Developing Downtown
by Gary Robinette
University of Texas, Arlington
In spite of this, many governmental facilities, corporate
offices and entertainment areas have remained in or near the core of many cities
of all sizes. Over the past few decades there have been efforts by landscape
architects to deal with reversing the decline and deterioration of the center
city. Some of these have been more successful than others. The initial surge to
preserve the central business districts began with the downtown mall for Fresno,
California and Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan in the late 1950's and early
1960's. This was followed by Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis and the Portland
Transit Mall. All of these approaches were based on a simple, single dimensional
approach to the problem. In the late 1980's and the early 1990's a much more
sophisticated and broad based approach is being explored to reintroduce
landscape development into the center of cities of all sizes. Those strategies
include the introduction of landscape development by means of:
· Adaptive reuse,
· Entertainment districts,
· Transit planning,
· Festival marketplaces,
· Farmer's markets,
· Corporate development,
· Center city malls,
· Cultural or arts districts,
· Inner city housing,
· Waterfront development,
· CBD group projects,
· Convention centers,
· Mini-parks,
· City investment as leverage,
· Local landscape ordinances.
These approaches, among others, are leading to major areas of
contribution from landscape architects in improving the quality of life in the
"downtown" areas of the 21st century. Each approach is important, and
provides new avenues for the landscape architect. The way in which landscape
architects seize these opportunities will determine the future success of the
profession.
Adaptive reuse - During the last few decades it has
seemed inappropriate to tear down buildings and areas which were structurally
sound and historically significant. Instead, the character and the shells were
retained and these were adapted to contemporary uses. This began at Ghiradelli
Square and the Cannery in San Francisco and now includes Faneuil Hall
Marketplace in Boston, the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia and Larimer
Square in Denver, to mention only a few. Nearly every city has such an area
which uses old buildings and includes new planting, public art, paving,
fountains and other landscape amenities.
Entertainment districts - Rather than scattering night
time entertainment facilities along a suburban strip development, many cities
are gathering these in or near the downtown area. This calls for and results in
new landscape planning and development in these central business districts. As
an illustration, the Dallas West end uses a series of renovated, older converted
warehouses for shops, stores, restaurants and night clubs. The surrounding
streetscape has been redesigned and upgraded to provide another building block
in a more vital center city.
Transit facilities - As new subways and transit systems
have been developed in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Denver, San Antonio, Dallas
and Los Angeles, the urban landscape planning associated with these has been a
very important component in the center city. In San Antonio, for example, three
landscape architectural firms worked together with three governmental bodies to
redesign and redevelop the streetscape in a very appropriate manner for this
downtown area. In Denver, the transit mall is a major component tying the center
city together and providing an important outdoor people place.
Festival marketplaces - These are very conscious
efforts to create exciting downtown shopping areas which have a major impact on
the direction and extent of urban landscape development. South Street Seaport in
New York City, Harborplace in Baltimore and Seaside in Miami are examples of
similar projects in Jacksonville, Tampa and New Orleans. All of these are
partially successful because they make extensive use of quality landscape
development to attract people back into the center of the city.
Farmer's markets - As an antidote to the ubiquitous
high tech with which we are surrounded, there has grown up the "high
touch" of farmers markets in many cities. This is where there is a direct
relationship between the producer and the consumer. These outdoor markets are
being institutionalized, redesigned and made a part of the urban landscape. As
such, they now contain trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines as well as
fountains, decorative paving and abundant seating. The Dallas Farmer's Market
has been redesigned to make it much more humane, inviting and exciting.
Corporate investment - Many major development projects
designed during the last decade have been much more aware and sensitive to the
need for high quality urban landscape development. In some cases, older
properties have been redesigned specifically to upgrade the site development. In
downtown Los Angeles a major bank building incorporates rooftop landscape
development using trees, shrubs, ground cover, seasonal color, fountains and
public art. A few blocks away, where there is a major change in grade, the
stairs themselves are a landscape and a work of public art. In Dallas, a
developer has planted a large grove of trees on property he will not develop for
a few years to create a temporary park forest. Later he will move and use these
trees in the project as it is built. Rather than leaving vacant land, it is
planted and used as a nursery to store and grow trees.
Center city malls - While the large, covered, heated
and air conditioned shopping malls have been the hallmark of suburban life for
years, it is now being adapted and moved to downtown sites. Projects in
Philadelphia, Columbus, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Phoenix and San Diego all
point the way in which such projects can be used to upgrade the urban landscape.
Around the perimeter, new planting, paving, signage and graphics are installed.
Within, abundant planting, seating, fountains and public art enrich the central
urban setting. City malls are one more way in which the downtown areas are being
revitalized and the urban landscape is being made more rich and usable.
Cultural or arts districts - Museums, theaters and
performing arts centers have often been scattered throughout the community.
