An exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York examines that question from an architectural standpoint. While the designs are rather dramatic, perhaps the most interesting idea is that we need to “change the dream.” That means re-thinking home ownership and single-family homes.

So, yes, density.

But I’m not hot on the idea of building more stuff far from established urban centers. I’d like to see the urban centers fixed first and allow for a continued migration out of the suburbs into the cities.

Plus, I’m all about putting ideas to the energy test. These retrofits make me wonder if they are simply dramatic artistic expressions with little connection to our reality, i.e. an ongoing financial crisis and limited energy resources.

My vision for Springfield: Redevelopment of the urban core on a human scale, i.e. with walkers and bicyclists in mind.

Technorati Tags: Springfield Missouri, sustainability, Urban and Regional Planning, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

[Show as slideshow]

Technorati Tags: Springfield Missouri, Urban and Regional Planning, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

Technorati Tags: cycling, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

Construction crews are finishing work on Park Central Square in downtown Springfield 20 days ahead of schedule. This is the culmination of a four-year effort to improve Springfield’s Public Square.

History
Originally positioned as the city center in 1838, The Square has been significantly reconfigured six times over the city’s history. The last major redesign occurred in 1972, when noted landscape firm Lawrence Halprin and Associates designed a modernist urban landscape, and The Square was renamed Park Central Square.

Over its 35 year life, the power of Halprin and Associates’ design was diminished due to deferred maintenance and numerous unfortunate “improvements.”

A Project Begins to Take Shape
BR&P was brought on to improve the square and make it a catalyst for a more vital downtown. BR&P’s initial designs, developed in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces, featured a number of significant changes to the design, each intended to increase functionality, livability and sense of place in the square, consistent with the directives of a client committee representing more than a dozen stakeholders.

A New Direction
Word spread of the impending changes to Park Central Square, and several local and national interest groups emerged in opposition to changing Halprin and Associates’ work. They nominated Park Central Square to the National Register of Historic Places, and because the project was to be funded with federal dollars, what was originally intended as a makeover, turned into a restoration.

BR&P’s efforts changed from redesigning to restoring and re-invigorating Halprin and Associates’ square — a trip to the Halprin archives in Philadelphia was a significant part of the research — and then making design changes, only when necessary and consistent with that intent.

What to Expect
Needs addressed in the project include:

• Accessibility
• Activity areas on the perimeter of the square
• Stabilized paving
• Supportive bedding for new trees (planted according to Halprin and Associates’ original plans)
• New lighting, jets and mechanical components in the fountain controlled by a state-of-the-art computer system
• Underground vault with controls for the fountain, sound and lighting systems to animate Park Central Square

Park Central Square takes a place in BR&P’s preservation and adaptive reuse portfolio, next to projects such as Boone County Courthouse, Historic Springfield City Hall, Springfield Brewing Company, and the Gillioz Theater.

More on the Square from Carbon Trace:

• Q & A with Tim Rosenbury
• First Friday on the Square

Technorati Tags: cycling, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning

Some advocates are willing to do almost anything to increase participation — including putting novices in danger.

There’s a “but”: It appears rather clear that the more people who ride bicycles in a given area the safer it is to ride a bicycle on the road (convincing novices that the riding in traffic is already safe requires education). A new study recently published in Environmental Practice reinforces the safety-in-numbers thinking and adds a bonus: More people on bicycles makes the traffic system safer for all road users.

There’s another “but”: It appears that bicycle lanes play a minor role in encouraging people to ride bicycles (hoo-ray for that). This new study suggests that narrow streets, a dense grid pattern, and traffic calming are the real keys in the American context (or, in the case of this study, the California context).

Today I want to discuss one of the findings: intersections per square mile. The study shows that safer, high-cycling cities have more intersections per square mile than do less-safe, low-cycling cities. Safe, high-cycling cities in the study averaged 114.2 intersections per square mile suggesting a dense grid pattern. The following graphic illustrates common street patterns. It’s easy to see why grids have more intersections and why grids would tend to calm traffic.

Now let’s take a look the square mile at the heart of downtown Springfield (defined by me as the area surrounding Park Central Square).

That’s a rough estimation using Google Maps. By my (very rough) count using this map, downtown Springfield has 127 intersections in this square mile. Further, the speed limit is 20 mph on most of the roads you see there (exceptions include Grant, Jefferson, Kimbrough, Benton, and Chestnut Expressway).

The four safest cities in the study share something else with Springfield, but the study does not mention it — and I think it is important: The safest cities are all home to universities — Berkeley, Chico, Davis, and Palo Alto. On this Springfield map, MSU is just off the southeast corner, and OTC and Drury intersect the map to the north and northeast.

I’m only discussing grid density now. But this begs the question: Why, then, has Springfield not achieved the kind of bicycling numbers as, say, Davis, California? We have active advocacy (STAR Team) and a cooperative (even enlightened) public works department and police force. We have encouragement and education programming. While facilities such as bicycle lanes play a minor role according to the study, we have some of those, too. That square mile area has several bicycle lanes plus a growing greenway.

I think one important reason we’re not seeing the kinds of bicycling numbers as those California cities is because there are damned few employers of the kind that attract the creative class (notice the income data in the study). Yes, we have entertainment — mostly at night. Yes, we have a growing number of lofts. Yes, MSU is moving into more and more downtown buildings (e.g. Park Central Square Office Building, Jordan Valley Innovation Center, Brick City). Yes, there are banks and churches and stores and restaurants and other small businesses. But there are precious few large employers who employ highly-skilled, creative people of a kind that MSU, Drury, and OTC attempt to produce.

In short, the reasons to bicycle downtown right now are largely confined to after business hours (re: my first post today).

Our urban challenge (one of many): Encourage more employers of the creative class to move downtown. MSU’s movement into downtown is a great start. Now others must follow. Tax breaks help bring employers. Can we, however, save these breaks for employers that bring high-wage creative jobs to town instead of employers who bring low-wage, low-benefit jobs to town.

Our Urban Challenge Series:

• First in a Series
• Getting Started
• Green Density
• Networks
• Barriers
• Free Parking
• The Good Life
• Cost of Living
• Build It First
• Make It Awesome
• The Euro Thing
• Middle of Nowhere
• Young Professionals
• The Big Disconnect
• Where to Live

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle commuting, bicycle culture, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, bicycle safety, cycling, pedestrian safety, Springfield Missouri, traffic design, transportation, Transportation Planning, urban design, urban development, Urban Planning