UPDATE: The Duany lecture has been canceled.  See this more recent post for more details.

On Thursday April 16th, New Urbanist extraordinare, Andres Duany, will open his three day SmartCode workshop in Decatur with a free talk about Smart Growth principles from 5:30p-8p at Holy Trinity Parish (515 E. Ponce de Leon Ave).

A book signing will follow the event.

Duany never disappoints, so come see what’s sure to be an entertaining romp through the principles and benefits of smart growth.

Thanks to Bo for forwarding!

The full press release can be found after the jump, which includes a little love for Decatur and a quote from Lyn Menne. Read the rest of this entry »

As the AJC reports this morning, the “Element” condos at Atlantic Station are auctioning off 40 condos on February 28th, with minimum bid prices up to 59% less than the last asking price.  A 1 bedroom/1 bath starts at $95,000!

This surplus of available condos may indeed be in part the result of bad timing in a terrible market.  No one wants to own a condo in this kind of landscape…

“Intown Atlanta is awash in 6,000 unsold condos, according to the local real estate consultant Haddow & Co. Just 66 new units sold in the second half of 2008, Haddow & Co. says. For the year, 645 new condos changed hands, which is 76 percent below the average of the previous eight years.”

But there’s still a lot to learn from this lack of demand and we shouldn’t waste a perfectly good down-market to gauge what types of development are actually desired by residents and what types are just bought up by speculators that have no desire to live there.  Those that designed, built and promoted Atlantic Station as mixed use, should still acknowledge the short-comings of their model city-within-a-city.

Any mini-city built from the ground up will have its share of problems.  It doesn’t have the luxury of an organic city with years of trial and error under its belt, having adapted to the needs and desires of its specific population.  But beyond that, I believe that poorly executed “smart growth” properties like Atlantic Station, often display signs of something I would label as “automobile hypocrisy”.

Like every other “smart growth” model that drives me insane, these developments bend over backwards to cater to the car while simultaneously promoting it as a “smart growth” district.  They show sidewalks and parks in advertising, making all kinds of false promises to potential residents and customers about the walkability and community aspects of the district, while building massive underground parking decks and major thoroughfares that are impossible to walk along. This actually does damage to the public face of smart growth, as the average citizen sees these failed projects as emblematic of the failure of the movement.

The planners of these communities might have actually thought they had the answer.  They thought they could have the best of both worlds – catering to all metro-Atlanta commuters, while simultaneously creating a walkable community.   But the results say otherwise.  Atlantic Station can’t sell its condos because everyone wants to visit and shop at H&M but few want to live (and even fewer want to walk around) there.

But there is hope yet for places like AS.  Like everything else in our built environment, it will also soon be subject to change.  Exterior forces will alter it in ways not yet imagined and they will either adapt or disappear.

The first chapter is already written.  But unless those close to Atlantic Station realize that its not just a down market that leads to $90,000 condos, they will continue to do a larger share of the suffering.

Catherine reports that there are two new questions posted on the city’s “Open City Hall” webpage.

The first question sounds like its in anticipation of updating the city’s strategic plan for 2010:

Should the City continue it’s Smart Growth strategy in downtown Decatur?

The second sounds like its looking for affirmation on a big part of the city’s existing Community Transportation Plan:

Should major intersections be rebuilt to promote bicycle and pedestrian uses, even if motorists are inconvenienced?

For those new to this feedback system, answers are ultimately compiled and presented to the city commission for consideration.

Oh, by the way – yes and yes.

HA! Wouldn’t that be an awesome City of Decatur bumper sticker?! Hmm…Decatur Metro reserves all rights…there! Let the pennies start rolling in…

Anyway…back to the issue at hand.

In response to a July 15th commentary in the AJC by DriftGrift favorite Jim Wooten, which argues that Atlanta needs to increase road capacities before allowing any other new development projects, David Allman (chair of the Buckhead Community Improvement District and the Livable Communities Coalition) has written a response, which uses Decatur as a central part of his argument.

