Contrary to the predictions that urban growth would slow after the September 11th attacks, the trend toward the revitalization and reoccupation of downtowns nationwide is continuing, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription).
Full article:
Big-city growth has downtowns heading up

By Alan J. Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Writer

Downtowns are definitely on the upswing these days, defying the predictions of those who thought that Americans would begin to avoid population centers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Major cities such as Chicago, New York and Boston, which gained population during the 1990s, are continuing to grow.

Philadelphia continues to lose population to the suburbs. However, Center City has continued to gain people, with an attendant increase in the number of cultural and entertainment offerings, retail development, apartment and condominium conversions, and construction, as well as higher real estate prices.

Migration of young professionals and empty nesters to big-city downtowns was the highlight of the economic boom years of the last decade.

"The trend has resulted in more high-density, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development - the 'flip side' of the low-density, auto-dependent, segregated-use development that dominated much of the growth patterns following World War II," according to Richard Rosan, president of the nonprofit Urban Land Institute.

"The desire of people to be together is evident by the way they flock to cities seeking employment, entertainment and enlightenment," Rosan said. "They want to work and live in places that are vibrant and safe, not just tolerable."

Rosan says he thinks people are more likely to leave urban areas "if they are fed up with inadequate transit systems, inefficient planning, and a low quality of life," rather than because of fears of terrorism.

The downtowns that have experienced revivals have been those that were not made unattractive places to live by so-called "urban renewal."

The Fannie Mae Foundation asked 160 "urban specialists" to list what they considered the 10 top influences on the American metropolis between 1950 and 2000.

At the top of the list, the specialists put the 1956 Interstate Highway Act and the dominance of the automobile.

The Interstate Highway System was supposed to save central cities by rescuing them from automobile congestion, while also providing high-speed, long-distance travel from city to city.

Instead, the experts said, the highways "became snarled in ever-growing congestion, and their construction devastated many urban neighborhoods."

Beltways designed to take traffic away from central cities became "Main Streets," carrying people to suburban housing and shopping.

What made the downtowns attractive - historic buildings and small businesses - was destroyed when those areas were bulldozed.

Interstate highways that ran through the downtowns made them "a pedestrian-unfriendly patchwork of highway ramps, empty lots, parking structures, and isolated buildings," according to Robert Fishman, a history professor at Rutgers University-Camden, who analyzed the survey responses for Fannie Mae.

Although Interstate 95 and the Schuylkill Expressway did their share to move people from Philadelphia to the suburbs, the decision to forgo a connector between the two highways through South Street in the 1960s spared not only that neighborhood, but paved the way for the resurgence of Center City and the re-creation of Society Hill and adjacent neighborhoods over the next 40 years.

Some cities, however, were not as fortunate as Philadelphia. Billions of dollars are now being spent to undo the damage interstate highways created in places such as Boston, where the so-called "Big Dig" is taking 1.5 miles of elevated roadway downtown and putting it underground.

When it was built in the early 1950s, that elevated road, Interstate 93, destroyed 1,000 houses and displaced 20,000 Boston residents. It also proved inadequate to carry a 75 percent increase in traffic over 50 years.

In Hartford, Conn., Interstate 91 once cut off the downtown from pedestrian access to the Connecticut River. A section of the road was removed, and the waterfront became a destination for the region.

In San Francisco, part of a highway has been rerouted to facilitate redevelopment of the Embarcadero district along the waterfront.

And then there is downtown Columbus, Ohio - another victim of interstate-highway construction, mostly Interstate 670.

Before 1950, Columbus' downtown was seamless. Then I-670 came along, severing the central business district from Short North, a residential district.

In 1995, the interstate was redesigned, and a bridge was proposed over I-670 to link the downtown with Short North - both of which had been experiencing a revival, according to David Meleca, an architect overseeing the project.

Taking a cue from the pedestrian bridges built in medieval times in European cities, what has become known officially as Union Station Place rejoins both sides of High Street after almost 40 years.

The result, scheduled to open before the summer ends, is a 26,067-square-foot retail plaza occupying both the east and west sides of High Street supported on a steel-framed, concrete-topped structure that completely spans the full 196-foot width of the newly rebuilt I-670 corridor.

The structure, including the roadway, totals 48,725 square feet.

Estimated cost of building construction is $3.6 million. The bridge cost about $3.5 million.

Sidewalk cafes, a coffee shop, and a wine bar will be included, as well as on-street parking and sidewalks.

Outdoor heaters will allow people to enjoy the patios nine months a year.

Meleca's design, and hence the name, was inspired by Columbus' 1899 Beaux Arts-style Union Station, which featured a bridge over the tracks with commercial and retail structures.

The station was razed in the late 1970s to make room for a convention center. Only an arch was saved from the wrecker's ball.

--------------------------------------------------------
Contact real estate writer Alan J. Heavens at 215-854-2472 or aheavens@phillynews.com Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/alheavens