SavingAmerica's.DowntownsandLocalHistory
ThroughthePoliticalProcess
Charleston, South Carolina
key way to improve the way people move, work, lay,andstayhealthyistochangeacity'slayout,its
infrastructure. The buildings, roads, landscapes, and walkways affect how the community is experienced, and this experience influences people's behavior. Rethinking the structure of a community is daunting, but not impos sible. Everything we look at today was in someone'smind at some point. We do not have to accept someone else's imagination; we can impose our own. Over thecourse
ofacentury,theonlythingsthatreallylastaretheroad patternsandafewofthebuildings,sochoosingwhat topreserveandwhattobuildreflectsourpriorities.Itis
through the political process that change occurs, and the
resultscanbespectacular.
The city of Charleston, South Carolina, is a great exampleof whatcan bedoneover timewiththe right leadership.Charlestonhasarichhistory,butacitycannot
n ·tts past. For a number of reasons,Charleston
neverfellvictimtothedestruction-constructiondisorder that afflicted the rest of America after World War II. In partbecauseitwascomparativelypoorandnotonthe roadtosomeotherdestination,itwassparedmany
of the ravages of urban renewal (often called urban remova and thus the "edifice complex" of brutalist buildings of plain concrete (of the sort Idiscussed in ChapterThree)andthecoupdegraceoftheinterstate highwaysystemroaringthroughanurbanarea.
ThisclassicAmericancityhaspreserveditsdowntown andlocalhistory,makingitintoajeweloftheregion.
AsmayorofCharleston,Joseph"Joe"Rileyhasguided changeinhiscityformorethanathirdofacentury.Like allvisionaries,heplansstrategicallyforthelongtermand actstacticallyintheimmediateterm."IlovewhatIdo.
Iget to work early in the morning with great joy. It's the most wonderful job to work for this community and to havetheopportunityeverydaytoworkoninitiativesthat
79
nmkth .livofuritiz n b tt r fifty andahundrdyr from now," M yor Rileysays.
Just a good health doesn't just happen-ittakes dailyfforttomakegoodchoices-gooddesignandgoodplacesdonotjusthappen-ittakespoliticalleadership,intelligence,creativity,andperseverancetoturn difficult sites into great places that will supportpeople's
health.MayorRileyhasusedthepoliticalprocesstomake changes that can be sustained over the longterm.
SYMPTOMS
Charleston's history shaped the city's plan, architecture, food, furnishings, language, cultural activities, and pri orities. The first settlements in the area suffered bloody rivalries among the Spanish, French, British, and Native Americans, but also established a multicultural com munity from the beginning. When John Locke wrote the Constitution of Carolina, he guaranteed religious free dom, a principle that has influenced the social fabric of the city ever since. The arrival of slaves from Africa and invasions by pirates added layers of social complexity to the varied tapestry of the city's history. Involvement in the founding of America through political representation and armed conflict reflected a commitment to political ideals and action. Summer heat, earthquakes, and hurricanes have influenced architectural choices and the develop ment of embankments and fortifications againstweather
and seas . When Mayor Riley took charge in 1976, he was immediately faced with two critical issues, a dying downtown and a crumbling urban housing stock . Unlike the leaders in many other cities across the country, Riley committed the city to restoring its beloved downtown.
He also fully understood the need to rehabilitate rather than tear down neglected but otherwise beautiful and affordable housing stock. As a result of his vision, the city of Charleston is today one of the most beautiful cities in America.
Creating HomeOwnership
To create the Charleston that he imagined, Mayor Riley identified what the city's residents most needed, and thi?tbeganwithahome.ThecityofCharlestonhasbeen recognizedasoneofAmerica'sleadersinthecreationof sustainable, affordable housing for its citizens, winning awards for design and best practices (skills that come togetherintheprojectshowninPlate8).Rileybelieves that "if you let something bad be built (or have the government do something bad), it is repeated. If you do somethinggood,itisalso repeated."1Thefightisatthe beginning of the process. It's crucial to set a standard that, once successful,will befollowed.