“Build neighborhoods that combine housing and retail stores. It’s almost possible to imagine living without a car in downtown Decatur. There are apartments, condos, single-family homes and townhouses within walking distance of coffee shops, restaurants, a drugstore, a park and bandstand, a MARTA rail stop and much more. You don’t have to give up your car or like downtown Decatur to appreciate the fact that many of those good people who do aren’t driving as much as the rest of us and leave the streets at least a little less crowded.”

Love us or hate us…we’re freeing up the streets for the rest of you. Wow…we’re so great, even ultra-sassy Buckhead wants to be more like us! (Lord…I’m such a sarcastic cheerleader this morning…)

OK, in all seriousness, I do think Wooten has a valid point to convey about developers disguising projects as “mixed use” and then bringing in big box stores and building massive parking decks below ground so it still draws an endless parade of cars. (type “Sembler” into the search field to see all my old posts regarding that once ridiculous “smart growth” project) This garbage gives real smart growth a bad name. However, I obviously take issue with Wooten’s conclusion that we need a greater number of roads/lanes. Even if we choose to forgo the whole sustainability argument, did he even stop to see the price of gas this morning? People can’t afford a transportation system dominated by the car anymore. Sorry. Welcome to 2008.

We need more REAL smart growth, which actually allows people to get around without using 20% of their income on transport. And the only way that developers will even begin to consider such projects is with the proper infrastructure (a more expansive, better-funded light rail/bus system, bike lanes, etc…)

UPDATE: These declines are even larger than first reported. They are not the total decline from the first date to the second, but an average decline PER YEAR from the first date to the second.  The total declines are more like 20% for most of these intersections.  That’s a huge drop!

While metro Atlanta’s population exploded since 2000, smart (growth) ol’ Decatur actually experienced a decline in cars on the road during the same period according to GDOT and other independent data. Where can one find this particular data? Out of the 315 W. Ponce traffic study!

While I did take note of this data on page 6 of the study the first time I went through it, Lyn prompted me to go back and take another look.

There’s two sets of data…first from the GDOT…

At the intersection of Church and Ponce, traffic declined 4.31% PER YEAR from 2001 to 2006.

At the intersection of Clairemont and Garden Lane, traffic declined 4.37% PER YEAR from 2001 to 2006.

The other set of data uses a much smaller base (hundreds instead of thousands) and compares count data from a 1999 “speed study” to data collected specifically for the 315 project.

At the intersection of Ponce and Ponce Place, traffic declined 2.65% PER YEAR from 1999 to 2008.

At the intersection of Fairview and Montgomery, traffic declined 4.31% PER YEAR from 1999 to 2008.

At the intersection of Oakland and Wilton, traffic declined 3.63% PER YEAR from 1999 to 2008.

At the intersection of Oakland and Ponce Place, traffic declined 2.35% PER YEAR from 1999 to 2008.

Lyn also hinted that a GA Tech carbon emissions study, which will be presented at the commission meeting tonight, will also back up the data above.

Momentum for Atlanta’s Beltline project continues to build.

The almighty Robert W. Woodruff foundation has announced an $8 million gift towards the proposed North Avenue park along the Beltline. According to maps on the Beltline website, this particular park stretches from North Ave across the street from City Hall East thru Old Fourth Ward to Freedom Parkway.

According to the AJC, “The North Avenue Park, which will be located south of City Hall East along the Beltline, will be between 13 and 16 acres initially. Plans are for the park to expand to 35 acres. It will include a 4.7 acre water feature that will have ponds with fountains, wetlands and walkways.”

As a Kool-Aid-drinking Decaturite, I’m always interested in the latest and greatest variations of “smart growth” developments that pop up around Atlanta.  As such, I was interested to hear that the big daddy project of them all has a new website.   Atlanta’s Beltline Project has just launched a more user-friendly site with a lot of familiar colorful pictures, maps and mockups.

While a lot of people doubted whether such a large project would ever get out of the planning stages, numerous acquisitions by the city (ie. Bellwood Quarry) seem to be moving the project forward.  The closest the line would come to Decatur would be down along Ponce/North near the Carter Center.

Additionally, if you haven’t heard the local WABE interviews with key figures involved with the Beltline, check them out here.

Hat Tip: Creative Loafing