September 25, 2007
By Neil Fraser
I HAVE had the opportunity to visit a number of American cities over the past two weeks: one for the first time - Annapolis - and three repeat visits, to Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York City, where I attended the International Downtown Association (IDA) Annual Conference and World Congress on Cities.
I thought I'd share with you my impressions - this week on Annapolis and Washington DC and next week on Philadelphia and New York City and the conference itself. My over-riding impressions were of a massive urban renaissance and a dramatically improved quality of life in urban United States.
Annapolis
Annapolis, situated on the east coast of the USA, is the capital of the state of Maryland. Its location at the mouth of the Severn River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay, provides it with a beautiful setting - cities with river and ocean-frontage seem always to start at a great advantage over landlocked conurbations such as Joeys!
It is a small city (population of about 37 000) with a low density (2,056 per square kilometre). It is set in an historic area with inhabitants traceable back to 1 000 BC and villages to 800 AD. The area was once home to the Algonquin and the Susquehannocks.
It was explored by the British in the early 1600s but the first real settlements were established in the mid-1630s and the first shipyard in 1650. By the late 1600s the population was about 200, at which stage the plan for the city was laid out – it was based on that developed by Christopher Wren and John Evelyn for remodelling London. The plan dictated that the city would radiate outwards from two circles at the top of a hill.
The one circle would have a religious focus, with a church as centrepoint, the other would have government buildings - the Church and State Circles. The streets radiated out from these circles and were aligned with the points of the compass. Annapolis, for a very short period around the 1780s, was the capital of the United States.
A naval academy was established in 1850 that today has a student body of about 4 000. So it is an historic city and has retained an impressive amount of its built history; in fact, in the 1950s the state government planned to raze 14 buildings on State Circle to make way for a 10 000 square metre office building but this was stopped by concerned citizens and the heritage buildings were preserved - sound familiar?
Beautiful and liveable
It is a really beautiful and liveable city, well planned and laid out with many historic buildings and precincts, wide pavements with lots of trees, planters and laden flower baskets dangling from street light poles and well designed buildings. Near the historic precinct, modern building design is very sympathetic to its heritage neighbours. It has a bustling waterfront with typical waterfront retail and every type of eating establishment imaginable, and what seems like thousands of yachts of every type and size tied up literally in the main street. It is evidently known as the "Sailing Capital of the World".
Streets seem to seamlessly become jetties, bringing waterfront life right into the town. I was staggered to find that many of the numerous sleek motor yachts that cluster the moorings cost more than $2 million each - this is clearly a very affluent part of the States.
I was only there for half-a-day and had no time to investigate the form or quality of local government, but Annapolis appeared to be a very well managed city. I understand, however, that it is subject to a great deal of rapid, low-density sprawl on its edges, which is resulting in ecological destruction. But what a great place to live or visit.
Washington DC
At the other end of the economic scale, is another beautiful city, Washington DC. At the other end of the economic scale? More than 50 percent of its inhabitants live in families with an average income of $25 000 (about R175 000) a year, against the national average of $50 000 to $60 000.
My visit focused particularly on the Downtown DC Business Improvement District (Downtown DC BID), or what we call a CID or city improvement district.
I have visited the DC BID quite regularly since its establishment as the first Washington DC BID about 10 years ago – in 1997 - and I am always struck by the dynamic progress it has made in that time and how pivotal the Downtown BID has been in the revitalisation of the city itself.
When I first visited it in about 1998 the area it covers, now some 142 city blocks, suffered from a decidedly negative image that was quite justified. It was dirty and an air of insecurity pervaded the place, with many buildings boarded up and the retail was generally limited and of poor quality.
Employment within the DC BID area had been steadily declining, investment was described as "anaemic" and the private sector "lethargic"; it was a pretty dull place. DC, at that time, was actually bankrupt and was experiencing a shambles in local government - lots of close parallels to where we we've been!
Safety and maintenance workers
The first services of the BID focused on safety, hospitality and maintenance through very visible workers on the streets named SAMs, or safety and maintenance workers, who discouraged disorderly behaviour and crime while generally cleaning up the area by removing graffiti and refuse and planting flowers, hanging planter baskets and painting light poles, and so forth.
This is the baseline for every BID or CID and becomes the platform off which revitalisation can take place. You cannot attract investment to a city unless you can provide investors with three basics - certainty, stability and predictability. As good urban management was developed and had a positively effect on the area, so investment returned and, today, the results speak for themselves.
Since January 2002, over 10 million square feet of new office space has come on stream, plus another 6,7 million square feet of renovated offices; there have been 5 226 new residential units coming on stream, with another 4 990 under construction; as well as five new hotels and two new museums and much other activity besides.
In all, 174 new development projects (worth $9,4-billion) have been completed, 68 others are under construction ($5,3-billion) and another 86 are planned ($10,6-billion). In 1999, there were 49 restaurants; by 2005 this had grown to 85 and that number has exploded further since then! Most important, employment in the BID area has increased and is projected to continue increasing – 120 000 jobs located in the BID area have increased to 175 000). The city anticipates an increase of a further 18 000 residents by 2012.
Clean and safe
Off the base of "clean and safe" services, the Downtown BID has developed a multitude of services. Its SAMs have been developed to not only be the eyes and ears for law enforcement and the friendly face to greet locals and visitors alike (DC has 22 million visitors a year), but report on public space hazards and defects; provide emergency assistance; connect the homeless to needed services; discourage illegal and disorderly behaviour; remove litter and graffiti; and regularly steam clean pavements.
SAMs are also trained to carry out many surveys on a wide variety of issues, including the numbers and conditions of trees (some 2 500 in the BID area). Many are trained in tree management and the BID has introduced drip irrigation to help watering in the very hot summer months. It works to get homeless street people into appropriate housing and treatment regimes for mental health problems or substance and other abuse.
The public environment is under constant scrutiny with the BID improving parks and landscapes, providing refuse bins and hanging baskets and new, more effective lighting at street intersections.
It is fascinating to trace the development path of the Downtown DC BID under the inspired leadership of Rich Bradley, an old friend of Johannesburg. While still being passionate about "clean and safe" as its core function, under his direction the BID has considerably broadened its scope, particularly in the areas of economic development, marketing and transportation.
Partnership
A great deal of this work is done in partnership with local government departments - and I really mean "partnership". While our local government talks of partnership I don't believe we go anywhere far enough to allow the inner city to reap the benefits of full co-operation; admittedly they are hampered by some of the quite stupid requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act, but that's another story.
In 1997, only 25 percent of people surveyed perceived the Downtown DC BID area as clean, 53 percent as safe and 25 percent as vibrant. Today those figures are 69 percent, 84 percent and 81 percent, respectively. Attendance at events has soared over that period from less than three million to over 10 million. The selling price of office buildings has gone from $150 a square foot to $572, resulting in a huge increase in city revenues.
The recovery of downtown Washington DC has been remarkable and the DC BID has been one of the most critical components. Today it is a vibrant place with a wonderful quality of life that attracts more and more young people and business alike - a great city to live and work in.
Ciao, Neil
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