Today's must-see video: "The traditional development pattern outperforms the suburban development pattern every time."

“In the new, experimental style of development, you have a building pattern that is not very financially productive and is really, really fragile. In the traditional style of development, you have a building form and approach that is financially really productive and highly adaptable and resilient over time.”
— Charles Marohn

I've nothing to add to this. It's as clearly stated as this can be done, and it's only four minutes of your time.

The traditional development pattern has tremendous financial upside and limited financial downside. In contrast, the suburban approach has limited financial upside and a downside that can literally go negative.

The following video explains why the traditional development pattern outperforms the suburban development pattern every time. It's part of a series called the Curbside Chat. If you've been a member of Strong Towns for a while, you're probably familiar with it. If not, it's time to acquaint yourself.

ASK THE BORED: Elm Street reversion rollout? Don't ask, because it's not the city's top priority, or something like that.

It looks like the newspaper's Elizabeth Beilman drew the short straw for the Board of Works meeting this morning, seeing as usual Bored observer Chris Morris was otherwise occupied urging precipitate vigilante action against the owner of 519 Hausfeldt Lane.

MORRIS: Time has run out on New Albany house

 ... But that black walnut tree would be a welcome site to the folks who live near 519 Hausfeldt Lane in New Albany. Instead of a walnut tree they have junked cars, trash, mosquitoes and yes rats running around the neighborhood. You see 519 Hausfeldt Lane is a junkyard sitting in a residential area. The house and both front and back yards are full of junk. And due to an ongoing lawsuit, nothing can be done about it until a judge rules on the matter or tosses it out for having no merit. But something needs to be done with it, like now. It needs to be bulldozed ...

... So there are legal hurdles to clear. But it sounds like the city is determined to do something about the property. That is a good thing. This should be the city's top priority as we close out 2017. Whatever it takes to speed up the process needs to happen.

I understand due process, but it's a joke that in 2017, in a civilized society on a street visible to many and near a large industrial park and college campus, this is allowed to continue. It seems like no judge could look at this property and say it's not a health hazard or just wrong. Something has to get done.

"I understand due process, but ... "

Wait -- wasn't this Donald Trump's subliminal campaign slogan?

Morris is a member of the News and Tribune's editorial board, which was unable to muster a coherent response to DNA's recent Sombrero Stereotyping Walk, perhaps because speaking out about unaddressed racial stereotyping might insult the (naturally) well-intentioned "right" type of people, not the "wrong" evil straw men -- like the owner of this admittedly nasty suburban property-value-lowering house.

"This should be the city's top priority as we close out 2017."

Seriously?

This one house?

Granted, there is absolutely no defense for the noxious schlemiel wreaking havoc on his neighborhood -- nor for dozens of other similar buttwipes around town, those with the good fortune NOT to have one of Morris's favored grandees living right next to them so that the nearby afflicted won't have a better-connected voice to argue their case, as Larry Clemons has been doing with regard to 519 Hausfeldt.

And yet even Clemons has insufficient strings to pull as they pertain to a legal system rightly or wrongly accepted by most of us in 95% of instances, so just this one time, let's discard due process and just do what's "right."

I feel for the neighbors, but please, can everyone read a few American history books? In this case, as in so many other areas of the human experience, it's wise to be very careful what you wish for.

Others might decide it's time to abandon due process, too, and in circumstances of far more pressing impact. Vigilantism is a dangerous concept, isn't it? And can the editorial board muster some energy for explicating the multitude of local examples wherein actual human beings are subject to oppression?

It's doing a fairly uniform, consistent job of it in Charlestown and Jeffersonville, and less so in New Albany. Maybe that's because the newspaper's eyes on the ground in NA wear blinders.

But, predictably, I digress.

So, by the way, BoW doesn't know when Elm Street will carry two-way traffic because of this railroad and that luxury housing development.

Note also that BoW deems pedestrian amenities like crosswalk signals a "minor" part of the two-way reversion.

