There’s one aspect of Anthony Bourdain’s television show “No Reservations” that I always connect with – I’m a big fan of street food. And not just for the obvious reasons of quick, cheap and sometimes really tasty meals.

More than anything, I like street food because, well, it gets people out on the street. And if we step back from all the beautiful renderings of attractive buildings and street scenes in our development plans, isn’t that the bottom line for what we want – life on the street?

It seems we have a constant tension in our communities between doing the things that actually create life and vibrancy and a desire to “tame” that, or at least pretty it up. In most cases, I’d urge us to let loose the reigns a bit, and allow more spontaneity in the street scene. Food carts, mobile trucks, etc. all fall into this category. I remember in my own city that at least one city councilman wanted to essentially eliminate most sidewalk operations downtown or corral them into a few designated areas. But good cities, (and by good I mean places where people actually walk) are not sterile mall food courts. The best places encourage these sorts of start-up operations as a means to encouraging other forms of business and to add local color and flavor.

In these times of tighter money, it’s also good to consider the other benefits of street food operations – they are cheap to start up (entrepreneurial), they can hide ugly parking lots in the short-term (aesthetic), they get people outside and visible (seeds the urban market), they are small enough that a few in a row can relieve monotony (creates pedestrian interest).

So, as you think about ways to take first steps in your walkable areas, please consider the value of street food operations. Review your ordinances and procedures to see what kind of burdens are placed on these operations. Remember the golden rule of community planning – make the good stuff easy to do.

Admittedly it’s a working title, but as we have worked in communities all across the U.S., it’s clear that what so many places are seeking is simple economic development. And why is that – why the relentless search for more growth, more revenue, more employment?

The simple answer is – most of our places simply cannot afford to maintain the infrastructure we have built and need new revenue sources to keep up the illusion.

Over the last 30 years there have literally been countless studies showing that our typical built pattern of low-density suburban sprawl does not pay for itself. In other words, this pattern is too inefficient to generate enough revenue to cover the municipal services that people expect. And so, cities and other government agencies tend to pursue a variety of actions:

1. Zoning out lower and middle-income development in favor of high-end only (increased property taxes)
2. Reducing citizen services
3. Increasing taxes and fees
4. Chasing every new development that can generate revenue, regardless of long-term plans

All of these are earnest attempts to try and balance short-term needs with the current development pattern. The problem, though, is how destructive these approaches are to long-term sustainability. We need to change the pattern.

And so, this series will focus in 2 primary areas: how we can focus on the long-term health of our communities, and some short-term techniques we can try now to take steps in the right direction. Long-term strategic thinking and short-term actions is another way to say it.

It’s certainly our opinion that the primary way back to prosperity for many of our communities is to change the development pattern. Compact, mixed use, walkable neighborhoods are not just a lifestyle choice – they are inherently more stable over the long term, and far more efficient to serve. By no means does this imply that every neighborhood has to become high-rise. In fact, some of our best examples are the normal, “boring” neighborhoods from the late 19th century through the early 20th century. You probably know an example or two in your own community – they mix single family homes with apartments, narrow streets, neighborhood shops and community buildings.

So in the coming weeks we’ll share examples, thoughts, techniques and more to hopefully provoke some thinking. Please feel free to give us feedback on anything that is shared – we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Here’s a look at the vibrant downtown of Traverse City, Michigan.

I recently visited Wyoming, Mich. to make a presentation at a joint City Council / Planning Commission / Downtown Development Authority meeting. The discussion involved ideas for redeveloping a key corridor that is the city’s “downtown.”

28th Street is in many ways a typical first-ring suburban corridor, complete with a first-generation enclosed mall, a defunct movie theatre, pad sites and auto-oriented services. However, the city is interested in transforming at least a portion of the 3-mile stretch into a real “downtown” complete with a mix of commercial, residential and civic buildings. The presentation included some basic concepts, as well as a discussion concerning how to use form-based zoning codes to implement a potential redevelopment plan.

Take a look at some of our ideas: