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Title: The D Word Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of Architects


1
The D WordCAN GREATER BOSTON DEVELOP EFFECTIVE
POLICIES TO PROMOTE DENSE DEVELOPMENT?

A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BYRappaport Institute for
Greater BostonBoston Society of Architects
2
The D WordTHE BASIC REALITYRappaport Institute
for Greater Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • To be or not to be is not the question


Economist Ed Moscovitch argues that unless
Massachusetts is willing to stagnate as a state
and regional economy, we need more population and
economic activity . . . which needs to be located
somewhere where its not right now. The question
is not whether to have greater density, but
where. Most opponents of density do not oppose
density somewhere, but rather their particular
somewhere. Thats called NIMBYism.
3
The D WordTHE BASIC REALITYRappaport Institute
for Greater Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • Bipolar disorder Dense in the middle . . .

  • The urban core (Boston, Cambridge, and adjacent
    communities) has held firm
  • Employment gains from 1.2 million jobs in 1970
    to 1.9 million jobs in 2000
  • Population now rising in Boston and other cities.
  • Over 50 of trips to downtown Boston are by
    transit, foot, or other alternatives to cars.
  • Transit investments helped revive urban centers
    Porter Square in Cambridge, Davis Square in
    Somerville
  • Major new projects spurred by next generation of
    transit Fan Pier and Commonwealth Flats on South
    Boston waterfront Northpoint in East Cambridge

Graphic and data courtesy of Jay Wickersham
4
The D WordTHE BASIC REALITYRappaport Institute
for Greater Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • . . . but increasingly spread out on the periphery

  • Suburbs show continuing patterns of sprawl
  • Fastest population, employment gains in the
    Boston region at its outer edge along I-495
    corridor and on Cape Cod
  • Average population density in Boston region is
    only half the density of Los Angeles
  • Auto ownership, auto miles traveled, continue to
    rise in Boston region.
  • Affordable housing crisis virtually every town
    in Massachusetts outside of the urban cores has
    zoned out dense multi-family housing.

Graphic and data courtesy of Jay Wickersham
5
The D WordDENSITY IN CONTEXT HISTORY Rappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Was urban density a historic accident?
  • As Douglas Rae points out in his magisterial new
    work City, the kind of density and village life
    that New Urbanists celebrate today resulted from
    two lacks a lack of personal transport systems
    and fully-extended electricity grids.
  • Early in the 20th century, people settled in
    tight urban villages, for a limited period,
    because they had no choice. But with the rise of
    the automobile and nationwide grid, people could
    live and work anywhere and have chosen to do
    so.
  • Conclusion The vital urban village is, with a
    few exceptions, a leftover from the past.

6
The D Word DENSITY IN CONTEXT ECONOMY Rappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Ed Glaesers rules for healthy regional economies

1. Innovate or stagnate At each turning point
during its long history, Boston has changed
primary industries and revamped itself. Every one
of Bostons rebirths has been led by smart,
ambitious people who had access to capital and
who wanted to stay in or come to Boston Bostons
success hinges critically on the quality of its
schools and on its ability to attract
high-skilled residents. 2. Value diversity and
complexity Apart from allowing a city to hedge
against a particular industrys decline,
diversity seems to engender growth in its own
right. If, as many think, new ideas come from
combining older ideas, then diversity means that
there are a lot of old ideas around to combine. A
diverse economy means infrastructure that
supports industrial interactions, as well as
suppliers who can cater to new start-ups that
spin off from established industries.
7
The D WordDENSITY IN CONTEXT ECONOMY Rappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
Ed Glaesers rules (cont.)
3. Attract people, not companies Increasingly,
urbanists draw a distinction between producer
cities and consumer cities. Producer cities grow
because of the desire of firms to locate in a
particular place where economic returns are
higher, while consumer cities thrive because
people want to live there. Over the past 50
years, consumer cities have enjoyed increasing
success, largely at the expense of producer
cities. 4. Invest in education and social
capital Human capital has been Bostons strongest
asset throughout its 400-year history. Skills
with sailing ships enabled the city to reinvent
itself as a global maritime center in the early
19th century. Yankee technology and Irish labor
together fueled industrialization. And today more
than ever, Bostons skills provide the impetus
for economic success in technology, professional
services and higher education.
8
The D WordDENSITY IN CONTEXT HOUSEHOLD
ECONOMICSRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Household Dimensions of TOD
  • Transportation expenses comprise 12 to 25 percent
    of household income nationwide. In Greater
    Boston, 14.5 percent of household budget goes for
    vehicle maintenance (5,506 annually) . Transit
    expenses (281 annually) would be less than 1
    percent of typical family budget
  • Boston-area households spend 13.7 billion on
    transportation only 4.9 percent for public
    transit
  • Low-car-ownership communities have loan approval
    rates 5 to 24 points higher than
    high-car-ownership communities
  • In the 1990s, home values appreciated 3.2 percent
    annually, while car values depreciated 8 percent
    annually