MayorRileyisaco-founderoftheMayors'Institute on City Design, a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American ArchitecturalFoundationandtheUnitedStates
Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, the Mayors' Institute has helped to transform communities through design
by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. When Mayor Riley speaks to othermayors,
CreatingConnectedness
WhenItalkwithJoeRiley,itisliketalking toalong-lost brother.Whathesaysmakessensetome.Weallknow
he often explains that "we should not accept anything
intuitively that he is right when hesays,
People needto
less than beautiful, properly designed . . . housing for low-income people. It is not acceptable to allow the [gov ernment] to build that disgusting, auto-oriented, HUD [Department of Housing and Urban Development] public housing (also known as 'ant hills'). We can refurbish old Victorian houses to provide affordable housing. It not only works well for the neighborhood, but is gorgeous
as well. 11 He goes on to say that these old houses have tremendous character and excellent design features .2 Riley knows that replacing buildings that have character and history with low-quality, often dreary structures does little to inspire residents, so he has fought againsthaving bulldozers entering redevelopmentareas.
In this spirit, in addition to encouraging some well designednewbuilding,Rileyhasspearheadedinitiatives to foster home repair, painting, and property rehabilita tion for improving existing structures. Under his lead ership, councils and nonprofits have formed tomake
have public centers such as farmers' markets and public plazas and pedestrian malls. It is human nature to want to be with other people. We should not throw away theseprecious,centrallylocated,andaccessiblecenters.
RileytalksaboutCharleston'sparksandpublicspaces as his II generation's gift to the future-the birthright of thepeopleofCharleston."(Plate10isanexampleof
this birthright.) In fulfillment of this vision, he has pursued anambitiousplantogivethepublicaccesstonearlyevery footofCharleston'spreciouswaterfront.Hehasrenovated many parks and playgrounds and used abandoned rail roadrights-of-wayfornewbikepathsandgreenways.The openvistastotheseaandgreenspacesforrecreationand relaxation, along with historic landmarks and buildings, create the feeling of Charleston, and such an essence is powerful when it is consistent. The challenge comes when developers want to create new spaces. 11 Almost always, when a timeless, gorgeous, dignified, historic buildingis
11
housingaccessibletofamiliesatdifferentincome_levels.
demolished,
Rileyexplains,11itisreplacedwithsome
Charleston was designated in 1994 as an Enterprise Community. This initiative is a neighborhod revitliza tionstrategyforimprovingaffordablehousngoptions
andprov1.d.inghealth,humanservices,andincreased
economic opportunities to neighborhoods thatneed
support.
thingthatdoesnotlastlong."Thenewbuildingdoesn't fitinwiththesurroundings,andpeopledon'tlikeit.In time,theinitialbusinessfailsandmovesout,leavingthe unlovedstructureforotherstodealwith.
Partofwhatisimportantinmaintainingacom munityiskeepingpeopleinteracting.Mostmodern
buildingspromoteprivacythroughthepositioningof
thirwindowsnddoors.Butsuchisolationisnotwhathrltniabout.Thisisacityththascreatedvision fopl int r tin , o a Rily xplains, "Dvelopers
mu t b frdtodi n th ir buildings o that thyareri ntdtthtrt r th r th n turning th ir b cks to
thtt,incitiocriticaltobuildenrgyonthet-thtrtinentialpublicr aim.11
Creating EconomicDevelopment
"Small business is the economic backbone of our com munity,11says Mayor Riley. He created the Charleston Citywide Local Development Council (LDC) to provide assistance and low-cost loans for businesses throughout the city and leveraged public funds with private devel opment to enhance projects aimed toward expanding and growing business in the areas of tourism, shipping, medical services, and technology. Through partnerships, Riley has stimulated new development andrestora-
tion in the historic downtown, what he refers to as the heartofthecityof Charleston.Ashisbiographyonthe city's Web site says, "Mayor Riley has helped create one of the most vibrant and productive downtowns in America, including the dramatic rebirth of KingStreet,
Charleston's main street. "4 Through partnerships and incentives, the city is attracting larger projects and inter national corporations to increase employment opportu nity for allcitizens.
