Progress Through Undevelopment

Today Streetsblog Network member blog Hub and Spokes picks up on an interesting story from the LA Times about how falling real estate values could mean an opportunity to develop more public spaces:

46320039.jpgAn abandoned apartment complex in Tampa, Florida, might become a park instead of luxury condos. Photo by Martha Rial/St. Petersburg Times.

With all the foreclosure and false starts on major housing development projects a new trend is developing: un-development. Land
that had been acquired for future development is now being targeted as land that can be returned to its original use or some type of green space.… I know we are in discussion in St. Paul exactly about this idea. A 3-acre site that was going to be developed into housing might now instead be turned into a community green space.

Anyone out there have other local examples?

Other news from around the network: California High Speed Rail Blog asks what the state should do next to get HSR rolling; the National Journal wonders what effect cap-and-trade legislation would have on transportation; and CTA Tattler passes along an amusing story of how a sweaty bus ride might convince Illinois legislators that transit needs a source of capital funding.

Want to feature a widget with headlines and action alerts from the Streetsblog Network on your own blog? Or maybe just a cool badge that lets the world know you support livable streets? Click here to check out what we’ve got for you.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bringing Farms to the Heartland — of Suburbia

By Sarah Goodyear |
Today on the Streetsblog Network, St. Louis Urban Workshop looks at the concept of "agriburbia" — a way to bring some meaningful food production to suburban sprawl: In St. Louis, some farming goes on right next to the airport. [It’s] basically the integration of agri-business and suburban development. The idea is introduced in three ways: […]

Repairing the Neighborhood Scars Created By a Freeway

By Angie Schmitt |
There is no more potent neighborhood destroyer than a massive highway. But for many urban places around the country, their horizons were fixed by a freeway long ago. Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is sort of a classic example, says Adam Froehlig at Network blog Streets.mn: Built in the early 1970s on the east side of downtown […]

Why Cities Should “Steal” the Indianapolis Cultural Trail

By Angie Schmitt |
Indianapolis has set a great example for other cities with its “Cultural Trail,” eight miles of biking and walking routes through the heart of the city. According to a recent study, the $63 million project has been well worth it, drawing people downtown and leading to a surge in local business creation and hiring along the trail route. Alex Ihnen […]