A Two Percent Solution (suburbs, highway, downtown, regional)

[AJNEOA]

I stumbled on this article while trying to research something else and I wanted to share it with this forum.

A Two Percent Solution for Downtown Rochester (NY) - Brookings Institution

It's targeted at my hometown of Rochester, NY, but I believe it's applicable to most cities in the United States (especially those of the same age or older). There has been a lot of discussion about the Return to the City, and I believe it to be true. Our cities are in a strange time, where downtowns are gaining population, but the poorer ares are still bleeding faster (in some cities). Therefore, population gain/loss may not be a straight-forward indicator of the momentum that a city may truly have.

Some of the noteworthy quotes that I can relate to:

The advanced, technologically sophisticated firms that now drive the American and global economy crave proximity … to thick pools of qualified workers, to specialized legal and financial support that often require face-to-face interaction, to institutions of higher learning, to modern infrastructure, to quality urban places with the amenities that talented workers demand, and to other firms so that innovations can be rapidly shared.

Finally, the evidence shows that the urban form is not only competitively wise, but fiscally and environmentally sound.

• We have known for decades that compact development is more cost efficient – both because it lowers the cost of delivering essential government services (police, fire, emergency medical) and because it removes the demand for costly new infrastructure.
• The fiscal benefits of density matter immensely in this state because of the huge infrastructure demands that you have and the transportation finance crisis that you face. The simple fact is that you simply cannot afford to expand your highway and transit capacity, maintain your surface transportation system, and reconstruct or even demolish other infrastructure that is now obsolete.
• As for the environment, dense urban places are “green” in ways that are increasingly understood in the context of climate change. They reduce auto dependence, shorten commutes, promote reuse and offer the economies of scale for retrofitting of homes, commercial and industrial buildings.

A changing economy and society, in short, revalue the assets of cities:

• Physical assets like waterfronts, historic buildings, pedestrian friendly neighborhoods and transit rich corridors;
• Economic assets like higher educational institutions and health care facilities (the so-called “eds and meds”), downtown employment centers, and other regionally significant nodes of employment;
• Cultural assets ranging from the iconic like museums and sports stadium and theaters to the street level mix of restaurants, art galleries, and daily hum of pedestrians.

A return to the city does not mean the suburbs will die (nor do I want them to). It means that the US may start to see the value in its urban places once again. Thoughts?