Urban Issues and Actions

Article about urban development in the economic crisis

It is interesting to note that the economic crisis is affecting development in areas that are dependent on automobile transportation more than it is affecting urban areas. Public transportation is proving to play an important role in housing values. Usable community networks give urban residences an advantage over suburban sprawl. Less dependence on gasoline especially allows some urban housing to keep its value even as the economy slips. There is one notable exception for condos, due to an oversupply. Otherwise, the economic decline is giving urban residential areas an upper hand.

Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, is quoted in the article. “I think we’re just starting to understand how high energy costs may reshape the landscape. New urbanist developments in traditional towns do provide an economic advantage.” He makes an important point that the advantage must be marketed.

At the present time, it is unfortunate that seemingly well-planned projects are put on hold becaue of lack of funds. As a consqeunce, urban growth will most likely not be completely stumped, but instead take a less organized path of development. The Vickery development in Georgia was a mixed-used, renowned project. It was developed by Hedgewood Properties, which is currently in a bad finiancial situation with Wachovia Bank. The project, a model for other developments, is postponed until there are market improvements. If projects such as this and others listed in the artcle are not supported by the communities, urban development could easily lose its advantage. It takes thought and planning for communities to be successful, and the well-planned communities should not be the first to be abandonded in times of need. Bertstein is quoted, “I think people are going to be a lot more sensitive to cost-of-living reduction.” Rather than have this sensativity emerge in a time of desperation, we should make careful plans now to protect our communities and urban investments.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 4:17 am and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.