The Urban Character of Nashville's Building Boom

Keith Schneider reports on a building boom taking place in Nashville, where "[a] powerful surge in construction is reshaping the physical character and economy of this 236-year-old river city, and fueling a deepening public conversation about essential civic values that many residents worry could be lost."

Most of the projects under construction or in the development pipeline, totaling 100 projects worth $2 billion, are located in the downtown core, "rising on former parking lots…" Schneider goes on to detail some of the biggest projects, which together account for one of the most vertical building booms in the city's long history.

Schneider spoke with Richard C. Bernhardt, the recently retired director of city planning, to explain the building boom:

"The shift in urban design responds to Nashville’s consistent attractiveness as a place to live and work, especially to young professionals and musicians, and to the millennial generation’s allegiance to active, walkable urban neighborhoods, Mr. Bernhardt said. Nashville has grown by an average of 11,000 residents annually this decade, more than three times the average annual growth during the last decade."

The article goes on to detail more about the flavor of the new Nashville, as well as compare the city's growth management politics with other cities.