Think so?

By the time the first such pedestrian crossing finally becomes operational, it will have been a month since Spring Street went modern, for what was supposed to have been enhanced walkability.

It's okay. The irony probably was lost on every last one of them.

Market Street in New Albany now two ways — Elm is next (Beilman; 'Bune)

No date yet for Elm Street Conversion

NEW ALBANY — Market Street in downtown New Albany is now converted from one way to two, leaving just one street left to change as part of the city's grid modernization project.

City officials were told at the New Albany Board of Works and Safety meeting Tuesday that Elm Street will switch before the end of the month, though no date has been set. Contractors are waiting on a couple unrelated road projects to finish first.

A storm sewer is being replaced at Elm and 15th streets, which is expected to be finished by next week, if not by the end of this week.

Heavy equipment is maneuvering around the under-construction Breakwater apartments to install metal siding on the structure. Contractors working on the grid modernization project wanted to wait until that work was finished, fearing the equipment would tear up a newly paved Elm Street. Paul Lincks, senior project manager with HWC Engineering, said the Breakwater work should be complete by Sept. 22.

Once all five downtown streets have converted to two ways, there will still be some minor portions of the project to complete, such as pedestrian-activated crosswalks.

Earth to Gahan: Street trees increase home prices, shade trees reduce household energy use, and these effects can be measured and expressed in dollars.

Following up on Saturday's post ...

Pusillanimous prioritization? Nickels and dimes later, it remains that we need HUNDREDS of trees planted yearly, not a few dozen.

There it is, in a nutshell. The city needs hundreds of trees planted, not a few dozen, and confronted with this fact, the city council president can think of nothing more relevant to suggest than a bake sale.

Presumably we can hold this nickel-and dime event in July amid the urban heat island. Or, we might fund the Tree Board to succeed -- and if city officials ever stepped outside their air conditioned cars and walked a few blocks, they might grasp the need.

... our friend W found two informative links. First, what it costs to plant trees.

Tree Planting Costs

Tree planting is a special task that can add to property value and increase curb appeal of the property, and may also serve to better separate your property from neighbors.

Average cost of a 4’ - 6’ tree, planted (about $ 106 each)

Then, how to determine what these trees are worth in cold, hard cash value.

Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth?

For urban dwellers, trees soften a city’s hard edges and surfaces, shade homes and streets, enhance neighborhood beauty, filter the air, mitigate storm runoff, and absorb carbon dioxide. Trees may even reduce crime and improve human health. However, these benefits have not been well quantified, making it difficult for urban planners and property owners to weigh their costs and benefits or assess tree cover against competing land uses.

New research from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station demonstrates that street trees increase home prices in Portland, Oregon, that shade trees reduce household energy use in Sacramento, California, and that these effects can be measured and expressed in dollars.

A study led by economist Geoffrey Donovan, research forester with the PNW Research Station, determined that trees planted on the south and west sides of Sacramento houses reduced summertime electricity bills by an average of $25.16. In a second study in Portland, Donovan’s team found that street trees growing in front of or near a house added an average $8,870 to its sale price and reduced its time on the market by nearly 2 days. These economic benefits spilled over to neighboring properties: a neighborhood tree growing along the public right¬of-way added an average of $12,828 to the combined value of all the houses within 100 feet.

Will it park in Peoria? Or, "Why is it that parking offers so little value in our cities, yet takes up so much space?"

NA, not Peoria.

How does all that low-value pavement impact economic productivity?

PEORIA'S PARKING PROBLEM, by Rachel Quednau (Strong Towns)

Peoria is a central Illinois town of about 114,000 with a profile typical of many small Midwestern cities: pockets of poverty, reliance on one major employer, seen better days... But we're highlighting it today because it illustrates a common problem that most American cities have—a problem with parking.

Not too little parking, too much.

