Speck told residents of Memphis, “The biggest insult to your city is the MLGW headquarters.  Who would think to take a suburban office park and drop it in the middle of the city?”

It seems some in Oklahoma City are determined to make the same mistake.

From Joy in Mudville

This is in response to a post by Casey Cornett at Joy in Mudville concerning Jeff Speck and the Chamber building.  Here are a few of the key take-aways…

One of the great things about being at [the Jeff Speck] presentation was that I was there as a pedestrian, an urbanite, a downtown worker, a downtown walker (even though at times it seems i’m the only one) and also a downtown dreamer. I get excited about our future plans as a city and I get even more excited reading about core-to-shore.

And later continues:

The sad thing i’m starting to notice is that all the people who are strongly for greenspace are still focusing their efforts towards the 1 square block of privately owned [actually a portion of the land contributed by a public body - Urban Renewal] and privately funded Chamber building going in at 4th and EK Gaylord. Hasn’t that already been approved and moved on? Sure, there is still another (I believe just 1) date set on the beautification aspect of that space…but the building is still going there, let’s move on. The core-to-shore project will be bring roughly 20-square blocks of greenspace. Why can’t greenspace lovers and journalists focus on what has yet not been decided on instead of still arguing over the 1-square block to argue over.

In response,

Hey Mudville –

I share your excitement for Speck and his recommendations for walkability in OKC! I especially appreciate your enthusiasm for where the city is headed…it is great to hear native OKCers referring to themselves as urbanites!

Props to Mayor Cornett

I have said it before, but again, huge props to Mayor Cornett – not sure whether to say “your dad” or Mayor Cornett, so we are going to keep it formal – who brought in Speck to consult the city.  I think that this will have an extremely positive impact on the future quality of life in our city, especially the urban character of downtown.  Mayor Cornett deserves all of the credit for taking this step and I am really excited to experience OKC when these ideas have been  implemented.

“Move On”? But…

I am curious about the position you take on the Chamber Building, telling everyone to “move on”. It seems like someone enthused by Speck’s ideas wouldn’t be so quick to look past a project that will permanently hinder walkability at a critical connection in a burgeoning area of downtown. Speck himself has commented on the poor site layout of the Chamber proposal and every OKC urbanist that has expressed a position on the issue either questions the design and/or the way it was ushered through review despite violating the downtown design guidelines.

Simplifying the matter as being only about the quantity of green space doesn’t seem fair. Ultimately the underlying issues have more to do with walkability and good urbanism than green space, and the current Chamber proposal fails to deliver either.  Still, even within this simplistic framework, the idea that the Central Park will benefit the people in NE downtown the way a properly designed Chamber site would is certainly not true.  Quantity matters, but surely location is still a variable worth considering.  How will a new Central Park over 1/2 mile away serve people in the same way that a park across the street would?

Public Works is to Blame

That said, the Chamber DOES NOT deserve the majority of the blame for the resulting plan. I think it is worth noting that the same Public Works Department that has regularly been called into question by Speck when it comes to aspects of good urban design, walkability and Indy 500 like downtown traffic capacity, also played a major role in the design of the Chamber site. The Chamber actually attempted to do a siteplan that dealt directly with pedestrian issues: re-establishing the grid, improving pedestrian connections, and providing a terrific public space to serve the surrounding neighborhoods (not really pure green space so much as an urban square). But Public Works knowingly exaggerated the traffic challenges presented by this scheme, whipped up a flawed traffic analysis, and subsequently told the Chamber that the design was a “bad idea”.  So in truth, the Chamber deserves credit for their initial attempt, even if the continued commitment to good urban design was ultimately lacking. Public Works on the other hand has some explaining to do.

OKCers Deserve Better Than Okay

The Chamber may legally have all the approval they need to build the building as designed, but the people of OKC don’t owe them their added blessing, not on a project and process that falls short on so many levels. If the Chamber wants to do what best for the current and future users of Downtown Oklahoma City they will use the current delay to reconsider the design.  They should call into question the soundness of the advice they received from a Public Works department that – while doing an excellent job for most of the city – does not know much of anything about good urbanism.  Oklahoma City is better than an okay city – its a GREAT CITY, with great people that deserve a great downtown.  So why do we have to settle for something that falls short of this measure?

