The Revitalist

View Larger Map

The Town of Lexington has approved a permit for a cluster housing development on the site of a historic mansion. Journey's End, an Italianate mansion, will be divided into condos and several acres will be carved off of the south side of the 9.3 acre property to accommodate the cluster housing development of 12 units, a mix of single-family houses, attached houses and townhouses. The developer, Todd Cataldo, has mostly worked on teardowns and "replacements." He says that the facade of the mansion will be preserved. The town is willing to compromise to get a greater diversity of housing choices. Cataldo says he will market the condos at empty nesters who want to stay in Lexington without the giant house. I guess not everyone wants a 6,000 sq ft "replacement." The town seems to hope that some of the cluster units will be "affordable" (average home price in Lexington is $728,903), but Cataldo isn't making any promises.

Are you handy with a hammer and want to live in a historic house rent free? Several states are running live-in curatorship programs. The live-in curators often don't pay rent or taxes, but in return they take on responsibility for restoring the property. Here the Massachusetts Historic Curatorship Program is run through the Department of Conservation and Recreation as almost all of the properties are located in state parks or forests. There are several currently available, if you're into this idea. It seems like a win-win situation. The states gets these historic structures preserved, restored and brought back to life without expending the cash, and the people who choose to be Curator/Tenants seem to be passionate about the work and enjoy what they are doing (even if they don't get to reap the financial rewards of their sweat equity).

"When it comes to potential for gardening, Detroit is a land of vast opportunity. The city owns 20,000 vacant parcels that are available free by permit for gardening during one growing season." The vacant lots littering the city, increasing in numbers as Detroit has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, are ripe locations for microfarming (via Planetizen). The city is encouraging the cultivation of the lots and the Garden Resource Program Collaborative, cooperative effort by four local agri organizations to provide support and education. They have created a Grown in Detroit logo for use at local farmers' markets and for selling to restaurants. Seems like the program accomplishes multiple urban planning goals, all while costing the city next to nothing: beautifying vacant lots, more people active on the street, neighbors working cooperatively, grassroots investment and a sense of ownership for the residents.

5th Avenue at lunch time, March 2005

The percentage of people living in cities is growing, and some economists theorize that globalization and consumer choice are the reasons why. Harvard's Edward Glaeser suggests that as the world economy changes, cities are becoming profit centers of the knowledge economy, and therefore attracting people in droves (this, as opposed to, the decline of cities in the 1970's and 80's as the industrial economy moved elsewhere). "New York's advantage has been to be competitive in the knowledge economy - particularly, in finance - where the city as an economic unit has a comparative advantage, with all its cross-fertilization of ideas." The second part of Glaeser's theory is that people are choosing an urban lifestyle because of the plethora of consumer choices offered. "The sovereignty of the consumer is inescapable." While those choosing to be urban consumers are vastly outnumbered by the economic immigrants, the consumers have disproportionate influence of the shape of the city because of their relative wealth. All About Cities blogger Wendy Waters calls this "consumerist urbanism": "certain cities that embody these values seem to attract people from the world over."

Of course, Richard Florida linked to this article on his blog because it aligns so well with his Creative Class theory. Cities will need to meet the desires of these urban consumers, many of whom are the leaders of the knowledge economy. By providing the leading edge of consumers with the lifestyle elements (mainly diversity of choice) they want, the city will ultimately be able to provide more jobs and economic growth all the way down the pyramid. 

In a similar story to the Virginia battlefields, the town of Wellesley is considering new zoning regulations to discourage McMansions. New houses being built in Wellesley average 4,437 sq ft on lots averaging 100' x 100'. The town wants to require planning board review of homes 3,900 sq ft or larger on small lots and 4,500 or 6,000 for larger lots. The goal is to step and make changes that will help the behemoths blend better with the existing street and not overwhelm their neighbors as badly. Of course, the vast majority of these new mansions are built on tear down lots, and this ordinance doesn't seem to address demolition permits. Not surprisingly, the proposal is vociferously opposed by builders, contractors and some residents desiring to live large. But the article suggests that the planning board is standing firm and determined to institute some control. They say that they are trying to strike a balance between preserving the community's look and feel and maintaining a workable, streamlined process. Good luck to them!

