The problem of the suburbs is one of the great challenges facing urban America today. Older suburbs across America are struggling with population declines, decaying commercial areas, and increasing poverty. As ever more suburbs start to fall into the aging category, this problem seems likely only to grow more severe over time. Even the currently shiny new suburbs on the edge seem unlikely to hold their allure when they too are full and old, with even newer edge burbs just down the road. Enormous amounts of time, money, intellectual … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2009
Chicago: A Declaration of Independence
"One might fear the degree to which the city had declared its independence from nature, but at the same time one could hardly help feeling wonder at its audacity.""Other cities soon had railroads and elevators and refrigerator cars as well, but it was Chicago that first revealed the importance of such things to the West." - William Cronon, Nature's Metropolis As promised, I commence my year of looking back at the Burnham Plan of Chicago on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. To set the stage, let us first take a look at Chicago - its … [Read more...]
Retrofitting Suburbia
What to do about the suburbs? This will be the great urban development challenge in coming decades. As growth radiates out ever further from the central city, older suburban areas lose their allure. They are selling an obsolete version of the same basic auto-oriented development style as newer suburbs, but with higher taxes, more crime, and worse schools. This puts them in a strategic rough spot. Inner ring suburbs across America are starting to decay. The first sign of trouble seems to be decayed, abandoned strip malls and commercial … [Read more...]
Urban Alumni Networks
If you didn't read the comments on my recent posting "Our Product is Better Than Our Brand", I strongly suggest clicking through to see them. There are some very thoughtful and insightful contributions from readers that are very worth checking out. One thing a couple people suggested was tapping into people who moved away. This is a great idea. Jim Russell has been exploring the concept for quite some time over at Burgh Diaspora. There are a few examples out there of cities that have done it. Boston is working on one, for example. But this … [Read more...]
“Our Product is Better Than Our Brand”
Beyond the obvious of climate and such, why is it that so few people choose to move to the Midwest, which continues to see very high levels of out-migration with comparatively little in-migration in most cases? You see, I've always been struck by an interesting point: when people move to Midwestern cities, they fall in love with them. I know a lot of people who have left Indianapolis for various reasons, but don't know anyone who left cursing its name and saying how much they hated it. In fact, just the opposite is more likely. People are … [Read more...]