Brownfield Redevelopment in Huntington, WV

I spent two years in Huntington, West Virginia from 2008 to 2010 attending graduate school at Marshall University and working as a graduate assistant basketball coach. Upon visiting for the first time for my interview with the coaching staff I was second guessing my move from Michigan down to the unknown of West Virginia. Thankfully, my desire to receive a free education and the pursuit of coaching experience was far greater than my desire to avoid something uncomfortable.

My two years there were filled with a ton of memories and experiences, and an appreciation for a city that had received its share of blows, but was still striving to live up to its Jewel City name. After graduating I made it back a few times, but since moving to Texas I've not been back to Huntington. So, this is some perspective from afar, but from one who knew the city well and hopes for its continued renewal and revitalization.

Marshall University Special Collections

4th Avenue Streetcar - Marshall University Special Collections

Due to its location at the confluence of a number of rivers, Huntington boomed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and continued to grow as a result of the coal and railroad industries. Huntington has the distinction of actually being the second city behind Richmond, Virginia (others have claimed San Francisco as well) to have had an electric street car system. However, as oil began to become less expensive in the later part of the 1900s, coal mining decreased, leaving Huntington with a declining population, followed by compounding factory closures. Those closed factories hope to play into redevelopment plans in Huntington.

Fortunately, there have been a number of projects aimed at revitalizing the city. The Pullman Square redevelopment helped revitalize Downtown Huntington, adding a movie theater, parking garages, and blocks of restaurants and retail. As Huntington's Superblock, Pullman Square was the result of planning that started in the 1960s as urban renewal, and included a number of failed proposals and a few court cases. Eventually, in 2004 the development opened, and continues to be a success today.

Unfortunately, Huntington has had decades of suburban-style development that detracted from supporting its downtown. This is reflected in the attitudes of former leaders of Huntington, highlighted in this Strong Towns article and video, Huntington Calling. The attitude toward traditional, and now wildly successful development, is astounding. When Jean Dean, former mayor of Huntington, asked Chuck Marohn "Why on earth would we go back in time 70 years to model our current cities on? Times have changed", all he could do is respond with: "because it worked." Huntington once created value in its downtown. It's time to do that again in the city.

Now, Huntington is looking to its next big redevelopment project. This time, it is not located downtown, but between the northern edge of Marshall University and the city's Highlawn neighborhood. The proposal has been talked about for nearly a decade, turning brownfield sites into mixed use, light industrial and research uses. The most current proposals come as a result of an EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning program grant. From the announcement website, the vision is described as including:

"new recreational and riverfront facilities; retail and hotel development; research and development facilities; green infrastructure for storm water management; and the advanced polymer center."

The City of Huntington, Marshall University and a list of other public and private entities hope to partner in developing four areas: University Park, the Sport Complex Expansion, the Foundry Center and the Polymer Tech Center. The Herald-Dispatch gave a detailed recap of the proposal, which was presented by Sean Garrigan of Stromberg/Garrigan and Associates, a firm with great experience in brownfield redevelopment, especially in the Appalachia and Rust Belt regions. (Full presentation here).

The vision for the redevelopment is supported by "Comprehensive Plan 2025 - The Future of Huntington", and fully supports some of the assistance and guidance that Huntington has received from Smart Growth America in hopes of improving the economic and fiscal health of the city. Specifically, this most recent proposal draws from the goals and vision for the Highlawn neighborhood in Plan 2025. Overall, the plan has six key themes:

Stromberg/Garrigan & Associates

1. Economic Development and Job Creation

The expansion and support of existing industrial and technological industries in Huntington is important, especially with the decrease of coal and heavy industrial jobs in the past. Providing more opportunities for vocational training and partnership with Marshall University's College of Information Technology and Engineering would be a great benefit. Creating a new market for entrepreneurs, especially those that do not need large amounts of space, or that can utilize co-working spaces, opens Huntington to new industries. There's also something about rust-belt cities that is attracting more young, creative professionals who feel a bit more freedom in their pursuits. Rust belt cities also tend to have a base of professionals that have practical manufacturing knowledge: meaning, in Huntington, it might not be flashy, but there are likely people there that can get things manufactured.

Added hotel rooms near sporting facilities would allow Marshall University to compete with other cities for Conference USA championships, as well as regional and national youth tournaments that might regularly utilize recreational and lodging facilities in other municipalities. The planning and building of, especially publicly funded facilities for athletic competition, is an increasingly sore subject for cities, but this seems like a different circumstance given the involvement of a university.

2. Provide Physical and Visual Access to River 

Providing access to the Ohio River riverfront is an area that Huntington has greatly missed. It's understandable though, as Huntington's flood wall is a monstrous physical barrier. The 11.5-mile wall was built starting in 1937 as a way to protect Huntington from devastating floods, and reaches as tall as 20 feet high in some places. City officials once talked about the possibility of an "invisible" flood wall, but this approach is likely too costly, in terms of infrastructure and labor costs, as well as insurance costs for property owners, to ever come to fruition. The wall, at its northeast terminus, ends between 24th and 25th Streets, between the Foundry Center and Polymer Tech Center development zones. With a trail head at the extension of 25th Street, a connection to the Harris Riverfront Park could one day be made.

