work in a town of 2,000 as well as a city of 2 million.

The conflict I’m having with so much recent development is that it is happening in a system void of planning thought. The developer meets with the Aldermen and they negotiate a few things while trying to keep the public from knowing what is going on out of fear they might sabotage the whole thing. It is the St. Louis way. The problem is that I know this can be done differently and is in cities all over North America.

Our zoning, dating to 1947, says what cannot be done. It basically encourages sprawl development and makes good design an exception rather than the rule. What it doesn’t say is what we, as a community, are seeking. It does not articulate a vision. So how do we communicate what we want? Urban Design Guidelines.

Cities that are actually seeking to improve their physical environment through well-planned development create “Urban Design Guidelines” to help guide the development process. These are most often in the form of non-legal phrasing and graphics that are easily understood by everyone. Typical zoning, on the other hand, often requires an attorney that specializes to help determine what can and cannot be done. Form-based zoning, on the other hand, uses graphics to help illustrate what is sought for that particular portion of the community.

It should also be noted that Urban Design Guidelines are different than “plans” for an area. Cities, including St. Louis, have stacks and stacks of unrealized plans. In some cases, this is a good thing as earlier plans called for the razing of Soulard & Lafayette Square to be replaced with low-density housing on cul-de-sac streets. Plans are usually grand visions for an area that lack funding. They are created, everyone gets excited about what may be, no funding is given to implementation and the plan sits. In the meantime poorly executed development that prompted the need for a plan continues through the outdated zoning. UDG look at the vision different — setting out goals for an area such as walkable streets. The guidelines then indicate how this is to be accomplished. Guidelines help guide new construction and renovation projects so that, over time, an area is improved. It is a smart and realistic way to guide physical change in a community.

Below are some examples of Urban Design Guidelines and related documents from a variety of cities in North America. This is only a tiny fraction is what is out there. I’ve only scanned each at this point so I am not making any claims we should adopt any of these for St. Louis. What I am saying is we need to be creating guidelines for future development and have debates over what we seek as we develop the guides — not over each and every proposed project.

City of Denver:

• Denver Guidelines by area
•Commercial Corridors
•Streetscape 1993 (excellent!)

City of Ottawa:

•Large-Format Retail
•Gas Stations
•Traditional Main Street
•Drive-Through
•Outdoor Patios

City of Toronto:

•Toronto Urban Design Guidelines
•Townhouses

Various Cities:

•Lawrence KS – downtown guidelines
•Scottsdale, AZ – Gas Stations
•Huntington Beach, CA
•Mankato, MN
•Niagra, Ontario
•Niagra, On — Large Format (big box)
•Mississauga, Ontario
•Tampa, FL

City of Madison, WI

•Best Practices Guide (an amazing document — a must read)
•Inclusionary Zoning (for affordable housing)

Madison even did a study called, “Grocery Stores in City Neighborhoods: Supporting access to food choices, livable neighborhoods, and entrepreneurial opportunities in Madison, Wisconsin”. From the executive summary:

Guiding the decisions of food retailers- and providing support for them- in order to ensure equitable access to food and promote livable, walkable neighborhoods is a difficult task faced by non-profit organizations and local governments in cities across the nation. Since all people require food on a daily basis and shop for it frequently, food retailers should be recognized as far more than simply another retail establishment. However, even as many municipal governments realize this, there are limited ways for cities to intervene in support for grocery stores when particular parcels of land are owned and controlled in the private realm. Market forces and consumer behavior all too often work against the success and proliferation of small grocery stores distributed equitably across the City.

Click here to read the full report.

City of Houston:

As I was working on this post a regular reader sent me an article about how good development in Houston’s midtown is lagging behind because the city’s zoning encourages auto-centric results.

Like explorers hacking a path through the jungle, a small but determined group of developers, planners and civic leaders has
struggled for 12 years to create a unique urban environment in Midtown.

Much of what they are trying to achieve —a walkable neighborhood with a vibrant street scene is forbidden by city development rules still focused on the automobile. Leaders of a civic group have dipped into their own pockets to pay for alternative design plans for a proposed Main Street drugstore that clashes with their Midtown vision.

“Unfortunately,” said developer Ed Wulfe, chairman of the Main Street Coalition, “the Houston way is slow and painful.”

Read through these Urban Design Guidelines and you will see how the community is indicating its desires for a more walkable and cohesive environment yet none of it is designed to force businesses out or create cities without cars. Cities have been working on guidelines for a good 15 years or so but St. Louis remains way behind the curve. This places us at an economic disadvantage when it comes to attracting both new residents as well as potential employers. What would it take to get us working toward community design guidelines — probably the one thing we don’t have enough of: political will.

Developer Curran Tosses Egg on Preservation Board’s Face

Developer Michael Curran just reduced the number of units at the Mississippi Bluffs project from 56 to a measly 34. I say measly because the site is a massive 8.2 acres. Part of the site, as you may recall, had the wonderful but tired Doering Mansion (shown at right). This formerly graceful mansion sat on the far north 1.79 acres. Myself and others argued before the Preservation Board the Doering Mansion should be saved which would still leave 6.4 acres for new construction. The Doering Mansion was razed earlier this year.

From the Suburban Journal last week:

Curran had argued before the St. Louis Preservation Board late last year that he had to have the larger amount to make the project feasible.

