In recent years, city government and others prominent in the city have undergone a number of revitalization efforts, including Atlantic Street, the HOT (Historic Old Town) district, the Vernon Corridor, and most recently, the Riverside corridor. They've also encouraged mixed-use projects like the West Plan, also known as WestPark.
While I applaud that effort, I also have a few pieces of constructive criticism. First, the plans they have are isolated. Most of the revitalization efforts are in older, historic areas, and are limited in scope. My fear is that the HOT district and Downtown areas like Vernon and Riverside will become novelties, as many historic old town areas have. The city should consider sweeping overhauls to its development policies for the entire city, shifting from suburban sprawl to higher-density urbanized areas.
Second, their efforts at mixed-use have been somewhat half-hearted. The WestPark project has mixed-use components such as a walkable central commercial district, with the idea of "cutting" the suburban residential development with some retail/commercial uses. While that is a viable concept, and while I understand that sometimes it's important to shift subtlely in order to progress from one standard to another, the current result is that most of the residential neighborhoods and schools have been built, but no other uses have been started.
Lastly, I'm concerned that the changes that are being made are being overly legislated. Often times, economic development and urban redevelopment need to have some "funkiness" to work, and when every little item is predetermined, it's too perfect.
My advice to Roseville:
- Start looking at the entire city as a slate for urban renewal
- Go all the way - commit to true mixed-use development in as many areas as possible
- Don't overthink the process - it's better to get most of it right than to try for perfection and have the whole thing die in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment