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Great reply, and I defer to your experience on this matter...most of the cities that I am familiar with were developed when automobile use was uncommon.
Another reason why I have a hard time reconciling all of this, is owed to the assumption that urban planners have more influence over decision making than they actually do. I see the fruit of new urbanist concepts in Charlotte, in the form of bike sharing/dedicated bike lanes, road calming, etc. I forget that pragmatics sometimes override agendas.
Thankfully, the tide is turning in Charlotte:
"Now, they’re putting more faith in a simpler concept to lure renters: A nice coffee shop downstairs, or a restaurant, or grocery store, to give renters somewhere to go without driving.
“After the four walls and the roof to keep the rain out, it’s the number one thing people want,” said Brian Leary, president of commercial and mixed-use development at Crescent Communities."
Sprawl Inc. (consisting of homebuilders, commercial developers, Big Oil, etc) has a lot of sway with politicians but as you mentioned, trends are changing and even Sprawl Inc. sees that there's money to be made in implementing more sustainable practices.
I never stated that using PT works for everyone everywhere, and in the 21st century ride-sharing apps are a huge part of people's daily commute, including those who use PT regularly.
There's more that I could say, but we've really gotten off-topic and I think we've kinda been talking past each other for the past few exchanges anyway.
Cool, but that was my point, PT isn't always reliable which is a pain so another form of transportation or easy access to another form of transportation is required in today's fast-paced society.
"...the winning region will also have the restaurants, outdoor recreation, cultural attractions and general cool of Amazon’s first home, Seattle"
Ha. Amazon is a business. They're not going to base decisions on subjective criteria like "general cool". I imagine they will pick Atlanta for the airport and general attractiveness of the overhead costs.
Since you're back on topic, I agree and all this walkable-cool-city talk is way over the top. If they're going to invest and employ that many people, Amazon wil have cart blanche on how to build that part of the city up and can make any place "cool". Anywhere, USA.
Charlotte does not have the infrastructure to support the booming growth. Get while the getting is good. I’m from the North Easte, and they’re too many of us here now. When I first moved her it was perfect, but that was 15 years ago. Charlotte is a great city, but it has infrastructure issues that need to be addressed. At the same time a lot of culture has come to the area, especially after the DNC in 2012.
Sigh, as I said in another thread, I want my 2002 RDU back. Although the downtowns in NC cities have progressed nicely since then...the quality of life in both Charlotte and Raleigh were premium in those days. Now, we're surely turning into the traffic hell of Atlanta the Northeast.
Amazon's coveted jobs could come at a staggering cost to the winning bidder, and not just in the form of billions of dollars in tax breaks that cities are offering to lure the e-commerce giant.
In Seattle, the home of Amazon's existing headquarters, the retailer has been blamed for astronomical hikes in real estate costs, traffic gridlock, and rising homelessness, among other issues.
"There are a lot of people in Seattle who are at the losing end of the prosperity that Amazon brings," said Knute Berger, a journalist, historian, and Seattle native. "There has been a lot of displacement. Minority communities have largely been driven out of the city for less expensive suburbs, and competition for homes and rents has dramatically increased, contributing to the rising homeless population."
Seattle has led the nation in housing price increases for 13 consecutive months, with prices rising about twice as fast as the national average, according to the Seattle Times.
Trulia data shows the median four-bedroom home in Seattle now costs $847,00, up from $756,000 last year and $510,000 five years ago.
As housing prices rise, so has the city's homeless population.
Mary's Place, a Seattle nonprofit that operates several homeless shelters, said in September that it was on pace to fill 170,000 beds at overnight shelters in 2017. That's up from 2,300 beds in 2010, The Boston Globe reports.
Amazon gets blamed for Seattle's housing crisis because of the influx of well-paid workers it has brought to the city, many of whom are driving demand for the area's dwindling supply of homes...
I do business with Amazon, but I'm otherwise indifferent to their location or the affairs of Seattle. Frankly, I've always heard it was not a great place to live (dating back before Amazon was a behemoth). The Pacific Northwest has generally been friendly to the homeless and while I have plenty of issues with the tech giants, I'm not one to blame them for every social ill.
Sprawl Inc. (consisting of homebuilders, commercial developers, Big Oil, etc) has a lot of sway with politicians but as you mentioned, trends are changing and even Sprawl Inc. sees that there's money to be made in implementing more sustainable practices.
Well for me, the idea of retail in downtown CLT is somewhat selfish: if you're not attending sports events, going to a bar, dining, or going to the theatre, there isn't much reason to visit downtown. Bringing retail into downtown might include niche retailers who will make downtown a destination. Brooklyn Village seems like a great concept, and Stonewall St has some promise.
Toronto, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Boston, New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Northern Virginia, Atlanta, and Miami are the cities on the shortlist.
The list is mostly what was expected, though it is surprising that Charlotte didn't make it (other than the university aspect).
Last edited by JoeP; 01-18-2018 at 08:36 AM..
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