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The "problem" with downtown Miami is that it was all done ass-backwards. Instead of true urban renewal, our city opted to just erect these condo buildings, in the hope that people would just move in and the area would automatically gentrify. Anyone with more than half a brain could have figured out that this simply would not work, recession or no recession.
If effort had been put into making downtown Miami livable first and if the infrastructure had been put in place first, then you might have been able to build a few condos, alongside commercial high rises to house people who may want to live, work and play downtown.
Sadly, downtown Miami is a failure. It is barely less of a ghost town than it was 10 years ago (with the exception of Bayside). There is no viable retail there and it's still a ghost town. Downtown also isn't exactly safe either, especially at night, when it's so poorly lit anyway (although Brickell is considerably safer). Add to that and sorry to say this, but most of the buildings are butt-ugly and in need of the bulldozer. There are so many homeless people there too. It's not their fault, but it's very sad to see.
I consider downtown Miami to be a missed opportunity. It could have been so different, if someone would have had the vision to build a giant park (kind of like Central Park in NY), along with trying to encourage real retail chains, movie theaters, bars and even the odd nightclub and a world class museum of science/natural history. Downtown could have even had a modern Amtrak terminus and a Metrorail link to the airport and even Miami Beach. Of course, that's all a pipe dream and will probably never happen, at least until the economy does a complete 360 turn and we demand and elect officials that actually care about the city, not just lining their pockets from the coppers generated by ridiculous condo projects.
The Miami metro area is so large that it deserves so much better and a downtown area with as much to offer as Boston or Philadelphia. Of course, it would help if at least 70% of companies in Miami were located downtown, rather than in places like Doral, Kendall or Blue Lagoon (this would have lessened the traffic problem too).
Impossible to do.
First they tore down the large number of hotels catering to winos. I didn't work.
They built the MDCM, Mail Office, large buildings, etc.
It didn't work because they have to REMOVE OVERTOWN ENTIRELY.
They also need to remove all dangerous people from around the OMNI, whatever name it has now, all those people making Biscayne Boulevard a dangerous place.
The solution is not push around marginal populations to socialized dwellings near downtown, but to remove them 30 or 40 miles from there.
Liberty City, I don't quite recall, but I think there's a section of Liberty City that is quite near downtown.
I remember they used some yellow "anticrime" lights that didn't work.
Nobody is going to take public transportation with those characters around.
Impossible to do.
First they tore down the large number of hotels catering to winos. I didn't work.
They built the MDCM, Mail Office, large buildings, etc.
It didn't work because they have to REMOVE OVERTOWN ENTIRELY.
They also need to remove all dangerous people from around the OMNI, whatever name it has now, all those people making Biscayne Boulevard a dangerous place.
The solution is not push around marginal populations to socialized dwellings near downtown, but to remove them 30 or 40 miles from there.
Liberty City, I don't quite recall, but I think there's a section of Liberty City that is quite near downtown.
I remember they used some yellow "anticrime" lights that didn't work.
Nobody is going to take public transportation with those characters around.
impossible to do yet it worked in every metropolitan area in America that employed gentrification tactics. So, maybe impossible in bizarro world but possible here in reality.
So how would you guys revitalize downtown Miami? Any suggestions?
1. Get on my knees and beg Mayor Bloomberg to send engineers down here from MTA (Metro. Transit Authority) to help Miami build a REAL and COHESIVE mass transit system
2. Get on my knees and beg Mayor Bloomberg to send down competent city planners so we could make Miami's urban core (which I think goes from Morning side to Coconut grove, if I am wrong please someone correct me) into a livable urban environment. One with shaded streets and all walkable and with a world class mass transit system. Every street in the urban core should have the feel of coral way (the side closes to the downtown) It has all those huge trees on it and there are TONS of shade.
3. Reach out to Amsterdam and ask them to send engineers to help us build bike ways, again world class.
4. I would build up both the inner port (on Miami River) and the outer port. I would foster trade with Latin America and the Caribbean. I would build the shipping owners facilities with whatever they needed. As long as their request were quantifiable and could be proven to lead to long term profitability.
5. I would send my police captains to NYC to learn what it means to have beat cops. What it means to have cops go into the neighborhoods and learn what it means to patrol a city. Then I would send them to sensitivity training so they don't come back and abuse citizens like SOME of those cops in NYC do.
6. I would bring that racing event that they used to have in downtown Miami BACK to downtown Miami. Why in the hell would you move a event that was HUGE from downtown Miami to homestead where it died is beyond me. That brought in tons of foot traffic and in turn money for local businesses and it was a amazing event. Soooo I really don't get why they did that but they need to reverse that. If F1 can race through the streets of Monaco. Miami can have its own GT race through the streets of Miami darn it!
