probs
Things that killed downtown Fresno
1) cars
a) slavery to parking lots
• Need to tear down buildings to make room for parking lots
• Ground-level only, so lots of wasted space
b) freedom to travel to/from
• 24/7, only need car keys & you're off to ?
• just need gas & the open road
c) street flows
• stops, railroad tracks, dead-ends, one-ways
• ease of travel
• easy directions
• visible landmarks
d) limited transportation options
• car or?
• Bus?
• Bike?
• Walking?
2) development
a) away from Downtown
• N, E, W, S
• Leapfrog next mile away
b) collect development fees
• did not increase fees when needed for infrastructure
• want to increase now- too little/too late
c) helter-shelter
• each development different
• cul-de-sacs
• winding roads
• changing street names
• blocked access
d) more malls
• each farther from DT, spread out like a shotgun blast
• ea w/JC Penny, Mervyns, Target, etc…
e) less housing in DT
• let housing units derieate
• did not enforce codes
• empty lots
f) swallowing old neighborhoods
• Pinedale surrounded
• Calwa, Malaga next
• Ever heard of Cameo, Goldleaf, Hammond, Cincotta, Muscatel?
3) people
a) want the "new"
• If its new, it's the "in" thing, until the shine rubs off
• New style, new co's
• It's a "G" thing?
• Want co's from SF, L.A. or Santa Barbara
b) scare easily
• Think DT is scary
• Scared of homeless, pan-handlers
c) herd instinct
• Everyone wants to be at the new place
• Follow the "in" crowd
d) single-person occupancy
• Most people travel 1 to a car
• 1 person per 1 car, ='s up to 1 car too many
san joaquin
Fredera would have happened if the housing boom had not run out of steam, there were about 3 or 4 planned communities; Golden Valley?, Rio Mesa, Madera Ranchos, Cobb Ranch
they might connect Madera & Fresno the next round of home building
http://www.theranchos.net/about_us.html
Re: But what makes this case unique
Yes, sprawl is everywhere, for better or for worse. But why no urban revival in Fresno? As someone very familiar with the world of urban planning, here is my take:
1) Fresno doesn't have set boundaries. Yes we have a sphere of influence, meaning a somewhat boundary which cannot be developed beyond, but that can be changed and has and will continue to be until we develop an Urban Growth Boundary (see Portland OR). In the meantime annexations for new subdivisions will happen all the time on the very outskirts of town, miles from downtown. The only reason that most American cities don't just sprawl into oblivion is because they run into boundaries, whether topographic hurdles (river or ocean or mountains) or another city. Thank goodness for the San Joaquin River, which saves our neighbors to the north from becoming Fredera.
2) Most of the local developers do just fine making their money on megashopping centers away from downtown. Cliff Tutelian, a local developer, has done a few projects downtown (like the galleria, and the new 4 story office building on Tulare/N). He also did the Villagio shopping center on the SE corner of Blackstone/Nees. I can almost guarantee that he has made much much much more money off of Villagio, not only because it is much much bigger (and it is hard to do huge projects like that downtown) but because of the location. Many local developers seem still hesitant to put their money downtown. And for some reason, the out of town developers haven't expressed too much interest yet. (not sure if that is a good thing or not)
3. For many cities who struggled with sprawl and now can boast booming downtowns again, I can say that a great deal is because the entity of the City invested a ton of money and effort into downtown revitalization. San Diego used to have a sad downtown, and now it is booming. However, the city is now in deep financial woes. San Jose, Sacramento, and San Diego all boosted their downtowns with public-funded light rail mass transportation. I know that our mayor says he is pro-downtown. But right now, the city of Fresno is more concerned with economic development in the city. I can almost guarantee that if there was available funding, the city would definately choose to use it to support big box warehouses (job creators?) in the south of the city over helping to subsidize a project which would boost downtown.
But really, who knows. There are so many other issues that contribute to why Fresno is lagging on the progressive train towards better downtowns. This is just my opinion as someone with a little knowledge about planning in Fresno.
re: Prob
GREAT, right on th mark, of course malls have lesss urine stains and smells....
co's
companies,
as in Nordstroms, Gucci, Saks 5th Ave, Bass Outlet, etc...
like all the big malls
cousins
that just knocked me out of my chair.
hilarious!! my big, breathless laugh for the day
Great Post
I liked your post. I couldn't agree with you more. It still isn't too late, but, we are getting closer to becoming the worse part of Los Angles by the minute.
Please explain the " Want co's from SF, L.A. or Santa Barbara". I am not usre what that is. Is that counties or cousins??
But what makes this case unique
Would most here agree that Fresno's downtown is not as vibrant as most other cities this size in the US? You could say almost all of those things about any American city in the past 50 years. Most, if not all, experienced a similar downtown decline, but most have also experienced a rebirth to a greater extent than Fresno has. Why? What is different in Fresno than those other cities? They all have suburban sprawl, shopping centers, car culture, etc.
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