Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73
Interesting ideas, but I'm wondering how you plan on compensating the owners of the cookie-cutter neighborhoods and strip malls you plan to tear down and convert back into farm land. Also, what do you plan on telling people who live there and don't buy into the new urbanist ideas and don't like that type of living arrangement. Sounds like some details need to be worked out.
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Exactly what I was thinking.
I do think that that type of city structure makes more sense, but unfortunately we can't just hit the "bulldoze" icon and start over (I LOVE The Sims and Sim City btw). Once you have a poorly planned metro area that has grown up around strip malls and highways, it's near impossible to go back. You CAN do infill and revitalization projects and hope that will eventually transform the surrounding areas, but it's not anything you'll see the fruits of in your lifetime, most likely.
Money is the carrot and the solution.
Developers will not invest in a project unless they are sure of a return on investment, plus profit. They have to know people will buy. People will not buy unless it is a) convenient to where they work and play, b) safe enough, and c) a reasonably good long-term investment (home value in the area expected to go up). A, B, and C are not going to happen unless the city in question is dilligently investing budget money in things like law enforcement, education programs, city beautification projects, and plans to attract businesses (places of employment) to the city instead of the 'burbs. And when your residents in EXISTING areas of sprawl are complaining about road repairs and parking, and developers are only interested in building on former farmland in areas that they KNOW people will buy (because people want to get away from the dirty, neglected, unsafe, loud, and expensive cities), then I can see how city planning that does not have a vision of a sustainable and livable city and/or is not firmly committed to it, would continue to spend budget money on the same old stuff.
Fake Urbanism: I know exactly what you're talking about. I think it sort of depends on the area. Just take a look at the development names. Around here, people don't have much urban sensibility and prefer to feel like they're in the country, so places have names like "Covington Farms" and "Ripple Creek" (or they take on the name of whatever farm they plowed over, lol). In Portland, Oregon, which is IMO a city where people are proud of their urban lifestyles but the city housing prices are astronomical, I am seeing new developments out in the 'burbs with very urban names. Orenco Station, Streets of Tanasborne (that's actually a shopping center), etc. They're built more blocky and city-looking, I've even seen a few advertised as "brownstones."
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