Enclosed vs. open-air spaces

[Stephen Gross]

Hi folks... I just posted a blog entry (http://grossreport.blogspot.com/2006/11 ... ublic.html) on the benefits (and problems) of enclosed public spaces. Given Lakewood's quasi-recent battle with the West End development, I was wondering what your thoughts were on whether enclosed public spaces are superior to open-air ones. What do you think?

Thanks for your ideas,

--Steve

[Tom Bullock]

Steve,
Safety and the weather seem to be the two key factors. When both are good, open space is great--preferable, even. Nobody in California ever goes indoors--they don't have to.

And Crocker Park/Legacy Village makes their urban villages so pleasant (and hopefully safe) that people choose to go there even when the weather is bad.

Since Lakewood has changing weather, probably the "stadium with a dome" approach is best--or as Jim pointed out on a different thread, a patio which can be covered or a Buffalo Wings-style front window design that can let in the elements during nice weather.

To get people to come it also needs to be pleasant, beautiful, high-quality, easy to park/walk, AND offer something they want to buy (a place to sit, a place to mingle, a place to buy stuff they need).

Let's hear from some Chamber of Commerce folks. What is the Chamber's plan? We would benefit from their expertise.

[Kenneth Warren]

Steve:

It seems to me that you are suggesting a rooftop provides yet another layer of security, in addition to the gates and guards, another layer required by the uneasy psyches of upscale shoppers for whom the pathologically inclined poor will always signal chaos, crime and deterioration in ideal conditions for the one-up consumption model at the base of gentrification.

Is the rooftop an effective spatial cue for signaling abatement and mitigation of chaos and crime by virtue of shutting out the natural elements?

I doubt it.

For the skittish it will take more than a rooftop to advance the construction of social norms among the economically disadvantaged in order that the safe and sound appearance of upscale shopping values may obtain in the urban spaces of 21st century America.

Isn’t that why Ohio passed conceal carry.

Kenneth Warren

[Tom Bullock]

For the skittish it will take more than a rooftop

Apt observations by Ken, triggering a couple thoughts:

1) some of the market (residents and shoppers) will always be skittish and can't be reached;

2) not everyone wants what Lakewood has to offer (dense, diverse town), but enough do that we can have a successful (and even more excellent) hometown (I borrow this argument from another);

3) could *some* of the skittish be taught that there's no need to be skittish? Could they be acclimated to Lakewood's diverse churn--even learn to love it--if we had lots more street fests (a la the art festival) which included some forums or interactions?

Most Lakewood Alive forums are attended by professional class residents (no criticism whatsoever in that observation), so that venue may not be doing the teaching and acclimating. But doesn't high school teach kids north of Lake how to live with kids south of Detroit? There probably *is* a way...

[Brad Babcock]

The more outside life we can generate, the better.
We are hemmed-in by the weather 4-5 months out of the year.
I will say that having lived in Florida for a few years, the heat can be every bit as oppressive as the cold...folks dash from air-conditioned houses to air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned shops and offices.
In Lakewood, sheltered outdoor areas with some portable heaters wherever practical, can be used most of the year. We are in Ohio, not Minnesota. Yes, I have worked in Minnesota in February. There is a difference between Cleveland cold and International Falls cold.
More street events introduce more people to Lakewood. As a prime example, one very socially skittish individual from Medina braved the trip into Lakewood for the Kar Kulture show. He was amazed and pleasantly surprised by his first exposure to Lakewood.
The more of these exposures we get, the more people will venture into Lakewood, then come back to patronize our great assortment of restaurants and shops.
Some towns do a neat winter-fest thing with ice sculpturing. Medina did a neat one last year on their square, and I saw a great one while working near Frankenmuth, Michigan. Lakewood is somewhat hampered in that we don't really have a square surrounded by shops to center an event like this, but we do have a nice park at the north end of Belle that is big enough to handle something like this. Add some music and some local (Lakewood) vendor stands...

[Stephen Gross]

I think the general consensus is that open-air spaces, at least in Lakewood, make a lot of sense. I think enclosed spaces are a good bet for very depressed urban areas, but Lakewood doesn't qualify (thankfully!).

I do think Lakewood's main retail drags--Madison & Detroit--need a lot of work if we want to drum up any appreciable degree of urban / pedestrian life. Unfortunately, the relatively low density of retail on those streets is a real challenge. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Do people want to create urban / public life in Lakewood?

--Steve

[dl meckes]

Do people want to create urban / public life in Lakewood?

--Steve

How do you define that?

[Tom Bullock]

Do people want to create urban / public life in Lakewood?

--Steve

Steve, absolutely. That's why many of us are here. Some may be here for affordability, but others, including me, feel at home in Lakewood precisely *because* it's an urban mix, diverse, dense, has very successful parks and public institutions.

If I wanted a exurban ghetto, I'd go to Olmsted Township and exist at my subdivision's stripmall.

We've already *got* this (Melt, bela dubby, record stores, art galleries, diverse pubs, domino clubs over coffee, bavarian bakery, diverse churches) but could package and concentrate it better.

What do you have in mind?

[Stephen Gross]

[quote="Tom Powell-Bullock"]What do you have in mind?[/quote]

Ah, that's a big question! I could go on for awhile about that... Rather than give you an entire dissertation on the subject, I'll give you a couple of quick thoughts:

(1) Check out my blog--in many ways, it's my way of suggesting ideas on this subject.

(2) Lakewood's retail strips (Detroit & Madison) need to be rezoned to encourage cluster development. Currently, the entirely stretch of each road is zoned for commercial use. This encourages businesses to locate in a spread-out fashion. If you rezone it to allow business use only in, say a half-dozen clusters per road you could create a dozen concentrations of business activity.

(3) Why is the concentration necessary? Because you have to reach a critical mass of location-based activity to achieve the qualitative change to an urban, public space.

(4) Relax regulations on signage and fronting. Detroit & Madison have really boring storefronts. Stores--from a visually experiential perspective--have little identity.

(5) Promote the formation of business owners associations, based in those business clusters. Provide matching funds from the city to encourage those associations.

(6) Widen sidewalks!

(7) Concentrate on Lakewood's downtown (Detroit @ the hospital) as the primary public place of interest. Consider re-routing traffic. Rebuild the belle ave / detroit intersection to be a normal X intersection.

(8) Relocate the open parking lot at Warren & Detroit; use the newly opened space as a central public space. Consider using it as a park.

(9) Encourage unified visual identities within business clusters.

Anyway, those are some quick thoughts....

--Steve