At some point, the effort should be made to connect these trails, joining other trails in the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health. It would be a legacy fit for Huntington.

3. Enhance Community Character – Strengthen Highlawn Neighborhood Brand 

The existence of the flood wall and railroads creates fragmentation when considering circulation between Highlawn and the proposed development zones. Further connection for the Highlawn neighborhood can allow for better pedestrian facilities and streets. Highlawn, with its proximity to Downtown Huntington and Marshall University, combined with possible connectivity through trails and streets, would be able to boast in its unique setting. Investment on the periphery of the neighborhood can spur revitalization of homes and continued building of characteristics, like street trees, landscaping and wayfinding that would set the neighborhood apart from others.

The ACF site in operation

The ACF site today

At this point, it might also be beneficial to mention the ability to preserve some of the heritage of the American Car and Foundry (ACF) sites. Huntington greatly benefited from the fact that ACF was located in the city, so preserving the buildings when feasible is a great start. It is impressive that these buildings have been on the ACF site for nearly as long as Huntington has been a city. The plants built railway freight cars, mine cars and other equipment. ACF was responsible for introducing the center-flow covered hopper, which became an industry standard, building over 100,000 of the cars in Huntington. You'd recognize them if you've paid attention when you're stopped at a railroad crossing. Work has now ceased in Huntington, with ACF's headquarters now located in Missouri, and manufacturing in Pennsylvania.

ACF plant, from abandonedonline.net

It may also be possible to incorporate some railroad and industrial themes into any public or private infrastructure improvements. The Hardy Yards development in Houston is one example, and the Pearl Brewery development in San Antonio.

Streets in the Highlawn neighborhood also appear to have been brick a one time, consistent with many of the other streets in Huntington. The inclusion of brick into the streetscape design would help tie the areas together.




4. Improve and Enhance Public Amenities

To this point, the proposal wouldn't be simply improving or enhancing amenities, it would be creating them. There are no parks in the interior of Highlawn. Riverside Park, which is at the extreme northern boundary of the neighborhood, is the area's closest park. A lively public realm with parks and tree lined streets can certainly enhance physical activity within the neighborhood, and increase economic development. Parks are an important component of cities and provide an opportunity to improve public health, especially in a city that has been recognized as the unhealthiest city in the country. It doesn't take monument parks like Ritter Park to spur this activity. Parks can be small, or linear. Either way, you want to have more of them.

5. Promote Diversity and Mixture of Uses 

More and more, cities are finding that rigid Euclidian zoning does not work to promote the mix of uses that so many of them want, especially in downtowns and other districts. So, cities amend their zoning codes to allow a greater variety of uses, or rezone land for planned unit developments, which often times gives cities a bit more bargaining power with respect to form, and characteristics like building setbacks.

Most of the area within the four development zones is currently zoned as I-1, General Industrial, and with a Special Use Permit, would allow for Planned Unit Developments. This would give some flexibility to the mix of uses, as well as their orientation with respect to the street and other buildings. Huntington's zoning map is integrated with Google Earth, which makes exploring the city and current land use rules, quite easy.

Zoning in the Highlawn neighborhood area

6. Bring together Catalyst Sites, Highlawn Neighborhood and University Campus 

As part of my graduate studies, I partnered with current Huntington Planning Commissioner Will Holland, examining what Huntington could do to enhance its streetscape, design and connectivity. While our proposals did not include site specific redevelopment, we did recognize the importance of corridors and gateways in Huntington. This sixth theme does the same. Huntington includes some great destinations, including the Marshall campus, Central City, Downtown Huntington, and the future University Park and Foundry Center areas. Connecting those places will be crucial.




In general, this project has the opportunity to do a couple of things for the City of Huntington:

Further connect the Marshall campus with the rest of Huntington

As Marshall University continues to grow and expand its educational opportunities and host athletic, educational and performance events, it is important that Huntington is able to better capture the attention and economic impact of students and visitors. By providing continued connectivity to campus and the city, especially Downtown Huntington (a recent Herald-Dispatch article summarizes the continued growth of Downtown), the city can better capture spending that might otherwise be taken to areas outside the city limits.

Marshall has a baseball team, but is without a baseball stadium. It is remarkable that their teams have been as competitive as they are, given the team has no on-campus field facilities, and plays their home games at a YMCA field about 5 miles outside of town, or in Charleston, WV. It wasn't until a few years ago that the Track and Field teams, remarkably, had a track on which to practice and compete. (Now they have an indoor track as well.) But, the opportunity is there to create a space adjacent to campus, adjacent to Dot Hicks Field, that can hold baseball games, as well as other civic or university events.

Encourage walkable redevelopment along 3rd Ave, adjacent to campus

University Park development area

3rd Avenue has relatively high speeds for a road adjacent to a university campus. The posted speed limit is only 35 MPH, but the design, and one way direction of the road, likely induces much quicker travel.

With one way streets, it may be hard to replicate the success of Downtown Huntington. Normally, one way streets are not too good for small cities and retail. While this is a long shot, extending the development pattern of Downtown Huntington, and creating more walkable places, might be supported through the change of one way streets to two way streets.