The highest value areas are those traditional downtowns with mixed-use developments and walkable streets, where residences, businesses and people are concentrated in productive clusters and prioritized over parking and roads. Why is that? Because land is used to its highest potential in this pattern of design and the utilities (i.e. roads, pipes, etc.) needed to service productive land are not very far apart and thus not very costly.

Whereas downtown Peoria's buildings are valuable, not so much property that does nothing except warehouse unused cars.

In fact, Peoria is so full of parking that the amount of land devoted to surface parking in the county actually surpasses the amount of land devoted to buildings. If you factor in another big form of pavement that dominates our cities—roads—the amount of buildings in Peoria makes up a mere half of all the paved areas in Peoria. That's a problem, because parking lots are worth very little.

Alas.

Peoria is a particularly egregious example of excessive parking, but it's probably not terribly different from your own town. It's startling if you've never given it much thought, but next time you're at a mall or a big box store, take a look around. Recognize just how much land is occupied with pavement and how much is occupied with buildings. Heck, do it in your downtown. Then check out the site on Google Earth and the imbalance will become even more clear ...

Follow the story link to read the entire article.

Caesar prepares to Flick his Bic: "Section 8 housing doesn’t impact property values in high-income neighborhoods."

It's never a good idea to give Team Gahan the benefit of the doubt, but accepting that the usual functionaries will be vigorously touting Section 8 vouchers as the magic cure for the rampant homelessness to follow the realization of their cherished drive to demolish public housing (I know, I know -- they call themselves "Democrats"), this study is something they might be able to deploy when resettling economic refugees in Silver Hills.

Except that ranking "Democrat" and future mayoral hopeful Tiberius Severus Octavian Elagabalus Septimius Augustus Claudius Hadrian Caesar-- Protector of Fitting and Proper Scribnerian Values, Deliverer of all Downtown Datedness, Master of the Ex-Mercantile, and Guardian of the Gates -- isn't going to let that happen, is he?

Study: Section 8 housing doesn’t impact property values in high-income neighborhoods, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

Despite common thought, Section 8 housing does not negatively impact property values in well-off neighborhoods, according to a study by Paul Dries, a University of Louisville doctoral graduate.

People draw correlations between Section 8 housing, crime and a decline in property values. However, Dries said, that isn’t true.

Dries analyzed data from 178 census tracts in Louisville and found that property values declined in areas in which a high concentration of Section 8 housing already exists such as Newburg, West Louisville and southwest Louisville, but the introduction of Section 8 housing into higher-income neighborhoods in the East End had no effect, his study found ...

This outrage against innovative public art must be avenged -- or, what happened to the Williams Junk Water Heater Park?

What a difference five months makes.

July 20
Oops, ESNA's done it again ... with this intriguing instance of neighborhood placemaking.

Sight lines from two-way streets should make the persistent neglect of this critical neighborhood corner even more noticeable to the general public, although in fairness, the 2012-vintage vinyl siding was a vastly overdue improvement.

March 12, 2012

Great moments in NA non-enforcement: The Williams Plumbing Corner.

March 13, 2012

Better yet: More to Deplore.

April 27, 2012

Marginally less to deplore.

Oops, ESNA's done it again ... with this intriguing instance of neighborhood placemaking.

Think of it as a companion piece, conceptual-art-wise.

Campaign Diary, Chapter 5: Essential reading about urbanism if you're interested in correctives to Jeff Gahan's suburban dreck.

"The idea that compact, mixed use, pedestrian friendly development is somehow alien to American families or productive capitalism is so strange. It’s exactly this type of building that made America financially and culturally strong from the very beginning. It’s actually all the low grade scattershot construction smeared across the landscape that’s concentrating wealth into fewer and fewer distant hands and impoverishing ordinary towns and families."

Anyone seen Scott Blair?

I hear that his bank stands ready and waiting to ignore the lessons herein -- early and often.

If you're still confused by what we've been saying with regard to urbanism, please read the article linked here. It's about how we build and use cities, and the point comes down to this:

"Form ... dictated by practical considerations based on what worked well on a tight budget."

