The Death and Life of Great American Cities

1
The Death and Life of Great American Cities

• - or -
• How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Civic
  Association Meetings

2
Urban Renewal Theory - Basics

• Attempt to revitalize urban centers
• 1930s 1970s, Championed by Robert Moses
• His view on urban planning Cities are for
  traffic.
• Focused on economically depressed portions of
  cities, mainly in inner city slums
• Promoted the building of bridges, housing
  projects on large campuses, sometimes with open
  green spaces

3
Urban Renewal Theory - Context

• Segregation was socially and legally sanctioned
• Racial deed restrictions on housing
• Redlining -- a common way to restrict housing
  choices for many ethnic groups

4
Urban Renewal Theory - Results

• Planners did not take into account the organic
  way in which cities grow to serve their residents
• Little consideration was given to preserving
  businesses, leading to further economic
  degradation of the area
• Bridges were built with no regard to existing
  neighborhoods
• Eminent Domain was routinely used to acquire land
  for development
• Promoted urban sprawl by relocating large
  populations
• People were moved to projects, which were
  separated not only from other populations of the
  city, but from economic centers as well

5
Jane Jacobs

• Her view on urban planning Cities are for
  people.
• Pro-neighborhood activist
• Passionate critic of Robert Moses
• Death and Life was one of the first critiques
  on Urban Renewal and still stands as one of the
  most influential texts on urban planning

6
Cities According to Jacobs

• City streets and sidewalks -- make a neighborhood
  functional
• Short city blocks -- encourage pedestrian travel
• Diversity in architecture -- provides a range of
  rent
• Diverse economic opportunities -- necessary for a
  vibrant city

7
City Streets and Sidewalks

• Residents must feel comfortable on the streets
  outside their homes at all times of day
• Sidewalk traffic and social interaction from
  porches promotes neighborhood security
• When people use streets and sidewalks, they are
  more invested in their community and contribute
  to a large network of eyes that patrol the
  street.
• Children playing on sidewalks with heavily used
  streets are more monitored than those playing in
  designated recreational/park areas

8
Short City Blocks

• Shorter blocks provide more route choices
• Longer blocks result in a street being isolated.
  People will choose not to use a longer block
  because there are very few places they can choose
  to go
• Short blocks allow for more social interaction
  and economic diversity

9
Diversity in Architecture

• Results in a neighborhood with mixed-use
  buildings
• Older buildings provide units with lower rent
  while newer buildings provide units with higher
  rent.
• Increases diversity of the neighborhood and what
  kind of activities the buildings are used for

10
Diversity in Economy

• There must be various businesses which serve
  residents and visitors at all hours of the day
• Grocery stores, industry, manufacturing, bars,
  clubs, restaurants, churches, schools and other
  uses must be present for a vibrant neighborhood
• Some businesses will provide street traffic
  during the day (stores, churches, schools,
  offices) and some will operate at night
  (restaurants, clubs, bars, etc).
• Twenty-four hour use of the streets means someone
  has a stake in neighborhood safety at all times
  and will result in better monitoring

11
Cities are for traffic.

• Unfortunately, this is the attitude that still
  exists today with urban planners, local
  government, and metropolitan transit authorities
• Projects are often evaluated solely upon
  construction costs
• Little importance is given to the value of
  businesses and residential areas when calculating
  project costs

12
Case Study -- Harrisburg Underpass

• An underpass would
• Promote more activity on the street
• Create shorter pedestrian-friendly blocks
• Preserve historical architecture along Harrisburg
• Encourage business

13
Traffic Issues for the East End

• Though we are located directly east of downtown,
  Highway 59 runs between our neighborhood and
  downtown Houston
• We are also bordered to the south by the Gulf
  Freeway (US 45)
• When 59 was first constructed, there were several
  streets which allowed traffic to flow from the
  East End to downtown
• Because of construction of the George R. Brown
  Convention Center, MinuteMaid Park, and the
  Toyota Center, only four arterials are left open
  between downtown and our neighborhood
• The city is going to build a soccer stadium in
  downtown, which will result in another of these
  arterials being closed off
• We are concerned that traffic in and out of
  downtown from our neighborhood will effectively
  be cut off

14
Light Rail in the East End

• The Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority
  (Metro) is also building a light rail line
  connecting the East End to downtown, the
  University of Houston, Rice University, the
  Medical Center, and the Galleria Area, a huge
  complex of stores, restaurants, and entertainment
  venues
• The East End has been very supportive of the
  building of the light rail line, unlike some
  other neighborhoods in the city
• This line will provide a needed means of
  transportation in and out of downtown

