HERITAGE MATTERS

Tag: city center

  • Zoning Laws

    Once zoning became adopted within city planning protocol, cities that were already in place had to adapt to these new regulations. City centers and downtowns at this tine had been thriving as they included a diverse mixture of businesses and residences. It was the fact that they incorporated different uses and functions for different citizens that made these cities and towns dynamic and central elements to their surroundings. The biggest success of cities and towns was that they catered to what their public wanted and needed. With the implementation of zoning, suddenly all of these elements that had become norms for cities and towns became prohibited.

    Before too long changes started taking place and cities and towns that had once been inviting, vibrant and all-inclusive were turned into commerce districts. Zoning changed the game. It separated everything into different compartments – residential, commercial, and industrial. This separation was the first step towards the demise of city centers and downtowns nationwide as the stimulating factors were disconnected. It also brought transportation to the forefront as these new zones were situated in different areas around the urban core. These areas needed to be accessible to those working on one side of town, but living on the other side. Therefore, zoning required some sort of transportation system to be implemented, where citizens could easily reach work, commerce and goods, and their residences. Unfortunately, public transportation in most areas was not a viable option. Since people were forced to rely on automobiles, there was not much holding them back from now migrating to new suburban developments. Citizens were now afforded mortgages to obtain their own private residences and with it more room and less congestion and confusion.

    With everyone moving to the suburbs, the need for closer goods and services became a necessity. Now, citizens wanted similar conveniences that they once had living in or near the city, but within closer proximity to these new residential developments. All of a sudden strip malls and shopping centers started taking form near these developments. As they were still a distance from the developments, the automobile remained the primary form of transportation. The disconnection zoning initiated filtered through to these new endeavors, causing further complications and fragmentations to the new ‘ideal’ movement. As automobiles were saturating the nation, parking lots became common form that changed the previous interactions of buildings to their immediate surroundings. The focus changed from pedestrians and street-lined stores to highways or streets, parking lots and then shopping centers.

    Cities and towns were left struggling to pick up the pieces as populations dwindled that further depressed local commerce and left many vacancies. Local businesses were now competing with larger chains and department stores that were beginning to take shape, such as Woolworth and Sears Roebuck that were popping up everywhere. To combat these issues, cities and towns fought to keep their commercial areas relevant. Thinking new and shiny was the path to success, many older buildings and spaces unique to these different cities and towns were unabashedly torn down and demolished to make clearance the new wave of commercial centers and their accompanying parking lots.

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a prime example of a city that went through these motions of reorganization and renewal as an attempt to clean it up. They “demolished 1,200 homes, reduced the size of the shopping district by 1 million square feet, […] swallowed more than 1,000 acres of land, razed more than 3,700 buildings, relocated more than 1,500 businesses and uprooted more than 5,000 families.” Residents wanted out of Pittsburgh and sought refuge in the new wave of residential developments taking place nationwide outside city limits. The city’s attempt to pick up the pieces only added fuel to the fire as they had already caused enough damage and remaining residents and interested organizations fought for the city to cease and desist with their renewal projects. In this case, the city of Pittsburgh lost the majority of its original character and functionality to new development that failed miserably.

  • Retail Practices

    Retail practices were influenced by the introduction and implementation of new zoning regulations that were a complete opposite to the former downtown organization that had revolved around an effective mixture of residences and businesses. These new zoning regulations dictated that functions would now be separated and grouped into residential, commercial and industrial zones in different areas around town. This along with the rise of automobiles initiated the nationwide exodus of city dwellers to new residential developments located on the outskirts of most city limits. About this same time, larger department stores and shopping centers began opening up in closer proximity to these developments, as downtown was becoming too far and out of the way.

    The vitality of downtowns began to falter, as populations declined and these newer shopping centers and larger department stores took over. Businesses were no longer able to keep up with the cheaper and more numerous competitors and many of these small and local businesses were forced to close. This created vacancies in downtowns and as many individuals were not frequenting the area, they slowly became disconnected fragments. Cities were striving to find ways in which they could compete with this new wave of retail practices, so they opted to follow lead, destroying existing buildings to erect newer and shinier buildings, in hopes it would attract more people.

    An example of this can be found in the history of Clematis Street, which is the main street of downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. In the 20s, Clematis Street was a connection to the local train station with the ferry headed to Palm Beach, but as development began taking off a new bridge began shuffling traffic around Clematis. Next, all the big department stores such as Woolworth and Sears Roebuck soon moved to other parts of towns leaving Clematis irrelevant and mostly vacant. It lost its identity and sense of community. Through the years it opened more higher end stores but as malls brought more competition it did not fare that well. Until recently the area was run down and looking like a forgotten part of town. With planners taking lead of the situation, Clematis has been renewed with life and vibrancy once again, especially with the introduction of the Thursday evening event ‘Clematis by Night’ which has successfully taken off, making shops and restaurants on the street available and open after the past closing times of 5 or 6 PM, with extra entertainment (similar to a block party). It has become more central and inviting to neighboring residents once again and they seem to be encouraging this return to the experience of taking part in a downtown.

