Credit: Trevor Neely / Unsplash
Our friends over at the Jaxson have an excellent post debunking several widely held myths that serve to restrict development in Downtown Jacksonville. While these myths are particularly prevalent in our beloved hometown, they tend to pop up in any discussion of urban development anywhere in the US. The slow pace of the revitalization of Jacksonville’s urban core compared with similar downtown districts should serve as a cautionary tale to the detrimental effects of these myths. Head to the Jaxson for a rundown and proper debunking of the myths and here are some useful lessons from Jacksonville's experience with urban development:
Adaptive Reuse Is A Developer’s Best Friend
Before you tear down that old building, consider adapting it. That’s exactly what the majority of successful developments downtown did, and what a dozen or so major projects are currently doing right now. Contrast those successes with any of downtown’s ample selection of empty lots, and you can see why it’s time to put to bed the myth that adaptive reuse development is more difficult or expensive than new construction development.
Focus On The Three C’s
Successful urban development is built on the clustering of complementing uses within a compact setting. In other words, put everything together—residential, commercial, entertainment, amenities—and vibrancy naturally occurs. Multiple smaller developments clustered together are much more effective revitalizers (not to mention cheaper) than complex large-scale super-developments.
Density = Population / Area
That last C, “compact,” is a challenge for Jacksonville’s sprawling 3.9 square-mile urban core. To achieve the same level of density as, say, downtown Nashville, Jacksonville would need 29,000 residents to live downtown. That’s considerably more than the 4,800 who live there now. Stimulating that kind of population growth is a challenge no doubt, but it shouldn’t be discouraging. We know what we need to do, it’s just a matter of doing it.
Head over to the Jaxson to read the full article, it’s definitely worth your time.
Credit: Pantone
We're featuring Pantone's 2022 Color Of The Year for their brilliant marketing as much as for the design value. Pantone does this every year, and every year newsletters like this feel compelled to mention it. Hats off to them.