9
The D WordBARRIERS TO DENSITY TRENDS Rappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Density is hard to do
  • Gigantism in retail Wal-Mart now sells 12
    percent of all goods in the U.S. takes business
    away from neighborhood business districts
  • High levels of home ownership undermines the
    possibilities of multifamily housing
  • Rising car ownership encourages people to travel
    everywhere by car, even nearby desitinations
  • Globalization removes manufacturing and
    back-office jobs from urban communities
  • The tourist city removes the integration of
    everyday necessity from many urban destinations
  • Zoning institutionalizes large-scale and
    separatist development
  • Local school costs create resistance to housing

10
The D WordBARRIERS TO DENSITY SPRAWLRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Greater Bostons postwar highway system, growth
  • Spoke and ring system redistributes population
  • Jobs move out of the
  • hub of the region
  • If you build it, they will come? Does it
    matter?

11
The D WordBARRIERS TO DENSITY SPRAWLRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Retail and wholesale activities spread out

12
The D WordBARRIERS TO DENSITY
AUTO-MOTIONRappaport Institute for Greater
Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • Driving against density

Massachusetts has experienced a dramatic growth
in the number of cars on the road. Once people
have sunk costs in a technology, they tend to
use it more
13
The D Word DENSITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Can environmentalism foster density?
  • What happens when state and local governments
    protect land from housing and other development?
    Do we know?
  • Does it cause communities to concentrate
    development? Why or why not?
  • Does it cause a leapfrog effect in which
  • development gets pushed to more and more
  • distant suburbs?
  • Do state regulations on wetlands, septic
  • systems, and other local ecological conditions
  • set adequate standards? Or should localities
  • augment these standards?

14
The D WordDENSITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
Why open space is valued A 1995 poll
commissioned by the Regional Plan Association
found that the elements considered crucial for a
satisfactory quality of life were low crime with
safe streets and access to greenery and open
space. Parks raise property values
  • In Seattle, homes on the 12-mile Burke Gilman
    trail were sold for 6 more than other houses of
    comparable size.
  • In Salem, Oregon, land adjacent to a greenbelt
    was worth about 1,200 an acre more than land
    only 1,000 feet away.
  • In Oakland, a three-mile greenbelt around Lake
    Merritt, near the city center, added 41 million
    to neighboring property values.
  • In San Francisco, land around the Golden Gate
    Park increases in value from 500 million to 1
    billion, in the process generating 5-10 million
    in annual property taxes.

15
The D WordDENSITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • The clash of land-use and environmental law
  • Former MEPA director Jay Wickersham notes the
    need for a negative capability Keatss term
    for the ability to hold two completely
    contradictory ideas at the same time for a
    sophisticated approach to regional planning and
    density.
  • Land-use law begins with a presumption that
    property represents an individuals inalienable
    right against society
  • Environmental law begins with a presumption that
    the community holds certain interests above those
    of property holders.
  • How can these ideals interact and be reconciled?
    Did someone say density?

16
The D Word MARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
The hierarchy of urban centers
Lecture slides of Dr. J. Osleeb, City University
of New York
17
The D Word MARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDS
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
  • Rules of thumb for density
  • Developers and business people regularly talk
    about the need for a basic base of population.
    Local retail businesses require from 2,000 to
    3,000 units of housing within walking distance to
    support their sale
  • of goods and
  • services. Larger
  • businesses
  • especially in high-
  • rent areas
  • require even
  • greater catchment
  • areas.