7. Mass transit on south beach that matches the oen I would build downtown Miami and link it to mainland too. I don't care what the citizens of S. beach thought about it. They could leave for all I care. Things have to change and if they want to hold Miami back then let them take a walk.
8. That dying bayside mall or whatever its called, GONE. I would build a market just like Pike Market in Seattle. I would have fresh seafood right off the boat. Fresh produce from homestead and readlands. Meat market etc. You would think you were in Egypt at a high tech bizarre when I was done with that. Would get locals going there. Would also offer locals the ability to purchase and support local farmers and fruit growers and fisherman.
9. I would develop a first class fishing industry down here. But one that was HEAVILY regulated. That way we can have sustainability. I mean we have some of the best fishing waters in the world. People come from all over to fish down here. So why don't we have this?! I would make room at one of the ports for them to bring their goods in, and the owners of the fishing section of the market in bayside could drive over, pick up the food and drive it a few blocks east to the bayside market.
10. Museums that rivaled the ones in Paris and London. I would hire people from other countries and I would make sure those who were under him (the staff) are locally educated people who could take over once that person retires.
11. Build up bayside park and Bicentennial Park; make sure they are connected in some form of fashion so you can get to either one on foot. I would also put on HUGE free concerts a few times a year (just like central park does). Have local venders come out to sell their goods (again promote LOCAL companies).
12. Throw tons of money and lobby for federal money to help U.M. with their biotech venture
13. We have south beach yet we have no proper clothing district. Would promote that heavily!
14. Find the country in the world that has the best education system and offer the education minister his pick of pent houses in one of the money empty buildings in downtown and brickell along with a beautiful pay package and tell him, come here and educate my uneducated masses! That is the only way companies are going to come here is if the pool of talent here is great enough to make them viable.
15. Work with Mrs Shalala at U.M. to ensure she keeps improving education standards and work to make sure people who graduate from U.M. stay here.
16. Make it official, there will be no more building west of 75. No more building in the everglades. That is a tax on resources and a tax on the well being of future generations. Enough is enough. If we run out of land so what. That will force Miami Dade to build in a more urban conscious way. I would promote new urbanism in the building code down here.
17. Pass a building code rules like those in PlaNYC and enforce them ALL over Miami Dade. I would also eventually expand my mass transit system to Miami Dade but not until the urban core has one that rivals NYC or London. Then I would build out from there and use population density as my criteria.
18. I would try to get bio diesel companies to build in Miami Dade somewhere. I believe bio diesel will be the future of automotives (unless they come up with cold fusion or zero point energy, in which case i would try to get those companies to build here)
19. If the state isn't going to pass laws to regulate HOAs then I would do it. Then I would send someone to Tallahassee and someone to Washington and tell them they need to pass laws to make banks pay their share of HOA fees of previous owners were not paying. And they need to pay ALL of it, not just some.
20. I would scrap the little Havana baseball stadium deal and make them build it downtown, again the urban core needs to be dense and it needs to have things that make people want to go there. With the mass transit in place that would stop people from overwhelming the downtown with ridiculous amounts of traffic. Also again the foot traffic would benefit local business
21. Get that Camillus house out of downtown and over to the new site next to Jackson memorial sooner than later. Then I would make sure the homeless presence in downtown Miami is at a minimum. I would give them no real reason to want to come downtown.
1. Get on my knees and beg Mayor Bloomberg to send engineers down here from MTA (Metro. Transit Authority) to help Miami build a REAL and COHESIVE mass transit system
2. Get on my knees and beg Mayor Bloomberg to send down competent city planners so we could make Miami's urban core (which I think goes from Morning side to Coconut grove, if I am wrong please someone correct me) into a livable urban environment. One with shaded streets and all walkable and with a world class mass transit system. Every street in the urban core should have the feel of coral way (the side closes to the downtown) It has all those huge trees on it and there are TONS of shade.
3. Reach out to Amsterdam and ask them to send engineers to help us build bike ways, again world class.
4. I would build up both the inner port (on Miami River) and the outer port. I would foster trade with Latin America and the Caribbean. I would build the shipping owners facilities with whatever they needed. As long as their request were quantifiable and could be proven to lead to long term profitability.
5. I would send my police captains to NYC to learn what it means to have beat cops. What it means to have cops go into the neighborhoods and learn what it means to patrol a city. Then I would send them to sensitivity training so they don't come back and abuse citizens like SOME of those cops in NYC do.
