Tracking the Future of Light-Rail

Trains have long been a fascination for me. I recall boyhood trips with my dad and brother to Union Station in downtown Columbus, Ohio, to buy the Sunday edition of The New York Times. If I was lucky, a locomotive followed by unending train cars would come rumbling through at the same time—with the much-anticipated caboose serving as the highlight of my entire weekend  As a teenager, I experienced my first passenger-train ride, traveling pleasantly from the aforementioned Ohio station to my Florida destination.

Thirty-five years later, my interest is now focused on a rapidly emerging form of transportation called light-rail. Gliding along at street level at a lower capacity and speed than heavy rail, these trains are touted by many transportation advocates as the wave of the future. Typically part of a larger transportation network, light-rail systems are designed to provide point-to-point connections to passengers locally and regionally.

Ridership interest in light-rail slowly continues to gain traction across the U.S., with the American Public Transit Association reporting a respectable 0.57% increase in passenger trips this year. Much of this uptick is attributed to the surge in gas prices that we’ve seen over the past several years, leading many to seek out more cost-effective commuting options. Moreover these electrified trains emit little or no pollution while protecting our nation’s energy independence in a competitive world, causing growing numbers of American’s to see light-rail travel as the essence of a green, progressive life.

As awareness grows about the benefits of light-rail, cities nationwide are bellowing the words “all aboard” relative to new passenger lines. The pioneering work of Atlanta’s Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority (MARTA), the San Francisco region’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the MAX line in Portland, and the Metro in Washington, D.C. have influenced cities like Charlotte, Denver, Houston and Salt Lake City to implement light-rail systems.

The MAX Light-Rail in Portland, OR

Norfolk, Virginia’s sleek new light-rail project, “The Tide,” is scheduled to open in 2010. The west side of town will anchor one end of the line, running 7.4 miles through Norfolk and ending in its sister community of Virginia Beach. Excitement also is high in the Phoenix metro area where a 20-mile line with 28 stops commenced in December 2008. Early returns show the line is generating 60% more riders than originally projected — a much-needed shot in the arm for businesses and retailers in downtown Phoenix.

With those statistics in mind, what’s the likelihood of light-rail becoming the transportation option of choice among a larger share of Americans?  To gain a better perspective on this question, I have become a frequent passenger on a light-rail line running from Sacramento to Folsom, where I reside. This experiment is part of my simultaneous pursuit of a car-free lifestyle — a decision I am discovering creates a number of logistical challenges for those wedded to public transportation.

My morning commutes into Sacramento start at 6:40 a.m. with a short trek to the light-rail station in downtown Folsom, either by bus or bicycle. While I prefer the bus option, particularly if I have a meeting where a shirt and tie is needed, I am becoming more amenable to the idea of cycling to the station, as I can take my bike with me on the light-rail train to ease my access to locales downtown.

Sacramento Light-Rail

That being said, I have couple of brief observations.  First, while purchasing a ticket should be easy the process feels daunting at times due to frequent malfunctions with the machines. The convenience of buying a full-day ticket on the bus trip to the Folsom station is another reason why this I prefer the this option in the morning over my bike.

Then there is the issue of costs. Ticket-fare increases on light-rail lines are a nationwide reality, which creates an interesting conundrum: Passenger loads continue to increase amid squeezed regional transit agency budgets — a scenario evident in Sacramento, where passengers find themselves paying more for less comfortable rides. Then there is the chicken-or-the-egg question of fare enforcement; namely, the lack of transit officers checking tickets due to budget constraints while simultaneously dealing with lost revenues from those taking advantage of the system.  Tickets are checked only once out of every fifteen rides I make on light-rail — a boon for blatant fare avoiders or those who are economically challenged due to the recession.

People watching is also an interesting endeavor while on light-rail. Armed with an undergraduate degree in sociology, I’m particularly captured by the diversity and social interactions that are a part of the public transportation culture.  All in all, a broad mosaic of the Sacramento’s socioeconomic strata rides light-rail throughout the day, some with questionable mental states.

One of my recent discoveries about downtown Sacramento is a growing cadre of light-rail enthusiasts who hold the secret code of how to navigate the Sacramento Regional Transit maze. One look at the hieroglyphic light-rail map and schedule and it becomes quickly apparent that newbies would greatly benefit from a tutorial. I found myself befuddled one afternoon after discovering that my appointed location for catching the train home had been moved unceremoniously. After sorting through advice from a disparate set of strangers, I was finally able to identify my designated departure location.

Several well-heeled suburban riders have advised me to take the train only during the morning and evening rush hours, as thugs are less likely to be onboard then. This perception of light-rail danger among suburbanites is surprisingly common. Moreover it often surfaces in communities where new light-rail plans are being discussed, serving as a reason for either not moving forward with the project or limiting it. This is true in my own suburban area, where the last light-rail train to Folsom leaves Sacramento at 6:15 pm. The skewed logic seems to be that criminals are more likely to ride several miles to Folsom in the evening hours, break into a house, and then try to get back on light-rail with their loot in tow.

These sorts of ridiculous mindsets create the barriers to fully integrating light-rail as a transportation option of choice. Many of the residents in my community rarely visit downtown Sacramento by public transportation or car, unless it’s for work. The limited evening hours also hinder suburban residents from enjoying the downtown Sacramento nightlife, including the opportunity to have a drink or two without worry of having to drive home afterward. Many of the struggling Sacramento venues would greatly benefit from the infusion of suburban dollars.

As a result of my experiences here in the Sacramento region as well as in other cities like Portland, I’ve come to five conclusions about light-rail:

1. It’s a viable transportation option as long as funding is available to ensure its success. Budget shortfalls equal light-rail stagnation. Building and maintaining a light-rail system is an expensive prospect, therefore a return-on-investment is a necessary part of the equation. Randall O’Toole of the Cato Institute says an average mile of light-rail line costs two to five times as much as one mile of an urban freeway lane. He cites as an example the Portland MAX light-rail line, which has spent more than $2.3 billion—half of the region’s capital funds for transportation—but carries less than one percent of Portland’s travelers.

2. Light-rail or any current form of public transportation is not a substitute for cars. As a number of transportation experts attest, we have to remain mindful of the “Prius Effect,” where energy-efficient cars potentially undercut the appeal of public transportation options like light-rail. Moreover, urban sprawl may make the convenience of light-rail too logistically difficult without the availability of cars. Moving past this conundrum requires the pursuit of more cooperative partnerships between light-rail and advocates of alternate forms of transportation, such as bicycle groups and private companies like Zipcar, which offers on-demand, short-term auto rentals for car-free enthusiasts.

3. The biggest influencers on light-rail ridership will continue to be traffic jams and rising fuel costs. The trump cards for light-rail will be convenience and safety. Addressing the latter two items will help overcome the former two complaints.

4. Light-rail must take a page from the coffeehouse book and get on the Wi-Fi bandwagon. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) authority in San Francisco is among several national transit systems that have announced plans to offer Wi-Fi access to commuters. BART’s initiative, projected to be completed in 2011, will offer high-speed mobile access for 104 miles of track and 43 stations. Rumor has it that some Bay Area employers may offer work-hour credit to their employees for being online and actively working during their light-rail commute.

5. As light-rail gains popularity, there will be a correlating increase for more train manufacturing and maintenance facilities. Good news on the jobs front, as our nation crawls out of the recession. One company is already making its mark in this area: Siemens. It has the only permanent light-rail manufacturing facility on U.S. soil. In fact, one out of every three North American light-rail vehicles is produced at the company’s Sacramento plant, and its list of cities served is impressive: Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston, Charlotte, Norfolk, Edmonton, Calgary, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento. Siemens offers more good news: plans to add upwards of 200 jobs in the next 18 months.

The future of light-rail is rife with possibilities in terms of growth and sustainability. What remains certain is its place at the table when discussions turn to economic and environmental benefits to society.

Evening View of Downtown Sacramento Skyline

Landscape Architect Champions the Alchemy of Urban Design

Ed Dermody is a landscape architect from St. Louis, MO that I met on LinkedIn.  He holds a degree in landscape architecture from Kansas State University and has been practicing landscape architecture for more than 20 years. He has many design projects to his credit in Missouri and Illinois as well as in the Bahamas and Saudi Arabia. Ed was also as planning commissioner for the City of Maryland Heights, MO, for over 10 years.

Ed has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, including private estates, low-impact developments, sustainable designs, public and private parks, streetscapes, and waterscapes. Past clients include private resorts, multi-family communities, commercial & retail developments, nonprofits and local municipalities. Currently, Ed is currently working with his local municipalities to develop green infrastructure ordinances that advance sustainable design principles in the St. Louis region.

I recently had a chance to interview Ed regarding the future of Urban Design. Here are a few of his thoughts:

1. You have long been an advocate of urban design. Why do you believe these practices are vital to our nation’s urban revitalization efforts?

My advocacy for this movement began 20 years ago when the benefits of urban design to our communities became apparent. In particular I became intrigued as to how these efforts reduce urban sprawl and “recycle” our nation’s downtown areas.  The big-picture hope is for our lands and properties, long forgotten and devalued, to become viable and capable of supporting larger, more diverse populations, thereby creating a greater sense of community and place.

2. What are the potential benefits to a community from embracing sustainable urban design practices?

Sustainable building practices and site design have proven valuable to our urban areas as they allow for redevelopment of antiquated utilities (storm water systems) and buildings—practices that enhance efficiencies so that ownership and utility costs will be reduced. Significant community benefits are achieved when we reduce consumption levels burdening existing systems, thus mitigating the need to build new infrastructure, such as roadways, storm water systems and electric lines.

Social and economic benefits related to sustainable planning practices are also achieved through a better understanding of the need for balance between housing, retail, employment and public amenities. An example of this is in the case of affluent neighborhoods where employment opportunities and amenities are needed to attract this demographic, boosting the sustained growth of these areas.

Finally, let’s not overlook the importance of diversity as a support system for social institutions and sustainability. Through these networks a sense of community identity is forged, bonding everyone together.  This will then reduce crime rates, increase property values and influence civic connections with adjoining communities.

3. What cities currently offer best-case models of urban design?

Cities like Omaha, NE, Greenville, SC, and Kansas City, MO, immediately come to mind in terms of their commitment to urban design practices. Omaha in particular has taken ambitious steps to generate positive change in urban, suburban and surrounding communities. They have worked hard to redefine themselves—efforts that have increased their regional standing and competitiveness. Infused in their urban design philosophy is a recognition of the importance of cultural diversity and world-class public arts, all factors influencing their sense of community identity.

4. There is so much talk these days about “green design.” What’s your take on the future of these practices?

I believe green design represents a reversal of the design and engineering principles creating during the industrialization of America. As such the future of green design is very promising because the advancement of technologies and our environmental understanding has permeated into the academic communities. Our next generation of planners, architects and engineers will spur new ways of thinking about our environment, bringing green design to a more commonplace practice.

That being said, green design needs to be viewed in a broader context—one where economic, social and environmental questions are given equal play.  As a landscape architect, I believe that environmental sustainability plays an important role in improving storm water run-off, efficient site design, preservation of unique or historical elements, increased beneficial landscape, and protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare. Design becomes most inspiring when these goals are achieved in an artful way, one that blends nature and science into living sculptures.