18
The D WordMARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • Rules of thumb for density
  • Experts generally say transit-oriented
    development requires
  • A density of 12 units per acre within 1,300 feet
    of a transit station and 9 units per acre outside
    of that range
  • At least 1 sitting space for each 500 square
    feet.
  • Buildings should be 4 stories in this area, with
    a FAR of 1.5 (11 minimum)
  • Many people should live close enough to transit
    that their walk and wait time is a total of 10
    minutes.

19
The D WordMARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
Average Number of Retail Stores in Wisconsin's
Small Downtowns
20
The D WordMARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
21
The D WordMARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • The business case for density
  • As the population of an area increases, so does
    the potential for business activity . . . and
    local tax revenues

22
The D Word MARKET AREASAND THRESHOLDS
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
Different kinds of businesses locate in different
kinds of dense urban centers, serving different
economic sheds
23
MARKET AREAS AND THRESHOLDSRappaport Institute
for Greater Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • Types of trade centers
  • From local to regional retail market areas

24
The D WordSTRATEGIES TAPPING EXISTING
DEMANDRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • The Howell approach
  • Analysis of 600 businesses in 20 cities of all
    finds
  • After controlling for population, all cities need
    the same number of locksmiths, wooden crate
    producers, auto glass dealers, lumber
    wholesalers, gifts and novelty wholesalers,
    tobacco wholesalers, greeting card stores,
    handbag stores, retail nurseries, lunch wagons,
    and more than 600 other unglamorous but essential
    providers of goods and services.
  • In most cities, 10 to 15 percent of these
    businesses are undersupplied.
  • Upshot Those goods and services which are
    undersupplied represent opportunities for new
    business entrants as well as possibilities for
    expansion among existing firms, in order to take
    over market share from outside firms exporting
    into the local market area.

25
The D WordSTRATEGIES PLANNING
(SYSTEMS)Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Creating conditions for density
  • Give free rein and, where
  • appropriate, public facilities
  • to providers of transportation
  • alternatives (e.g., car-sharing,
  • jitneys, cabs)
  • Maintaining and modernizing
  • infrastructure to accommodate
  • changes in kinds and volumes
  • of business activities

26
The D WordSTRATEGIES PLANNING
(LOCATION) Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • Whats the best place to put density?
  • Existing Main Streets areas
  • Intersections and cross-sections
  • Destinations for work and play (hospitals,
    universities and schools, shopping, zoos,
    museums, etc.)
  • Historic places mills, warehouses, old
    downtowns, etc.
  • Sheds for not only transit but also auto
    traffic (see Calthorpe)
  • Public places that would be animated by more
    people e.g., major parks like Franklin Park,
    Neponset River area, Charles River in Watertown
  • High-growth communities, especially those with
    large youth populations

27
The D WordSTRATEGIES PLANNING (DESIGN)
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
  • Strategies for creating town villages
  • Overlay districts Areas in which different
    rules apply for parking, setbacks, mixed uses,
    sidewalks.
  • Main Streets model Foster improvements in the
    look and feel of business districts through
    community partnerships.
  • Controlling parking Control and carefully site
    the parking required for residences and
    businesses.
  • Station design Make transit stations and stops
    focal points.
  • Leverage points Identify the places where
    small improvements can make a difference (e.g.,
    bike racks, pushcarts, places to sit, bulletin
    boards).

28
The D Word STRATEGIES PLANNING (STREET
DESIGN)Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
The old way The old paradigm is simple a grid
of arterials spaced at one-mile increments with
major retail located at the intersections and
commercial strips lining its inhospitable but
very visible edges. Overlaying the grid in rings
and radials is the freeway system. The
intersection of the grid and freeway is fertile
ground for malls and office parks. This system is
rational, coherent, and true to itself, even if
increasingly dysfunctional.
29
The D WordSTRATEGIES PLANNING (STREET DESIGN)
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
Peter Calthorpes approach
To insist that we must build transit rather than
freeways is simplistic, just as calling for
infill development to the exclusion of new growth
is unrealistic. This is not to say that transit
and infill are trivial pursuits, but they are not
and never will be the whole story. We must
develop a new circulation pattern that will
accommodate cars as well as transit and will
reinforce walkable places rather than isolating
them. Bringing daily destinations closer to home
is a fundamental aspect of urbanism, but it is
not the complete solution to our access needs.
Peter Calthorpe, Beyond Neighborhood
Designing the Community and Region
30
The D Word STRATEGIES PLANNING (STREET DESIGN)
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
  • Can Calthorpes approach work in Greater Boston?