Through much of the decade before the Great Recessionthatbeganinlate2008,Charleston'sunem ployment rate averaged 5.2 percent.5 This is not easy worktoaccomplish.I'msurethatMayorRiley'sbeenin his share of political fights. To be mayor of a midsized, rough-and-tumbleseacoastcityforthirty-fiveyearsisno simplefeat.Butwhatmakestheworkremarkableisthat he'soptimistic,positive,andproud.
With economic development and rejuvenation of neighborhoodsand open spaces, and alsoMayor Riley'scommitmenttoracialharmonyandprogress,Charleston is experiencing a substantial decrease in crime and an unprecedented growth in the city's size and popula- tion.Rileyhasledthecitygovernmentinestablishingan impressiverecordofinnovationinpublicsafety,housing, arts and culture, children's issues, and the creation of parks and other publicspaces. Charleston isrecognizedas one of the most livable and progressive cities in the UnitedStates,andasteadystreamofnewcomershas
boosted the region's population to nearly 650,000 (Figure 6.1).AstheCharlestonWebsiteputsit,"MayorRileyhas provided the leadership and incentives necessary tomake Charleston a great place to work, live, and visit."6
DIAGNOSIS
Charleston is a crossroads of cultures, ethnicities, and economics, but rather than maintainingsegregated
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neighborhoods,MayorRileyhaslookedforwaystokeep peopleincloseproximityandtocross-pollinatepeople's ideasinordertoencourageconnectednessandtobuild community.
Peoplewithhigherincomesdemandhigher-quality services. By maintaining both an economic and ethnic mix,peoplecanteacheachotheraboutbetterwaysto live and how to access services the city provides. The city's services should support the way people want to live-they should make it easier, healthier, and more enjoyabletoliveinthecommunity.Eventrafficpatterns playapartinthis.Charlestonhaschosentohavemostly two-way streets, even though some traffic engineers sayone-waystreetsmovecarsnotjustmorequicklybut moresafely.However,Charlestonhasfoundthatpeople
drivemoreslowlyandthusmorecarefullyandquietlyon two-waystreets,andperhapstheymayenjoylifeandthe citymore,particularlywhenthosestreetsarelinedwith
Figure6.2Two-waystreetsallowinvolvementwiththelifeofthecity.
Source:GraphicbyScottlzenfortheMediaPolicyCenter.
parked cars, trees, sidewalks, interesting storefronts,and ideally, bike lanes (Figure6.2).
Many traffic engineers have forgotten the reason we travel. We rarely do it for the fun of getting in acar
(especiallytrueinLosAngelesandAtlanta)butforbeing where we want to be-at work, with family and friends, or at the store. The purpose of transportation is to get where we want to go, not to move 3,000 pounds of machinery.Webuildqualitydensityandcompletestreets sopeoplecanaccomplishtheirtaskseasilyandsafely.
Traffic fatality risks go up with the square of a vehicle'sspeed-comparedtothedeathrateforpeople
in a car crash at 25 mph, the death rate at 50 mph is not just twice as high but four times as high. Therefore, even though some found it surprising at first when Charleston decided to change Upper King Street back from a one way to a two-way street, this change gave the street a more pedestrian feel and emphasized that it was a des tination, not a mere thoroughfare. Dan Burden, senior urban designer and co-founder of Walkable Communities, describes a similar experience of changing from one-way back to two-way streets: "several decades ago the chief transportation planner in Washington, D.C., wanted to make the city people friendly. He oversaw a change of high-speed streets that were one-way back to two-way, and the city has become much more pedestrianfriendly."
