Project Overview:
Land Use & Adaptive Reuse
Studies have shown that car-dependent cities have been hit hardest by the current economic crisis, and that home values, in particular, have dropped most significantly in cities that are sprawled.
Between October 2004, when gas prices first hit two dollars a gallon, and December 2008, when they fell below this threshold, three cities with among the largest declines in housing prices were Las Vegas (-37 percent), Detroit (-34 percent), and Phoenix (-15 percent), each highly car-dependent cities. Conversely, the two markets with the largest gains in housing prices were Portland, Oregon (+19 percent), and Seattle (+18 percent), communities that are more friendly to alternate modes of transportation and walkable neighborhoods that are dense and vibrant.
Local First Arizona Foundation advocates for land use policies that encourage density, infill, and public transportation. Executive Director Kimber Lanning is an active member of the City of Phoenix Development Advisory Board as well as the Adaptive Reuse Task Force, both positions appointed by Mayor Phil Gordon. LFAF’s research has led to new policies that include increasing building permit fees on the outskirts of the city while simultaneously decreasing building permit fees for infill projects that are closer to the city center and light rail routes.
LFAF has been an outspoken proponent of streamlining the process for the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, as well as alternate ground covers such as decompressed granite, which is an environmentally superior solution for replacing paved parking lots. Phoenix has many buildings built between 1950 and 1975 that are prefect incubator spaces for independent businesses of all kinds. Although not built to current code, these buildings can and will revitalize neighborhoods when retrofitted by and for young entrepreneurs. The permitting process is currently cumbersome and should be streamlined in order to encourage this type of creative reuse. Additionally, retrofitting older buildings opens a host of opportunities for green jobs in our city centers.
LFAF is also currently working on temporary creative and community-oriented uses for city-owned dirt lots in the central Phoenix corridor, a project expected to gain national attention. Research has shown disincentives, such as strictly requiring landscaping and lighting on privately owned dirt lots that have been sitting vacant for longer than 2 years, has encouraged owners to sell or fix-up the properties.
Storefront improvement programs initiated by staff at the City of Phoenix have worked successfully with LFAF to connect renovation grants to small business owners in older, often blighted, neighborhoods.
All of these new programs must be implemented simultaneously if we are to stop the cultural and social entropy that is driven by sprawl and begin to plan for a more vibrant and resilient future. The Greater Phoenix area simply must develop, adapt, fund, and encourage a sustainable plan for the city in the coming years in which oil prices will accelerate and our local regions will need to look to themselves and their own resources for economic prosperity and sustainability. Currently, the vast majority of jobs are going to cities that are better prepared for the future, which includes dense, mixed uses for land in urban cores. If we are to compete for knowledge economy workers, we must plan our cities to encourage walkability, public transportation, new buildings next to old, diverse cultural experiences, and sustainable urban living. We must essentially re-occupy our city and make it into a place where people want to come to and connect.
Project Goals
| Actions | Presentations, discussions, advocacy. |
|---|---|
| Budgets | Funds for research, travel and discussion with leadership, estimated $55,000/year. |
| Timelines | 3-5 years. |
| Milestones | At least 3 urban cities to adapt policies limiting sprawl. At least 5 urban cities to adapt policies that encourage infill. |
| Metrics of success | Measurable reduction in commuter miles, measurable increase in public transportation usage and increased density. Measurable increase in knowledge worker job retention. |