C-2 zoning in red, I-1 in purple

In looking at Huntington's zoning code, most of the commercial land along 3rd Avenue is zoned as C-2, Highway Commercial District. This zone has a 15-foot setback, which is not ideal along walkable thoroughfares. This space usually ends up being parking, or some sort of landscaping that is not maintained well. A few blocks of 3rd Avenue already have commercial properties, which are zoned C-2, adjacent to the right of way, so the hope would be that this continues through the University Park and Foundry Center development zones.

One proposal would be in building apartment or student housing within the University Park development zone. It's been a while since a new apartment complex was built near campus, with The Village on Sixth being the largest single apartment complex near campus. Honestly, it's surprising to me that there hasn't been a greater attempt at more apartment complexes near campus, especially within walking distance of campus. To promote walkability, there need to be people. It can start with apartments.

Encourage redevelopment adjacent to Development Zones

This is especially true for a number of blocks near the Foundry Center. There are three blocks that are currently zoned R-5, the highest intensity residential zone, which seem underutilized. As connections with the Marshall campus and other districts occur, this portion of R-5 zoned land would be well suited for multifamily redevelopment, or development of single family homes on smaller lots. What would help this area be an even more representative extension of more dense parts of Huntington, is a relaxation of the building line setbacks, especially if future development in the Foundry Center zone is built to more urban standards, and the setback lines of the ACF buildings are preserved through redevelopment of the existing structures.

R-5 zoning district (in brown) adjacent to the I-1 ACF site

These efforts are plans, and nothing more at this point. But, it's important that Huntington see what can be done with so much of the land that is currently unproductive, especially parcels that are in prime locations, and have the ability to greatly contribute to the city's tax base. Sean Garrigan, of SGA, noted that "What will happen will not look like this plan, which seems contrary to this effort, but without going through this effort you won't know what the opportunities or priorities are." Yes, these are plans, but this exercise of visually seeing what is possible is important.

These plans could act as a catalyst for investment for areas on north side of 3rd Avenue. Huntington can now use this in attracting developers that want to play a role in the city's continued redevelopment.


Bonus: During some research I came across this flag proposal for Huntington from the 1970s, "Huntington, geared for progress."

Traverse City's Growing Pains: Big Buildings in Traverse City

This past summer, my wife and I recently took a trip back to my homeland of Michigan. We flew directly into Traverse City, Michigan. It's one of the most beautiful and vibrant small cities I've ever visited. I've been there many times, doing what southern Michiganders do in the summer: going up north. This past summer we stayed on Old Mission Peninsula, just outside Traverse City, and it was fantastic. I recommend the area to anyone who wants to see sparkling blue water, hike some dunes, drink good wine and cider, and swim in the cleanest fresh water around. It's not my intent to push Traverse City as a travel destination though. I'd want more of your time to do that. Trust me, just visit, and you'll love it.

What's more important right now is that Traverse City is in an identity crisis. The city is being forced to see itself as something it hasn't in the past. Instead of a tourist town, it's now becoming a permanent (or semi-permanent) home and regional commercial and business center. People want to live there, not just spend a few months in the summer there, or visit for a weekend.

It's a foodie town now too. Terms like "gastronomic tourism" are a thing, and it's a primary force in overall tourism, alongside recreation. Traverse City has taken cues from larger cities like Portland and Austin, and has grown a healthy arsenal of food trucks. Given the variety of fresh produce available in the area, summer menus for these trucks, and brick and mortar restaurants, must be great. Even Food Network chef Mario Batali now annually vacations in the area. This wasn't something that would have been predicted in Traverse City 10 years ago. Years ago people from southern Michigan flocked to Traverse City just to get away and swim. Now people from all over come for much more.

It's undeniable in summer as to how popular the city is for seasonal vacationers. The streets are busy with people walking in Downtown Traverse City. There are a number of new restaurants and shops (I'd highly recommend Brew Coffeehouse and Cafe). People are biking everywhere (on the TART trails; Get it? Cherries, tart?) and the beaches and parks (Clinch Park) surrounding Grand Traverse Bay are as busy as ever. But as my wife and I drove around, there were a number of apartments and mixed use projects being built, especially around the western edge of the city's downtown district. I don't know that Downtown Traverse City has seen this sort of development interest in the near-past.

But now, it seems that the interest in Traverse City has pushed the limit of some. Back in August, the Traverse City Planning Commission voted to grant a special use permit that would allow the 9-story, 96-foot tall, two building, River West mixed use development at 305 West Front Street to be built. Residents filed petitions and pushed for Traverse City to put the issue to a referendum vote. Unfortunately, a 2006 Michigan law within the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act prevents that from happening. Judge Philip Rodgers, of Michigan's 13th Circuit Court, ruled early on Monday that "...all counsel agree that a municipal zoning ordinance such as Traverse City’s cannot be amended by citizen initiative." His opinion closed with "The plaintiffs’ hope to delete buildings of a height greater than 60 feet from the zoning code at this time can be accomplished neither by initiative nor referendum."

Following that decision led to Monday night where the Traverse City City Commission heard public comment until 12:45 AM local time early Tuesday morning. I can't wait to see a video or transcript of that meeting! (view the entire meeting here, thanks to Up North Media Center). The City Commission voted 5-2 to approve the special land use permit. Northern Michigan's 9 and 10 News has a recap of the hearing here.

