We are headed for Montgomery, Alabama next week for preliminary interviews to gather information prior to a September charrette with DKP et al. Glenn is on the way to Greece via ship by now, yes, on a boat. In the meantime, we are also working on a project in Decatur, Alabama.

Question: why is the south such a hotbed of urban design? In the last 6 months our projects come from Fayetteville, AR, Memphis, TN, Lindale, TX, Decatur AL, Helotes, Tx, and Montgomery. All have asked for a redefinition of urban form to address the concerns of citizens, or to clean up the existing confusion. And the local developers are mostly on board; they get the difference and want to participate — as long as the local municipalities are willing to implement the code that will result in certainty. For an interesting example of how perceptions are changing see this editorial from Fayetteville on confusion (editorial from the Northwest Arkansas News, June 10, 2006):

“…Part of the problem, we think, is because there are no clear and precise guidelines telling developers what is or is not permissible… …[It is] essential that the city clarify and formalize its rules and regulations so developers won’t have to grope blindly for something that will be acceptable.”

Size Matters In Downtown Fayetteville
Apparently size matters in some areas of Fayetteville’s downtown and not so much in others.
Fayetteville council members earlier this week approved adding two more floors to the Marriott Renaissance Tower at the intersection of College Avenue and Mountain Street allowing the structure to soar to 18 stories.
A few blocks away on Dickson Street a project remains stalled because of the vertical height of the building.
The developers of Divinity Hotel and Condos on Dickson Street are embroiled in height controversy with the city and can’t even get the project through the planning commission, much less to the city council for approval.
The Divinity project was originally presented to the planning commission as a 15-story structure which sparked several hours of public discussion over a span of two months. Eventually the developer, the Barber Group, agreed to cut five stories from the building. Reducing the structure height by one-third still hasn’t satisfied some planning commissioners.
Opponents of the Divinity Hotel and Condos project say the height of the building doesn’t fit with the rest of Dickson street, a collection of mostly one story buildings built more than 50 years ago.
The same could be said for the Walton Arts Center when it was proposed for Dickson Street. The two story arts and entertainment building with its smooth lines, glass and green space is different from the bars and restaurants that compose the majority of business along one of the main streets leading to the University of Arkansas.
Others claim the height of this new building would block the view of Old Main, a UA campus icon.
Fayetteville is an eclectic city. No matter what project or development is presented there are groups waiting in the wings to support or denounce it with equally fervid rhetoric. While these groups may not represent the majority of Fayetteville residents they are the most vocal and therefore attract the most attention.
It seems the most vocal groups don’t want to cut down trees; they don’t want urban sprawl; nor do they want tall buildings in their city.
Which leaves us wondering how is Fayetteville going to continue to grow? If you don’t want sprawl and you can’t increase the height of the buildings what’s left — underground homes and buildings? How about a subway system linking all of Northwest Arkansas?
Who are we kidding? Since it might endanger a rare species of Ozark earthworms, there’s probably a group against underground construction as well.
Leaving aside the arguments over any individual project, and the question of how high is too high for Dickson Street, the flap over the Divinity Building project tells us the city has a problem.
The developers have made a clear effort to work with the city through its staff and the planning commission but have, as yet, been unable to come up with a plan that’s been deemed compatible. Part of the problem, we think, is because there are no clear and precise guidelines telling developers what is or is not permissible.
It wasn’t such a problem when Fayetteville was a sleepy college town. Developers were primarily local residents and they knew and were known by everyone else in town. Deals could be done and accommodations reached in a more casual manner. Not many projects were time-sensitive and fewer still were new and different.
That’s not the case anymore. Fayetteville is growing fast, along with the rest of Northwest Arkansas, and change is everywhere. Not everyone shares the same notion of what Fayetteville is and what it should be. Those differences make it essential that the city clarify and formalize its rules and regulations so developers won’t have to grope blindly for something that will be acceptable.

So there we are. Couldn’t have said it better myself. There is clearly a new idea moving forward of how cities and the private sector need to work together to get things done. And it seems be rolling forward in the southern states. Do they know something about cities that us poor northerners have forgotten?