5. What one person has most inspired your design philosophy over the years?

I would say James Wines through his book De-Architecture (Rizzoli International Publications, Inc, 1987).  Although he focuses primarily on architectural principles, the underlying philosophies of De-Architecture have allowed me to create design principles that can be applied to any project. These design principles, coupled with Stephen Bungay’s Study of Hegel’s Aesthetics (Oxford University Press, 1987), create a framework of design rules and a process to understand fundamental issues. This broader philosophy is a frame work of design rules that govern the design process and ultimately the final outcomes.

Hey Job Seekers: Don’t Mess with California, Mess with Texas

For those persistent souls seeking to join, or rejoin, the ranks of the employed in the Golden State, here is a word of advice: Don’t mess with California, mess with Texas.

In short, the State of California is currently sucking wind relative to quality job opportunities. Sadly, millions of state residents are suffering mightily as job losses mount, paychecks shrink, and houses are lost.

From Los Angeles to Sacramento, job seekers say finding work has become an exercise in futility. As of this writing, the statewide unemployment rate is 12.2% and rising. Many highly qualified professionals I know, often with advanced degrees, have been out of work for upwards of a year. New graduates are even more disillusioned, many resorting to travel abroad or graduate school until the job market regains some traction. Even the otherwise robust health care industry is not immune, as the pace of hiring for nurses and other health professionals has slowed considerably.

State government jobs, historically a safe haven for those seeking secure employment, have arguably taken the biggest hit. “Furlough Fridays,” a mandate requiring California state workers to take three unpaid Fridays off a month to help mitigate the state’s budget shortfalls, have been particularly devastating to the state’s economy. This has now created a ripple effect adversely impacting local retail establishments that depend on state-worker spending to keep them afloat.

Adding to this madness are the number of unemployed job seekers still holding out for state job openings. So why is this occurring, particularly when the state testing system makes being selected a year-long proposition at best? Applicants would likely say that the perceived long-term security is the heart of their persistence. The problem with this mindset is that the gold-watch days of secure employment and a lucrative pension are likely over. And even if one finds themselves lucky in landing one of these increasingly rare opportunities, the question remains as to whether the perceived long-term security is worth the sacrifices inherent in a contracting state employee pool.

Here’s another interesting aside, this one relative to the private business world: Many of the statewide companies with available jobs are having difficulty finding well-qualified candidates to fill them — an even sadder scenario for the future of commerce in California.There are a number of possible explanations for this, the largest being that the crumbling educational system in California is failing to produce the levels of talent that companies are seeking.

Then there is the state’s anti-business culture, which makes doing business here costly and complex. Medical technology firm Medtronic offers proof of this situation. Earlier in 2009, the company announced it was moving its diabetes products division out of Northridge, California, to a new 150,000 square-foot facility in Texas. Once settled in the Lone Star state, Medtronics plans to hire nearly 1,400 staff over a five-year period. That’s huge! And the reason boils down to simple math: Rumors persist that Medtronic officials found the cost to their company to be $10,000 less per employee per year in Texas than in California.

By the way, it’s now 6:30 a.m. and I’m still on my laptop writing this article from a coffee shop down the road from my house. Seconds ago I exchanged morning pleasantries with a gentleman who then asked me what I was working on. Upon sharing with him that I was writing about the tenuous job situation in California, his eyes lit up. Turns out he was laid off in 2008 and has been out of work for over a year. With no prompting he cites two examples of out of state companies that have purchased failing businesses here. Their state of origination: Texas. “Hum,” I thought. “That’s interesting.”

Here’s the bottom line:  If you’ve got California on your mind in terms of job opportunities or pursuing a start-up business, you might want to think again. So where should one explore? Let’s eliminate Michigan right off the bat. Its 15.2% unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. What about Nevada, California’s neighboring state to the east? Nevada often touts its success in snatching companies away from California’s unfavorable business climate, yet it registers a 13.2% unemployment rate, second highest nationally.

If I had to place my bets on a state in terms of employment and business opportunities, the aforementioned Texas immediately rises to the top of the list. That’s why I contend that job seekers should mess with Texas, not California, or Nevada (at one time the fastest-growing state in the union), or heaven forbid, Michigan.

Why Texas? The pro-business culture has created a high-octane job engine, one where despite workforce cutbacks, 589,500 more jobs exist in the state now than did a decade ago. Its unemployment rate is at 8.1% (compared with the national average of 9.7% and 12.2% in California). And the housing costs there are generally dirt cheap.

According to a recent bizjournal.com survey of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, four of the five most robust employment markets nationally are in Texas: Austin ranks first; San Antonio is second; Houston is fourth; and Dallas-Fort Worth rounds out the list with a ranking of fifth.

The only non-Texan city in the lineup is third-place Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Speaking of that town, while having a margarita at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Folsom (CA) recently, I struck up a conversation with the person next to me who happened to be from Baton Rouge. He confirmed that all of the quiet fuss about the job market in that area was indeed true. He noted the stable presence of companies like Dow Chemical, Kaiser Aluminum, and Exxon as key to growth in the area. In addition the area is blessed with a major shipping port as well as Louisiana State University, one of the largest higher-education institutions in the nation.

Okay, back to the Lone Star state. Is all of the chatter about Texas, true? I’m scheduled to travel down to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in February of 2010, so stay tuned for the real scoop. In the meantime, the few Texans I’ve talked with have all responded in the affirmative regarding prospects in those parts. For example, a colleague of mine in Fort Worth shared something she observed recently — a growing number of cars in the corporate parking lots have out-of-state license plates, making one wonder if news is catching on about the state’s milk and honey environment. And a retired Texas state official told me that their state prison system is literally begging for employees. Perhaps not the ideal workplace scenario for many folks, but then again it is a job.