A rendering of the River West proposal

The property in question on Monday night was one that is zoned C-4c (Regional Center District, Chapter 1346), which allows for 60 foot buildings by right. The zoning ordinance allows for buildings up to 100 feet in this zone, as long as 20 percent of the building is used for dwellings. At minimum, buildings in any C-4 district must be at least 30 feet tall. (See Chapter 1368 for the city's size and area requirements.) The zoning ordinance also details many site plan and design guidelines, so residents can be given a reasonable expectation as to the design of the structures, unlike here in Houston, where an architect's imagination can run wild in the absence of a citywide zoning ordinance (unless you're in a historic district).

The site of River West is highlighted in red.

The River West site is also within the downtown neighborhood as detailed in the city's master plan, focusing on high intensity, regional and commercial activity. River West plans to have 162 dwelling units above 20,000 square feet of street-level retail. I'd say it meets those descriptors. As this was a special land use permit, the City Commission had to consider the standards for approval that are found in Chapter 1364 of the City of Traverse City Zoning Ordinance. The decision of the City Commission is final and cannot be sent back to the city's Zoning Board of Appeals. Of course, there is always the outside chance that there may be legal challenge ahead.

The zoning map of Downtown Traverse City

When I first heard about this case, it was reminiscent of the Ashby high rise case here in Houston. The development of the Ashby high rise is on a much larger scale than River West, and frankly, not nearly as noxious, as the Ashby high rise would be built adjacent a single family neighborhood, well outside any major activity center. In Houston, without a zoning code, it's not uncommon to find buildings that are completely out of character to their surroundings. But, like in the case of River West, that sort of development is allowed by city codes. Houston's building and development codes do not contain any sort of height restrictions, but do maintain other development rules.

Back in Traverse City, River West will provide the area with workforce housing. Now, don't confuse this with what many people know as affordable housing. This is not a government housing project, but housing that is intended to be affordable to those who are working retail and seasonal jobs, which make up a large part of Traverse City's economy. Developers say that 64 of the units will be affordable workforce housing serving workers earning between $8 and $17 per hour. "The workforce housing units will be priced to be affordable to downtown workers earning $10-$15 per hour, with estimated monthly rental prices ranging from $557 to $784.  The workforce housing element is pledged for a minimum of 45 years." The State of Michigan only requires workforce housing agreements to be a minimum of 15 years, so an additional 30 years provides a predicable number of workforce housing options for Traverse City residents. The hope would be that a number of other developments are built to complement River West.

I'd expect increases in those rental rates over the years, but the allocation of workforce housing, when not mandated by ordinance, is admirable, especially considering the growing rental rates in central cities over the last number of years, and that most new rental housing is built for those with greater incomes. I'd expect the workforce rates to increase as time goes on. I'd be interested to know what standard the developers are using to define their rental rates as "workforce", and what costs they will need to recover through the market rate units in order to make up for the workforce housing prices.

As someone on the outside, it's interesting to note in this case it's not outside investment companies coming into a city and turn some dirt and rake in cash. The project team has established relationships with business owners, employees and residents of the city. They communicate a desire to provide for those who might be moving to Traverse City to start careers. Erik Falconer, a life-long area resident, owns a local family wealth advisory company. (Interestingly, he is a brother of Ben Falconer, a former pastor of the church I attended while at Michigan State University.) Falconer penned a recent opinion in the Traverse City Record-Eagle advocating the approval of River West's special land use permit, noting that "Great towns and cities are not static — they constantly change. The character of our city is not just about its buildings. It is about its natural resources, open spaces, and most importantly, its people. And a diverse mix of people living and working in downtown Traverse City will continue to keep our city great."

A street view of West Front Street today

A view of West Front Street with River West

In an information video about the project, developers provide testimonies from business leaders who support the project, which at the end of the video is billed as "Vertical, Viable, Vibrant, Diverse". The vertical nature of the building allows more people to live near the city;s job center, adding to the city's vibrancy. And, to be honest, on my trips to Traverse City, I've not ventured much past North Union Street, as a number properties are parking lots. This, of course, is changing. It's interesting to note that the River West project does not require parking, but will provide 177 parking spaces, and a number of bicycle racks.

Traverse City's BATA provides transit to the area, and BATA's Hall Street Station is about a 0.2 mile walk from the River West development. This provides residents an opportunity to travel without a car, although I would be skeptical of higher income residents using public transit given the frequency of trips in Traverse City. Without a grocery store or affordable general retailer close by, (think clothes, home goods), residents, especially those without disposable incomes, will still need to complete car trips. I wonder if this is a perfect opportunity for the developers to consider a car-share system, such as Zipcar.

As with many other resort towns and cities that rely on agritourism, maintaining the surrounding area's natural physical beauty and resources are very important. Providing affordable housing in the center of the city (especially on a vacant lot) helps to partially lessen the need for apartments on the outskirts of town, in what would likely be sprawling greenfield development. Traverse City residents have repeatedly noted their desire to protect their natural landscape, and rightfully so. It's vital to the city's economy.

