urbanSTL

Grover wrote:

Do you really belive that suddenly the City will reach a population point where urban design will just start sprouting up?

Maybe not suddenly, but yes. I believe that urban design is the result of demand, not the result of applied theory.

How else do explain your view that if more people (period) move into the City, suddenly more people will begin demanding urban designed project?

We live in a suburban city. My 190- neighborhood is/was a suburb. There are many reasons that someone would choose to live in St. Louis City. I don't believe that a desire for "urban living" as seen in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, etc. rates very high on this list. I love to think what StLC could be become, but it's not going to double in population while we're still alive.



(Sorry this is a bit rambling - it's a busy week at work)

Nice attitude. St. Louis has suburban housing because of the 1947 Plan. This Plan was a mistake and influenced by national policies which affected pretty much every US City negatively. It actually called for the demolition of Soulard for cul-de-sacs. I am not going to go into further detail as I have before.



Your 190- suburban housing, while might be "suburban" compared to Washington Avenue, is quite urban in design when compared to the outer belt suburban and exurban design. As people moved away from the river, they built what they would call "suburban" housing, yet post WW2 suburban hosing is completely different when compared to pre-WW2/1. They were autocentric, whereas your housing is quite pedestrian oriented. Post-WW2 housing was also mass produced, and I would argue has less character as well.



St. Louis is far more urban than any surrounding municipalities. Yet, some of the post WW2 suburbs are actually implementing, or considering, New Urbanism, while we are replicating their old sprawled out styles. Some areas of St. Charles County are ahead of our City in terms of their progressive ideas.



At first glance, it seems some of them are ahead of the game, and I would argue that some are in terms of theory regarding new development. However, we have the old urbanism of the street grid as well as the potential for TOD, thus if utilized, our City has the potential to surpass anything done in the County. Coupled with our existing historical housing stock, that's a pretty unique variety of choice from which new a homeowner from the County, or another City, can decide from. Yet, when we build sprawl we completely destroy this potential for density, walkability, and TOD. We are effectively limiting our capacity to be a great regional or global City. St. Louis was on pace to be bigger than Boston. If we expect to compete regionally and globally we must be distinct from our surrounding municipalities, not mimic their old ideas. Some are actually beginning to recognize that big box sprawl is not the solution! Bohemian Hill is the essence of what is wrong with St. Louis' decision making, and demonstrates how behind the curve our leaders actually are.

Framer wrote:Must be tough to park the ol' car at that place!

You're supposed to walk.

shinpickle wrote:can't the developers just work around the existing homes?

that photo was from china where the devolper wanted to build a mall where that house is, and the person would not sell. the devolper wanted to build any way, so he built around it. wait wait don't tell me is the most informative news show around.



read here



so i guess it is applicable here

Wow thats legal?

bikin'_man wrote:

shinpickle wrote:can't the developers just work around the existing homes?

that photo was from china where the devolper wanted to build a mall where that house is, and the person would not sell. the devolper wanted to build any way, so he built around it. wait wait don't tell me is the most informative news show around.



read here



so i guess it is applicable here

I remember a Bugs Bunny cartoon like that.

Will someone give a comprehensive analysis of the meeting? I was unable to attend but I am hearing rumors of potential recall if Young continues.

Bohemian Hill development generates talk of aldermanic recall

Residents worried eminent domain will force them from homes







By Jim Merkel

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 6:08 PM CDT





Worried that their homes might be taken for a new $80 million development, some people living in the Bohemian Hill area are talking about launching a drive to recall their alderman.



The residents of the southwest corner of Lafayette Avenue and Tucker Boulevard spent part of a public meeting Thursday talking about what it would take to recall Alderman Phyllis Young, D-7th Ward.



During the same meeting, held at the Trinity Lutheran School, 1809 South Eighth St., 7th Ward Democratic Committeeman Brian Wahby offered to use his influence to bring about discussions between all sides to make as many people as possible happy.



"The best thing to do is to lower the vitriol," said Wahby, who leads the St. Louis Democratic Central Committee. "That doesn't end in a solution that makes sense for us."



Young wasn't available to comment on the possibility of a recall effort or an effort to mediate. A message on her voice mail said that the aldermanic session had recessed and she would be out of town until April 2.



The approximately 20 buildings in the neighborhood are just to the east of the first phase of the nearly 90,000-square-foot Georgian Square project being developed by Gilded Age and Komen Properties. That will include City Market, a specialty market and a Walgreens.



The first phase is west of 13th Street, south of Lafayette, east of the Interstate 55 exit and north of the interstate. It doesn't include the 20 homes. But residents and property owners of the area became concerned when they received letters from the city's Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority saying it wanted to acquire their property.



Among the property owners is Jim Roos, president of Neighborhood Enterprises, which owns rental property in the area. Roos' company had numerous properties taken for a residential development in the McRee Town neighborhood. He is coordinator of the Missouri Eminent Domain Abuse Coalition and chaired Thursday's meeting.



Roos said property owners in the area recently received letters from the city giving them until March 20 to allow an inside inspection of their property as part of the process of coming up with a price. Otherwise, just an outside inspection would be done.



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