15
A Picture of Harrisburg

• Harrisburg Blvd is one of the major east-west
  arterials of our neighborhood
• This street is lined with mechanic shops,
  homeless shelters, banks, restaurants, a coffee
  manufacturing plant, masa factories, clothing
  stores, municipal works buildings, pharmacies,
  pawn shops, schools, dollar stores, legal
  offices, a dialysis clinic, tattoo parlors, and
  other businesses
• Local business leaders have been pursuing
  development along Harrisburg that would be
  similar in nature to the River Walk in San
  Antonio, Texas. This would be a tourist
  destination with shops, restaurants, and
  entertainment venues which would be purely
  pedestrian in nature

16
Need for Grade Separation

• We are located very close to the Houston Ship
  Channel, and because of this, there is a lot of
  freight traffic through the neighborhood
• A Union Pacific-owned freight rail line crosses
  Harrisburg at street level
• This rail line can have freight traffic at any
  time of day
• There are no sidewalks and it is dangerous for
  pedestrians to cross here
• If a train is sitting on the track, emergency
  vehicles must go out of their way to find a
  street with a grade separation in order to go
  from one side of the neighborhood to the other
• The new construction for the light rail line has
  made it necessary to pursue grade separation

17
Underpass Streets and Sidewalks

• This location will have light rail stations half
  a mile away in both directions
• Perfect chance to promote pedestrian-friendly
  businesses (bookstores, cafes, specialty shops)
• People who ride the light rail will not be
  traveling in their cars, so they will need
  pedestrian-friendly infrastructure

18
Underpass City Blocks

• The underpass would be half as long as the
  proposed bridge
• The bridge would create a 2000-foot-long barrier
  to pedestrians and residents
• Building the bridge would require closing
  businesses and cutting off access to others
• Bridges can provide shelter for people who dont
  want to be seen

19
Underpass Architecture

• The underpass would work with plans to create a
  River Walk-type atmosphere in the neighborhood
• Historical architecture that would need to be
  demolished for a bridge could be saved

20
Underpass Economy

• About 30 businesses along Harrisburg would have
  to close in order for the bridge to be
  constructed
• Bridge will shut off 2000 feet to
  resident/neighborhood-friendly business
  development (coffee shops, restaurants,
  bookstores, parks)
• These are the types of things which would
  normally be sparked by light rail investment
• Harrisburg Merchants Association have already
  spent 26 million rejuvenating area. Plans to
  spend much more.

21
Metros Plan

• Metro initially said that it would be impossible
  to cross the UPRR because Union-Pacific would not
  cooperate with them
• They proposed that the light rail line stop at
  the UPRR
• According to this plan, the Magnolia Transit
  Center, which is further east on Harrisburg and
  serves many residents of the community, would no
  longer connect to the light rail system
• The community demanded that Metro design a grade
  separation in order to reach the transit center

22
Metros Solution

• Metro announced that the only way they could
  cross the UPRR was to build an overpass
• Because the warehouses in the area need certain
  streets to remain open, the bridge will need to
  be very long
• Because the freight trains that use the rail
  sometimes carry double-stacked train cars, the
  bridge must be tall enough to clear these
• Because of these considerations, the bridge that
  Metro proposes will have to be 2000 feet long and
  30 feet high

23
Community Issues

• A bridge of this nature will result in noise and
  air pollution being spread through the community
• We will be left with dead space underneath the
  bridge which might attract homeless people who
  would otherwise go to one of the shelters on
  Harrisburg
• There are two light rail stations being built a
  half-mile away from this location in both
  directions. It is rational to assume that if
  someone is riding the light rail, they wont be
  driving a car
• Traffic studies have shown that people are very
  reticent to walk up bridges. Pedestrian users of
  the light rail will most likely not use this
  bridge. Residents will most likely not use this
  bridge
• Metro will need to demolish businesses and houses
  alongside the bridge
• Businesses in the future will choose not to buy
  property along the overpass, resulting in
  economic depression
• Because of all these reasons, the community asked
  Metro to consider building an underpass at this
  location