Some in Traverse City may see a city that is falling victim to its own success. As travel and tourism demands change, it is difficult to predict development pressures. It is a lesson to smaller cities and towns that their zoning and building codes and planning guidelines likely provide for many more opportunities to build large buildings than the general population would imagine. (If you take a look at Traverse City's zoning map, any property in the C-4b, C-4c, D, GP, NMC-2 or H-2 districts could possibly be developed with buildings anywhere from 30 to 45 feet, and in some cases, up to 100 feet, as in C-4c areas.) I would certainly not be an advocate of modifying the ordinance at this point to eliminate any chance of a building being more that 60 feet, as these are only approved by special land use permit, and will likely be the exception to the rule.

The age of these ordinances are relatively new when compared to the settlement of a city, and I wonder if this is now the time to make a wine analogy. Traverse City might be in one of these times where a winemaker is toys with the composition of a wine. As wine ages, different tastes and experiences are noted. A more complex taste may result. The more refined the taste and experience, the more people want it. There is a greater demand. Just ask many of the area's wineries and cideries. It's no different with an urban experience. (If we're talking about wine, let me quickly recommend Traverse City's Left Foot Charley urban winery in the redeveloped The Village at Grand Traverse Commons for some of their Riesling, or a bottle of their Cinnamon Girl cider. Verterra, Chateau Grand Traverse and Forty Five North are other favorites.) It will take different projects for the public to engage in a conversation to answer questions like "how tall is too tall?"

In many cases, cities already have ordinances that would allow someone to build something that might seem out of scale or character. It just takes someone with enough capital to do it. It's not an "if?" question, but a "when?" question. The question of "if?" has passed in Traverse City. Now, residents will await the answer to "when?"

Left Foot Charley in Traverse City's The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

Tandem Ciders, north of Traverse City

Hair Ye, Hair Ye! (Again), Black Swan Yoga, Juiceland - The Houston Heights Becoming Austin East

In August, plans on the Mosley Commercial website included the "Heights Plaza" property at 420 E. 20th Street in the Houston Heights. The website listed the popular Austin-based Birds Barbershop as its first tenant. It's taken a while, but it looks like plans are starting to roll again for the shopping center, which is now being developed by Radom Capital, the same group responsible for Heights Mercantile between Yale and Heights Blvd. at 7th Street. I rode by last night and noticed that the parking lot had been resurfaced, likely pointing to interior renovations to starting soon. (The rest of this post is kind of old news, but still worth a refresher.)

420 East 20th Street in August, 2015.

420 East 20th Street in December, 2015.

Proposed: 420 East 20th Street

The plans are significantly different than those originally posted by Mosley Commercial back in August, and for the better I might add. A sophisticated classiness is brought to the shopping center, clad in bright white paint and simple lines. The potential restaurant depicted has a classic early 1960's Corvette convertible (perhaps imported from Europe, given that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car?) parked in front. The renderings look great. Also noted in the Historic Commission notes are a suggestion to include a 5-foot sidewalk along Columbia Street, which currently terminates at the site's parking lot. 

"Houston...Today", Today - The Urban Land Institute's 1974 Houston Spring Meeting Brochure

I always enjoy reading about Houston, especially when it comes to how the city developed. I recently came across the 1974 Urban Land Institute's "Houston...Today" report, compiled for the 1974 ULI Spring Meeting. (A full scan of the PDF can be found here.) The brochure incorporated information about major development projects in Houston in 1974, either as being "Downtown", inside the Central Business District, or "Suburban", outside the CBD.

Championing Downtown Houston

I moved to Houston almost three years ago, and since then I've spent most of my time in Downtown Houston. It's where I work and regularly recreate. In just less than three years there has been tremendous change. I know, the beginnings of that change were in motion long before I moved to Houston, but it is with excitement that we are seeing those changes come to fruition. Downtown development doesn't happen at the speed of light in most cities, but it does happen pretty fast here in Houston. (For a full list of priorities for Downtown Houston, see this presentation from Central Houston from January, 2015).

A city may have many areas of commerce, but traditional downtown centers give a city an identity. It's usually where the city's tallest buildings are, so it establishes iconic skylines. Downtown districts are normally the hub of commerce and arts, law, politics and governance. Over time, these characteristics may change. Downtown districts lose major sports teams and their facilities to the suburbs. Collections, much like the Texas Medical Center, need more space for their growing work, so they find refuge on the fringes. In this way many cities become polycentric. Houston is arguably one of the most famous examples of a polycentric city, featuring the Texas Medical Center, Uptown, Greenspoint and Greenway Plaza. But, if I'm like many other visitors to large cities, I want to first see a city's downtown district, not a satellite district. Downtowns may not be as important as they were perceived in the past, but I'd contend that they're still the most important district of a city.

The Delicate Balance Between Neighborhood Improvement and Gentrification

Townhouses replace older bungalows in many of Houston's neighborhoods.

It seems like the finest line in urban development today is the line between neighborhood improvement (+) and gentrification (-). Everyone loves community improvement: "Yes, please clean up that lot full of weeds and trash! Yes, please fix my street that's been full of pot holes for the past few years. Yes, please tear down that house that's been vacant and falling apart for years"... But the word gentrification strikes a nerve in most. We're quick to answer, "No, we don't want those big new homes here!" Or, "No, we don't want that apartment complex at the end of our block."