In short, what Jeff Gahan has spent the past four years NOT doing.

Consequently, you can consider the article a de facto Baylor for Mayor campaign speech. Can either of my opponents touch any of this, either in terms of conceptual grasp or actual performance while occupying various offices over a period of years?

(crickets chirp, pins drop ... somewhere, a Gahan billboard is erected at the headquarters of a downtown neighborhood association, and a tsunami borne of cognitive dissonance threatens our collective existence as rational human beings)

I didn't think so, but go ahead and delude yourselves.

Do exactly what the tone-deaf local Democratic Party wants you to do, but at least have the good grace to remove the "Gahan for Mayor" blinders first -- and seriously, do away with your anti-GOP "chickens vote for Colonel Sanders" bumper sticker, because the closer to New Albany's historic center you live, the more your support for Gahan becomes this fowl analogy.

Cluck it.

I've highlighted just three passages, but you really need to read the entire article. Thanks to JeffG for calling my attention to it.

Middle of the Road Kentucky, by Johnny (Granola Shotgun)

... It also happens to embody all the tenets promoted by the Smart Growth “coastal elite”. Except Bellevue was founded in 1870 by some profoundly conservative market oriented families. Bellevue isn’t New Urbanism. It’s just plain old fashioned regular urbanism like every other town built before World War II. Its form was dictated by practical considerations based on what worked well on a tight budget. From the beginning there was a good balance of taxable private property relative to the public cost of providing quality municipal services ...

... Some people like living in a walkable neighborhood. Other people prefer a driveable suburban living arrangement. It’s a big country so there’s room for everyone to find a place they really love and want to call home. But there are inherent benefits and drawbacks to each kind of development. Notice that everything that makes the old part of Bellevue pleasant for people on foot makes it less conducive to people in cars. The opposite is true in the newer part of town. The more a place is made effortlessly driveable the less it works for pedestrians or cyclists ...

... Most municipalities and states (and the federal government for that matter) are consistently spending more than they collect in revenue. A majority of towns are already deep in debt and servicing that debt is becoming a larger and larger portion of the budget. The usual conversation of, “Teachers are paid way too much” and, “We just need to entice a big employer to our town” or, “If we widened the highway the new Target and Walmart will arrive to provide tax revenue” has entered an era of diminishing returns. This approach isn’t going to fix what’s broken. In fact, this set of policies is what’s slowly destroying our towns.

Watch the video of Dr. John Gilderbloom's two-way streets presentation last night.

Just as he did when Jeff Speck spoke in 2014 ...

Jeff Speck in New Albany: Newspaper coverage and video link.

 ... my friend and former employee Robert Landrum attended last night's wonderful presentation by John Gilderbloom's and filmed a Speck companion piece in two parts -- above as embedded here, or at YouTube:

One 

Two

"Property values weren’t magically determined by some invisible hand of the market, but by a concerted effort of people and policy to enforce racial segregation."

It's gotten to the point that when I see Joe Dunman's name on the IL mailing, I just click through to read whatever he's written, irrespective of the topic.

Dunman's current piece is a must read.

Joe Dunman: During white flight, lack of racial diversity was by design (Insider Louisville)

... The Bon Air area was a hit. People, including my grandparents with my infant father in tow, flocked in droves. More than 2,000 affordable homes were filled with upwardly mobile young families almost overnight. Between 1953 and 1960, the population boomed to 12,000 residents packed into just over 2 square miles.

Almost every single one of those residents was white — 99.9 percent, in fact. This wasn’t some accident of demography, though. The complete lack of racial diversity was by design — an outcome guaranteed by official and private housing policies in force at the time.

But what if "outdated mentalities" are the best-selling locally-produced item in New Albany?

Hammer, meet nail.

"Policies are changing and new ideas are emerging, yet there is still a significant obstacle ahead of us: challenging outdated mentalities."