Pedestrian path movement can be analyzed using video reworked with computer animation software.

More often than not, cars follow the paths prescribed by traffic engineers but pedestrians are a different story.  Many pedestrians venture outside the lines, whether to save time, energy, or take a route for which a path is not provided.  In some cases, these improvised pedestrian routes can be identified by the dirt path that develops through repeated use – this usually a clear sign that there is a problem with the form and paths provided.  But in most cases, we fail to sufficiently understand pedestrian behavior and design in ways that exhibit this lack of understanding.

That said, there are a number of ways in which this gap in the analysis can be filled.  I previously mentioned the possibilities of new gps-enabled handheld phones, which would be suitable for a downtown scale route and origin-destination analysis.  Also, Jan Gehl has a done a lot of work studying pedestrian behavior and developed a process that utilizes teams manually recording a number of important behavior factors.  And here (above image) is one method of tracking pedestrian movement – from pedestrianlevitation.net – that uses video reworked with computer animation software.

It is hard to study pedestrian behavior in cities without an ample supply of pedestrians.  But it is a historic lack of understanding and adequate attention that has created this dilemma.  The more attention we give to an analysis of pedestrians and the way they interact with the city, the more appropriate our design solutions will be, resulting in an increase in pedestrian users over time.

Right now there is very little (i.e. zero) analysis of this type taking place in Oklahoma City.  This is unfortunate but expected from a city that long ago decided to focus only on mobility as it relates to automobiles.  Hopefully, public works will begin to treat pedestrian issues like they matter, developing a process for analyzing circulation at least within active areas where pedestrian-friendliness is a stated priority (e.g. Downtown and Bricktown).  It might even be interesting to do “traffic counts” in the Underground to see how many pedestrians we are keeping off the streets.

But until that happens we can do some rudimentary analysis by identifying where pedestrian circulation problems are shown to exists – dirt paths.  So does anyone know of any dirt paths in Downtown or Bricktown?  I can think of a few, but am hoping you all can chime in with some examples I don’t know.

Got some great news yesterday and wanted to share it with you.  We are one of four finalist teams that have made it through to round two of the 2009 ULI Hines Urban Design competition. Which means we will travel to Denver in April to compete for a shot at the $50,000 first prize.  Really excited and look forward to working some more on this project. Also, now that the results of round one have been announced, I can share with you everything we worked on.  And I am sure to say we, as it was definitely a team effort.

THE TEAM

Sarah Snider, Master of City Planning / MIT
Eric Komppa, MBA / University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jesse Hunting, Master of City Planning / MIT
Duncan McIlvaine, M.Arch / MIT
Blair Humphreys, Master of City Planning / MIT

ABOUT THE PROJECT

This is our complete design board.  The board measures 51″ x 22″ – or six 17″ x 11″ sheets.  In addition to this we were required to turn in two separate 17″ x 11″ sheets, one with financials and one “day in the life of” sheet conveying life in the year 2050 (click here to see it).  I have chopped up the board pictured above into separate images to fit on your screen below.  The proposal is for an approx. 80 acre site surrounding Denver’s Alameda light rail station.  The northern portion of the site is currently a fairly typical big box retail layout, while the southern portion has a range of tenants connected to the Denver Design District. The primary challenge was to redesign the site to take advantage of the light rail station without displacing any of the existing tenants.  The boards are meant to be self-explanatory (i.e. we weren’t present when the judges viewed them), so I haven’t provided any commentary but if you have questions, just let me know.  Thanks!

note: this post is image heavy so it may load a bit slow.

“If we can develop and design streets so that they are wonderful, fulfilling places to be – community-building places, attractive for all people – then we will have successfully designed about one-third of the city directly and will have had an immense impact on the rest.“

- Allan Jacobs

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CREATE YOUR OWN SUBTITLE

The town’s new pedestrian monkey bars…

me: …not only improved pedestrian connectivity, but have inspired downtown companies to give employees recess!

you: ?

What do you got?  Come on, make us laugh.

Okay, lets get down to it. In the first post I argued that the current Chamber building proposal is flawed and requires a new approach. Part II laid out some basic information on the site and hopefully convinced you of its importance to downtown as the nexus between multiple urban districts.

