Coming soon to a cul-de-sac near you: Farming!

Let's hope suburban sprawl's forward march can now be stopped--the bursting of the housing bubble no doubt helped with that. But existing sprawl isn't going away. It's our built environment--a brute fact that won't be wished away by my desire to see walkable, bikeable, flourishing neighborhoods everywhere.
The question becomes, what to do with this existing, admittedly awful infrastructure? Here's one answer, from Good Magazine:
In cities, agriculture might be able to take the place of vacant lots. And in suburbia? Well, in 2008, the New Urbanism evangelist Andrés Duany, of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), architects and town planners, proclaimed that "agriculture is the new golf," a prescient and deliberately provocative claim that is helping frame the conversation about suburbia's future. "Only 17 percent of people living in golf-course communities play golf more than once a year. Why not grow food?"
Admittedly, the article deals mainly with new development: planning housing communities around farms.

Here's an example:
[In Solano, Calif. , the architecture and land-planning firm Hart Howerton created a plan for a clustered rural community that marries innovation with deeply rooted farming patterns. The big idea here is that they've retrofitted not buildings but the typical pattern of development: The existing agricultural land is clustered into a 1,400-acre plot, while the rest of the community is preserved open lands, habitat preservation, and a village of 400 homes at the center. A land conservancy, partially funded by a percentage of home sales, would provide a mechanism with which to manage and monitor the land. As MacPhee explains, "Agriculture is an amenity. You can't just wish for it, you have to support it."
The article is actually pessimistic about retrofitting existing suburbs. I'm more sanguine. Projects like Durham's Bountiful Backyards are expert at turning home lawns into dramatically productive gardens. And that is one possible vision for the future of suburbia.

Text courtesy of Tom Philpott & Allison Arieff

Is REDEVELOPMENT the future for Mission Viejo?

In a recent article titled: Urban Core Growing Faster Than Outer 'Burbs, By Jenny Sullivan on Builder Online the EPA study finds that permits in central cities and first-ring suburban neighborhoods are outpacing greenfield developments.
Smart growth proponents have long predicted that the ever-greater expansion of suburbia would one day reach its limit, prompting a renewed interest in central city living. “Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions," a new report from the EPA, suggests that this trend is well underway, with residential permits in downtown areas and close-in suburbs more than doubling since 2000 in 26 of the nation's largest metro regions.

The shift has been especially pronounced in some big cities, such as New York, which saw its share of regional permits increase from 15% in the early 1990s to 48% by 2008. In Chicago, housing permits inside city limits rose from 7% to 27% over the same time period.

Rapid revitalization is sweeping many smaller cities as well. In Portland’s downtown neighborhoods and close-in 'burbs, permit activity jumped from 9% to 26% over the last two decades. Home building in Atlanta’s core neighborhoods grew similarly, from 4% to 14%, according to the analysis, which examined Census residential permit data for the nation’s 50 largest metro regions over 19 years. In this examination, researchers compared the number of permits issued by central cities and core suburban communities with the number issued in suburban and exurban communities.

They found that a geographic shift in residential permits was indeed occurring, with the most notable spurts in urban redevelopment over the past five years. Data indicates that this trend is continuing in spite of the real estate slump, and the study's findings suggest that urban revitalization may be intensifying as local and regional jurisdictions implement smart growth measures. National policies also are likely to support this trend as the Obama administration’s Sustainable Communities Initiative begins to gain traction.

“When you look at the regions that are really embracing walkability, investing in transit, and thinking about natural resources protection, these are the regions that are weathering the downturn best,” Shelley Poticha, director of HUD’s newly-created Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, told BUILDER in a recent interview. “I think we’re going to see more and more regions reinvesting in their downtown areas, in suburban town centers, and in neighborhood centers,” she said.

In medium-sized cities, some of the most dramatic shifts have occurred in regions that have aggressively promoted growth boundaries and urban redevelopment, such as Portland, Denver, Sacramento, and Atlanta. In larger metro regions such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles, “market fundamentals are shifting toward redevelopment even in the absence of formal policies and programs,” the study's authors noted.