People might not be able to easily define gentrification, but they seem to know it when they see it. It's akin to Potter Stewart's famous Supreme Court decision in Jacobellis vs. Ohio regarding explicit material. Gentrification was a term first used by Ruth Glass, a British sociologist, who used the term to explain how working class families in London were being replaced by middle class families, leaving a neighborhood with a completely different social character. (For some history on the use of "gentrification", see this Next City timeline).

It normally involves the displacement of people, groups or cultures from an area that becomes populated with a higher socioeconomic class, or simply an increase of people within that higher socioeconomic class. These events normally make it uncomfortable or simply no longer affordable for long time residents as a result of higher property values and tax rates. Gentrification is a term that is being used so often in critiques and analyses of cities, with varying applications. It's helpful to consider that there may also be different types of gentrification, as posed by planner Pete Saunders. (He classifies Houston's gentrification status as "Nascent".)

Looking Forward to the Texas Big Six 2040: Potential Discussion Topics

This Friday city planning and development leaders from Texas' largest cities will gather at Texas Southern University for a day-long workshop and panel discussion to discuss each city's plans, policies and projects that will continue to "shape the livability, resiliency, and competitiveness" of each city and their surrounding regions. It will be the first time that all six of these directors has gathered to talk about development each of Texas' largest cities.

I wrote some thoughts two weeks ago about the benefit of this type of event, especially for a city like Houston. This week I'd like to explore some of the things that we might hear about from each city. Even though each city has different development circumstances, economic backgrounds, populations and governmental controls, we can still learn from each of them. So, planning and development issues what might we hear about from each of Texas' largest cities on Friday?

Houston

Houston is embarking on developing a General Plan. Perhaps we will hear more about the plan's progress, as well as the review of the city's Historic Preservation Ordinance. And, in a city without zoning, some might wonder what land use and development regulations the city and its citizens actually has at their disposal. 

Dallas

We might hear about Dallas' continued development in its downtown, and may be able to learn more about how the city uses Historic Districts and Conservation Districts top provide for community planning. We might also hear more about the decisions Dallas faces in zoning areas of the city for continued infill development and growth, including the city's recent review of the Oak Cliff neighborhood, just to the southwest of Downtown Dallas.

San Antonio

San Antonio may be able to discuss the continued growth of its neighborhoods, including the amending of its area plans, as well as the growth outside of the city's limits. We might also hear about how water accessibility has a role in development in San Antonio.

Austin

Austin may be able to tell us about what might lay ahead for the city after the failure of a proposed light rail expansion. More importantly, Austin may give us an update on the efforts the city is making in their CodeNEXT initiative. It's an attempt to "simplify the development rules but find ways to fit more housing and development in the city’s core, especially along major roads." This is something Houston might be able to learn from, as Austin seems to be allowing itself to accommodate a greater amount of infill development as the city grows in population. We also might be able to hear more about Austin's continued interest in learning more about tiny homes and micro-units.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth may be able to shed some light on its town and gown relationship with TCU, especially given the recent halt on single family housing permits surrounding the TCU campus. Fort Worth is also considering raising the minimum parking requirements for single family dwellings around the TCU campus, assuming that parking for rental homes is leading to an increase in street parking. The city is also in the process of adding parkland through the city's 2015 Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Master Plan. Even though it is not a plan developed by the Planning and Development Department, it is an important planning topic, especially in a growing city. (City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services survey).

El Paso

El Paso might be able to tell us more about its recently launched Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, the Sun Metro Brio, as well as the continued development of El Paso's downtown.

These are all speculative topics that we might hear about from each city. There will be a time for questions and answers, so if these topics, or others of the public's interest, aren't answered in each director's presentation, there's a time to ask them.

More information about the event can be found on the Houston APA website, and if you're interested in attending you can sign up to attend the event here.

The Texas Big Six 2040 Event Page

Fri, Nov. 21, 2014

8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Texas Southern University - Barbara Jordan / Mickey Leeland School of Public Affairs

Houston, Texas

The Texas Big Six 2040 - Planning For Texas' Largest Cities

It's not often that you can gather leaders in a particular field from each of a state's largest cities. You might get them all in one place, but they probably won't all sit down and talk about a common issue. Well, the Houston Chapter of the American Planning Association has done just that. On Friday, November 21, 2014, city planning and development leaders from Texas' largest cities will gather at Texas Southern University for a day-long workshop and panel discussion to discuss each city's plans, policies and projects that will continue to "shape the livability, resiliency, and competitiveness" of each city and their surrounding regions.

The Texas Big Six 2040 workshop and panel will feature planning and development directors from each of Texas' largest cities; Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso. Each of the panelists will provide presentations about how their cities and region will grow into "livable, desirable world-class places that sustain the health, vitality, and happiness of residents, businesses, and visitors." A portion of the event is also planned to be used for a question and answer period including all of the panelists. It should be an opportunity to learn about what each city is doing in the way of planning, but the chance to hear raw questions from the audience should prove to be the most worthwhile component.

