Bogotá, Colombia Hooked on a New Kind of Crack

Eric Fredericks • Tuesday August 29, 2006

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jaime Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba, Brasil, and governor of Paraná. I had heard many good things about Curitiba, like how he had helped to turn the city around with a superb bus rapid transit system and high density development along transit corridors. His presentations were fantastic. Then, I saw a presentation on Bogotá, Colombia and the turn around in that city. Someone described it as “Curitiba on Crack.” Everyone has heard how bad conditions have been in Bogota over the years (especially with drugs), but it is not the same as it used to be. Bogotá is now hooked on a new type of crack – “Pedestrian Crack!”

Part of that is due to the leadership and the creative approaches taken by Enrique Peñalosa during his reign as mayor of Bogotá. He helped to establish an even better bus rapid transit system than Curitiba, miles and miles of bike/ped trails, and even converted numerous miles of vehicle streets to pedestrian-only streets. Not only has the transit, bicycle, and pedestrian modes shares significantly increased, the number of crimes committed in Bogota has dramatically reduced. So much so that I heard its crime levels are on par with Oakland, California (I have not verified this).

The video above is an interview with Mr. Peñalosa and was shot by the New York City Streets Renaissance, an incredible organization (view their StreetsBlog). This video is a shortened version of a longer interview where he talks about the changes in Bogotá, and what he envisions for New York City. I invite you to watch that video, along with all of their other amazing videos. We will be featuring more of their videos in the future. In the meantime, start planning your trip with me to visit Curitiba and Bogotá.

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Colombia •• comments

The Chicago White Sox Need A Cellville

Eric Fredericks • Wednesday November 16, 2005

The 2005 statistics are astounding: The Chicago Cubs, with the 19th best record in baseball at 79-83, averaged 38,753 fans per home game this year – a whopping 98% of capacity. The crosstown-rival White Sox were the World Series champions, had the 2nd best record in baseball at 99-63, and yet fell far behind the attendance levels of the Cubs – only averaging 28,923 fans per home contest and 71% of capacity. And this was one of the better years for White Sox game attendance. Clearly, the numbers are not based on team performance as demonstrated by this graphic (Data from ESPN.com ):

So, why do more people attend Cubs games? I think there are many reasons, but one major reason involves walkable neighborhoods.

The popularity of the neighborhoods around Wrigley Field in Chicago (where the Cubs play) has been well-documented, even on this site. The area surrounding Wrigley Field has been coined Wrigleyville and is full of walkable neighborhoods Рincluding yuppie bars, clubs, caf̩s, and restaurants and also high-density residential developments. Many of these developments are mixed-use. There are excellent connections to transit. Game days turn into mini-festivals and every game has a party-like atmosphere.

Around U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox? Mostly just parking (although there is a nearby connection to the L ). I think the fact that there is not much to do around U.S. Cellular Field has a lot to do with the poor attendance. That, and the fact that the neighborhoods nearby U.S. Cellular Field have a bad reputation. The South Side of Chicago has still not managed to shake its image of being a dangerous place to go. The White Sox need a Cellville. This could not only help increase their revenue, but it could also help revitalize the South Side of Chicago. They could easily use up some of the surface parking lots to create mixed-use development with ample housing units, similar to what can be found on the North Side.

Of course, there are numerous other reasons why the Cubs have better attendance rates. They have generally had more All-Star caliber players on their roster (although the popularity of the Cubs probably adds to player popularity). And the Cubs are known for their follies and suppossed curses. Some even take pride in the fact that they are affectionately known as the Lovable Losers. The Cubs are also a nationally beloved team as their road attendance numbers are second to only the New York Yankees.

At least Sox fans can take solace in the fact that we finally won the big one!

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Chicago •• Comments

Chicago White Sox, Partying, and... Walkability?

Eric Fredericks • Thursday October 27, 2005

Yes, I can find a way to correlate anything to walkability, even my favorite baseball team’s first World Championship in 88 years. Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox and to the City of Chicago, it has been a long and painful wait. As I sat back in my state of euphoria thinking about the win last night, I thought to myself that it would be wild to be in Chicago right now. But then it dawned on me, where would I go to celebrate? Perhaps the best place in Chicago to celebrate is Wrigleyville, but that would not seem right considering it is enemy territory. So, this ties in directly with an idea I had for an article about the White Sox and one major reason why they are not as popular as the Cubs. The reason I will focus on is stadium location. The Cubs stadium (Wrigley Field) is located in a very walkable and hip neighborhood, full of street life and activities. U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play, is surrounded by surface parking lots, a massive wall, and a freeway. And the surrounding neighborhoods have a bad reputation. Expect a more in-depth future article on this topic. But for right now, just enjoy the moment Sox fans. Maybe someday we will have our Cellville.

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Chicago •• Comments

More Urban Living Lofts Planned for Revitalizing Detroit

Eric Fredericks • Friday October 14, 2005

Detroit may not be the ideal place to live in America. The metropolitan area faces a super-divide, with some of the richest suburbs and poorest inner-city neighborhoods in the country. But, downtown Detroit is slowly starting to turn the corner. I had the chance to walk around downtown about two years ago and was actually impressed by what I saw. They are really trying to revitalize the downtown. There are some gorgeous buildings, breath-taking views, and beautiful art pieces downtown. The connectivity is not bad either. The problem that I noticed: there were no people! I was walking around on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon and there should have been tons of people. This made downtown feel a bit eerie. Hopefully this is going to change soon.

One reason this may change is because of Detroit’s commitment and encouragement of downtown living. The city has established Neighborhood Enterprise Zone designations that gives incentive for new developments, including sharply reduced property taxes for up to 12 years. Two loft projects currently underway downtown are benefiting from these designations, Grinnell Place Lofts and Research Lofts. Both of these projects are industrial to residential conversions which often make for great lofts. Grinnell Place is located very close to Tiger Stadium and Research Place is near the expanding Wayne State University. Apparently there are numerous urban living lofts in the vicinity of Comerica Park and they have been quite successful, although I did not get to that area on my last visit. (Source: Detroit Free Press via Planetizen ) >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Detroit •• Comments

Reviving Downtown Reno, Nevada

Eric Fredericks • Wednesday August 24, 2005

I have visited Reno, Nevada before and I must say that it is not one of my favorite places. The area surrounding Reno is very beautiful, perhaps one of the most beautiful locations in the United States. It is located among the Sierra Nevada mountains and is very close to Lake Tahoe. But the beauty does not extend to downtown Reno, unless you like outdated casino architecture. But, several new projects give hope to the revitalization of downtown Reno. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Reno •• Comments

Mecca in the Cornfields? Champaign, IL Transforming into a Walkable City

Eric Fredericks • Monday August 22, 2005

Champaign, Illinois, a city located in Central Illinois and home to the University of Illinois, is undergoing major changes that have greatly improved walkability and the quality of life in the city. Read about how they are doing this through “dieting” and “fixing the streets.” >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Revitalization •• Region: Champaign-Urbana •• Comments

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