The famed American-born urbanist Jane Jacobs died last month in Canada, two weeks before her 90th birthday. She was best known for her book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” first published in 1961. Ms. Jacobs wrote passionately about the destruction of the American city caused by urban renewal.
Architects and planners have heard Jacobs? message, and that of one of a fellow urban theorist, William H. Whyte. The message is that vibrant city streets arise from the decisions of individual building owners. The robust street has diverse architecture, a variety of uses, street-level merchandise, aromas, lots of people and an occasional park.
The developers, architects and planners of today are more influenced, however, by the promoters of New Urbanism. Peter Calethorpe and Andres Duany, both architects, fathered The New Urbanism movement. They believe in traditionally scaled neighborhoods that include a mix of uses. The major distinctions between the philosophies of the New urbanists and Jacobs are the large scale of their developments and the fact that many are located outside of cities. New Urbanists also believe central planning should play a key role in development.
Examples include Kentlands in Montgomery County and Seaside in Destin, Fla. To their credit, these new communities try to incorporate urbanist principles like diverse architecture, retail at ground level, a walkable environment and a mix of uses ? all aspects of what Ms. Jacobs considered a successful urban environment.
We shouldn?t be surprised that architects and developers prefer large, centrally planned developments. This is how they make their living.
I would argue, though, that even urban redevelopment requires larger, planned projects to be successful. As Business Improvement District leaders (such as Downtown Partnership of Baltimore) have found, it is difficult to convince multiple landowners that they should invest in improvements that benefit the whole, rather than just their individual properties. In economically successful urban areas, the urban experience thrives ? practically on its own. Just look at Georgetown with its individual building owners leasing space to the likes of Brooks Brothers and Starbucks. But on Baltimore?s West Side, or even on Charles Street, it is a challenge to revitalize neighborhoods. Successful urban redevelopment requires a number of redevelopment options.
Most urban planners and economic development gurus agree that urban planning, larger-scale development, and often public intervention, are needed to revitalize certain urban neighborhoods. While Jacobs? approach may have been appropriate in her beloved Greenwich Village, it is far too uncertain and painstakingly slow for some neighborhoods. It is easy to criticize the urban renewal of the 1960s, with its focus on stark architecture and removing people from the street. But I believe that large urban redevelopments that are pedestrian friendly and scaled to fit in the existing neighborhood improve our cities.
We have some excellent examples in the nearby Washington inner suburbs of Bethesda and Silver Spring. Federal Realty Investment Trust developed Bethesda Row in the 1990s. It is a great example of a project that served as a catalyst for injecting new life into a neighborhood. Cinemas and new retail shops are flourishing among the existing urban fabric. Downtown Silver Spring narrowly escaped being a large indoor mega mall, where it would have isolated people from one another.
Instead, a partnership led by Foulger Pratt and The Peterson Companies delivered what the community desired; a mix of uses including an urban plaza and street retail, with state-of-the-art cinemas and outdoor dining.
So, while we have much to learn from Jane Jacobs, we cannot go back to the day of the individual merchant land developers. We must encourage growth that encourages communities. Occasionally that will mean larger, planned developments.
Bryce Turner serves as president and CEO of Brown Craig Turner, a Baltimore-based architecture and design firm. Turner is also the Baltimore District Council Chairman of Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit organization providing responsible leadership in land use. He can reached at [email protected].
