November 18, 2016 by CallisonRTKL

Doing More With Less

Despite losing the World Series, Cleveland can be an instructive example in an era of scarcity, says Nate Cherry.

I may live in Los Angeles now, but I am an Ohio boy when it comes to my sports teams. Although I left the state when I was 18, coming back for only short stints to visit family, I have been a Cleveland Browns (condolences, please), Cavs (awesome) and Indians fan my whole life. I saw the Cavs play in the old Cleveland Arena, Richfield Coliseum and Quicken Loans Arena in the early 70s, 80s and 90s and 00s. I saw some great Browns teams play in Municipal stadium, but my first love has always been the Indians.

Despite their recent World Series loss, I am proud of how the team was able to compete at such a high level with very limited resources. Of the 30 MLB teams, only two teams had smaller attendance this year than the Tribe. Team salaries ranked 24th. They won 3 out of the first 4 games of the World Series using a platoon system, 3 starters and a bevy of relief pitching. They optimized what they had, performing at the highest level.

In an era of scarcity, it is an instructive example. We are confronted all the time with the challenge of doing the most we can with less. After 23 years of working with major municipalities and developers where money is tight and resources few, I find myself trying to channel my internal “Terry Francona” by inspiring people to rally together, work as one and find a way to make things happen that they care about, with the limited resources that can be easily brought to bear. With Cleveland as my inspiration, I offer stories of thrift, pluck and tenacity in the realm of planning and urban design that I have experienced over the last year.

BUILD A SYSTEM (NOT A QUICK FIX)

Cleveland has been one of the best MLB teams in developing a farm system that brings in a steady stream of young talent. Some of these players become stars, but not all. They also have become excellent at evaluating that talent and putting time and energy into developing it into something special. Can a city take a similar approach to its infrastructural investments?

The city of Honolulu ratified a transit program to build 21 elevated rail stations as part of a commuter system. The city is bound by the mountains on one site and the ocean on the other, forcing most car trips into a single east/west highway, H1. Traffic in Honolulu is regularly rated as the worst in the nation. Construction of the system has been halting, and projections for the system’s completion have ballooned from opening in 2019 to 2025 and even beyond. Although most agree that the system is absolutely needed, the political winds have blown for and against the system and will continue to do so.

Meanwhile, the Department of Planning and Permitting, without a lot of fee to allocate, has taken matters into its own hands and embarked upon an ambitious planning initiative to study the development opportunities and key infrastructure improvements around some of the key stations in the proposed system. Because transit will make these areas so much more efficient to get to and from, there are particular opportunities around each node in the system, particularly the airport, Aloha Stadium, downtown and Ala Moana Station areas—four of the city’s major commercial and shopping hubs. DPP has been tenacious and in particular, they have done several things smartly:

An extreme public process: DPP has branded their efforts, with each Transit-Oriented Development plan as a chapter in its overall effort. To date, they’ve held hundreds of outreach events—many of which including the mayor. This has allowed the DPP to be seen as “honest brokers,” orchestrating the best outcomes for the widest number.
A Focus on Developer Certainty: Although many of these TOD plans have not yet been approved by the city council, the act of putting the plans together has represented major alignment to development interests. In the year since the Ala Moana Plan was drafted, more than a dozen development proposals have come forward. Because they generally fit into the plan vision, each proposal is seen as generally contributing to a new, more transit-oriented growth pattern for the island.

Signaling change: Good planning is all about creating a nexus between private development and public benefit. To that end, the city has taken some of proposals for cycle tracks in the area and already implemented them. Not only is it encouraging bike usage and improving bike safety, but it’s signaling to the community that change is coming. The King Street cycle track is an example shown here. Total costs for these changes have been extremely small in scope.

Changing the community’s perceptions around transit takes many years, and it takes a series of small steps to get there. The community does not really understand where the money is going; it only expects results. DPP has done the city a great service by doing the TOD planning work and early implementation. Although construction of the transit system has been challenging, the TOD planning effort has allowed the community to participate in the positive change of the city NOW, while speculating about and participating in the future city.

SPEND MONEY WHEN YOU HAVE TO

At midseason, when they realized they had a team that could contend, Cleveland brought in a left-handed closer, Andrew Miller, to win more close games.

Cities can do something like this—becoming more economically stable by diversifying. For example, downtown Las Vegas has done a good job of diversifying its economy instead of competing directly with “The Strip.” While maintaining its role as younger, hipper and more diverse entertainment alternative, downtown has some core strengths upon which it can build. It has a stock of some of the oldest and most idiosyncratic gaming houses, a burgeoning arts community and some of the best and most diverse restaurants in the region. Young creatives are moving to downtown in significant numbers. Some of the development partners the city has attracted to the area include:

Economic Partners

Zappos: A powerhouse of customer service, Tony Hsieh’s company has invested heavily in downtown by buying a variety of properties and building housing, commercial spaces and support retail in order to address the needs of his workforce.
UNLV Medical: The city has actively worked to bring the school to downtown and has been supportive of its masterplan, which promises to attract billions in investment and thousands of jobs over the next 20 years.
Local Developers: The city has formed a steering committee of leading local developers as advisors to the various ongoing planning initiatives. One of the most important items the city has delivered is a new vision plan for downtown, which structures downtown development around transit. It plans for nearly 13 million GSF of mixed-use development over the next 30 years, along with expedited approvals, formation of a business improvement district and key infrastructure investments.