In years past many two-way streets in North
Amer ican downtowns were changed to one-way in an effort to speed up traffic. It worked well in enabling suburban migration and commuting but led to the fur ther demise of urban downtowns, walking, and social engagement.Aswereclaimcities,manyone-waystreets are being studied and returned to two-way streets. As Mayor Rileysays, "Thisisabout improving the social life of ourcommunities."
The position of mayor comes with legal and bud getary authority but also with substantial constraints. Change comes less from the mayor's power and more from his or her leadership and ability to leverage priori tiesandresourcestoencourageengagementwithinand beyondthegovernment'sdirectinfluence.When vision ing the redevelopment of downtown Charleston, Mayor
Riley had to look at both the residential and commercial potential of the community. Decisions about industry and economy are vital. Will there be chain stores and restau rants, small businesses, manufacturers, or intellectual enterprises? Knowledge-based businesses, for example, need cutting-edge technology, spaces of various sizes, and manageable costs. They need an environment that inspires creativity without getting in the way of efficiency. But most of all, knowledge-based businesses require creative young people-these individuals are the engine of future growth and they do not want to live in boring places. They want liveliness and a good place to raise families. And they do not want to emulate the long hours their parents spent sitting intraffic.
Minimizing theFootprint ofNewBuildings
LeadersandcitizensindowntownSacramento, California,areexploringmanyofthesameideas thatMayorRileyhasworkedwithinCharleston.
They are trying to retain all the components of historic buildings that they can. Nothingis
greener than leaving what's there in place, but if an old building is loaded with asbestos and toxics,itmayneedtobecarefullydemolished.It
takes a lot of thought to rehab a historic building, and sometimes it's notpossible.
Figure6.3
acarpa.....
Whenwemodernizeexistingstructures,weoweitto ourfuturetousegreenbuildingpracticesandsustainable infrastructure. In Charleston, to keep construction costs manageableandpricesandrentsreasonable,someofthe old buildings have been retained to lend character, but they have also been adapted to handle the technology demandsofcreativeentrepreneurs.Suchadaptingand
reusing is part of creating a livable and thrivingcommunity.
Surfaceparkingsuffocatescities-wehaveallseen theplacesthatlooklikeMonopolyboards,withrandom
A park ing structure that pedestrians may not immediately recogn izeas
high-rises surrounded by vacant lots doubling as car parks. In a sunny climate, parking lots, especially black topped ones that create even more heat, make walking miserable and can make a city street feel like ano-man's land. Parking lots generate trivial revenue; the owner's goal is to hang on to the land long enough for this "real estate" to become a good investment, say as a lot for building a high-rise. If we must have parking facilities, stackthem(Figure6.3),evenifthatismoreexpensive.
This then allows us to turn idled asphalt lots into commu nity gardens that will feed us and help to cool the envi ronment. Best of all is to put in transit to make it easy for people to get to work and to save money, and also to put in much more working-class housing so the downtown is alive 24/7.
How many people bother to take pictures of 90 per cent of what we've built in America over the last sixty years? Yet when people walk into a refurbished trolley carbarnoranoldschool,theysmileastheytakeouttheir cameras.Thisisaboutallowingpeopletofeelgoodabout where they live and work. Maybe architects are thrilled, but I do not see much excitement in most people about brand-new buildings. When an old building is updated andgoesbackintouse,apartofthecity'shistoryreturns. When people are excited about what the city or another developer is doing, it makes redevelopment a whole lot easier. People take a little bit more pride in where they work, and they want to show people what's happenedto
the space. The space becomes a part of theconversation
Source: Photograph from the Media PolicyCenter.
apartoftheculture.'
CURE
Look around Charleston and you can see who won in the preservation of historic downtown. There were two battles that Mayor Riley had to face-one for design and one
for density. Riley believes "cities need thirty-story build- ings downtown like they need a hole in the head." As heexplains,five-andsix-storybuildingsaremuchbetter,
because they define public spaces and do not force a city to have huge expanses of parking. Most cities in the United States look as though a neutron bomb had been deto nated. Vast expanses of baking-hot parking lots, absolute no-man's-lands, flourish between high-rises. The vista is about as erosive of the soul as anything we couldimagine.
