People often ask me why I’m so obsessed with Downtown Development…I don’t even live downtown (I live in urban sprawl). Well, here are a number of reasons that I think that a vital, dynamic and energized DT is important for all of us (much of this you’ve heard from me before, but I’ve added a few more ideas): 1. DTs are the heart of cities and regions – and having a healthy heart is essential to having a strong city and region. Have you ever visited a big city and NOT visited its DT? DTs are the hotbeds of business creativity, neighbourhood activism, non-profit entrepreneurs, economic diversity and an attraction for visitors, seniors and young talent. 2. It is a good idea economically: while DT only represents 1.5% of the city’s geographical area, it pays 14.4% of all the taxes paid in our city…therefore, the denser our DT is, the more tax is paid there (on things that bring in MUCH more money than surface parking lots) meaning that potentially less tax money needs to be paid by everyone else. 3. DTs are an extremely efficient use of land. Compact and walkable, DTs have retail, service, small industry, housing, government, churches, civic organizations, cultural activities…all in a relatively small amount of land. 4. DTs represent an enormous amount of investment already in place. We’ve already spent the money for water, sewer, curbs, streets, sidewalks, police and fire stations…it makes fiscal sense to maximize these existing investments. 5. DT historic buildings provide a distinctive identity for our community…they tell our stories in ways that shopping malls and commercial strips will never be able to. Also, our DT makes us unique, a place where true innovation can occur. I’ll never forget when award-winning author Yan Martel was in town having just come from London, Paris and Buenos Aires and he commented that he loved Moncton because it was unique … so many cities have become homogeneous with corporate chains and have lost their uniqueness. 6. DTs attract and cultivate independent, locally-owned businesses. Obviously, we’re not there yet, but we’re making progress and I’m sure that once Downing Plaza and the DT Centre are done, our DT will be filled with local businesses…businesses who generally return a higher percentage of their profits to the community than national retailers (who more typically return their profits to their stockholders). 7. DTs create new jobs. I was just in Toronto and toured the distillery district. Wow. Historic DT districts create jobs from “location neutral” businesses…businesses that, because of the advent of the internet and overnight delivery services, can locate anywhere. Many of these are in small industries that gravitate to upper-floor spaces, old warehouses and other unique DT spaces...and boy, do we ever have a lot of opportunity on this one in Moncton. 8. DT development minimizes air pollution. Because DTs are walkable (once you are there) and have a dense concentration of uses, DTs are actually much less car-dependent than highway-oriented commercial development…and of course, there is Codiac Transit that runs both ways on Main Street every 15 minutes! 9. DTs are true civic places where we celebrate Canada Day, the Frye Festival, Acadie Rock, Hubcap…and the list goes on! You can also stage a demonstration or hand out political flyers…something that you can’t usually do in a mall. 10. DT revitalization is the ultimate form of recycling. Let’s re-use historic buildings and save our land-fills. I would be the first person to admit that DTs definitely have their kinks and can be unpredictable places at times, but they are so worth the investment. Our urban sprawl is killing us…literally. Look at the results of our auto-centric and sedentary lifestyle on our public health, not to mention how much urban sprawl is costing us in Moncton. For years we thought that any kind of growth was good, but we’ve learned the hard way that outward growth is extremely expensive. People come up to me at the market and complain about their tax bills and say things like “Well, with all this growth, why haven’t my tax bills gone down?”. Well, the answer is very simple. Outward growth costs…new sidewalks, new roads, new sewers, new water mains…you name it. It is very expensive to grow out. I hope that we start to create more density in our DT where we can take advantage of existing infrastructure and finally, attract some of the demographics that we need to survive. After hearing Elizabeth Beale from the Atlantic Economic Council speak about the fact that it was only in the early 1970s that the Atlantic region attracted people in the 20-34 age group, we definitely need to do something. Let the millennials who are not enamoured of suburbia know that our DT is open for business, new innovative business in a vibrant and livable downtown with renovated and modern urban schools. Happy Easter!
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:15:20 +0000