It occurs to me that as a lifelong resident of "hereabouts," this daily task of "challenging outdated mentalities" largely has been my life's work. We're still filled to the brim with them, which means there is much more work ahead, and when it comes right down to it, the process of prodding, pushing, taunting and ridiculing outdated mentalities is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

The following commentary comes courtesy of Bluegill, who posted it on Facebook. It applies every bit as much to New Albany as Baltimore.

Two ways about it [Commentary]: Converting city streets St. Paul and Calvert would calm traffic and improve property values, by Charlie Duff (Baltimore Sun)

If we are serious about adding 10,000 new families to the city, then it is time to recognize that there is a lot between the suburbs and downtown. A lot of residents, a lot of houses, a lot of businesses — a whole lot of potential. High-speed through traffic damages this potential. It devalues the neighborhood as a destination, a place we go to and from, a place where bicyclists do not fear for their lives and engines do not roar so loud you can't have a conversation on your stoop.

When Henry A. Barnes decided in 1954 that these streets should be one-way, his only concern was to make sure that members of the middle class moving out of the inner-city could still access it easily. But why should the neighborhoods of Charles Village, Barclay, Old Goucher, Charles North, Greenmount West and Mount Vernon still pay the price for decisions made at a time when TVs were black and white and cars were considered the ultimate marker of social progress? Sixty years later, it's about time we change our approach to transportation planning.

ON THE AVENUES I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say.

ON THE AVENUES: I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If it’s the right thing for Main Street, it’s the right thing for Market, Spring, Elm, and the city’s other streets -- right, John Rosenbarger?

If Jeff Speck doesn’t vomit in your yard, I might. You've been forewarned.

If it's good for Main Street, then why isn't it good for Elm, Spring and Market?

From top to bottom: Elm, Spring, Market and Main; only Main is a two-way street

We ask so many questions, and get so few answers -- whether in 2004, or going headlong into 2014.

But NA Confidential readers have their own questions and comments, such as this one, which begins with a quote from behind the paywall.

"Traffic calming, new curbs and sidewalks and a grassy median are the major features and objectives of the Main Street project."

Gee, I wish everyone in New Albany could be lucky enough to live on a street so important it needs to have its traffic "calmed" with the remaining Ind. 111 relinquishment funds. I'm glad to know we won't need that money for anything else in the future.

That's interesting, isn't it?

Properties in and around Mansion Row on Main Street already are valued higher than others nearby; of course, much of the reason for higher value is their historic character, but doesn't the street itself have something to do with it? Even when functioning as a state highway, and prior to expensive alterations planned to calm it, Main Street was different from Market, Spring and Elm in a fundamental, crucial way -- actually, different in TWO ways, as in two-way traffic.

Fifty years ago, when the latter three streets were transformed into one-way arterials, didn't it have the effect of removing at least some pass-through traffic from Main?

Didn't this in fact enhance the walkability of Main Street?

Didn't this wholly inadvertent calming actually help to increase property values on Main, and to assist in making the historic buildings marketable -- verily, in helping to preserve them?

There are many historic properties located on the troika of one-way streets, but they're seldom worth as much as the ones on Main, are they?

Even the National Association of Realtors sees walkability as newsworthy.

According to NAR's 2013 Community Preference Survey, 60 percent of respondents favor a neighborhood with a mix of houses and stores and other businesses that are easy to walk to, rather than neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation.

Meanwhile, a blogger named Mark Turner finds much information to support the viewpoint that one-way arterial streets lower property values.

I did a little bit of Googling tonight on the issue of one-way streets and property values. It seems that many sites say that one-way streets likely decrease property values.

And so, our reader's comments are quite relevant, aren't they?

If it's needed for Main Street, where walkability components already are in place, then why not the other streets nearby?

If the city does not do for Elm, Spring and Market what it proposes to do on Main, how does the city explain to residents located on or near these other three streets why it is city policy to depress their property values owing to the greater good required of those transiting the city's streets to reach the other side?

How does the city explain this?

How?