At the time, Curran was seeking the Preservation Board’s permission to tear down the Doering Mansion on the north side of the property to make room for more townhouses.

He said at the time with a smaller amount of townhouses – 42 – he couldn’t recover the cost of preparing the property for development, including demolishing the old Good Samaritan Home. To recoup the investment on a smaller area, he would have to build a larger condominium development with about 120 units.

That would overwhelm a prime piece of property, Curran said at the time. Rather than do that, Curran said at the time he would sell the property to another developer.

The Preservation Board wound up voting to approve the project and demolish the mansion.

OK, just so we understand. Before the mansion was razed it was argued by the developer that if he could not tear down the historic structure that would reduce his planned 56 units to 42 units and at that rate he could not make any money and would be forced to abandon the project and sell the property. The only way he could recoup his costs if the mansion stayed was to build a bigger structure on the balance of the site containing 120 units. The classic doom and gloom argument.

Now, he says, due to site costs he cannot build 56 units because it would be too expensive!!! Thus, he is placing only 34 units on the 8.2 acre site. He couldn’t make money with 42 units on 6.4 acres plus a mansion but he can somehow make money with 34 and no mansion? Was the Preservation Board taken for a ride when they approved the demolition of the Doering Mansion? I think so.

This is yet another example of a poorly executed project in this city. The Mansion was razed in February and yet no construction has begun. Had they started razing the old Good Samaritan Home first they might have realized the folly of their plan and been able to go back to the drawing board before the loss of the mansion. This developer has an excellent track record with historic rehab projects but is not doing so well with new construction. He probably would have been better off with the old mansion. This fine example of planning shares the same ward as Loughborough Commons, Matt Villa’s 11th Ward.

“Excuse Me, Where is Soulard Market?”

“Follow me”, I said. This was the conversation today at 7th and Chouteau as an older man pulled up next to me while I was on my scooter at a red light. I was heading home from downtown and was going to pass Soulard Market. As we got to Soulard Market I pointed so he’d know we were there and he waved.

The point of the story? It is not about a need for signs pointing to Soulard Market but that people talk to me all the time while I am on the scooter. Every time I’m out on the scooter I get questions from motorists or pedestrians asking for directions or “what kinda mileage do you get?” Sometimes when I am driving my car I will have similar interactions if I have my windows down but so often people have their cars all closed up. I never understood those people that have a convertible with the top up in perfect weather.

At lunch today a friend said he and his wife are considering a two seater scooter. While I never occurred to me before, but it struck me how intimate that could be for a couple — a level of intimacy that they can’t get in a car (at least not while driving).

This past Monday marked the 1-year anniversary of my scooter and I could not be more pleased. It does not offer the exercise or thrill of a human powered bicycle but it is far better than any car (and I’ve had 3 fast European turbo-charged cars). I’ve done about 2,300 miles in the last year which is not bad considering that right after I got my new car in November I didn’t ride the scooter much in the winter.

Some of the basic questions with answers.

•Is that a Vespa? Nope, Honda Metropolitan.
• What did that run you? New Metropolitan’s are $1,850+ tax. Some Chinese imports are cheaper, Vespas are considerably more.
•What kinda milage you get? 85-90mpg.
• How fast will it go? 35mph.
•Can you go on the highway? See previous answer.
• Do you feel safe? Yes, defensive driving is a good practice regardless of the vehicle you use.
• Do you need a license, registration or insurance? Oh boy, this is a big gray area. Nearly everyone in Missouri will tell you that with a 49cc scooter that you do not need any of these. Part of the Missouri law speaks to the top speed of an unregistered moped being 30mph. I know of nobody in Missouri that has registered or insured their 49cc scooter.

A year ago I was just seeking some fun and to save some money on gas, although not enough to save on the purchase price. Today I see the value is much greater to me than simply the gas savings. I get unexpected conversations with strangers and a very flexible vehicle that is great for running around the city.

Envisioning Smart Growth

A California firm known as Urban Advantage Inc. is doing to some great work helping people envision how their environment could be transformed. I thought showing some of their work might illustrate to all of you how small & incremental changes can, in the end, have a big impact. I contacted Urban Advantage principal Steve Price and obtained his permission to use a few of his images:

Price starts with the “existing conditions,” in this case an older shopping street that has seen better days.

He then subtly adds in some “building facelifts, restoration of ground floor retail, infill development.” The changes are few but you can begin to quickly see how a few tweaks here and there can begin to have an impact.

Then we can see how it might look with new sidewalks and a resurfaced street. Minor change but freshens the whole look.

And finally with urban street trees, new street lamps and pedestrians.

See the Urban Advantage website for roughly 10 more examples in a variety of settings — I think you will be impressed by the changes. Well, most of you anyway. Others will stubbornly cling to what they know and refuse the accept that we can actually design public streets for people on foot, bike, scooter, transit or car. It takes good planning and making improvements with each and every capital improvement or construction project.

Price’s images have been published in many places and recently he did some “Community Transformation Images” for the Sierra Club that are amazing. Please check out all six of those, paying close attention to how gas stations and wide streets are handled.

I’m looking into training in such Photoshop work through Mr. Price or some other architectural specialists doing similar work. My thanks again to Mr. Price for allow me the use of his images and for helping people everywhere see how their ordinary spaces can be transformed into walkable streets.