Nan Ellin Presentation
Proposals for a Desert Urbanism & Archive of Downtown Phoenix Plans (1974-present)
Description:
This presentation includes proposals developed by students in my Downtown Phoenix Revitalization seminar as well as an archive of plans for downtown Phoenix from the last 3 decades. The proposals aim towards an urbanism well-suited to this particular locale, or a ”desert urbanism.” They seek to green the desert by bringing in appropriate vegetation through linear and pocket parks, community gardens (City Sprouts), date palm groves on landbanked lots (Agri-tecture), “alleyscaping,” the creation of a Downtown Phoenix Conservancy to oversee these initiatives, and more. Other proposals I've developed with my students (not all presented here) include great civic spaces with water features combined with a downtown evening market called PhoeniXchange, public art that highlights what makes this place distinct and special, retrofitting corner shopping malls into vibrant mixed-use hubs of activity, retrofitting the AZ Center into “urban boxes” (smaller big boxes that address the urban fabric), a business incubator corridor, tax increment financing, a Children’s Center, a new State Archives along with a downtown branch of the AZ History Museum, an annual arts festival showcasing the talents of ASU called Art Infusion: ASU Celebrates Art in the City, and many more. Our strategy is to introduce “jewels” which become catalysts towards the economic, urban, and cultural revitalization of downtown Phoenix.
Overview
An urban renaissance is taking hold throughout the United States. Eight of our ten largest cities are growing in population. Crime has dropped precipitously and city jobs, income, and fiscal health are all up. After decades of urban decline and suburban growth, we are witnessing a significant move back to cities by people who found suburban living too isolated, inconvenient, or dull. As a result, there has been a flurry of reinvestment in central cities. In just the last five years, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Cleveland, Albuquerque, Little Rock (AR), Alexandria (VA), Missoula (MO), and Charlottesville (VA), among others, have made substantial inroads into downtown revitalization. Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the United States, is currently poised to join this cadre of urban renaissances as numerous fortuitous circumstances converge to plant the seeds of a vibrant and livable downtown.
There are clear-cut economic benefits to such redevelopment. Phoenix has recently been losing major firms to more livable cities. A nice climate, low cost of living, low taxes, and loose regulations are no longer sufficient for luring and retaining the new generation of knowledge workers who prefer to live in vibrant cities. Richard Florida, in The Rise of the Creative Class, emphasizes the importance of offering what this “creative class” values: diversity, tolerance, authenticity, walkability, active forms of recreation, and a range of cultural/arts venues. Contrary to initial assumptions that the digital economy would render place less important, experience and studies reveal that place has become even more important. According to a study by the Urban Design Associates, those entering the workforce today “tend to reject the suburbs in favor of funky city neighborhoods. They’re into authenticity. They like old buildings or new buildings that look like old buildings. They wouldn’t be caught dead in a suburban campus.” As a result, Joel Kotkin and Ross DeVol contend, “Reducing crime, creating new arts districts, refurbishing historic structures, encouraging new restaurants and clubs have become primary economic development tools” (Knowledge-Value Cities in the Digital Age). Arts/culture development not only attracts economic development; a recent survey conducted in 91 cities including Phoenix demonstrates that the non-profit arts industry generates a significant income itself, in fact, more than sports stadiums (Americans for the Arts, 2001).
Local columnist Jon Talton (Arizona Republic) contends, “Phoenix has missed out on much of the national downtown revival that has been a hallmark for the New Economy the past 10 years. And as anybody from Detroit can tell you, a cratered center city is a ghastly liability” (3.10.01). He asserts that “Talented, creative employees want more than suburbs and strip malls” (5.19.01). The solution, Talton writes, “isn’t about silver bullets. It’s about a long march to repair the civic malpractice and economic mistakes of four decades. It’s about arriving at a tipping point where capital and experienced companies see downtown as a natural development destination” (3.10.01).
Phoenix seems perched upon that tipping point at this very moment. These proposals weigh in on vitality by building upon existing projects and proposing new ones for the entire Downtown Phoenix Redevelopment Area. The benefits of successful downtown revitalization far exceed the boundaries of this area, extending to the larger metropolis. Growing at a rate of two acres an hour (more on the west side), the Phoenix metropolitan area suffers from increased social isolation as well as environmental degradation. Currently, the downtown provides 1/3 of the region’s employment (40,000 jobs), but a significantly smaller fraction of the region’s residences. The required commuting increases traffic congestion, diminishes air quality, and reduces quality time. In addition, the lack of a strong residential base downtown precludes a vibrant urban lifestyle. As a result, the call for “urban infill” has been loud and insistent, though we have little to show for it as yet. The creation of a vibrant downtown walkable district could offer an alternative to sprawl and positively demonstrate the possibilities of urban infill while simultaneously addressing one of the major disincentives to urban investment: proximity to blight.
It is predicted that the Phoenix metropolitan area will grow by 3 million people in the next 20 years. If our current pattern of car ownership continues, 3 million more people translates into 2,100,000 more cars which translates into 10,500,000 more parking spaces or 111 square miles of parking. The square on the attached map demonstrates the size of 111 square miles relative to the size of Phoenix, graphically illustrating the urgency of reducing our reliance upon the car and the need to create compact urban environments. A light-rail system is currently under construction, with the initial 20.3 mile stretch scheduled to carry its first riders in 2008.
These proposals focus on identifying “cultural necklaces” along which “jewels” of cultural/arts activities, other amenities, and a range of housing options might concentrate. The fine-grained urban fabric of these catalytic threads and thresholds will activate downtown Phoenix by opening pathways and creating places of intensity. Our attitude towards this urban site calls to mind a number of metaphors.
We are seeking to:
Find “lost” space
Secure a missed connection
Heal a wound in the urban organism
Darn holes in the urban fabric
Weave into the existing urban & social fabrics
Match hubs to spokes
String pearls
Un-pave paradise
In sum, the creation of vibrant walkable districts in downtown Phoenix could help furnish the sense of place, character, and soul currently lacking. It could render Phoenix more attractive to corporate headquarters and tourists, enhancing economic vitality. And it could become a source of pride for the entire Valley. While improving the area for those who already live and work there, this revitalization would also benefit the adjacent neighborhoods as well as the larger metropolitan region.