Some experts say economic and demographic factors such as constrained consumer finances, smaller households, and changing lifestyle preferences are driving increased demand for urban-style neighborhoods. “Consumers want ‘value retention’ and this portends a shift to closer-in communities and infill sites closer to transit,” says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute.

Still, the infill frenzy has yet to significantly alter America’s housing landscape. New residential construction projects continue to move forward on greenfields at the urban fringe in many markets, the study found. And even in cities with significant urban revitalization, this market segment continues to represent only a small slice of the housing pie; urban core neighborhoods still account for fewer than half of all new residential units in most regions.

Where exactly the pendulum is, and how far it could swing remains a point of debate. “If you believe the economist Richard Florida, every phase or epoch of capitalism has its own distinct geography, or what geographers call the ‘spatial fix’ for the era,” says McMahon. “Suburbanization was the spatial fix for the consumer/industrial age. The economy is different now. It no longer involves simply making and moving things. Instead, it depends on generating and transporting ideas. This occurs in cities and other places of density. Low-density sprawl is ill-fitted to a creative, post, industrial economy. We are seeing the beginning of the reshaping of the landscape to fit the post industrial economy.” end of article

So, it sounds like Mission Viejo should likely expect redevelopment to increase in the near future. With that being said, I think it is more important now than ever to encourage the City and local groups to embrace this new trend and participate in the shaping of its community. How can we get our voices heard???


Images courtesy of: SRF Consulting & Farm2

Planning for Twenty10

Happy Holidays to all of you!

As 2009 draws to a close, it brings to mind the many successes and continuing challenges for the Placemaking movement throughout the year.
There is no doubt that Placemaking is expanding exponentially around the world. There is mounting interest from professionals and citizens who want to learn more about how they can make a difference in their communities on issues such as livability, sustainability and community well-being.
In both my personal and professional life this year, I learned a great deal about how people envision their communities evolving for the future. This has spurred discussions about planning ides to be put to practice in 2010, which will highlight four principle agendas that are needed to transform cities and towns:

1) Toward an Architecture of Place - Public institutions such as museums, government buildings, libraries and others can become important anchors for civic activity in every city by assuming a broader role within the community and adapting and evolving their buildings to host a broader range of activities.

2) Building Community through Transportation - The planning and design of transportation networks and streets can be reshaped to encourage economic vitality, civic engagement, human health, and environmental sustainability, in addition to serving peoples' mobility needs.

3) Public Markets and Local Economies - Public markets and farmers markets not only create dynamic community gathering places, but they can spin off a myriad of other community benefits - from revitalizing downtowns, to bringing fresh, healthy food to low income neighborhoods, to creating new business opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs.

4) Creating Public Multi-use Destinations - In the competitive globalizing economy, great cities are becoming defined more and more by their great public destinations-user friendly, lively squares, waterfronts, great commercial streets, markets or combinations of all of these. Placemaking provides the way for cities to redefine their vision around creating or enhancing these destinations.

Seeing that Placemaking is the Talk of the Town, together we can begin to frame a discussion about creating a more effective planning process for public spaces. My goal is to create a more thorough process in which cities can foster not only successful public spaces but also a stronger leadership within communities to continually maintain and improve these spaces. Great public spaces require strong leadership groups that make the community vision a reality so that little by little, the public begins to "own" the space.

Photos courtesy of: Discovery Green Houston & Photos taken by author
Some text courtesy of: PPS

The Project Renovation Paradox

When times are good, property owners don't want to impact revenues by embarking on a renovation project; causing site disruptions which impact tenants, visitors and shoppers. Paradoxically, today, poorly performing properties in need of a facelift lack the necessary revenue to do anything about it.

Alas, a Catch-22: If your property is making money, you don't feel the need to renovate. But when sales and rents are down and you feel the need, you don't have the money to renovate.
So, when is a good time to renovate?

John F. Kennedy once said, "The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining." In terms of the economic climate, these are cloudy times at best (even stormy, in many locations). So, what can a property owner do today who is strapped for cash?