Here’s the bottom line: California needs to get its act together quickly or the sucking sound from businesses and job seekers leaving this state is going to get mighty loud. Our state leaders need to step up and develop a comprehensive economic development plan that supports jobs and prosperity because, absent a strategy, why would one want to fool around with California when they can mess with Texas. Go south young lad, go south.

Coworking: Building Community and Revitalizing Cities

Coworking is an exciting new phenomenon, rapidly seen as a revitalization catalyst for cities nationwide. As a coworking enthusiast and member of the Urban Hive in Sacramento I am excited to have Marilyn Finnemore, co-founder of Winchester, Virginia based Bright CoWork discuss the merits of this movement and its importance in terms of fostering civic connection in America. Marilyn and I first became acquainted through an esoteric social networking site called Twitter and have since built a conversation around the future of coworking. Our hope is this piece will offer some compelling insights into this emerging trend.

By Marilyn Finnemore

One of the recent trends in progressive cities across America is the emergence of coworking spaces, which offer professionals inexpensive, collaborative, creative places to work as an alternative to traditional offices or working from home.   Unlike sterile, fluorescent-lit telework offices, these new coworking environments recognize the importance of place and our human need for beauty, community, and connection.

Recently, I co-founded a cowork space in Winchester, Virginia: Bright Cowork.  We discovered that the majority of those who’ve joined us fled traditional workplaces years ago to avoid long commutes or escape from the cubicle farm.  Working from home was a dream come true at first, but now they feel lonely and miss the collaboration that makes the best workplaces sources of energy and creativity.   Bright Cowork, like many coworking spaces, is designed with these creative types in mind.  It’s has an open, bright floor plan and moveable furniture that allows co-workers to work alone or in ad hoc groups.  It is full of light, color, and art, and is centrally located in the middle of Old Town Winchester so coworkers can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, the post office, city offices, and everywhere else.

As Old Town Winchester seeks to revitalize and be economically viable in the 21st century, I believe that spaces like Bright Cowork are vital.  These spaces build a connection between these professionals and the City and bring in important energy.  They attract artists, architects, musicians, programmers, and a diverse group of others who believe in collaboration and community, the heart of what revitalizes downtowns like Winchester, Virginia.  Besides being more productive than they’ve been in years, our coworkers are always involved in pro-bono community-focused projects as well, e.g. creating websites for volunteer groups, hosting events, presenting innovative solutions to Old Town Development Board and downtown businesses.   They’re always helping launch a new business or make existing businesses more successful.

I think this type of energy comes from connecting people to Place.  In today’s increasingly suburbanized, boxy world, providing beauty and community may be one of the most important things we can do to promote human wellbeing and the wellbeing of our Cities.

Tweetups Fuel Downtown Sacramento Social Connections

In the book Bowling Alone, author Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, suggests that Americans increasingly are becoming more socially isolated — a trend he calls “an erosion of social capital.” His well-chronicled perspective has since become the mantra of many social media critics: namely, that the Internet is the primary catalyst driving our disconnection.

Downtowns have a long history as centers of civic connection: Parks and plazas serve as gathering points for communal activities and events; coffee houses offer relaxation and conversation; restaurants allow family and friends to break bread together. Geographically central in their proximity, downtowns are easily accessible to local urbanites. And the appeal of these settings is growing among suburban residents, attracted to the diverse, cultural amenities that these environments offer.

The buzz of late in downtown Sacramento is around the convergence of the ever popular in-person Twitter-related gatherings known as Tweetups. “Two parts social and one part business,” says Alejandro Reyes, who along with his media-consulting colleague Sierra Friend, are the catalysts of these events.  Tweetups provide a forum to connect people who either have crossed paths in the Twitter virtual world, or are curious to discover what all the fuss is about. And unlike the online version where messages are limited to 140 characters, attendees can babble on about their personal and professional exploits ad infinitum — fueled in part by free-flowing beverages.

Earlier this year Reyes and Friend set out to determine whether Sacramento residents would be willing to awaken from their reclusive slumber — tweets and all — and connect person-to-person at organized events. While their first Tweetup in a suburban locale attracted respectable numbers, it quickly became apparent that downtown Sacramento would likely serve as a more robust engine for their ambitions. As a result of moving the event to more urbane settings, per event attendance has skyrocketed to upwards of 150 participants.

The contention that social networking is an urban phenomenon is supported by a Pew Internet and American Life Project survey that reveals thirty-five percent of Twitter users live in urban areas. Even more remarkable is the finding by comScore, an Internet marketing research company, which stated the primary user demographic of this social networking site ranges between the ages of 45 and 54.

So what does the future hold for online social networking as a driving force for real-world meetings? Is it a panacea for the social isolation Harvard professor Putnam notes in his critically acclaimed book? Many home-based, small business professionals that I’ve talked to are hopeful that Tweetups and other Internet-driven, in-person events will provide avenues of social connection or even new business opportunities.  And this method may serve as a nationally innovative tool for downtowns that are seeking to attract much-needed foot-traffic and vitality to their areas amid tight economic times.

Eventually a conclusion will be reached as to whether this online/in-person social movement is a Trick or Tweet. What do you think? Send me an email or a tweet. My Twitter handle is @urbanist27 for those of you who want to add your two cents on this topic.

The New Face of Downtown Milwaukee

Exploring the historic role of America’s downtowns as centers of civic connection has long been my labor of love. Nothing engages me more than the opportunity to visit one of these locales, seeing first-hand its significance — past, present and future.

When I first discovered that the 2009 International Downtown Association annual conference would be held in Milwaukee, my enthusiasm to attend was tepid. Having visited the city’s downtown core in the late ‘80s, I was somewhat familiar with its culture and feel. My takeaway impression back then was a lifeless and unappealing relic best described as its namesake beer: “Old Milwaukee.”

