As the real estate market comes back to life, walkable urbanism is poised to become the dominant mode of development across America. Emily Badger explains why Washington D.C.'s land use evolution portends the future of cities everywhere.
Once seen as a niche real estate market, walkable urbanism is poised to become the real estate market in America. So says George Washington University professor Christopher Leinberger, who will present his research on the growth of walkable urbanist development in Washington D.C. at a ULI conference on the topic next week. For Leinberger, the trends he's observed in Washington, which "now leads the nation with 43 distinct neighborhoods [he] has identified as 'regionally significant walkable urban places,'" will be coming soon to cities everywhere.
"Less than 10 percent of the entire metropolitan land mass is where
development wants to go over the next generation," Leinberger says. "We
don't need to add another square foot – or, in the case of sprawl,
another square mile – of land to the metropolitan area. We've already
urbanized as much as we need to."
"It helps his argument that he's talking in market trends and not moral
imperatives," writes Badger. "Much of the conversation around 'walkable urbanism' sounds
almost paternalistic to suburban ears, as if everyone should and must
decamp to high-rise condos above a Whole Foods."
"He isn't advocating that suburbanites move downtown. If he's imploring
anyone to action, it's the builders and real estate developers who don't
seem to have picked up on shifting market demand yet, and the
policymakers who have the power to clear obstacles to this kind of
development (for starters, by promoting multi-modal transportation and
mixed land use)."
FULL STORY: The Next Major Real Estate Cycle: Walkable Urbanism?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.