Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Nebraska

Omaha Developer Sells “Walkable Main Street” of Parking Lots

This development in Omaha is being as a "walkable" "Main Street." Image: Lockwood Development via Strong Towns
This development in Omaha is being billed as a "Main Street." The white space is parking. Image: Lockwood Development via Strong Towns
false

As the downside of sprawling development becomes better understood, some developers are getting better at greenwashing sprawl.

Here's a pretty great example from Omaha, Nebraska. Charles Marohn at Strong Towns came across a story about Lockwood Development's new office park in the Omaha World-Herald. And he was so taken aback by the disparity between the rhetoric and the actual design, he had to write about it:

It uses all the current buzz words....

Mixed use. Redevelopment. Independent living. Walkable. Main Street.

Do those words mean anything? Sadly, Omaha's Sterling Ridge Development -- a so-called "Main Street" concept -- is not even a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is a wolf in wolves' clothing.

My favorite quote from the article, where words are simply objects with no real meaning, is this one: "The architects said the idea is for the multipurpose campus to be a walkable community where people work, live, play and worship."

How quaint.

Fortunately, Marohn says, World-Herald readers seem to see through the flowery language. "This is not a 'Main Street' scheme," wrote one. "It's an office park defined by vast stretches of surface parking."

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Wash Cycle shares a great new video explaining how protected bike lanes are changing the way people get around in American cities. Exit 133 reports the epic urban-planning battle between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses will be turned into an opera. And Bike Portland says a local animal shelter is refusing adoptions to folks who plan to bike their new pets home from the shelter.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Are Friday’s Headlines the New Normal?

Transit ridership hasn't come all the way back from the pandemic, and they're going to need more federal help, along with other changes, says Governing magazine.

May 3, 2024

Friday Video: How to Make Places Safe For Non-Drivers After Dark

A top Paris pedestrian planner, a leading GIS professional, and Streetsblog's own Kea Wilson weigh in on the roots of America's nighttime road safety crisis, and the strategies that can help end it.

May 3, 2024

OPINION: Congestion Pricing Will Help My Family Get Around As We Navigate Cancer Treatment

My partner was recently diagnosed with cancer. Congestion pricing will make getting her to treatment faster and easier.

May 3, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Money is a Lot of Different Things

It's Part II of our discussion with Jim Kumon!

May 2, 2024

If Thursday’s Headlines Build It, They Will Come

Why can the U.S. quickly rebuild a bridge for cars, but not do the same for transit? It comes down to political will and a reliance on consultants.

May 2, 2024
See all posts