24
Metros Reply

• After hearing all of this, Metro responded by
  stating that an underpass would be
  exponentially more expensive than an overpass
• Official quote
• Underpass 67 80 million
• Overpass 45 million
• Metro refused to release any documentation on
  where they were getting these figures, who was
  providing them with these figures, or what they
  were basing their numbers on

25
A Lucky Break

• The engineers at the Citizen Transportation
  Coalition did not think these numbers sounded
  accurate and began doing some research
• They were attempting to compile estimates for
  similar underpasses that have been built around
  the country
• What they found was a 2004 Harris County Freight
  Rail Grade Separation study that had been
  conducted on the EXACT SAME INTERSECTION and
  found that this location would be ideal for an
  underpass
• Their quote for the underpass was 16 million

26
Metros Scare Tactics

• Instead of reconsidering their proposal, Metro
  states that if an underpass is demanded, they
  will not continue the light rail line past the
  UPRR
• Many of the civic clubs of the East End cave and
  release statements that the light rail is more
  important than the type of grade separation at
  the UPRR
• Metro maintains that the overpass will not have a
  detrimental economic affect or change the
  character of the neighborhood

27
East End Chamber of Commerce

• One of our civic club members persuades the East
  End Chamber of Commerce to create a Light Rail
  sub-committee, which consists of local business
  owners, community members, and representatives of
  the Citizen Transportation Coalition
• The EECOC works to get a consensus among all the
  civic associations in the area that the underpass
  is the communitys preferred method of grade
  separation

28
Talks with Metro

• At this point, Metro agrees to allow our
  engineers to meet with Metro project heads
• Though our engineers point out flaws in their
  assumptions, the Metro engineers do not revise
  their estimates
• After several meetings with Metro, the community
  has all but conceded to the building of an
  overpass

29
Enter the Media!

• I begin writing letters to every English and
  Spanish media organization in the city
• The story is picked up by the Houston Press,
  Channel 13 Eyewitness News, and the Chronicle
• This media attention informs many more members of
  our community about the issue
• At a city council meeting in January, we make our
  case and gain some support from local
  representatives

30
Its Also and Election Year

• Councilmember Peter Brown, who is running for
  mayor this year, decides to make this a main
  campaign issue
• Brown contacts a civil engineering firm to make a
  more cost-effective underpass design
• The engineers return with a new design and
  estimate the underpass at 52 million

31
More Attention

• After an outpouring of community support for an
  underpass, Congressman Gene Greene says he will
  do all he can to get federal funding specifically
  for an underpass
• Harris Countys head engineer reviews Metros
  itemized bid and notes several errors in unit
  prices
• These errors resulted in Metros estimate for an
  underpass being ten to fifteen million dollars
  more than it should have been

32
Civic Club Meeting with Metro

• At our March civic association meeting, Metro
  made a presentation trying to convince us that
  there was little difference between an underpass
  and an overpass in terms of community impact
• Metro could not counter arguments that the
  closing of businesses will result in a loss of
  economic development for the neighborhood and tax
  revenue for the city
• The civic association adopts a resolution stating
  that an underpass is the only grade separation
  that will benefit the community

33
The next day

• The mayor calls our council member and says that
  an overpass is officially off the table for a
  grade separation.

34
Conclusion

• Though we have not gotten Metro to commit to
  building an underpass yet, we are more confident
  than ever that we will succeed
• Metro has shown time and again that the
  organization is overly concerned with the costs
  of the project and does not factored in the loss
  of business or tax revenue to its estimates
• Metro did not take into account the affects this
  bridge would have on the community while it was
  being designed, and refused to consider another
  design when these issues were brought to their
  attention
• Media attention was required in order to inform
  the community of the situation
• Community involvement was crucial to getting
  local government leaders to take note of the
  situation
• Local political support might have been much
  harder to come by if it had not been an election
  year

35
Conclusion

• Instead of urban design being based on reason,
  logic, and the most effective ways to serve the
  community, we have had to go through meetings
  with engineers who had no intention of listening
  to us, community leaders who were oppositional to
  our cause, and constant rejection of logic and
  reason on the parts of Metro engineers

36
Conclusion

• Urban design as practiced by Metro is not based
  on logic.
• This organization is not swayed by reason.
• For citizens to realize change in urban design,
  it is necessary to
• have people in the engineering field who are
  willing to volunteer their time for months of
  meetings, conceptual drawings, fact checking
• an active civic association
• community businesses working with residents
• media attention
• have the social capital required to navigate this
  intimidating political process