Now, lets establish what the Chamber site should be; laying out what the plan for the site needs to accomplish and what elements must be incorporated into this plan.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH

It is impossible to plan the site without a clear understanding of what we are trying to achieve. Here, two things matter. First, there are the objectives of the Chamber, made up of their needs and desires for the building and site. But these objectives cannot be established in isolation; they must relate to the broader goals we are pursuing within downtown and the areas surrounding the site. An understanding of these broader goals combined with the requirements of the Chamber should give us the information needed to put forth a realistic proposal that meets the objectives of all parties.

One element the Chamber hopes to incorporate into their plan is a public space to honor OKC business leaders.

CHAMBER BUILDING OBJECTIVES

The Chamber has expressed a number of goals for the project that are specific to their needs, mission and prominent role in Oklahoma City. Based on the information about the project that has appeared thus far, I have created this list of objectives and requirements:

• building of approx. 50,000 square feet
• maintain views of historic Oklahoman Building
• create a “front door” for the community
• allow people to walk from convention center
• an iconic design
• includes a public space/plaza to honor business leaders
• convenient parking

BROADER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

It requires a lengthy process, collaborating with multiple stakeholder groups, to establish a set of broader goals for a community, a process that this blog has neither the time nor capacity to take on. Thankfully though, such a process has already taken place and provides an acceptable framework to guide the broader objectives of our plan.

One of the most repeated goals stated by leaders of the OKC community is to make Downtown more pedestrian-friendly.

The Downtown Design District (§ 59-7200) guidelines have these five stated objectives:

(1) promote the development and redevelopment of the downtown area in a manner consistent with the unique and diverse design elements of downtown;

(2) ensure that a DBD use is compatible with the commercial, cultural, historical, and governmental significance of downtown;

(3) promote the downtown area as a vital mixed-use area;

(4) create a network of pleasant public spaces and pedestrian amenities in the downtown area, and;

(5) enhance existing structures, preserve and restore historic features, and circulation patterns in the downtown area.

It is probably not fair to judge by legal language alone. However, the message from the downtown community has been very consistent in supporting these goals across the board. For instance, a quick scan of the internet found quotes from city leaders, real estate professionals, planners and more; all reaffirming that #4 – making the city more “pedestrian-friendly” – is not only one of the codified objectives, but a genuine goal of people from across the downtown community.

Here are a range of quotes from across the city that echo the priorities of the Downtown Design guidelines:

…The city is trying to change into a city that is less sprawling, has more density and is more pedestrian friendly…

- Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City

Pedestrian traffic has to be addressed. For two years, I have been a downtown walker from West Main to Midtown to Bricktown all the way to the river. We need to improve our core to make it more pedestrian friendly. This also includes bicycles now. The new bike rack plan for Bricktown is a step in the right direction…I am a proponent of walking outside. I think it creates energy on the streets. Although the Underground is a nice alternative for very windy or cold or rainy days, I like to see people on the streets. This is also good for our tourism. We need to encourage people to walk … might help their health, too….improving our pedestrian traffic needs to be on the agenda for further discussion including input from urban neighbors and downtown workers.

- Judy Hatfield, Downtown Developer

Pedestrian issues are very big on our priority list.

- Jeff Bezdek, Urban Neighbors (Downtown’s Neighborhood Association)

Pedestrian flow is the real key to the overall success of not only Core to Shore, but also the sustained viability of the other points of interest our city has to offer to locals and out-of-towners as well. We have the ability in Oklahoma City to mitigate a lot of the horror stories other markets have seen by learning from their mistakes and being proactive. Our CBD is small enough that if you’re a tourist and coming into town for an NBA game, or an NCAA event, you could conceivably take in everything from Bricktown to Midtown to Core to Shore on foot over the course of a weekend.

- Brent Conway, CB Richard Ellis

We want to create more of an urban feeling. – Framing the streets and providing for a more secure sense of a pedestrian life. It’s not suburban in style.

- Terry Taylor, formerly of the Oklahoma City Planning Department

ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN

Reading through the objectives of both the Chamber and the broader downtown community, you see that at a base-level there is not much conflict. The requirements for the building do not indicate that it would have to, in anyway, detract from the type of downtown we desire. In fact, the Chamber is more or less the ideal partner, hoping to create a high quality building, include public space, provide for pedestrian connectivity, and preserve historic assets. The only element that there is not a conclusive agreement on is the mixture of uses within the building. The city rightly encourages “mixed-use” because it contributes to a thriving downtown and creates opportunities for urban retail. However, the Chamber building is in some ways a true civic building – not dissimilar from a courthouse or city hall. So perhaps the absence of a mixture of uses in the Chamber building is not only acceptable, but appropriate.