6. I would bring that racing event that they used to have in downtown Miami BACK to downtown Miami. Why in the hell would you move a event that was HUGE from downtown Miami to homestead where it died is beyond me. That brought in tons of foot traffic and in turn money for local businesses and it was a amazing event. Soooo I really don't get why they did that but they need to reverse that. If F1 can race through the streets of Monaco. Miami can have its own GT race through the streets of Miami darn it!
7. Mass transit on south beach that matches the oen I would build downtown Miami and link it to mainland too. I don't care what the citizens of S. beach thought about it. They could leave for all I care. Things have to change and if they want to hold Miami back then let them take a walk.
8. That dying bayside mall or whatever its called, GONE. I would build a market just like Pike Market in Seattle. I would have fresh seafood right off the boat. Fresh produce from homestead and readlands. Meat market etc. You would think you were in Egypt at a high tech bizarre when I was done with that. Would get locals going there. Would also offer locals the ability to purchase and support local farmers and fruit growers and fisherman.
9. I would develop a first class fishing industry down here. But one that was HEAVILY regulated. That way we can have sustainability. I mean we have some of the best fishing waters in the world. People come from all over to fish down here. So why don't we have this?! I would make room at one of the ports for them to bring their goods in, and the owners of the fishing section of the market in bayside could drive over, pick up the food and drive it a few blocks east to the bayside market.
10. Museums that rivaled the ones in Paris and London. I would hire people from other countries and I would make sure those who were under him (the staff) are locally educated people who could take over once that person retires.
11. Build up bayside park and Bicentennial Park; make sure they are connected in some form of fashion so you can get to either one on foot. I would also put on HUGE free concerts a few times a year (just like central park does). Have local venders come out to sell their goods (again promote LOCAL companies).
12. Throw tons of money and lobby for federal money to help U.M. with their biotech venture
13. We have south beach yet we have no proper clothing district. Would promote that heavily!
14. Find the country in the world that has the best education system and offer the education minister his pick of pent houses in one of the money empty buildings in downtown and brickell along with a beautiful pay package and tell him, come here and educate my uneducated masses! That is the only way companies are going to come here is if the pool of talent here is great enough to make them viable.
15. Work with Mrs Shalala at U.M. to ensure she keeps improving education standards and work to make sure people who graduate from U.M. stay here.
16. Make it official, there will be no more building west of 75. No more building in the everglades. That is a tax on resources and a tax on the well being of future generations. Enough is enough. If we run out of land so what. That will force Miami Dade to build in a more urban conscious way. I would promote new urbanism in the building code down here.
17. Pass a building code rules like those in PlaNYC and enforce them ALL over Miami Dade. I would also eventually expand my mass transit system to Miami Dade but not until the urban core has one that rivals NYC or London. Then I would build out from there and use population density as my criteria.
18. I would try to get bio diesel companies to build in Miami Dade somewhere. I believe bio diesel will be the future of automotives (unless they come up with cold fusion or zero point energy, in which case i would try to get those companies to build here)
19. If the state isn't going to pass laws to regulate HOAs then I would do it. Then I would send someone to Tallahassee and someone to Washington and tell them they need to pass laws to make banks pay their share of HOA fees of previous owners were not paying. And they need to pay ALL of it, not just some.
20. I would scrap the little Havana baseball stadium deal and make them build it downtown, again the urban core needs to be dense and it needs to have things that make people want to go there. With the mass transit in place that would stop people from overwhelming the downtown with ridiculous amounts of traffic. Also again the foot traffic would benefit local business
21. Get that Camillus house out of downtown and over to the new site next to Jackson memorial sooner than later. Then I would make sure the homeless presence in downtown Miami is at a minimum. I would give them no real reason to want to come downtown.
That’s all I can think of.
That was the best post I've read in this entire forum for a long, long time
If you were running for Mayor with ideas like that (even just to bring them to the table to get people actually THINKING ahead), you'd have my damn vote!
22. I would have a congestion tax like the one in London. How this works is you have to pay a toll to drive into London proper. That cuts down on pollution and traffic. It also would provide a source of revenue (help fund mass transit maybe?). NYC tried to pass one for Manhattan but Albany shot that down with both barrels. I think they will regret that and eventually put it in place. I would assume the downtowners would love you for it too. People move to the urban core because they are tired of living like vegetables in their homes and driving everywhere. They want to be apart of a living community. But thats sort of tuff when you are walking amongst car drivers who act as if they are used to driving in a destruction derby.
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