Post by nickv on Jul 1, 2007 10:46:41 GMT -8
LA Times - June 28, 2007
www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-census28jun28,1,7509428.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
Okay, after reading that article, people are still flocking to the suburban life, especially in Vegas...and most of these cities are appearing to be sprawling, still...
The next time somebody says "I have to move", this might be something worth noting:
Go to places like the Gas Lamp Quarter, Universal City Walk, or Downtown Disney. I think it's obvious that people like walkable shopping areas with nice walkways, pedestrian benches, trees, and a balanced mixture of well designed mom/pop shops with larger stores and restaurants...and the connecting roadway (if there is one) has a top speed limit of 25 MPH, and street-side parking & trees divide the sidewalk from the car traffic. So, the street shouldn't be too noisy. Most of these places also offer frequent transit service. Imagine living a few stories above all this activity. Need a loaf of bread or milk? Just go downstairs. Going to jury duty downtown? Go downstairs and jump on the Metro Rail.
The point that I'm trying to bring about is this: If housing is cheap in the desert, chances are that condos and lofts will be cheap as well. Lancaster and Palmdale should rezone areas near their Metrolink stations to Mixed use TOD. Bakersfield should rezone their central city to mixed use and expand their transit system. If they build a freeway around town, the city should zone the area around the freeway to open space or farming; otherwise Bakersfield will continue to sprawl.
Irvine is still building expensive housing (going into the millions) on former farmland between Jeffrey Rd and Sand Canyon; however the city is starting to do things right by building condos and lofts in the business park near the airport..., but I think Mixed used development near the Irvine Metrolink Station and the Irvine Spectrum Center might be a good idea as well. These two centers can be connected by a frequent shuttle.
As far as Las Vegas, there's quite a bit of infill mixed use development that can be done in between Downtown and The Strip and all around the MAX BRT corridor on the north side.
Source: www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/cities.asp
www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-census28jun28,1,7509428.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
Okay, after reading that article, people are still flocking to the suburban life, especially in Vegas...and most of these cities are appearing to be sprawling, still...
The next time somebody says "I have to move", this might be something worth noting:
Go to places like the Gas Lamp Quarter, Universal City Walk, or Downtown Disney. I think it's obvious that people like walkable shopping areas with nice walkways, pedestrian benches, trees, and a balanced mixture of well designed mom/pop shops with larger stores and restaurants...and the connecting roadway (if there is one) has a top speed limit of 25 MPH, and street-side parking & trees divide the sidewalk from the car traffic. So, the street shouldn't be too noisy. Most of these places also offer frequent transit service. Imagine living a few stories above all this activity. Need a loaf of bread or milk? Just go downstairs. Going to jury duty downtown? Go downstairs and jump on the Metro Rail.
The point that I'm trying to bring about is this: If housing is cheap in the desert, chances are that condos and lofts will be cheap as well. Lancaster and Palmdale should rezone areas near their Metrolink stations to Mixed use TOD. Bakersfield should rezone their central city to mixed use and expand their transit system. If they build a freeway around town, the city should zone the area around the freeway to open space or farming; otherwise Bakersfield will continue to sprawl.
Irvine is still building expensive housing (going into the millions) on former farmland between Jeffrey Rd and Sand Canyon; however the city is starting to do things right by building condos and lofts in the business park near the airport..., but I think Mixed used development near the Irvine Metrolink Station and the Irvine Spectrum Center might be a good idea as well. These two centers can be connected by a frequent shuttle.
As far as Las Vegas, there's quite a bit of infill mixed use development that can be done in between Downtown and The Strip and all around the MAX BRT corridor on the north side.
Source: www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/cities.asp