Postmodern Urbanism:

The Restless Urban Landscape

Postmodern Urbanism – Central City Issues

Economic & Social Polarization: Spatial Mismatch

Economic & Social Polarization: Gentrification

Landscape Features: Festival Setting

Gentrification

A type of neighborhood change involving the replacement of lower income residents w/ middle or high income residents.

Most pronounced in world cities and regional centers that have evolved from older urban cores.

Production side explanation

“Rent Gap” – difference between cost of land, improvements AND value associated with “highest and best use”

Gentrification fueled by developers (Neil Smith’s early work)

Displacement of moderate income population as city becomes new “bourgeoisie playground”

SOHO NYC

Claire Dane’s Loft in NYC

“New Middle Class” – Consumption Side

Gentrification – Consumption Driven

Ley’s argument – new culture of consumption

Qualities of community

Assessing Gentrification

Production vs. Consumption -?

Merging of cultural & economic features in literature of gentrification

Postmodernism as “cultural clothing” of advanced capitalism

Knox’s List of Postmodern Urban Features

Gentrification Historic Preservation Postmodern architecture Mixed Use Development (MXD) Multiple Use Development (MUD) High-tech corridor Master planned suburban development Exurban development

Festival Settings

In attempt to enhance cities as places of consumption, cities support development of festival marketplaces and other ‘tourist’ attractions.

Ex.: Faneuil Market, Boston

Postmodern Urbanism – Postsuburban Development

What’s post-suburban about it? -- Suburban areas no longer primarily residential and, in fact, are creating new densities with functions competitive with central business district.

New vocabulary: “stealth” cities; Edge Cities; Technoburbs; High Tech Corridors; Asylum Suburbs

Edge City – joel garreau (1988)

Has five million square feet or more of leasable office space – the workplace of the Information Age

Has 600,000 square feet or more of leasable retail space

Has more jobs than bedrooms Is perceived by the population as one place Was nothing like “city” as recently as thirty years

ago

Flex-space

This concept combines “designer” office frontages w/ rear access loading bays and interior space that can be used as office, industrial, or warehousing space in any proportion.

Welton Enterprises, Inc.

High Quality Office/Industrial FlexSpace

Mixed Use Development

Harbor Square

Master Planned Communities

Features: “a definable boundary; a consistent but not necessarily uniform character; overall control during the development process by a single development entity; private ownership of recreational amenities; and, enforcement of convenants & restrictions by a master community associations.”

Prairie Crossing: “A Conservation Community”

Responses to Postmodern Conditions: New Urbanism

For Community?

For Environment?

For Market Niche?

Milwaukee Example

Beerline B – Ex. Trostel Square

New Urbanism

Community – ‘Neo-traditionalism’; local references, increased interaction

Environmental Critique – Pedestrian & transit orientation; Anti-sprawl w/higher densities

Market Niche – expensive master planned communities; ‘gentrification’ or New ‘Sub’urbanism