Salt Lakes Downtown: Center of the Wasatch Front

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Salt Lakes DowntownCenter of the Wasatch
Front

• Salt Lake City, UT May 30, 2006
• Robert Lang, Professor and Director
• Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech

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Whats in This Talk?

• Role of Downtowns
• Comparing Salt Lakes Downtown
• Megapolitans and Metroplexes
• The Wasatch Front Defined
• Wasatch Front Projections to 2040
• The Polycentric Metropolis

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Typical Roles of American Major Downtown

• Regions Signature Public Space
• Largest Commercial Center
• Site of First Settlement
• Major Cultural, Arts, Educational, and
  Entertainment
• Emerging Again as Neighborhoods
• Leading Regional Center for Face-to-Face
  Interaction

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Comparing the Southwests Major Downtowns

• Overall, Salt Lake is the Second Leading Downtown
  in the Southwest RegionJust Ahead of Phoenix,
  but Well Behind Denver
• Salt Lake, Phoenix, and Denver are State Capitals
  and Large Central Business Districts
• Also Have their States Big Convention Centers
  and Major Sports Venues
• And are the Center of Public Transit Systems,
  Which Now Includes Light Rail

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Comparing DowntownsWorld Cities

• 2005 World City Analysis by Taylor and Lang for
  Brookings Institution
• Looked at World Network of Producer Services
• Accounting, Advertising Banking, Insurance, Law,
  Management Consulting, and Media
• Denver Ranked 12th in US
• Phoenix Ranked 25th in US

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Comparing DowntownsHousing

• Salt Lake Made Big Gains in Downtown Housing in
  the 1990s, but Still Lacks a Neighborhood Like
  Denvers LoDo
• Ahead of Phoenix in this Category
• Lots of Projects Planned and Plenty of Class C
  Office Space Left to Convert
• A 2005 Penn Study of Downtown Housing Lumped Salt
  Lake with Phoenix

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Comparing DowntownOffice Development

• Salt Lake Has Nearly 14 Million Square Feet of
  Office Space
• Just Ahead of Phoenix, But Much Smaller Than
  Denver
• Yet Salt Lakes Downtown is Much Larger Than Any
  Sub-Regional Center, Unlike Phoenix and Denver
  Where Large Edge Cities Exist

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Comparing DowntownsTransportation

• Salt Lake Has a Head Start on a Light Rail
  System, While Denver and Phoenix Play Catch Up
• Salt Lakes Downtown is Also Close to a Hub
  Airport
• Denver Had This Advantage, But Threw it Away
• Phoenix Maintains its Downtown Airport

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Comparing DowntownArts and Education

• Creative Class Hustle in Downtowns Due to
  Richard FloridaEven Ones Where He Did Not
  Consult
• All Three Major Southwest Downtowns are Promoting
  Arts
• All Three Have Plans for Downtown Branches of
  Universities
• Phoenix Passed a Bond for a Major ASU Downtown
  Campus

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Virginia Techs Original 2005 Megapolitan
Geography
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Megapolitan Area Population and Growth Rates
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2006 Metropolitan Hierarchy
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Possible Census Combined Statistical Areas by
2010

• Wasatch Front
• Phoenix-Tucson Sun Corridor
• Los Angeles-San Diego
• San Francisco-Sacramento
• Washington-Baltimore-Richmond
• Tampa-Orlando
• New Orleans-Baton Rouge
• Chicago-Milwaukee

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Wasatch Front
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ArizonaSun Corridor
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Arizona Sun CorridorsTypes of Urban Realms
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Wasatch Front MetroplexProjections 2004 to 2040
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Wasatch Front Growth and Replacement to 2040

• Housing Units
• Growth Related 520,000
• Replaced Units 150,000
• Total New Units 670,000 (or double 2004)
• Commercial and Public Space
• Growth Related 450,000 million square feet
• Replaced Space 580,000 million square feet
• Total New Space 1,030,000 (or 1.7 times 2004)

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Wasatch Front Population

• The six Wasatch Front Metroplex counties (Cache,
  Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber) are
  part of four Metropolitan Statistical Areas

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General Megapolitan Policy Implications

• The Megapolitan Interstate Network is Designed
  for Inter not Intra-Metropolitan Trips
• Megapolitan-Level Policies for Transportation,
  Environmental Pres. and Economic Development
• Plan for Urban RealmsEach Realm Needs Some
  Measure of Autonomy
• But Realms also Need More Effective Integration
  and Coordination

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Megapolitan Implications for Downtown

• Anchor a Vast RegionNot Just the Center of a
  Metro, but the Center of a Vast Booming Metroplex
• Needs to Grab Just a Small Share of this Boom to
  Significantly Grow
• Downtown is First Among Centers, Where the Idea
  of Urban Space is Spread Around the Region

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From the Brookings Press