The news for downtown Milwaukee is much brighter now, as the city continues its push to become a vibrant urban center. The largest city in the state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s rich cultural legacy is the foundation of a move toward relinquishing its reputation as a moribund industrial town. German ethnicity is evident throughout the metropolitan area, with 38% of residents still claiming some ancestry. Sausage markets and beer pubs still exist as legacies of this deep heritage.

View of Wisconsin Street

Once the home to four breweries — Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller — Milwaukee for many years held the distinction as the number one beer-producing city in the world. The city now boasts a broader array of companies, allowing for a more diversified economy. In fact, Milwaukee ranks fifth nationally in the number of Fortune 500 companies as a share of population. The roster of firms calling this city home include Manpower International, which is considered the largest temporary employment agency in the world; Northwestern Mutual, with a pristine reputation in the insurance industry; and Harley-Davidson, which has long been the darling of motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide.

Much of Milwaukee’s urban core resurgence can be directly attributed to the forward-thinking tenor set by John Norquist, the town’s mayor from 1988-04. Norquist, now president of the Congress of New Urbanism, is best known for instituting progressive zoning changes that boosted downtown housing. This initiative led to a major downtown population spike (from 700 to over 15,000 residents today), which in turn spurred vitality. Norquist was also instrumental in dismantling a major barrier to downtown Milwaukee’s future fortunes; namely, a mile-long stretch of elevated freeway that traversed through downtown — making the city the first in the nation to remove a freeway in its central-core and opening up a wide swath of land for redevelopment opportunities.

Milwaukee City Hall

The city has also successfully capitalized on its most prominent asset, the Milwaukee River. Collaborative efforts between downtown businesses, nonprofits and city government have led to the revitalization of a stretch of walkable landscape along the city’s downtown waterfront. The “River Walk” now attracts locals and tourists alike to its outdoor dining, retail, and community arts activities.

Milwaukee Riverwalk

Byron’s Beer Garden and Bistro, located just off the river walk on Wells Street, is one example of the distinctive Wisconsin ethos that has reinvigorated Milwaukee’s downtown core. I met a colleague for lunch and drinks at Byron’s outdoor patio and had a magnificent dining experience. One of the bistro’s servers recommended their signature macaroni and cheese dish, which for me conjured up visions of the Velveeta brand my 7-year-old daughter enjoys. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Featuring four cheeses native to the “Dairy State,” this dish turned out to be so tasty that I nearly put in an order for seconds. As you may have guessed by its name, Byron’s is also known for its robust beers. Having tasted one of their darker brews, I am now a real fan.

While the downtown area serves as the crown jewel for central Milwaukee’s resurgence, there are several communities on the periphery that hold bragging rights of their own. With a swanky public market, the Historic Third Ward district continues its upward trajectory of revitalization; the Brady Street district, a former ‘60s hippie outpost, now attracts an eclectic mix of creatives, bohemians, and early retirees to its retail and housing amenities.

As for the future of downtown Milwaukee, all indicators point upward. While the city has its shortcomings — Milwaukee has the second-coldest average temperature in the nation, behind Minneapolis — it has done well by focusing on the distinct qualities it does possess. Revitalization efforts are apparent along the main downtown thoroughfares, as loud jack hammers and construction crews spruced up streets and older buildings. And current mayor Tom Barrett seems just the type of leader needed to move the city to its next rung.

Revitalization Efforts Along Wisconsin Street

All of this is good news in Milwaukee’s quest to position itself as one of our nation’s fastest-rising urban centers.

Transforming Pedestrian Malls Through Vehicular Traffic

Several years have passed since I last visited Charlottesville, Virginia. But I think often about the magnificent pedestrian mall that graces their downtown. Known as the “Historic Downtown Mall,” it is the area’s heart of civic activity, featuring more than 120 shops and restaurants located in pristinely maintained historic buildings surrounding Old Main Street. Eclectic in feel, it in many ways reflects the ethos and vibe that define this university town.

Historically, pedestrian malls had great appeal as centers of community vitality. Their beginnings date back to 1959, when Kalamazoo, Michigan, became the first American city to adopt one for its downtown area. From there, the pedestrian mall concept gained momentum as 220 cities followed suit, closing downtown thoroughfares to traffic and paving them with cobblestones. With retail establishments and eateries serving as points of attraction for residents and visitors, foot traffic became abundant.

Today we are seeing a reversal of this trend. Urban experts point out that pedestrian malls have lost their luster, and as business activity has dried up, many of these streets have become barren and unsafe. In response, cities such as the aforementioned Kalamazoo have reopened their walkable streets to vehicular traffic, in line with a popular belief that automobile activity serves as a magnet for economic activity. “There is certainly evidence to suggest that the reintroduction of cars to these malls boosts economic development,” says Brad Segal, president of Progressive Urban Management Associates, a Denver-based consulting firm specializing in downtown and community development.  “Our experience has been that retail tends to work better when there is vehicle access, visibility and parking near storefronts.”

Storm Cunningham, CEO of Resolution Fund, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that provides resources for the renewal of communities and regions, takes the opposite approach. He believes cars should be reintroduced only as a last resort. “I think the failure of so many pedestrian malls has been primarily due to lousy planning, lousy choice of streets, lousy timing, and/or lousy design, rather than any basic fault of the concept. City leaders and planners are often quick to undervalue other processes that would help make these pedestrian mall assets a success.”

There are examples to prove right the positions of both Segal and Cunningham. Chicago’s State Street serves as a successful pedestrian-vehicular mall transformation. Recalibrated into an exclusively walkable corridor in 1979, fortunes there slowly declined, sapping the street of its economic activity and leaving it barren and unsafe. The city reopened the street to traffic in 1996, and the area is now thriving once again, with the reinvigorated Marshall Field’s store serving as the street’s flagship retailer.