Find some money. Invest in capital expenditures and make decisions with an eye on ROI.

The most obvious advantage of renovating in this environment is cost savings. Now is the first time in the 30 years that construction costs have actually come down. Historically, they have gone up steadily, if not sharply. Today, in many parts of the world, costs are down by over 10% from just six months ago. According to statistics compiled by Rider Levett Buchnall (http://www.americas.rlb.com/documents/cost/reports/2009_q2_qcr.pdf), construction costs in cities like Denver and Seattle declined by as much as 8% in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

A second advantage: When business is slow and there are vacanies, there is less disruption to guests and less impact on cash flow from operations. On top of that, construction can proceed more quickly, and property owners and managers can get the word out that their property is newly renovated and open for business.

Properties that have been newly renovated will be in the best position to restore and/or raise rents and increase occupancies. Properties that defer needed maintenance and refurbishment and wait until times are better will miss being able to take full advantage of the inevitable upturn. When thinking about where to shop or go see a movie families most often go to the ones that are either new or newly renovated. Research data from a recent study conducted by STR shows that, over a five-year period, revenues for renovated properties increase at three-and-a-half times the rate of un-renovated properties.

Bottom line: Hard times are good times to prepare for better times.

Images courtesy of: Global Graphica, Mission Viejo Life

Some Text Courtesy of: WATG

The Phenomenon of Dying Malls

American malls have been around for less than a century, but their influence on our culture has been amazing. However, even in prosperous times, distressed malls have been a persistent problem, as well as a point of intrigue in the suburban landscape. The current economic slump has magnified the problems that ailing malls have been battling for years, or even decades.

The rapid development of North American suburbs resulted in a rush to build malls. Most developers assumed that if their mall was newer and larger than the competition then they would make money, and for the most part they did. But what many developers failed to consider or neglected to care about was what happens to their project when the next mall is built. The blight that is left behind when one fails is a weight on the community. Lost tax revenue and jobs, increased vandalism and crime and lower property values are just a few of the problems a dead mall creates.

While dying malls are not a new phenomenon, their sustainability is something developers should consider. The dominance of the fashion, food-court and family-focused mall is ending. The good news is that no new enclosed malls have opened in the U.S. since 2006.

Vacant malls, strip center shopping centers and big box stores have already been redeveloped into more sustainable, less auto-dependent places more in sync with today’s demographics. Depending on the specifics of each site, we can expect to see future failed malls re-inhabited, re-greened, or retrofitted. Essentially malls can be repositioned into what a community needs. When a mall dies, many options are on the table. Redevelopment into a more sustainable mixed use center is often a good solution if the real estate is valuable. They have the advantages of an already existing infrastructure and usually are located on major transportation routes. They should be regarded as a potential asset, much as you would look at well-located unimproved land, or a deserted warehouse or office district in a city center.

This kind of recycling will be particularly useful in suburbs, as they develop more “urban’ amenities” — like interesting restaurants, live music and local festivals. By redoing the mall, this can be accomplished without urban “densification” and retain low-density environments of single-family homes preferred by the vast majority of Americans. Sometimes dead malls find new life as colleges, government buildings, branch libraries, spaces for nonprofit arts groups, places of worship, car dealerships and community centers that can host a variety of events. Most times, if the building is cheaply constructed, and neglected for years, the only viable option is demolition. In some of the more dense communities, this will provide an opportunity to repair the regional landscape by turning them back to open space

What should never be an option is to allow the building to sit neglected for years. Although it may be sad to see a place with so many memories bulldozed, there isn’t much future for an abandoned generic suburban shopping mall. The current crop of dying malls are by no means the end of the shopping mall. Retail and shopping are too integral a part of American life.

The biggest long-term challenge to malls isn’t economic. It’s environmental. Right now, consumers can’t afford all the stuff we used to buy. But in the long run, the planet can’t afford all the stuff we do buy. So finding a business model that’s economically viable and environmentally sensitive shold be a goal for all new (and repurposing) mall developers.