It's no secret that Texas' cities are among the fastest growing in the country. Texas is gaining population so quickly, and as a result its cities are continually ranked at the top of all those "top places" lists, whether it's job growth, moving rates, U Haul destinations (in 2013 Houston ranked first, San Antonio fifth, and Austin sixth), or Creative Class population. Take it for what you will, but even Business Insider presented 18 Facts that Make Houston The Best City In America earlier this year. You name a category and a Texas city is likely to be a front runner, for better or worse. Without question, people are paying attention to Texas cities (even though some see Texas cities as B-List cities, not up to snuff with the likes of New York, L.A., Chicago or Boston).

Silos - Flickr

We're benefiting from a collection of growing industries, predominantly oil and gas and healthcare, as well as the ancillary engineering and support services that go with them. It's estimated that three out of four new jobs in Texas through 2040 will be within one of these six largest cities or its metropolitan area. The "Creative Class" population is growing not just in Houston, but in other Texas cities as well. Houston saw the biggest gain in Creative Class movers (ranking second behind Washington, DC), while Dallas came in sixth, and Austin twelfth.

Most of Texas is also blessed (or maybe cursed?) with a geography that allows cities to continue to expand into the horizon. There are few natural barriers to consider in urban (errr, should I say suburban?) development and, as evidenced here in Houston, land is being gobbled up for subdivisions at a rapid pace.

With this change in population, as well as overall growth in population, major planning decisions need to be made regarding housing, transportation, resiliency and sustainability. This is something Texans can no longer ignore. The public may ignore the complexity and interconnectedness of our cities, but our elected leaders and local government cannot.

There's much to be discussed. Texas is struggling with exceptional drought in many areas. All of our cities rank pretty poorly in terms of having the worst traffic, and building more freeways (or toll roads) hasn't helped. With some exception of Dallas's DART, our public transit systems (especially rail and bus rapid transit) have plenty of room for improvement when compared to cities of similar sizes. Our cities are rapidly aging (population and infrastructure), and there will be a great deal of older residents that must be served. And, for as affordable as people think Texas housing is, our cities are increasingly becoming prohibitively expensive for many long-time residents and many new comers.

Traditionally in Houston there has been a hesitancy to allow long range planning to take place. In most other Texas cities you don't have this issue. (In fact, Houston City Council just approved appropriations this week to continue with our city's General Plan.) Whether it is simply the distrust of government or the staunch desire to maintain property rights, Houston has been hostile to planning. But, given Houston's continued growth, loss of tax revenue, and difficulty in providing needed infrastructure improvements, we may not be able to ignore a more holistic approach to planning our city. When we look at our city's (and state's) changing demographics, is it so far-fetched that people may actually desire a greater amount of long range, interconnected planning processes?

As the Creative Class continues to grow here in Texas, as people move from other metros, and as millennials come to age and settle down, it's no doubt that people's preferences about what they value in terms of quality of life, will change. More people than ever want to live close to cities. It's certainly happening in Texas cities, with housing prices in our urban areas at an all time high. There's a residential boom in downtown districts that wasn't there even 10 years ago. To be able to respond to this increased demand on our cities and their ability to provide essential services, coordination and communication are key. Not only among each city's departments, but between different cities.

There are also many things that we can learn from other cities. We cannot discount the successes of other cities, and we cannot overlook policies and practices that may not have proven to be successful in others. Houston, certainly, is in no position to be an overall authority on successes of urban development, but we can continue to learn from others and adopt practices to allow Houston, and other Texas cities, to continue to grow.

I like to look to Toronto on many issues, especially because of the leadership of Toronto's Chief Planner, Jennifer Keesmaat. On her Own Your City blog, she recently discussed The Future of Urban Planning, and the need for more of it as our cities continue to grow. Keesmaat says;

Urban planning has a significant impact on some of the most important challenges that society is facing today. We have the opportunity to make people’s lives better  – or not – and to improve quality of life – or not.

Every single day I’m challenged by the work that I do. I’m constantly learning. I’m always also meeting interesting people who broaden my understanding of the world. City planning, in many ways, is at the heart of a democratic society. Think about it – how we plan our cities is about how we negotiate living together. Have you ever lived with someone? It can be pretty tricky.  This is why city planning is a complex discipline that is technical, political, and artistic all at the same time. It is often about brokering deals for our shared future. It is also about figuring out what we’re going to share or not share, what we value, and the kind of legacy we want to leave for future generations.

It'd be foolish to expect immediate effects as a result of a single workshop and panel discussion. But in an age where we desire to "tear down silos" between departments within organizations, why not start to tear down of silos between cities themselves? I am looking forward to attending and learning what the other five largest Texas cities are planning for and how they're doing it. I look to providing some thoughts from the event, and to further the dialogue of how Texas' largest cities can continue to support one another as we work to provide the best quality of life for our residents as possible.

More information can be found on the Houston APA website, and if you're interested in attending you can sign up to attend the event here.

