Will DT Raleigh grow to become like Charlotte? (Durham, Winston-Salem: how much, homes)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Is it reasonable to expect that a city that is a little more half the size of Charlotte (not to mention having a much different downtown business climate) to be able to offer the same amenities?
Up front, let's stipulate that the fabulous things Dan Douglas envisions for downtown Raleigh aren't all going to happen—at least, not in every detail. And maybe in no detail: The state and the city have a long history of not working together. Add in the county, two public utility companies, three railroads and Triangle Transit, and the number of permutations for how this scheme goes awry are to the nth degree. [...]
Very interesting... a lot of what this urban planner espouses is in line with my thinking, but I can see much of it will not appeal to the OP Charleston Dude.. er... Apex Intruder with his ideological bent, and his aesthetic preferences for high buildings, methinks. But who knows, people always surprise
I love the part in the article about undergrounding the rail yards... ah, but aa girl can dream...
Is it reasonable to expect that a city that is a little more half the size of Charlotte (not to mention having a much different downtown business climate) to be able to offer the same amenities?
Yes. Charlotte was not always as nice as it currently is. They had to start somewhere. Raleigh should be able to do the same. Hopefully when the economy picks up in a decade or two, the progress can ramp up faster.
Raleigh screwed up not putting the stadium closer/in Downtown.
They definitely did and as of recent they are already updating the 20-30 year plan to build the next stadium iteration closer to downtown Raleigh. This is what happens when you have idiots in office who weren't looking to the future and comparing the mistakes of other cities who built stadiums on their outskirts.
Raleigh screwed up not putting the stadium closer/in Downtown.
I agree it would have made more sense to put it downtown. It would have offered more of a draw for the downtown area especially on nights and weekends.
Raleigh and Charlotte are difference cities. Raleigh is definitely more family oriented where charlotte has more singles and childless couples. Don't get me wrong, not that Charlotte doesn't have families and Raleigh doesn't have singles I just think the percentages are a little different.
Given that, would Raleigh thrive if it had more city life with all the young families that it attracts? Something worth thinking about. Or, would it attract more singles and childless couples if it had more of a downtown draw? Something to think about as well. I guess only time will tell.
Yes. Charlotte was not always as nice as it currently is. They had to start somewhere. Raleigh should be able to do the same. Hopefully when the economy picks up in a decade or two, the progress can ramp up faster.
I'm not sure I can agree with that, given (1) the significant differences in the cities' two economies - especially Charlotte's heavy reliance on a downtown-centric banking industry, which Raleigh lacks and is unlikely to develop, and (2) the wider dispersion of businesses in the greater Raleigh area, rather than being concentrated around a single urban core.
Raleigh is Raleigh; Charlotte is Charlotte. I don't see one becoming like the other.
Raleigh really needs to tighten up, and by that I mean plan for a denser, more vibrant city core. Economist and urban planners agree that sprawling suburban life is bad for the environment, quality of life, and the economy and is unsustainable. Therefore, wise cities are attempting to spark vitality in their city centers, by zoning for dense, mixed used development in the city center. Moreover, the young, well-educated, professional Creative Class that cities covet generally love cities with walkable, 24/7 vibrant city centers, so it is also a matter of luring attractive demographics to the region. We cannot continue to live in this radically economically/environmentally unsound manner that the Triangle was built upon.
sprawling suburban life is bad for the environment, quality of life, and the economy and is unsustainable.
This is actually completely wrong. Much of the urban development has been incredibly destructive to the environment in so many ways. It is only when smart sprawl AND smart urban development are implemented that we can make the best use of all our resources. Remember, not too many farms that grow our food are located in the DT urban cores of many cities.
Also, I know that many urban only lovers would like to see no suburban or rural development at all, but that will never happen. The best development is a mix of both, which is the direction the Triangle is currently going. I would just like to see a bigger and better plan for DT Raleigh.
Many urban planners think that freeways hurt urban development. However, most cities with direct downtown freeway access have relatively large downtowns. Uptown Charlotte has BY FAR the most freeway exits of any downtown in the State. I-277 as it is called was named after Mayor Stan Brookshire (Brookshire Frwy) and Mayor John Belk (John Belk Frwy). These two freeways were constructed during the 70s and 80s. Ironically, much of Charlotte's first skyscraper boom started in the 70s and continued into the 80s during this downtown freeway's construction. (Yes, Charlotte's skyscraper boom actually started with the construction of a downtown freeway nearly 15 years before Charlotte ever thought of becoming a National banking player).
I have always wondered how DT Raleigh would look today if I-440 were a much smaller downtown loop. Would Crabtree be closer to downtown? Would North Hills be closer to downtown? Maybe Wake Med would be downtown too? Would Wake Tech have a stronger downtown presence?
Call me crazy, but development follows freeway exits IMO. The strongest post-automobile downtowns in the South (and for that matter, the Nation) have GREAT freeway access (as well as rail transit). Honestly, I think a downtown freeway would be a great start for Raleigh. I won't go into details. I just think it would help Raleigh's downtown development efforts.
Raleigh really needs to tighten up, and by that I mean plan for a denser, more vibrant city core.
You can't address this issue focused on just Raleigh alone. The challenge for the Triangle is that it has multiple economic cores - downtown Raleigh, north raleigh, RTP, Durham, Chapel Hill .... it is a dispersed economy here, and there's no planning on earth that is going to suddenly (or even over decades) change it into a single core region that is typical of some larger cities. The Triangle is what it is.
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