The author describes 7 widely used strategies for downtown redevelopment:
1. Pedestrianization
2. Indoor shopping centers
3. Historic preservation
4. Waterfront development
5. Office development
6. Special activity generators
7. Transportation enhancement
Most cities use multiple strategies at a time. A positive note for Northern Kentucky is that Cincinnati, being larger, will always be the guinea pig, so we have a general idea of what is feasible in this area and what is not.
The amount of people in a downtown is a very accurate gauge of the city's overall vitality. Therefore, pedestrianization is extremely important. In the 1960s and 70s, people realized the importance of pedestrianization, but went about encouraging it in the wrong way. Pedestrian malls have been largely unsuccessful unless they are based around transit or a university, because people still depend on their cars to get places. Skywalks also became popular around the same time and these have been proven to detract from pedestrianization because people are not walking around the streets. Retail suffers as a consequence. Indoor shopping centers go hand in hand with the failure of skywalks. Indoor shopping centers in downtowns were an attempt to compete with the suburbs, but the only successful ones are well-integrated with the surrounding streets. Indoor shopping centers are the antithesis of spontaneous and varying downtown streets, and creates a gentrified if not bland atmosphere, Historic Preservation is another tool that many cities use for downtown redevelopment. Two common manifestations of this are festival marketplaces (Findlay Market) and special historic districts. Adaptive reuse is widely relied on to preserve downtown buildings, which is important, but does not normally have a big enough effect to revitalize a downtown. The Main Street approach is more common in smaller cities, and Covington has been fairly successful with Mainstrasse. Waterfront development is another common strategy and it offers a public amenity not often found in suburbs, giving cities the advantage. A major issue is the competition among possible uses, it often pits private development against public open space. Office development is critical to the vitality of American downtowns. The focus is the “corporate center approach”, but many cities have added too much office space, so there were/are high vacancies. It did increase open/public spaces downtown though; but, they are less integrated with the downtown fabric and not used by a wide variety of people.
Special Activity Generator are a popular, but not very useful redevelopment tool. Examples are convention centers, arenas and stadiums. These are major public costs and even the successful ones do not pay for themselves because when it is not in use, it is dead space. The tricky thing about special activity generators, however, is that the added perception and attention they bring to a city which is where their real value lies. Finally, transportation enhancement has seen an increase in popularity in the United States in the past few decades. Many people do not go downtown because of the perceived difficulties in mobility without a car, whether it really is or not. The goal is to try and improve accessibility with mass transit.
There have been uneven effects of these different strategies. Many downtowns now project a corporate identity, like Cincinnati, where there is little downtown activity on weekends or evenings, although I think this is slowly changing in Cincinnati, unsure if the trend will continue.Some downtowns are losing density and cities are increasingly relying on tourism.
Robertson recommends planning for a multifunctional downtown, with high density; emphasize historic preservation; do not “suburbanize” downtown; maintain true civic public spaces; develop strict design controls; and do not underestimate street level activity. For Cincinnati and NKY, indoor shopping malls have failed and we have too much office space: the vacancy rate in the beginning of 2013 was over 20% (http://www.cbre.us/o/cincinnati/AssetLibrary/Q1%202013.pdf). Waterfront development is really big per usual, but it is too soon to know if it will revitalize the City in the long run. Pedestrianization is really important, which would be encouraged by the introduction of a streetcar. Special Activity generators are a money pit, so a streetcar would still be more economical than those. Historic Preservation is good, but does not have a big enough impact by itself. Therefore, transportation enhancement is the best redevelopment strategies for Northern Kentucky. Bus lines and shuttles have been attempted with some success, but a rail transit project would have a much bigger and more lasting impact.
1. Pedestrianization
2. Indoor shopping centers
3. Historic preservation
4. Waterfront development
5. Office development
6. Special activity generators
7. Transportation enhancement
Most cities use multiple strategies at a time. A positive note for Northern Kentucky is that Cincinnati, being larger, will always be the guinea pig, so we have a general idea of what is feasible in this area and what is not.
The amount of people in a downtown is a very accurate gauge of the city's overall vitality. Therefore, pedestrianization is extremely important. In the 1960s and 70s, people realized the importance of pedestrianization, but went about encouraging it in the wrong way. Pedestrian malls have been largely unsuccessful unless they are based around transit or a university, because people still depend on their cars to get places. Skywalks also became popular around the same time and these have been proven to detract from pedestrianization because people are not walking around the streets. Retail suffers as a consequence. Indoor shopping centers go hand in hand with the failure of skywalks. Indoor shopping centers in downtowns were an attempt to compete with the suburbs, but the only successful ones are well-integrated with the surrounding streets. Indoor shopping centers are the antithesis of spontaneous and varying downtown streets, and creates a gentrified if not bland atmosphere, Historic Preservation is another tool that many cities use for downtown redevelopment. Two common manifestations of this are festival marketplaces (Findlay Market) and special historic districts. Adaptive reuse is widely relied on to preserve downtown buildings, which is important, but does not normally have a big enough effect to revitalize a downtown. The Main Street approach is more common in smaller cities, and Covington has been fairly successful with Mainstrasse. Waterfront development is another common strategy and it offers a public amenity not often found in suburbs, giving cities the advantage. A major issue is the competition among possible uses, it often pits private development against public open space. Office development is critical to the vitality of American downtowns. The focus is the “corporate center approach”, but many cities have added too much office space, so there were/are high vacancies. It did increase open/public spaces downtown though; but, they are less integrated with the downtown fabric and not used by a wide variety of people.
Special Activity Generator are a popular, but not very useful redevelopment tool. Examples are convention centers, arenas and stadiums. These are major public costs and even the successful ones do not pay for themselves because when it is not in use, it is dead space. The tricky thing about special activity generators, however, is that the added perception and attention they bring to a city which is where their real value lies. Finally, transportation enhancement has seen an increase in popularity in the United States in the past few decades. Many people do not go downtown because of the perceived difficulties in mobility without a car, whether it really is or not. The goal is to try and improve accessibility with mass transit.
There have been uneven effects of these different strategies. Many downtowns now project a corporate identity, like Cincinnati, where there is little downtown activity on weekends or evenings, although I think this is slowly changing in Cincinnati, unsure if the trend will continue.Some downtowns are losing density and cities are increasingly relying on tourism.
Robertson recommends planning for a multifunctional downtown, with high density; emphasize historic preservation; do not “suburbanize” downtown; maintain true civic public spaces; develop strict design controls; and do not underestimate street level activity. For Cincinnati and NKY, indoor shopping malls have failed and we have too much office space: the vacancy rate in the beginning of 2013 was over 20% (http://www.cbre.us/o/cincinnati/AssetLibrary/Q1%202013.pdf). Waterfront development is really big per usual, but it is too soon to know if it will revitalize the City in the long run. Pedestrianization is really important, which would be encouraged by the introduction of a streetcar. Special Activity generators are a money pit, so a streetcar would still be more economical than those. Historic Preservation is good, but does not have a big enough impact by itself. Therefore, transportation enhancement is the best redevelopment strategies for Northern Kentucky. Bus lines and shuttles have been attempted with some success, but a rail transit project would have a much bigger and more lasting impact.