So going forward, developers and mall operators need to recognize that the shopping mall of the future can’t simply be a nucleus of stores surrounded by a sea of asphalt with a ring of highway around it. They need to hire talented suburban planners, architects, and landscape architects whom will encourage developing and/or transforming shopping centers into dynamic destinations that are woven into the fabric of the community. Developers should also strive to create malls that offer a place for people to socialize, not simply to buy. While no one likes to see businesses fail, dead malls provide great opportunities for communities to redevelop in healthy ways. Now is the time for them to remove the regulatory obstacles to retrofitting.

Here are some examples fo successful re-use.

Belmar in Lakewood, Colo.

Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Fla.

Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Photos courtesy of:

Chris Pixel

Xmelinda

ThePiratesDilemma.com

Trekearth.com

Huntingtonbeachevents.com

Epa.gov

Some text courtesy of:

DeadMall.com

Top 10 People Space Planning Trends

Want to know what makes a good people space? Here is what the pros are seeing as the most important elements to make a public space great. In trying to compare these the public spaces of Mission Viejo, they just don't compare; that's probably since the last people place developed was the Kaleidoscope Center which many would say is a complete flop.

PPS Top 10 Placemaking Trends
Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the leading resource for public placemaking, revealed their Top Ten Trends Shaping the Future of Our Communities, especially as it relates to public spaces.

1. Placemaking goes global. Everything else is, so why not? Spurred by the internet, creatives demand connections more than ever, no matter where they are, and as result cities around the world are experiencing a renewed enthusiasm for public spaces. The best part of the global movement is that the most pedestrian-oriented and pedestrian-only districts are setting the highest standards for others to follow.
2. Collaboration is key to change. The above also explains why crowdsourced placemaking is fast becoming the natural means of implementation.
3. Going green. For emerging creatives, being environmentally conscious is a foregone conclusion.
4. Placemaking is becoming more important to the travel industry. See civic tourism and how investing in vibrant downtowns to attract creatives, followed by the rest of the residents (as the trend goes), also builds a strong tourist economy.
5. Libraries emerge is new town squares. I can’t really buy into this one, especially since they don’t add much to a square’s nightlife, but there are precedents in the outlying neighborhoods such as the new library fronting the Rockville Town Square, one of the most elegant new public plazas in the U.S. Then again, maybe libraries could support nighttime activity…
6. Being active 12 months of the year. This applies mainly to cold weather cities which in the past have shut down for the winter, though ten years ago many city downtowns were pretty much shut down all year. The point is, cold weather cities have innovated amenities (ie skating rinks, heated lamps, temporary enclosures) that allow people to enjoy public spaces all year round.
7. ‘The Power of 10’. This is a PPS program, but applies to everyone, where a city commits itself to providing ten public destinations that provide something to do. At the top of the creatives’ list is a ‘piazza as stage‘ (such as for ‘movie staying’), where just about anything can happen.
8. Public markets. Another PPS specialty, it’s a great way to find a deal, socialize, get outside and find a reason for the city to establish a pedestrian-only district. See their October 2005 newsletter on public markets.
9. Transportation planning as placemaking. This is best exemplified by the New York City Department of Transportation, which PPS supported in their rise to possibly becoming the most innovative, even placemaking-oriented government agency in the U.S.
10. Collaboration on developing new destinations. It’s the tangible result that results when you combine many of the above factors and crowdsource an actual place. If this isn’t a trend, then most of the other factors aren’t as well. Fortunately, this is a growing trend.

Thanks to Braulio Agnese of Architect magazine for the reference.
Photo courtesy of Neil Takemoto.

Politics...

I have been trying to gather articles, blogs, etc. that help portray the perspective MYM.MV is coming from. This interview gives you a glimpse in the issue of how challenging it is for projects to meet the community's needs. Both the agencies and the developers get caught in the vicious circle of politics, which keep the the right type of people (the community and the professionals who focus on bringing the right type of projects to fruition) out of the equation...read on.