Recently, efforts have been made to gather these into arts or cultural districts
in or near the downtown core of the city. These efforts have given rise to a
great deal of related landscape planning and design in the downtown of many
major cities. This began in New York at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
and is now replicated in Phoenix, Denver, Fort Worth and Dallas, to mention only
a few. In the Dallas Arts District, the new Dallas Museum of Art is near the
Meyerson Symphony Hall and other arts related institutions. All of this is tied
together by a complex and elegant streetscape design developed by a landscape
architectural firm.
Inner city housing - One of the dehumanizing factors in
most center cities is the fact that at night everyone goes home to the suburbs
and the downtown streets are empty. There is no way that significant commercial
activity can be sustained with only daytime traffic during the weekdays. New
residential opportunities are being developed in cities such as Baltimore, Fort
Worth, Denver and in many other places. Because of this there is now a day and
night population who will support the cost of improving the downtown landscape.
Outdoor restaurants, mini-parks, plazas and other gathering places call for
paving, planting, lighting and other site development.
Waterfronts - In the past, many local communities
turned their back on rivers, lakes or even oceans. Waterfronts were often
unsightly and were largely devoted to commerce and industry. During the last ten
to fifteen years massive programs have been undertaken to develop promenades,
parks and viewing areas along these waterfronts. This has had significant impact
on the types and location of urban landscape revitalization. More of this will
continue well into the next century, as this is a growing area of involvement
for landscape architects.
Central business district group projects - In nearly
every large American city, there is a chamber of commerce or property owners
group dealing with downtown problems. Some of that effort, in recent years, is
directed toward improving the appearance of and the quality of life in the
downtown area. The role of such a group is catalytic and synergistic in that
they seldom carry the full load but cooperate and bring together other groups
with an interest in solving the problems. In Dallas, the Central Dallas
Association has been a moving force on the Main Street project which is involved
with providing new sidewalks, street lighting, signage and graphics and street
furnishings all along one street which stretches from the center city into the
Deep Ellum neighborhood of small shops, stores, restaurants, night clubs,
galleries and artist studios. In Tulsa, Oklahoma such an association was largely
responsible for one of the most successful downtown shopping malls still in
existence. This is one more group and mechanism which is, in some small way,
responsible for downtown landscape revitalization.
Convention centers - In an effort to attract
conventions and their attendant tourist dollars, many cities have significantly
expanded their convention facilities. Seattle, Minneapolis, Kansas City and
Dallas all have such massive programs which have included a great deal of new
inner city landscape development. A block square was renovated next to Kemper
Arena in Kansas City by a major landscape architectural firm. In Dallas, a large
new public park is being planned and designed, with a significant public
sculpture, immediately adjacent to the convention center expansion.
Mini-parks - Land prices are generally so high in these
central locations that large parks are too expensive to build and maintain, so
they are often out of the question. Therefore a series of smaller plazas or
mini-parks are included in development plans or added after the fact. These are,
at times, put in SLOIP, or "spaces left over in planning". The first
of these to receive wide publicity were Paley and Greenacre Parks in New York
City. Now they have proliferated into nearly every major city, enhancing the
downtown landscape.
City investment as leverage - The high cost of downtown
landscape revitalization is often beyond the financial resources of any one
entity. Due to this factor, public-private partnerships often result in the most
successful physical urban landscape revitalizations. A city often gives tax or
zoning incentives to a developer who provides landscape amenities at street
level or on rooftops. The public sector may speed up street or sidewalk
improvements in response to a private initiative. Most of the projects mentioned
were a result of this type of public-private cooperation, though the
circumstances and incentives may vary from place to place depending on various
personalities, politics and economics. By way of illustration, the Dallas
Farmer's Market revitalization is a public initiative anticipating private
investment on the periphery of the Market.
Local landscape ordinances - Over the past twenty or
thirty years more and more communities are passing regulations which mandate
certain minimal levels of landscape development on every project. As these are
implemented and expanded, the overall level of site enhancement has improved all
over the city, not just the inner city. This makes some landscape enhancement
mandatory, not optional, as it has been in the past. Generally these deal with
screening parking lots and loading zones or storage areas, the use of street
trees to provide shade and separation in parking lots. These do have an impact
on the thinking and approach to dealing with the landscape or the appearance of
the city.
In summary, downtown landscape design has increased and will
continue to increase for the foreseeable future because it is based on a wide
variety of factors, not just a single approach or element. With the growing
concern for the environment and the desire for an improved quality of life,
people don't want to work and live in crowded, polluted and unpleasant
surroundings. Private developers and public officials now know what landscape
architects have known for years. The forefathers of the landscape architecture
profession have led the way. Now new generations need to respond to the
opportunities with new and innovative approaches and solutions. The need, the
opportunity and the precedent exists in these examples. LASN
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