The New York Times chronicle the battle to save northwestern Virginia's rural Civil War battlefields from DC sprawl. The inexorable march of commuter suburbs and gated communities has marched steadily west until it affecting communities west of Leesburg. In several municipalities, residents are fighting back. In Unison, VA, the Unison Preservation Society is trying to have land around the town declared a national historic battlefield in order to gain protection from the National Park Service. And in Waterford, VA, a bucolic affluent community, the independent Waterford Foundation has been buying acres to buffer the town from development. Declaring part of your town a national historic battlefield is a pretty drastic step, but when you're facing 60% growth since 2000, I guess you start to get anxious about the pace of change.

The Longfellow Bridge.
Crews removing fascia coping from the bridge.

This evening and every Thurs-Sun evening until October 12th crews will be removing loose steel decorative strips, fascia coping, from the Longfellow bridge. Each strips weighs approx. 200 pounds. The Globe article doesn't mention the final disposition of the strips. I assume that Mass Highway is putting them in storage for the planned restoration of the bridge. Fingers crossed. The article does mention that the work is monitored by police boats patrolling the river (wonder what that costs?).

The Longfellow's salt and pepper shaker granite towers are much beloved Boston landmarks. Following the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the state began a round of MA bridge inspections, including the Longfellow, which was already acknowledged to be in deteriorating condition. The fascia coping removals are the direct result of those inspections. Interestingly, the day before the Minnesota collapse, the Pioneer Institute released a white paper on infrastructure neglect in the state that highlighted the Longfellow.

The state is planning a full restoration of the bridge, now scheduled for 2010. A public presentation on the Mass Highway website highlights the planning, including the preservation issues facing the bridge. The department plans to correct previous repairs and alterations that were insensitive to the historic design. Also, it appears that they are looking to historic features to guide new improvements, like roadway lighting that replicates historic designs, railings that are sensitive, paint colors and finishes that are appropriate, and new layouts for pedestrian approaches on the Boston and Cambridge sides. A new lighting scheme that will highlight the arched trusses over the river is also planned – looks beautiful in the rendering.

Slide showing insensitive repair to bridge.

Proposed lighting scheme highlights the arched trusses.
 

Cynthia and Lidia Perez, owners of Las Manitas

Sometimes preservation isn't just about buildings, but is about landmark businesses that help to define a community's character. In Austin, TX there is a fight to save a downtown restaurant, Las Manitas, that is threated by the planned development of a high-rise Marriott hotel. The restaurant, owned by two sisters, is considered one of the best Mexican restaurants in Austin (and that's saying something). It's a hang out for local and visiting celebrities and musicians and a power lunch locale for policoes from the state house. The developers offered $27,000 for relocation, which the sisters say doesn't even dent the est. $1M cost of a move. The city offered them a $750,000 loan, which caused an outcry around the favoritism shown to the city council beloved lunch spot, and the sisters ultimately rejected. And Austin being Austin, there is an organized movement to Save Las Manitas, complete with benefit concerts.

Speaking of walking, Planetizen has an interesting juxtaposition of differing views on sidewalks.

First, Seattle residents are clamouring for sidewalks, but the city is having trouble raising the funds to install them. Several neighborhoods that are part of the city started life as suburban municipalities that did not require sidewalks to be built. The city hasn't been able to undertake comprehensive sidewalk construction because of the cost (est. $4.5 billion to cover the whole city). Recently, the city put together a relatively small fund for sidewalk and safety projects and is working with residents to prioritize the installations. It's not just Seattle proper – Bellevue has allocated $3 million for new sidewalk construction, and Olympia residents voted in a 50% increase in utility rates to pay for sidewalks.

Second, the situation is very different in suburban Minneapolis where residents actively fight against sidewalk installation. For some suburban home owners sidewalks are a usurpation of their property and an invasion of their privacy. The city planners can talk about the safety needs, health benefits of walking, and sense of community promoted, but it falls on deaf ears. As one homeowner says,"If I wanted urban, I would have purchased urban. I wanted suburban, and bought that." 

While on the subject of alternative transportation, the NY Times takes a look at hard core walkers in New York. These are people who routinely walk 20, 30, 40 blocks or more, several miles, often to and from work. It's not just about transportation but is often motivated by a desire to see the details of the city and the people who live there. Several writers are mentioned who use daily walks to gather fodder for their work. Boston, the article notes, boasts the second highest percentage of walking commuters in the country, about 4% of three million workers. Kind of makes you want to go for a stroll?