This goes back to the importance of planning and citycodes."Infilliscriticallyimportanttotherestoration ofcitiesinAmerica,buttheinfillneedstobeattheright scale. It needs to fit into the neighborhood's DNA, not something that was borrowed from somewhereelse.
The building has to have the right form, use the right materials, and reflect Charleston's rhythm," says Mayor Riley. The area surrounding the building has to reflect the cultureaswell.Thelandscapingandcolorchoicesshould reflect a sense of place. (Plate 9 shows an example of Charleston's coastalarchitectural design.)
Architecture haseras,somecriticscallthemfads. So, for example, the neoclassical style of Washington, D.C.'s iconic buildings gave way to the rococo stone pile of the Old Executive Office Building and then the style shifted
again to the modernist starkness of the FBI building and now to postmodernist structures. These styles usually reflect similar changes in fashions in clothing, literature, and art. Every building starts with an intended function. Moreover, buildings must be legible-a visitor should be abletoreadessentialslikeaccess,egress,anddestination just from the design-and buildings must also convey identity. Is it a court or city hall? It should project author ity. Is it a hospital? It should project a caring environment through sober serenity. Is it a school? It should welcome with order,calm, andjoy.
The debate between form and function is perhaps akintothebattlesbetweenanytwothingsthatareonly partlyrealizedwhentheylackeachother.Forexample, the symbol representing the Tao has two parts, yin and yang-each represented as a loop with beauty of its own, sleek but incomplete. But when these two parts arecombined theyachieveperfection-thecircle.Ithink CharlestonhasfounditsTao.Ithascommerceandbusi ness, and it has a delightful culinary community, arts, music,andpublicsocialevents."Thereshouldbeenergy on the street, and buildings should contribute tothat.
Parkinggaragesdon'tneedtolooklikegarages.They canlooklikeofficebuildingsandhaveretailonthefirst floor.Downtownshouldbedesignedforpeople,"says Mayor Riley. "It's disrespectful to build auto-oriented facilitiesthatlooklikeauto-orientedfacilities,soIstuck tomygunsandthearchitectsusuallygavein.Theyoften decidedafterwardsthatthefeatureIinsistedonwasthe best thing they did with theproject."
I live on SmithStreet right across from a publichousing project. This ishalf the reason Ilike this neighborhood so much. Some of the first developments were done right around the corner, when this wasn't a dilapidated neighborhood but it was nothing like it is now. I like that it isn't completely gentrified. 1 like that we have permanently affordable housing and subsidized housing across the street from the market. We all know that neighborhoods that are diverse are healthier 50 it's something we work to protect. We still have a bunch of African Americans andnicehouses.Propertyvalueshavebeenrisingsothiskindofdevelopment
has helpedeveryone.
Across the country there has been a downturn in housing prices, buthere, in an area that traditionally hasn't done very well, we're not experiencing this downturn.We'resustainingour housingpricesbetterthanSouth Floridaor
SouthernCalifornia.Housesmaybestayingonthemarketabitlongerthanthey used to, but they're still up in value a little bit. They haven't even dipped very muchindowntownCharleston,sothat'sveryspecial.There'sonlysomuchpen insula in Charleston,so the demand isholding.
Thisgoesbacktothepriordiscussionofmonoculture versus ecosystems. Everyone knows that higher-income people need lower-income people sooner or later, for help with preparing meals, maintaining homes, teaching their children, caring for their loved ones, and patrol- lingtheirstreets.Butpoorerpeopleneedricherpeople
too.Thetaxbaseandinfluenceofthelatterdrawtothe neighborhood better security and services. And an eco nomicmixisgoodinschoolstoo;richerandpoorerkids