In Sacramento, the pedestrian mall on K Street is the topic of debate. The conversation concerns a proposed initiative to reopen the streets to cars. Closed to vehicular traffic 40 years ago, the area is now suffering mightily for it, replete with abandoned storefronts, panhandlers, and trash-encumbered streetscapes. One of the nation’s few pedestrian malls with light-rail trains running down its center, K Street is locally considered the spine of the city’s downtown. One major question is how trains, bikes, cars and pedestrians will coexist together. “I’ve yet to see a pedestrian mall and light-rail configuration work successfully,” says Segal. “Add cars to the equation and you have an even greater logistical challenge.”

Blighted Streetscape Along K Street in Sacramento

Challenges notwithstanding, the movement towards returning cars to pedestrian malls has a great deal of momentum behind it. However, there are still a number of holdouts in terms of exclusively walkable streetscapes. Third Street mall in Santa Monica represents one success story, although much of its foot traffic is attributed to a highly targeted tourist market. Riverside, California, is in the midst of a renewal effort for its pedestrian-friendly downtown, with the goal being to rebrand it as a destination hub. And plans are afoot for a Times Square pedestrian mall in New York, to better accommodate the 350,000 walkers and bikers who daily frequent the area.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Expert Interview: Author and Community Revitalization Expert Storm Cunningham Discusses Key Economic and Redevelopment Issues

I became acquainted with Storm Cunningham as a result of having purchased a book he authored entitled reWealth: Stake Your Claim in the $2 Trillion reDevelopment Trend That’s Renewing the World. And I’m so glad to have discovered it in the front section of Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Emeryville, California,  for it provides a wealth of fresh insights on revitalizing the economy, environment, and quality of life in communities worldwide.  I asked Storm if he would be allow me to interview him for my blog, and he was gracious enough to agree. I’m confident you’ll enjoy reading it. –Michael Scott

1.Cities throughout the nation are facing major budget shortfalls due to systemic economic issues. What advice do you have for city leaders seeking to jump start their redevelopment efforts amid limited funding?

They need to use this crisis to rid themselves of discredited economic development practices.  For decades, planners and economic developers have been taught to do things backwards. The standard formula has been to “attract” employers via whatever means necessary, assuming that the resulting economic growth will improve quality of life.”  This has resulted in a zero-sum, self-destructive “arms race”, whereby communities steal employers from each other by giving away years–or even decades–of tax revenues. It’s reported as “economic growth”, but it’s obviously no such thing for the state or the nation, as jobs just move from one place to another within their borders.

If one looks at the truly great “back-from-the-dead “success stories, we see the opposite strategy at work.  Communities that have perpetuated their revitalization for a decade or more (Chattanooga, Bilbao, etc.), focused on improved quality of life first.  This attracted high-quality employers who actually wanted to be there…who didn’t pull-up stakes as soon as the freebies ran out.  That doesn’t mean that tax (and other) incentives aren’t a useful tool: but they shouldn’t be the only tool (as they often are), and they certainly should not comprise the heart of their strategy.

Chattanooga, for instance, recently attracted a $1 billion VW plant with incentives, but that was just the icing on their strategic cake.  It was their leading-edge, long-standing, multi-faceted revitalization process that made the city desirable in the first place.  After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Chattanooga was officially designated the filthiest city in the nation (one often had to drive with the headlights on in the middle of the day, the air pollution was so bad), with high crime, severe racial problems, and an industrial economy that was hemorrhaging over 1000 jobs annually.  Now, Chattanooga is a world-renowned showcase of beauty, social harmony, low crime, and economic growth.  You don’t get results like that just by offering tax incentives.

2.You are a huge advocate of public-private partnerships. Why do you believe these sorts of working relationships are vital to development efforts?

I’m a huge advocate of “renewal partnerships”, not necessarily the public-private partnerships in general.  There has been vast abuse of the public trust in the name of “public-private partnering” over the past two decades.  Clearly it’s not a partnership if the private sector takes no risk.  Yet many so-called public-private partnerships have been little more than sweetheart deals for politically-connected firms.  Or they result in effective monopolies for very large multinational firms that take advantage of desperate communities, who lack the legal expertise or wherewithal to defend their interests.

A “renewal partnership” is one that plays by the rules…the three “renewal rules” that my recent 6-year research project revealed to be the “secret formula” of the best revitalization successes.  They are:

• ReWealth (basing wealth-creation primarily on the renewal of existing assets, as opposed to sprawl)

• Integration (of the natural, built, and socioeconomic environments)

• Engagement (of all stakeholders affected by–or involved in–the renewal process).

They each have value individually, but rapid, resilient renewal (which seems to be the universal goal of communities) only tends to happen when all three are combined.

3.What sorts of redevelopment trends do you see appearing on the horizon as our nation slowly climbs out of its recessionary doldrums?

This economic crisis could trigger the tipping point we’ve been working towards for 15-20 years.  During that time, development and depletion (together known as “dewealth”) have been steadily giving way to rewealth (redevelopment and resource restoration). We’re moving from degenerative wealth-creation to regenerative wealth-creation.  It’s not as if a fast-growing population on a planet of finite size has much choice: it’s an inevitable transition.

But dewealth is still the default mode of economic development in national policies, and rewealth is still the exception.  In most older or larger cities, rewealth is already the default, but the states and feds are lagging.  But where cities lead, nations eventually follow.

Now, we have a $787 billion economic stimulus package in the US that is heavily focused on restoration, redevelopment, remediation, infrastructure renewal, and the like— granted, the stimulus could have at least doubled its effectiveness by using the three renewal rules as a filter for projects.  This runs counter to the current, brain-dead filter of “shovel-ready”, which is about doing things quickly, rather than doing the right things. But, it could still push the nation into a phase transition, whereby rewealth becomes the the default for economic growth, and dewealth the exception.