Exerted from an Interview with Laurie Olin, FASLA
01/30/2009 by asladirt

..."In order for the general public to better understand the deep relationship between sustainability and landscape architecture, Olin believes landscape architects need to become more political, more involved in planning decisions. “How can landscape architects get other people to understand that’s how we think? I think to do more work, show it, talk about it, and invite people to see it. A lot has happened in the last ten years. People now have a sense of it that they didn’t before. They know that we do that. We need to be at the table when people start planning. We need to be involved when people are doing site selection. We should be helping people say, “No, you shouldn’t build there. This would be a better site.” We have to get involved in a lot of the more troublesome planning decisions. We need to be involved in politics. Some of us have been political off and on, especially when we were young, but we got tired doing it. It’s wearing. Each generation needs its ten years in the barrel fighting the politics when they have so much energy and altruism. People don’t realize that landscape architecture is political. In a democracy it probably should be. We should debate about who suffers and gains, who gets what, what are the benefits, where are they, what’s the cost. Those are things you’d hope in a democracy people would debate publicly.”

Read the full article

Culture of Change

ULI Coffee Talk
Presented by: Shaheen Sadeghi, LAB Holdings, LLC
Attended: 01-30-2009

Topic: Culture of Change

Do our kids want to live the same way we do? Will they have the same opportunities?

Creativity is more important that literacy.

All kids are born artists; the problem is trying not to let them grow out of it.

Retail is a formula driven model, ie. Outlet Malls, Big Box Retail, Entertainment/ Lifestyle centers, Mixed (up) Use.

Formulas are not human centric.

Planning...is our current trend of home building’s site plan just glorified shantytowns? Are they a real community?

If we want to change the game, we must understand the culture.

Great products/projects start with culture rather than design.

Kenaf edible clinics –Africa - Cameron Sinclair

Sustainable is not just driving a Prius.

Culture eats demographics for lunch. Good Example: Organic.

Missing culture is expensive.

Culture is about telling a story.

Culture is the glue between Brand, Product, and Consumer. Good Example: Apple.

Mass culture in America is breaking down.

You’re better off looking for new technology rather than investing in the latest generation technology.

We are turning from a mass market to a niche nation. Good Example: Boutique shopping.

Each person is a brand. Good Example: eHarmony.

U.S. makes up 4.5% of the world population but consumes 25% of the world’s goods. Is that sustainable? NO.

We will come out of this recession better…people, culture, economy, spenders, givers, world as a whole.

In the age of overload, emotional connection is the key.

Design with Conscience, is flourishing.

Urban Acupuncture. Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim-Bilboa, Spain – it reinvented the region with new businesses, new restaurants, new etc. Tourism.

Mixed use products – the ground floor is where the soul is. Good Example: Golf course communities in the desert - take the golf course away, homes would be empty. Develop the Soul of your project.

Sustainable is making something social.

WHAT’S MISSING??? Find it, explore it, make a business out of it.

Good example: CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - local community organically grown food for the individual consumer.

People want content in their lives.

Shift from passive consumers to active participants.

Your audience (end user) wants to be a co-author/co-designer to your product/project.

Time to get back to grass roots.

Want to get creative – cut a couple zeros off your budget.

Invent by being a user.

The 70’s were about Love (Lennon), 80’s about Greed (Miami Vice), 90’s about Ego (Donald Trump), 2000’s about Cause (Al Gore), 10’s…? We are at the tip of the iceberg with green technology. We need to get back to doing it for Love!

Every company should have a chemistry department. Leaving the baggage behind and bring new and fresh ideas. Look for what people want. (content, community, social culture).

CULTURE - “Commerce without culture and respect for community becomes a soulless and short lived commodity. Our creative endeavors demand a deep rooted examination of the local personality and careful placement of hand selected quality businesses to compliment the existing environment yet excite the senses. Partnerships with local entrepreneurs, artisans, educators, neighbors, and trade organizations are paramount to our success. The incorporation of ‘public space’ for the invigoration and support of local culture begins at the most primary stages of concept and design and becomes our proud trademark”.
Shaheen Sadeghi, LAB Holdings, LLC