Forward
Tuscaloosa BY
JESSICA ARMSTRONG
“Disasters have a disproportionate effect on urban places. Dense by definition, cities and their environs face major disruptions in their complex, interdependent environmental, economic and social systems.” — Eugenie L. Birch and Susan M. Wachter, Rebuilding Urban Places After Disaster
Experts often measure the costs of disasters in loss of life and property, the authors add. But they cannot put a dollar amount on the toll that a catastrophe has on the individuals, their families, their senses of self and community. One of the worst tornado outbreaks ever to hit the United States occurred over a four-day period April 2011, causing catastrophic destruction, particularly in Alabama. An EF-4 twister described as “very large and exceptionally destructive” struck Tuscaloosa April 27. Like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Tuscaloosa was left not only with destruction but difficult decisions. What do we rebuild and how? To what extent do we start fresh? How do we lend a hand to those displaced by the storm?
Recovery Efforts To devise a means of recovery, Mayor Walter Maddox formed the Rebuild Tuscaloosa Task Force, which put together the Tuscaloosa Forward Strategic Plan – a long-term vision born out of a public/private partnership and extensive citizen feedback. In late August, the Planning Commission approved Tuscaloosa Forward, which will take generations, not years, to fulfill, notes Maddox.
Tools for putting Tuscaloosa back together in a more pedestrian-friendly manner had already been established in this downtown/ waterfront plan, part of the 2010 Tuscaloosa Greater Downtown plan. This comprehensive document’s development concept plan includes standards and guidelines for land use, building placement, building materials and location of parking lots, along with addressing signage, lighting and landscaping needs.
Main concerns addressed by the plan are housing, improving infrastructure and economic development. Tuscaloosa now has the opportunity to create updated land use that reflects the city’s urban core and replaces outdated codes and zoning, Maddox adds. Now that the plan is approved, updating the city’s codes and zoning will take priority, says Stephen Hardy, director of planning for the Houston-based BNIM consulting firm that worked closely with the city to develop Tuscaloosa Forward. “Getting the right zoning in place as soon as possible will help ensure that projects get built back in accordance with the community’s vision,” Hardy explains. “The new zoning could also help streamline the development process and eliminate the confusion of the old variance application process.” Hardy believes the greatest challenge the city faces in making Tuscaloosa Forward a reality is patience and sticking to the plan. “The larger community crafted this plan; implementing the vision takes some difficult short-term decisions, but with patience and continued effort the community’s vision has the potential to make Tuscaloosa a stronger and better city,” he observes. “Special care will be needed by the citizens that are most dramatically impacted by the storm and the new vision. Cooperation and collaboration will be critical.”
Tuscaloosa Greater Downtown Plan A plan to revitalize downtown Tuscaloosa, created in 2010, has not been put on hold, says Maddox. “Eighty-eighty percent of the city was not impacted – at least not physically – and that includes the downtown,” he explains. “Before April 27, we were Alabama’s second fastest-growing city, and I don’t expect anything to impede that.”
Ravaged trees and rubble in Holt create an eerie silhouette against a grey sky, a common sight in the aftermath of the massive tornado that destroyed about 12 percent of the city of Tuscaloosa. Holt was one of the Tuscaloosa communities hit particularly hard by the storm.
The Tuscaloosa Greater Downtown plan includes more in-town living options, updating zoning codes, making the district more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, implementing streetscape improvements and creating a Main Street program. Preserving Tuscaloosa’s historic heritage by encouraging historically sensitive development and promoting preservation is another major component. Taking historic surveys of several downtown neighborhoods and revising the boundaries of the downtown National Register District are also proposed. Constructing several new parks, an amphitheatre (which opened this summer) and extending the riverwalk were also recommended.
Photograph by Michael P. Daugherty, Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service
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