4.Are there any exciting or important new initiatives you know of that will accelerate dewealth/rewealth tipping point, and thus speed the revitalization of our communities?

The most exciting project I know of is one I’m actually involved in: the new Places To Invest initiative (www.PlacesToInvest.com).   My firm is leading a global group of 20 communities–along with universities and expert advisers–in the creation of the first “community forecasting” service.  It will help direct investment towards communities and regions that are prepared revitalize (or to continue their revitalization). This will help redevelopers and real estate investors avoid putting the right projects in the wrong community, or the right community at the wrong time.

A Renewal Quotient Test is under development.  It produces a number–a renewal quotient (RQ)–that helps is measure and rank a community’s “renewal capacity”. Most communities invite reinvestment from the private sector, but are poorly prepared to be a good partner in their own revitalization.  This often results in money-losing projects for redevelopers.  Places To Invest will identify the best communities for such investments worldwide, and its Renewal Capacity Program (a series of 7 local workshops) helps poor-scoring communities become better places to invest.   There’s already a free, 10-question online RQ Quiz, which generates an RQ score for a community based on a the quiz-taker’s perceptions.  It’s a great way to familiarize oneself with the core principles on which the actual RQ Test will be based. [Readers can take the RQ Quiz here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/115736/rq-quiz]

Places To Invest is currently putting a strategic alliance together with one of the world’s largest investment banks (over a trillion dollars under management). They came to us, asking if we would help them find safer communities for their funds to invest in. Why? Because many of the pension funds and other investors whose money they invest are now demanding that their money go not to just “green” or “sustainable” investments, but to investments also help communities.  We have meetings in Copenhagen and New York City scheduled in the coming weeks, and the alliance should be worked-out by the end of September. Look for a major public announcement by early next year or sooner.

5.The lack of economic hope continues to impact many of our nation’s urban inner-city areas. What can be done to reverse this trend?

It’s not just the populations of inner cities that are hope-starved.  One of the problems we have–both nationally and globally–is a disease I call “reblindness”: we can’t see most of the restoration that’s going on around us. Our public accounting and reporting systems aren’t set up on a life cycle basis.  They don’t clearly differentiate new development (at the beginning of the economic development cycle) from maintenance/conservation (in the middle of the life cycle) from restorative development (the “end” of the asset life cycle).  All we ever hear about are “new housing starts”, “durable goods sales”, and the like.

Historic building reuse, infill, brownfields remediation, infrastructure renewal, ecological and watershed restoration, and all the other many and varied forms of restorative development are buried in budgets and are reported as “capital improvement” and “maintenance”.  We are blind to the de-re shift that’s taking place.  As a result, children and adults alike are lacking the data they need to believe that tomorrow’s world can be healthier, wealthier, and more beautiful.  We need more than blind optimism if we are to to have a constructive attitude towards our future.  If we could see the growth of restoration and redevelopment, we would be much more optimistic, and we would have excellent reasons to be so.

As for inner cities: they are actually in the best position to lead the way in business, education, science, and politics.  Inner cities are a window on the future of the planet.  Most of them have already come to grips with the fact that sustained economic growth can only be based on asset renewal, not on reflexively creating more and more of what few people want more of (as author Paul Hawken so brilliantly puts it).  Inner cities know that the future of the planet is in renewing the value of the places we’ve already developed, and in repairing the damage we did to our natural resources along the way.

6.There’s much talk these days about how cities can become more sustainable in their approach to development? What sorts of benefits do you see ensuing from this movement?

“Sustainable development” was created as a compromise phrase.  It was spawned some three decades ago, when environmentalists and business interests were at each others’ throats, and wouldn’t even talk to each other. Green leaders felt that “sustainable” was a less-threatening word for business executives, and they threw in “development” to show that greens weren’t against economic growth.  But we’ve now outgrown that phrase.

Sustainable development has been a wonderful, noble, and necessary global dialog.  But that’s all it is: a dialog.  Sustainability isn’t a real thing…it isn’t a rigorous, measurable process by which you can actually do anything.  At best, we can only say that something is “more sustainable” (that is, less damaging).  But we can’t point to a project and say “that’s sustainable”.  Sustainable for how long? 100 years?  10,000 years?  Sustainable with how many people on the planet? 6 billion? 60 billion?

On the other hand, we can very easily point to a project and prove it’s restorative.  We can document how many more fish are in a restored river.  We can document how much less contamination there is in a remediated brownfield.  We can document the increase in value of an adaptively-reused building, or vacant lot that’s been reused as an urban farm.  The big problem with sustainable development is that it suffers from reblindness: it doesn’t differentiate among new development, maintenance/conservation, and  restorative development.  As a result, we see sprawling housing developments on top of valuable wetlands calling themselves “sustainable”, simply because they have photovoltaic panels on the roofs.  Sure: green sprawl is better than brown sprawl, but that’s like inventing a healthier form of cancer, rather than a cure.

The “sweet spot” is where rewealth and green/clean technologies come together.  The time is long past when merely doing less damage is enough. Every square meter of the planet’s land and every cubic meter of the planet’s water is now damaged, degraded, or polluted to some degree.  The only way we can possible have a healthier, wealthier, more beautiful world is by revitalizing our cities and by restoring nature.  That’s a perfectly legitimate basis for an economy: the global restoration economy currently accounts for some $2 trillion annually (not that anyone’s measuring it properly).  That economy is tapping a global inventory of restorable assets estimated to be at least $100 trillion.

7.What drives your desire to make a difference through the work that you do? What is your greatest hope for the future of our world and planet?