The Texas Big Six 2040 Event Page

Fri, Nov. 21, 2014

8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Texas Southern University - Barbara Jordan / Mickey Leeland School of Public Affairs

Houston, Texas

Downtown Houston, Families and Residential Development

It's easy to be excited about the increase of multifamily housing developments in Downtown Houston. They're popping up all over the place. They're announcing new projects weekly. I hesitate to call all these developments multifamily, as most of these units are not likely accommodate families, but instead high-income singles, couples, or roommates. Take some time for yourself and examine the most recent 2008-2012 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates on the American FactFinder site for US Census Tracts 1000 (most of Downtown Houston) and 2101 (the part of Downtown Houston north of Buffalo and White Oak Bayous and south of I-10). The ACS population numbers for Downtown Houston are probably much lower than current conditions when considering the growth that has taken place in Houston. However, the trends revealed are valuable. It may be more trustworthy to look at more recent retail analyses when inquiring about more recent population numbers. 

Investment, especially in residential properties, is a great thing for Downtown Houston. Keep it coming! We need more residential investment,
especially as we continue to attempt to attract retail and entertainment opportunities. If retail and entertainment establishments are to be viable, Houston needs more residents near its core, or people need to see Downtown Houston as a destination. Right now, both of those realities are relatively weak when compared to other cities, but they are getting stronger.

To boost Downtown Houston's residency, in 2012 the Houston Downtown Management District and the TIRZ#3 Downtown Living Program of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority partnered to create the Downtown Living Initiative Program. The program provides development incentives for multifamily and mixed use developments that construct more than 10 new dwelling units, are within the program boundary area, and help to enhance the pedestrian environment. The program was originally intended to provide incentives for 2,500 units, but was expanded to provide incentives for up to 5,000 units total. Developers can take advantage of the program until June 30, 2016, or until all 5,000 units are accounted for. With a dozen residential projects either completed or scheduled, more than 3,800 of the 5,000 units are accounted for. The funding of up to $75 million is not a small amount of money.

If you take notice of what is happening in most large cities, and especially in North America, people, especially millennials, want to live in cities, especially urban cores. To many Houstonians, this doesn't make sense. Many claim that people move to Houston because they want a single family home with a large yard, which they can drive to in their air conditioned car. Urbanism? We don't need no stinkin' urbanism. People want suburbanism! But yet, there's those that argue against the "Keep Houston, Houston" position, claiming our recent parks and urban development progress as making this city a better place to live. The juxtaposition of these views is what keeps Houston from really making meaningful changes in how things look on the ground here, and how the city operates as an organism.

Houston, Zoning & the New Donut Model

Mmm, donuts.

A few weeks ago on Urbanophile Aaron Renn discussed a historical concept of urban development known as the "donut" model. This concept takes place when a city's outlaying areas see more development than a city's urban core. This has historically been the development trend in many cities, including many rust belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Saint Louis and Minneapolis, as well as some southern cities like Atlanta, and even here in Houston. European cities haven't been exempt to this pattern either.

Renn then categorized the current development trend of many cities with gentrifying and revitalizing downtown districts, calling it the "new donut" paradigm. Some urbanists have attributed some of the effects of this new paradigm to the existence of traditional zoning in cities, claiming that existing zoning restraints effectively renders parts of cities unable to address the needs for increasing housing or development needs. As evidenced here in Houston, and recently in Minneapolis, among many other cities, Renn notes that:

Filling in the hole became every city’s mission. Pretty much any city or metro region of any size has pumped literally billions of dollars into its downtown in an attempt to revitalize them. This took many forms ranging from stadiums to convention centers to hotels to parking garages to streetcars to museums and more. It’s popular today to subsidize mixed use development with a heavy residential component.

Mmm, donuts. In Houston, when you discuss donuts, the topic rapidly shifts to Shipley's. It's Shipley's versus the rest of the world here, although Dunkin Donuts is making a push for a Houston presence. I'm not really sure how fried breakfast foods ended up being an analogy for discussing urban development, but they're both things I enjoy, so I don't mind it at all. And, since it's now fall, all this talk about donuts brings back the memories of Blakes Cider Mill in Armada, Michigan, sitting in the middle of an apple orchard, chowing down on freshly fried donuts washed down by fresh-pressed apple cider.

Courtesy of Urbanophile.com

While I love donuts, I like bagels too. Houston's development, and the downtown development in many cities, is more like the experience of having a cinnamon crunch bagel at Panera, which one can argue is much like a donut anyways. You know the bagel has a hole in it somewhere. It's just filled in with sweet, cinnamon-y toasted sugar. You know the hole is there in the middle of the doughy periphery, it's just filled in. Maybe that toasted cinnamon sugar filling is the gigantic amount of sweet public funding that cities have dedicated to building these stadiums, convention centers, and even residential developments. It's not at all that these attempts are wrong, but we've just invested a lot of taxpayer money in them. More to follow on residential development, specifically here in Houston, in the coming week or so.

Courtesy of Urbanophile.com

Okay, back to cities now. This "new donut" paradigm is precisely what has happened recently in Houston. The Astrodome was replaced with Minute Maid Park. It's only fitting that in a discussion about cities and breakfast foods, that we have a stadium named for a brand of orange juice. There's not much that we can thank former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay for, other than his insistence that the Astros establish a downtown field, ultimately incorporating the former Union Station into the stadium's design. The Rockets then moved from The Summit to the Toyota Center, the George R Brown Convention Center was built, along with many hotels, parks and offices.