Now that we have identified the objectives of all parties and established that there are no conflicts to resolve, it is fairly simple to construct a list of what the Chamber site plan should include.

Designed by Layton & Smith and constructed in 1909, the Oklahoman Building remains one of OKC’s most beautiful buildings.

THE CHAMBER SITE PLAN SHOULD:

(1) Provide for a prominently positioned “iconic” building – 50,000 sf in size – welcoming visitors to the city

(2) Preserve views of the historic Oklahoman Building on the northeast corner of 4th and Broadway

(3) Create suitable pedestrian connections, especially along Broadway between the CBD/Bricktown areas and the Automobile Alley/Memorial area, and between the residential neighborhoods east of the site and the rest of downtown, along 3rd and/or 4th street

(4) Serve as the impetus for additional development adjacent to the Site to create a vital mixed-use area. Opportunities include the redevelopment of the drive-thru bank south of the site, the development of the parking lot northwest of the site, and the potential enhancement of Automobile Alley as a retail/mixed-use corridor.

(5) Provide convenient parking that is appropriate within the urban context of the site

(6) Allow room for a great public space that not only provides an opportunity to honor Oklahoma City’s business leaders, but significantly enhances the civic quality of life for the entire community. Its a place to congregate, to celebrate, to relax, or to play. It should be a great urban public space – an outdoor community living room!

Oddly enough, Oklahoma City once had just such a public space – our first downtown park – and it was located at 4th and Broadway.

Continue reading: Oklahoman Park: OKC’s First Great Public Space!

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For more on the planning of the Chamber site:

1. Re-visioning the Chamber Proposal
2. Re-visioning the Chamber Proposal, part II
3. Re-visioning the Chamber: Defining Objectives
4. Oklahoman Park: OKC’s First Great Public Space

Google Earth 5.0 has been released and it is a very worthy upgrade!  The coolest new feature of the program is that it allows you to search historical aerials.  With Oklahoma City, there are approx. 10 different aerial sets dating back to 1991, though only a few are from before 2002.  Still, it is great to have access to a tool that records urban transformation. For instance, check out the clips I took of Bricktown over the last 15 years:

1995

2003

2007

Google Earth 5.0 is available to download completely free of charge.  Google Earth Pro adds some valuable features, including large format image exports, but costs $400 – making it almost exclusively for commercial users. Regardless, the free version is great and is only getting better. I can’t wait to see how this is used in the future as the time between aerials decreases and the recorded length in the database increases. Imagine a future in 2050 where you could watch – like a movie – the changes that occurred in an area following some type of intervention – like the introduction of a new transit line! Certainly something I look forward to watching happen in OKC!

A while back I posted some pictures of Axel Peemoeller’s Funky Parking Garage, well I just came across a post over at weburbanist.com with more high-tech, artistic, and/or just flat out strange parking solutions from around the world.

Here is the link: 15 Creative, Innovative & Hilarious Parking Solutions

Enjoy!

UPDATE: We were named finalist in the 2009 competition! Click here to see our entry

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Site Plan for Dallas’s Cedars neighborhood, ULI Urban Design Competition 2008. Credit: Blair Humphreys (click for larger image)

Today I am starting a two-week long urban design competition hosted by the Urban Land Institute.  Last year my team finished well, receiving one of three “honorable mention” slots putting us somewhere in the top 7 out of nearly 100 teams competing.  Our entry from last year was “Digital Thread”, a mixed-use plan for The Cedars neighborhood in Dallas with a focus on technological innovation and digital urban fabric.

“Digital Thread” – my MIT team’s entry into the 2008 ULI Urban Design Competition (click to download .pdf).

I am excited about this year’s competition and am hoping to improve over last year’s result.  I will keep you updated as things progress over the next two weeks, we submit our proposal, and then find out where we finished.  But I am still planning to dive into some issues related to Maps3 this week, so keep coming back.