Cultural Elements

The Smith Center: The Smith Center has become a cultural hub in its own right providing hundreds of culturally significant events such as Broadway revues and the Las Vegas Symphony. Ongoing discussions are underway to build an iconic bridge across the railroad tracks to better connect the center to downtown.
Unique events: DTLV has done a great job bringing a wide contingent to downtown to downtown through aggressive event programming. This includes Life is Beautiful, one of the most successful and interesting outdoor music, art and food events in the western United States. This 4-day annual festival attracts a pure hipster community to downtown and is regularly attended by several hundred thousand concertgoers. Other events include Helldorado, Las Vegas’ annual rodeo, and the Las Vegas Marathon.

The Mob Museum: Las Vegas has a long and difficult history with the Mob, and it’s one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the city. Why turn ones back to it? Mayor Goodman’s link to this history and his showcasing of it is one of the smartest things the city has ever done, locating the museum in the old courthouse where the Kefauver Commission held its famous hearings.

Game-Changers

The NFL: The city has a 40-acre parcel called Cashman Field that will accommodate either an NFL venue for the Raiders, an MLS franchise or both. Plans for a multipurpose complex with retail, entertainment and a hotel clustered around the field are in the works. The role of major sports as an economic engine for the city is clear, and the Raider fan base seems a near perfect fit culturally for Las Vegas, as well.

Public Transit: Traffic and transportation are significant issues that the Regional Transit Authority is tackling. They want to improve auto-oriented infrastructure while also encouraging alternative mobility patterns in the city.

Similarly to Honolulu, Las Vegas has used its planning process as a way to engage developers and the local community, to build coalitions, focus on shared values and develop long-term strategies that leverage the strengths of the city.

BE TACTICAL

Manager Terry Francona put a lot of emphasis during the playoffs on winning today’s game—employing a tactical approach to the game in question. At a point in the season where one day makes all the difference, why get hung up on fielding the perfect team? Whether it was using most of the bullpen, platooning players, sacrificing a runner or stealing a base, he did everything he could to aggressively manage the situation to his teams benefit for that game at that moment.

In a time of scarcity, tactical urbanism often seems to be the most effective and can have a profound effect on the functionality of the city. Here are some examples:

LA’s Great Streets Program: Los Angeles currently has a mayor who is interested in tactical solutions when it comes to city streets. His initiative has a pool of grant money available to help pay for key urban amenities such as parklets, bike corrals and wayfinding signage. Its benefits, when combined with other programs such as Metro’s Bike Share program, can really change the functionality of an anonymous city street into a neighborhood gathering place.
Santa Monica’s Emphasis on Bike Mobility: With only so much roadway, progressive cities are investing in alternative transportation modes as means of alleviating traffic. Santa Monica provides places people can park once and get around by other means during the day. Transit improvements such as the Expo line have made it easier than ever to get downtown or to other major parts of the city. Bike amenities have been a key focus, with a bike share program, dedicated bike lanes throughout the city, a bike center with showers, storage and services and, most recently, a bike valet at the farmers market on Main Street. Studies show ridership increasing steadily in Santa Monica. Why are incremental approaches effective? In an auto-oriented society, people need to be gradually reprogrammed. Increased services and amenities oriented toward bikes tend to improve ridership.

LA Metro’s Increased Transit Service: In reaction to the popularity of the line, LA’s Metro Transit Authority has increased service on the Expo line during rush hour from every 12 minutes to every six minutes, while decreasing the number of cars on each train from 3 to 2. This improves service incrementally without an over commitment of resources.

TRUE LEADERSHIP

As 70% of all people will live in cities by the year 2050, it appears that cities will play a key role in effecting the most change in our everyday lives. Cities are increasingly where we live, commute, earn a living, get an education, raise our children and yes, form allegiances to sports teams. Like being part of a great playoff run, the best cities will raise our aspirations, get us to think bigger and help us imagine a future of greater possibility, often with quite limited resources.

Bio
Latest Posts

CallisonRTKL

For more than five decades, Callison and RTKL have created some of the world’s most memorable and successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions and public entities. In 2015, our two practices came together under the Arcadis umbrella, expanding our sphere of influence and the depth and breadth of our resources. Our team is comprised of nearly 2,000 creative, innovative professionals throughout the world who are committed to advancing our client’s businesses and enhancing quality of life.