#lean urbanism

[farrassociates]

Farr Associates Chosen to Lead Detroit Pink Zoning Design Team

Farr Associates proudly announces that we have been chosen to lead a design team for the City of Detroit's Pink Zoning Initiative. We're thrilled to be joined by our team members PlaceMakers and CHA on this exciting opportunity to encourage innovation and reduce the red tape in redeveloping Detroit's neighborhoods.

“Pink” Zoning refers to a lessening of the “red tape” that can quickly thwart revitalization initiatives. Process inefficiencies, outdated ordinances, and rigid code interpretations often strangle the most creative place-making projects, resulting in urban environments that fall far short of their potential.

Detroit’s planning department has selected three design firm partners to help the city create a vision for revitalizing its vacant commercial strips and reducing the bureaucratic hurdles that can stand in the way of redevelopment.  Farr Associates/PlaceMakers/CHA, SmithGroupJJR, and Laavu were selected from among 38 high-quality submissions received from across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Pink Zoning Detroit targets three commercial corridors in the city, for which the selected firms will create a vision for redevelopment. Then, those ideas will be tested against the City’s existing approval processes to identify how City codes or regulations may be changed to make redevelopment simpler. 

“These three teams combine deep Detroit roots, high-quality design talent, and proven experience with negotiating complex regulatory processes,” City of Detroit Planning Director Maurice Cox said. “We’re delighted to be working with such exceptional teams to shape the urban life our neighborhoods deserve.”

The winning teams will spend the next seven months exploring bold design and development strategies for Detroit’s commercial corridors. Each team will receive a stipend to support their work, funded through a Knight Cities Challenge Award from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Doug Farr, who grew up on Detroit’s East Side and attended Cass Tech and the University of Michigan before founding Farr Associates in Chicago, said “I credit Detroit with leading me to my chosen profession as an architect and town planner. Our team is thrilled at this opportunity to apply our best ideas back home.” Farr Associates is partnering with PlaceMakers—national coding leaders who recently organized the Detroit Lean Code Workshop—and Christian Hurttienne Architects, a Grosse Pointe firm with extensive experience in small-scale building design and historic preservation in Detroit.

http://pinkzoningdetroit.org/

[hborys]

Last week, in the Congress for the New Urbanism’s “Public Square” blog, sociologist David Brain outlined strategies for a Lean charrette, which is a work-in-progress concept designed to match up wi...

Making public design workshops lean.

[davidbrussat]

Park or party at the Facade

Park or party at the Facade

Lovecraft party behind the Weybosset facade, all that remains of Providence National Bank, at left. Industrial Trust (“Superman”) Building is at right. (Photos by David Brussat)

The convention celebrating the 125th birthday of, and all things relating to, H.P. Lovecraft hosted a party in the parking lot behind the naked façade, next to the Arcade, that is all that remains of the Providence…

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[alexinsd]

In way that New Urbanism might have been right for the U.S. and our sagging downtowns back in the 1980s, this feels right for the way that we've not only changed as a county, urbanism-wise, but also for the way we share ideas and work together. It's more about the process than the aesthetics. I hope Lean Urbanism results in some authentic, empowering, and beautifully messy communities.

Why Is New Urbanism So Gosh Darn Creepy?

Alissa Walker

[citycommunities-blog]

Not New Urbanism, but Lean Urbanism

"Common sense has been almost completely lost in my profession," says the architect.

[thisiscitylab]

Lean urbanism should resonate not only with the younger generation of planners and designers who want to have an impact, but others who harbor a libertarian streak. At least some attracted to the Tea Party, Duany says, have had a bad experience with government regulation that has prevented them from doing something they feel is sensible.

-Why Andres Duany Is So Focused on Making 'Lean Urbanism' a Thing

[Image: Michigan Municipal League]

[brandondonnelly]

New urban planning buzzword: Lean Urbanism

The term "lean" is well known in technology and startup circles. Thanks to people like Eric Ries and Steve Blank, it's become all about starting up lean and not investing a lot of time and money before you've really tested your business assumptions in the marketplace.

But keeping it lean isn't unique to just tech companies. Its origins are actually in manufacturing--mostly from Toyota's celebrated production system. Lately though, it has been starting to make its way into cities with a new buzzword called "Lean Urbanism."

Championed by New Urbanist Andres Duany--who is actually in the midst of writing a book on the topic--the methodology seems to be gaining awareness in cities spanning from Detroit to San Diego. Here's an article that a friend of mine (currently working in San Diego) sent me yesterday on the topic.

At first, the article gave me the impression that the movement was all about building as-of-right. That is, build what's allowed and stop asking for special discretionary permissions, which is often how real estate development works.

But then I started to do a bit more research.

And it turns out that Lean Urbanism is about something much deeper. It's about empowering incremental urban growth:

"Lean Urbanism...focuses on revitalizing cities by finding ways for people to participate in community-building -- specifically, by enabling everyday people to get things done."

What Lean Urbanism hopes to do is create tools and techniques that will help local communities avoid and workaround overly onerous regulations. It's about removing the barriers to entry--whether that be a business permit or a building permit--so that more people can participate in shaping their own community.

What I like about it is that it's building upon the renewal cycle that has traditionally always powered cities. It hopes to empower the proverbial artist that moves into a neighborhood like New York's Soho and magically makes it cool--then spurring an onslaught of investment.

And so while the buzzword might be new, it's a renewal cycle we've seen before. But, if it works, maybe not with so much frequency.

[urbangeographies]

DETROIT:  A Model of "Lean Urbanism"?

The Knight Foundation has funded a "Project for Lean Urbanism," proposed by Andrés Duany. Conceptually situated between the approaches of Tactical Urbanism and New Urbanism, Lean Urbanism focuses on revitalizing cities by encouraging people to participate in community-building. In a recent article, Duany explains the concept to be applied to Detroit: 

“Detroit is now a place where risk-oblivious millennials can get things done. This is too difficult in most places because of regulations, bureaucracy that makes it impossible to bake a cookie for sale without a certified kitchen, an accessible bathroom and constant inspections.”

Will this approach succeed in revitalizing the bankrupt city? What are the pros and cons? Will the "risk-oblivious millennials save the city? Stay tuned...