If you want more information on the ULI competition: http://udcompetition.uli.org/

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Greg Cerveny at urbanmonarch.com emailed today and had this to say:

I’m looking for the pedestrian friendly neighborhoods of OKC.  Something with grocery stores, entertainment, and dining within walking distance.  Any suggestions for places to start?

Initially, I though, “Dang, what am I supposed to tell this guy?.”  I mean, surely we have something to offer, but it is not immediately clear which neighborhood can really provide all of this within close walking distance.  But after thinking through it for a little while, I sent him back this list as my recommendations for the best pedestrian friendly neighborhoods in Oklahoma City.  It definitely not meant to be a comprehensive list (though sadly it might be), but the good news is that nearly every neighborhood I considered is trending towards a more pedestrian friendly future.


PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOODS IN OKC

1. Mesta Park / Heritage Hills / Winans (between NW 13th on south and 23rd on north; Classen Blvd east to Robinson) – These are probably the most walkable neighborhoods.  Midtown is directly south across 13th street providing a growing selection of restaurants and bars.  There is a Homeland at Western and 18th that while not as yuppie-ready as a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, does handle most of your grocery needs.  Also, there is a solid group of restaurant and retail establishments along 23rd street to the north, including: a just opened market named Market C (owned by the Cheever’s restaurant group) with great take-home dinner options and Cuppie’s and Joe, a new cupcake and coffee shop with outstanding cupcakes.  Plus, I would say that the long-term prospects for both Midtown and 23rd Street are very good.
2. Jefferson Park / The Paseo / Sparrow Park (directly north of 23rd Street) – The restaurants and galleries of the Paseo along with the aforementioned energy of 23rd make a walkable lifestyle a real possibility here.  You will find smaller houses, better values, great parks, and still tons of untapped potential.  Most grocery runs will require a trip in the car, or at least a short bike ride; but the previously mentioned Market C and a few corner convenience stores may make the necessary trips few and far between.
3. Midtown – There lots of new energy and new restaurants, including: McNellie’s Irish Pub, Irma’s Burgers, 1492, Café de Brazil, and Prairie Thunder Bakery (which has wonderful breads).  Great potential and within walkable distance to the 18th street Homeland, but there are still so many gaps in the fabric and there are not enough residents for it to even be considered a neighborhood.  Still, if you want to be a pioneer give it a shot.  The Sieber Hotel redevelopment looks to be a nice place to call home.
4. Crown Heights – This is a wonderful neighborhood within close walking distance to the Western restaurant corridor with lots of great dining and bar options.  Not too many other neighborhood amenities are currently available along Western and the neighborhood DOES NOT have sidewalks of any kind.  I love this neighborhood and was happy to call it home for a couple of years.  You probably can’t practice a fully walkable lifestyle here, but it still has its moments and is a great place to live.  (I would probably put Edgemere Park in the same category.)
5. Downtown / Bricktown / The Triangle – Similar to Midtown, all of the “urban” neighborhoods have yet to really take hold.  Bricktown probably has the best breadth of services, but has only limited living options.  The Triangle is within walking distance to Bricktown, but not much else.  Downtown has some terrific amenities like: the OKC Museum of Art, Civic Center Performance Center, Downtown Library, Ford Center Arena, restaurants, etc; but virtually every housing unit – if not 100% – is sold with a parking spot, which should give you some idea.  In my opinion, these neighborhoods are wonderful options if you have the money, but better values can be found in all of the previously mentioned locations.  Still, I have heard that prices are dropping in at least one new downtown housing development – Maywood Park – so maybe it is worth investigating further.

RESPONSE

What do you think?  After reading it again I am thinking that I definitely should have put Crown Heights at the bottom of the list, but am still pretty confident with the idea that Downtown / Bricktown / The Triangle are not currently the best options – probably #4 – though hopefully they will be at the top of the list sometime soon.  Also, I would be interested to get your thoughts on the neighborhoods I missed.  Perhaps I should have mentioned the campus area of Norman – which is probably the most walkable neighborhood in all of central Oklahoma – but I was thinking only in OKC proper.

One note, I realize that almost all of these neighborhoods (with the exception of Bricktown and the Triangle) are in the northwest quadrant of the city.  This points to a limitation on my own perspective and experience, but also to the historic growth pattern of the city.  So if you have ideas about completely different parts of the city that you think offer something special, please let me know as I would love to check them out.