  • Europe Versus America

    Although there are many similarities between European and American cities, their differences tend to outweigh one another. The majority of the physical differences are due to deep-rooted and long enforced policies that European countries and governments take most seriously as methods to control growth within their cities. Whereas in the United States, very different objectives have been sought, policies more lax and the momentary desire to develop the vast frontier trumped the real need for properly developed towns and cities. The expansive mindset of the country has been a catch-22, as cities have paid the price.

    European cities are definitively different from their American counterparts, as they have retained the concept of “old urban systems,” and the city centers remain relevant, continuing to hold meaning throughout the decades even though they have seen their share of changes. The merging of history, culture, involved citizens, small businesses and appropriately placed public spaces boost the elements that support this city center ideology. Small and local businesses remain in demand; therefore, encouraging the local economy and larger corporations are no longer such a considerable threat, as they have become in the United States. These cities look different and surely feel different than most American cities because they do feel older and most were originally planned as small, fortified towns which eventually grew out of their fortifications into burgeoning towns and cities as more people relocated. Because European countries lacked the same ‘frontier’ to explore, they had to set-up strict regulations and policies that would ensure the viability and longevity of their cities. They had to find ways in which to deal with the population increases, while maintaining the same key characteristics that set their cities apart from one another.

    As American cities began to expand, they started pushing the borders of the original framework, but instead of keeping the boundaries somewhat intact, urban sprawl took control. “Since 1950 about half of America’s central cities at least doubled their territory by annexing new suburbs.”[1] This would later wreak havoc on the future health of American cities and leave behind faulty and spread out fragments. This phenomenon can be seen perfectly in Miami, Florida. Miami sprawled from originally having 300 residents in 1896, right when the city was incorporated, to 5.5 million in just a century. To cope with the surge of new residents Miami sprawled in every direction, creating smaller disconnected neighborhoods. Downtown Miami suffered and became obsolete as chain stores took over in new strip malls that were more accessible to these neighborhoods; it literally became a ghost town full of homeless people. Only recently has downtown Miami been able to reemerge as major revitalization and planning have been kicked into full gear. There have been great advances downtown with the addition of a new performing arts center, art museums, boutiques and shops, restaurants, housing, parks, etc. that make downtown once again relevant and welcoming.

    The main mechanism that changed the course of events for both American and European cities was transportation. In the United States, the majority of the transportation budget was reserved for the implementation of highways as urban sprawl was taking over. Automobiles had become the next big thing in this country, as individualism was further marketed, allowing citizens to move farther away from the city centers. No longer did the city center have to be a concentrated hub as people had migrated to the outskirts, this changed the mindset and expectations of downtowns in the United States. Europe was late to the rise of the automobile and instead focused on railroad transportation, ensuring that the country as well as neighboring countries could be easily accessible to the general public. Even though European cities expanded, creating new neighborhoods, they were still compacted in comparison to the level of sprawl in the United States. For example, “the urban region of Paris comprises 1,300 municipalities,”[2] but because of the planning of arrondissements and the implementation of taller buildings, the city has managed to retain a concentrated city feel that is geared more towards the city-citizen relationship versus the suburban-city experience. A similar city is Barcelona, Spain, as much of the downtown interworking is comprised of former medieval and narrow streets that are not automobile-friendly, but they do oblige active citizens to maneuver. This aids in retaining a citizen-driven city center.

    Larger American cities such as Chicago, San Francisco or New York have tried to maintain this citizen-driven city center, but as they have ‘grown-up’ and stretched to accommodate growth, only certain parts of these cities still incorporate this feeling. But, as mentioned earlier, it is more complicated than simply changing an aspect of an American city to replicate the feel of a European city – there is more at play than meets the eye. It took years of intensive and restrictive planning to ensure European cities would maintain their look and feel. The two are just different. Public policy has played a large role and the fact that European and American policies are so different has been a major reason why their cities have ended up being so different from one another.

    [1] Nivola, Pietro S.. “Fit for Fat City: A “Lite” Menu of European Policies to Improve Our Urban Form.” The Brookings Institution. http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/1999/01/metropolitanpolicy-nivola (accessed June 24, 2014).
    [2] Ibid.