The distribution of traffic Centerline Road
mileage The majority of road miles are local
roads which are maintained by cities and towns.
Travel by roadway type Interstates make up
about 2 of all roads but carry 29 of all
traffic. Local roads carry only 14 of traffic.
31
The D WordSTRATEGIES REGULATIONS
(BUILDING)Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • What steps can be taken to enable density?
  • Transparency in all building regulations
  • Multifamily zones in all communities . . . with
    TDR and other tools to spare cities and towns
    that want to avoid multifamily housing
  • Zoning overlay districts that explicitly set
    aside areas for denser development
  • As-of-right zoning standards to minimize a
    thousand points of veto
  • Consistent state regulation of all building and
    rehabilitation activities for consistent rules
    of the road
  • Reduce parking requirements to reduce housing
    costs and leave more room for housing and
    business spaces
  • Lending practices that encourage multifamily
    housing (e.g., apartment programs, transit
    bonuses, lower parking ratios)

32
The D WordSTRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSIT Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • How does transit foster density?
  • Creates alternatives to automobile travel
  • Creates foot traffic that supports local
    businesses . . . And in turn supports greater
    clusters of population
  • Creates permanent identity at key crossroads
  • If planned well, transit
  • fosters a human scale
  • of development good street
  • walls, sensitive signage and
  • building designs, walkable streets

33
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Impacts of transit on real estate
  • Single-family homes near transit stations are
    valued 6.7 percent higher than the rest in
    Greater Boston
  • Single-family home prices double within six years
    after introduction of new transit service in 19
    Greater Boston communities
  • In San Francisco, reduced off-street parking
    requirements lower housing construction costs
    20,000 to 40,000 (off-street parking costs have
    a market value of 75,000)

34
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Building on investments The Big Dig
LOGAN AIRPORT
Map Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
35
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Building on investments The Big Dig
SOUTH STATION
Boston Wharf Co.
Map Massport overlay author
36
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Building on investments The Big Dig
Rendering Fan Pier Land Development Company
37
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Building on transit and other investments The
Big Dig
Rendering Massport
38
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • Residential density and transit


39
The D WordSTRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
Getting near trains is not enough
  • Distinguish between transit-oriented development
    and transit-adjacent development. TOD requires a
    commitment to transit on the part of the state,
    the town, and the developer
  • Minimum zoning densities
  • Requirements to mix uses
  • Constraints on parking supply
  • Site planning that favors walking,
  • biking, and transit over cars

Information courtesy of Jay Wickersham
40
The D WordSTRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
TOD initiatives in Boston
  • Uphams Corner area in Dorchester the signature
    TOD area for the BRA
  • South Boston planning under way near Transitway
    (Silbver Line), Moakley Court House, Convention
    Center
  • Housing under development at MBTA parking lots
    near Red Lines Ashmont Station
  • North Quincy Station 240 residential units under
    development under 90-year MBTA lease
  • Air rights development along Orange Line near
    Northeastern University, Green Line near North
    Station, parking lots near Wonderland Station
  • Fitchburg Commuter Line/Red Line near Porter
    Square 80 units of housing

41
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON
TRANSITRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • Fiscal limits for dense communities?

With transit already dominating transportation
investments, how much more is possible?
42
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON TRANSIT
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
  • Fiscal limits for dense communities?

With MBTA finances strained, transit investments
may be difficult
43
The D Word STRATEGIES BUILDING ON TRANSIT
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Boston
Society of Architects
  • Fiscal limits for dense communities?

