How can your community address the following?

1. Plan for retrofitting  suburb locations at a regional scale. These projects are improved by their proximity to transit, and additional density in these locations can help waterways, food production and habitat recover from over development in other locations.

2. We must demand better architecture. New buildings must have a timeless quality that is flexible enough to change over time. The architecture must also be beautiful so people will love it, manage it and care for it as the building ages.

3. Everyone needs to demand more dynamic and sustainable places. Support the projects that are in you community, and “let the suburbs grow up” by voting yes on zoning, land use or planning bylaws that will allow retrofitting to be possible.

We are trying our best in Mashpee on all three of these, but there is still much more work to be done. Thank you Ellen for pushing this important innovation forward.

If you are interested in more details I recommend ordering Ellen’s new book, Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs

I hope to post some more health and urbanism connection soon. If you have a health and urbanism connection of your own please comment below.

If you have not had the chance to read Mr. Byrne’s latest book, Bicycle Diaries, I highly recommend it. There was one particular chapter that has kept me thinking. Here is a quote:

“It is as if some genetic architectural propensity exists in us, that guides us, subtly and invisibly, as to how to best organize first a kiosk, then a stall, and from there add incrementally as our innate instincts guide us. Until soon enough there exists a whole marketplace and neighborhood.” – Bicycle Diaries, p.138

He is pointing out an interesting occurrence where public markets found throughout the globe are organized in strikingly similar forms. These forms are perhaps patterns that emerge from us humans as naturally as bees construct their hives or beavers their dams. The contemporary practice of urbanists and architects might be fancied with the theory of Emergent Architecture. However, I still think more focus is needed to fully apply this natural occurrence to the planning of our cities and towns.

Here is a link to more information about the David Byrne lecture. There is also some interesting writings over at Living Urbanism that are related to Emergent Architecture.

Photo by marc dalio

Here are the key themes of the Providence 2030 vision as one would explain the city in that year. The entire document can be downloaded here.

1. We continue to grow a vibrant economy.
2. We support our world renowned culture.
3. We care for our engaging civic realm.
4. We celebrate our mobility.
5. We value and educate our youth.
6. We are a leader in sustainable practices.

We hope that the Providence 2030 vision is powerful enough to help guide the change that is needed over the next 20 years.  Let me know what you think?  Bonus question: Has your community created a grand vision for its growth and development? If not, shouldn’t it?

A big thanks to the Providence Foundation for supporting the creation of this document.  Since its publication, the Foundation has formally adopted it as the organizations vision.  I hope future posts will talk about projects the Foundation is taking on that will help realize this vision.

Davenport received $2,000,000 for the West Side Diversion Tunnel Project that will inevitably lead to the demise of this farmland and the new development of 20 square miles of property. But, at what additional cost? Certainly, the rural character found in this area of Davenport will be lost forever. Once the tunnel is completed the burden of this infrastructure’s upkeep will fall fully upon the city. This cost will most likely be far above estimates leading to higher taxes or unstable infrastructure. Neither being good for citizens. At first look, the blame for this environmental catastrophe could be pointed at the shovel ready requirements of government funding. This is not the case. The sprawling outcomes of the ARRA and other public programs is only the result of a much larger systemic problem.

Davenport as well as hundreds, if not thousands, of communities across the county need to grow a pair and pass legislation that is based on long term, common sense thinking. Where does a community grow its food? Can its citizens get around town inexpensively? Can the government afford to operate its infrastructure in its current form for long? Getting smart about Davenport’s zoning laws, growth boundaries and farmland preservation should not be a seen as a problem, but as an opportunity for future stability. With some smart zoning language attached to an aggressive city wide masterplan focused on sound economic growth the beautiful farmland that still surrounds the city will be saved. Couple this with some technical training for local builders on the practices of urban construction and Davenport could catapult itself into a citywide renaissance that, by the way, costs less to maintain, uses less energy, attracts young people and provides better community for all rather than the Super Centers and strip housing that will take the place of such iconic farmland.

My friend Matt Grigsby is shooting interviews around Providence this fall for the Foundation. The first few in the series are available here with more on the way soon. I felt compelled to share the interview of Alec, from Nail Communication. Not only does he have some great things to say about Providence, but the video gives you a glimpse of their offices that I helped design and build last year.

How can a city become more creative? Providence is rebranding itself as the Creative Capital. Sure there are quite a few artists and creative people here already, but shouldn’t this campaign be more then just graphics and websites? Shouldn’t the city be investing in the creation of quality public spaces that attract even more creative people? If we are to truly be the Creative Capital, we need to figure out how we can use our urban landscape better. I presented a few of these ideas at the last Pecha Kucha in Providence.

More on making liveable cities later this weekend. If you are interested in art, sculpture and public art you should check out Gillian Christy’s talk from the same night.

The Providence Foundation convened a group of the city’s young leaders to draft a 2030 vision for Downtown. I was happy to present the first draft of this vision to the Trustees of the Foundation on July 15, 2009 with the help of Mary-Kim Arnold and Matt Grigsby. We are shooting to publish the final 2030 Vision in October. If you are interested in some ideas about how this vision could be implemented come check out my talk at Pecha Kucha this Wednesday. Please comment on this post if you have any feedback on the 2030 vision. Its a work in progress.

Visit providencedowntown.com for more information. If you know of any similar 2030 visioning efforts taking place in other cities or regions please let me know via comments. Thanks!

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The video is hard to see the slides at times, please reference the slides below.