I find excitement through earning a living in a way that engages my passions. And I’ve always loved nature.  In other words, I enjoy being paid to do things that I would normally pay to do. I guess this started in the military, where I was a Green Beret scuba medic with the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group.They actually paid me to learn to scuba dive, paid me to learn to parachute, paid me to learn cross-country skiing, paid me to learn desert and jungle survival techniques, paid me to learn martial arts, paid me to learn medicine.  Special Forces thus set my sights high.  So, I later found myself earning my living diving in the Caribbean to research reef restoration technologies, or breeding threatened species for reintroduction into the wild.

I’ve got little patience for politically-correct talk that doesn’t produce meaningful action, or for activity in place of results.  So, it was only natural that when I started writing a book on sustainable development in 1996, it morphed into the first book on restorative development: The Restoration Economy.   Once that book came out (in 2002), I became a full-time speaker, workshop leader, consultant, and writer focused purely on restoring our world.  In other words, I’ve been in paradise since 2002.   OK: a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.

My 2008 book from McGraw-Hill, reWealth, picked up where the first one left off.  The Restoration Economy documented all the fast-growing disciplines and industries that are restoring our natural and built environments.  Such projects are the ingredients of community and regional revitalization.  reWealth is about the recipe for revitalization: how to organize, integrate, fund, and perpetuate all that restorative activity in a way that reliably produces what people really want: economic growth and enhanced quality of life…revitalization, in other words. My greatest hope is that we will all find a way to restore the world for a living; directly, indirectly, or in a supportive role.

Storm Cunningham is author of The Restoration Economy and reWealth, and is CEO of Resolution Fund, LLC in Washington, DC. Learn more about Storm and his work at resolutionfund.com

CAPITALizing on Capital Cities

Capital cities have fascinated me since my early years in Columbus, Ohio. Fond memories of the state capitol building and its impressive presence in the center of downtown still resonate with me today. With Columbus being the legislative hub, Central Ohio residents were always at ground zero in terms of state politics—a refreshing break from the Ohio State football buzz, a dominant source of local media attention.

Beyond Columbus, my early experiences with capital cities were mostly of the Midwestern persuasion. Indianapolis, the first residential stop for me after leaving Columbus, has rapidly become a first-class destination for sports enthusiasts attracted to events ranging from NCAA basketball tournaments to the Indianapolis 500 racing spectacle. Lansing, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin, are areas I frequented regularly for myriad reasons, such as stunning capitol buildings and prominent Big Ten universities. Springfield, Illinois, in many ways the step-child of Chicago, is a capital city situated in a very rural part of the state. With the support of Abraham Lincoln, it became the state’s legislative home in 1837. It also is where U.S. President Barack Obama spent his formative years as a state politician.

Having resided in three other capital cities and spent appreciable time in numerous others, I have observed that these metropolitan centers possess a unique flavor in terms of feel and culture. Capital city economies are heavily reliant on state worker payrolls contributing to relatively stable employment and residential patterns.  These locales also command a strong showing of trade associations, lobbying organizations, labor unions, and advocacy groups seeking to steer legislative agendas toward their specific causes. This confluence makes capital cities stimulating environments for livability and commerce.

Washington, D.C., our nation’s hub since 1800, best reflects a capital city metropolis. Known as the National Capital Region, the D.C. area has morphed into a labyrinth of cities spiraling outward to Northern Virginia and Maryland. Federal workers aside, its local economy receives a heavy infusion of tourists and emissaries of official government business. The area also features a high-tech corridor that is quickly gaining a reputation similar to that of Austin, Boston and San Jose. With its steady influx of diverse professionals, the area’s surrounding communities are among the most progressive and racially integrated in the nation.

Sacramento, where I currently reside, holds the distinction of being the capital of California—the most populous state in the union and the seventh-largest economy in the world. As a city, though, it is vastly overshadowed by San Francisco and Los Angeles, its cousins to the west and south, respectively. The past five years has been an awakening for “SacTown,” as it is affectionately called. Its reputation as a bathroom stop between the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe is turning a corner. In fits and starts, its downtown center is coming to life, and many of the outlying suburbs are gaining credibility as models of livability.

Despite promising gains, the Sacramento region continues to struggle with its one-dimensional economy predicated on state jobs. The ever-present state budget crisis is evident within walking distance of the state capitol building as eateries and other establishments feel the impact of worker layoffs and furloughs. These struggles symbolize the plight of a growing number of capital cities— from Albany, New York, to Salem, Oregon—once bastions of lifetime employment.

An interesting contrast lies due east of Sacramento in Carson City, the capital of Nevada. This picturesque frontier town has historic ambiance and is surrounded by a mountainous backdrop. One of only five cities not served by an interstate highway, its small stature offers a refreshing alternative to the big-city politics common in larger venues. It is also 250 miles away from the state’s population center, making it the nation’s second most remote state capital.

In the spirit of small, nondescript capital cities like Montpelier, Vermont, Helena, Montana, and Pierre, South Dakota, Carson City offered a greater freedom of mobility for the governor and top legislative officials, uncommon in more prominent big city capitals. Kenny Guinn, the governor during my two-year residency, was often sighted mingling among the locals, and with no security presence.

In the center of downtown amid local casinos sits the Nevada state capitol building—a landmark easily missed by the casual visitor who inadvertently blinks during a trek up Carson Street. Directly across from the capitol is Comma Coffee, a popular local hangout that was the site of numerous presidential campaign stops during the last election. On a personal note, Comma is distinctive for being the place where my life partner Beth and I first crossed paths and eventually tied the knot.

To this day capital cities continue to intrigue me. As centers of legislative and employment activity they represent essential elements of our nation’s economic recovery efforts—and key areas of prosperity for our states.