With transit already dominating transportation
investments, how much more is possible?
44
The D WordSTRATEGIES INFILL DEVELOPMENTRappapor
t Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society
of Architects
Finding good locations for development
  • Dispose of publicly held land to developers
    willing to build densely such as old state
    hospital sites, property in tax arrears, etc.
  • Encourage development of abandoned mill towns,
    industrial properties, malls, and other
    grayfields
  • Encourage development near key arterial
    intersections, especially near ramps to major
    highways and corridors

45
The D WordSTRATEGIES INFILL DEVELOPMENTRappapor
t Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society
of Architects
Using the tax system
  • Create tax codes that encourage multifamily
    construction
  • Give tax benefits to developers, homeowners, and
    renters in denser areas
  • Give income tax revenues to communities that
    accept dense housing
  • Create real-estate tax benefits for businesses
    small in scale to locate near other businesses
  • Provide direct and indirect incentives for the
    redevelopment of greyfields malls and other
    large-scale developments

46
The D WordSTRATEGIES COORDINATION OF
DEVELOPMENTRappaport Institute for Greater
Boston Boston Society of Architects
  • You cant manage what you cant measure
  • Is Massachusetts or the MAPC or Boston or other
    municipalities ready for a comprehensive
    database-driven system of management system like
    CitiStat? What if the laws and regulations,
    projects, and proposals were all instantly
    available? Could transparency and reliable
    real-time data lead to better regional
    management? CitiStat-style systems now in the
    works in
  • Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
  • City of Boston (neighborhood response teams)
  • City of Somerville
  • City of Springfield
  • Could this be done regionally?
  • You didnt think Charlie Euchner would
    participate in a public event without pushing
    CitiStat, did you?

47
The D WordSTRATEGIES STATE TOOLSRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • What the Commonwealth offers
  • The MBTA works with communities on
    transit-oriented development if they seek it.
  • The MAPC has adopted a strategy for
  • concentrated development throughout the region
  • MEPA offers strong oversight of development
  • processes and encourages town village-style
  • development
  • EOEA and MAPC have developed buildout
  • analyses that suggest the costs and benefits of
  • different styles of development

48
The D WordSTRATEGIES REGIONAL
PLANNINGRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • Does regional fragmentation impede density
  • What can and should be planned regionally? How?
    With what authority?
  • What can and should be left to localities?
  • Is there a middle ground a system of incentives
    and tools to foster smaller-scale
    multi-jurisdictional planning?
  • Can clusters of neighboring communities
  • get the planning and fiscal tools they need
  • to share benefits and burdens of compact
  • development? Is the Urban Ring Compact
  • a good model? How about Telecom City?

49
The D WordSTRATEGIES REGIONAL
PLANNINGRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • A multifaceted approach
  • Require master plans to accommodate housing and
    tie master plans to zoning systems (like other
    states do)
  • Continue to use sticks like Chapter 40B to
    override local zoning
  • Offer good neighbor bonuses to adjacent
    communities that collaborate on housing,
    transportation, and other smart growth
    strategies
  • Create system of transparency with online
    databases
  • Regional planning that determines what mix of
    infrastructure, housing, office and retail
    spaces, manufacturing, etc., is needed (note
    Commonwealths regional planning under Barbara
    Berke)
  • The Glendenning approach Direct state aid to
    communities that accept density . . . and deprive
    greenfields of state aid

50
The D WordSTRATEGIES TAX POLICYRappaport
Institute for Greater Boston Boston Society of
Architects
  • How can tax policy foster density?
  • Can the state supplement mortgage deductions for
    multi-family developments, with the bonus going
    to renters and owner-occupied units?
  • Can the state and locality give other tax breaks
    to developers of multifamily units . . . say,
    between three and five units?
  • Can units with high parking minimums be taxed at
    a greater rate than units with low parking
    minimums?
  • Can the state increase its renter deduction?
  • Can localities adopt a dual-tax rate, which
    encourages the development of vacant parcels?

51
The D WordSTRAGEGIES FINANCIAL
INCENTIVESRappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Boston Society of Architects
  • Provide incentives to build housing
  • Housing of all kinds is resisted in neighborhoods
    because of additional cost of education and other
    services? What is to be done?
  • Commonwealth Housing Task Force
  • Give cities and towns up-front cash to create
    overlay districts for dense housing
  • Pay for public schooling of all students living
    in housing built in those districts
  • Help communities develop plans for housing in
    appropriate locations
  • Critiques of that approach
  • Not all parts of the state need housing its
    unfair to punish communities that dont need
    housing for not building housing
  • State commitment to grants and subsidies would
    not be reliable
  • Its not a given that transit nodes, town
    centers, and surplus properties are appropriate
    or economical for housing and mixed-use
    development
  • Communities that have already committed to
    housing development would lose out by not waiting
    until subsidies are available
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