want to be and to show the community that higher densities can be really nice. I think the Village of West Clay is a perfect example of it…. Carmel now has its neighborhood centers. We’re going to a corner store concept, bike paths, pedestrian paths, (and) planning these neighborhood stores but doing it in such a way that you don’t have a big, ugly parking lot. Maybe put the cars behind. Maybe do some housing or offices above it to give it density and do a little town square feel to it. Suddenly you have a place U.S., according to a recent study, is driv- plants, the electrical lines, already pretty that people want to be as opposed to a ing about 100 miles a day. I imagine in much in the middle of the city. At the big box parking lot. When the car came 1950, when car ownership in this coun- same time we have abandoned industrial along, our neighborhood stores became try was just about 25%, the average was brown fields that aren’t being used any ugly. Our strip centers became ugly probably a mile or two, if that. And, so more. So, let’s work up public-private places, where people didn’t want to be, we have all these cars on the road, your partnerships and redevelop that area. so people fought that commercialization average trip might be 10, 12, 8 miles as of neighborhoods. But, if we go back and set higher standards, and we’ve done I have a theory about why Americans are so it such a way that, hey, its nice to have that in the neighborhood, then people opposed to density…We don’t like density are back to making mile and a half or because it’s been done so badly in the past. two mile trips to the grocery store or the pharmacy or the cleaners as opposed to opposed to half a mile or a quarter mile I have a theory about why Americans 8 to 10 mile trips. because of the sprawl. Then, we use all are so opposed to density, which it’s this gasoline, we have these roads we important to remember is the opposite need, we have a balance of trade that’s of sprawl. But that’s often a bad word. not good for the U.S. because we’re imSprawl’s a bad word, too, but people porting so many petroleum products to don’t realize they’re really polar oprun all these cars on all these roads that posites. Why we don’t like density is go farther and farther out. because it’s been done so badly in the past. So, the key is to set really high HCBM: So, how do you regain the standards; to start out by redesigning, in system we used to have, or build a partnership with the private sector, our better one? central cities. Europe has gone the route of urban growth boundaries, which Brainard: I think we start by saying, forces capital back into the central parts first of all, we’ve got all this infrastrucof the city. Not many cities in the US ture we’ve invested in, we’re maintaining have done that…a few have, but just a and paying for in the middle of the city. handful. But, we’re looking at it in a difWe don’t really need any more police ferent way. Let’s try to do it voluntarily. in the middle of the city, we don’t need Let’s give some incentives to companies any more fire stations, we don’t really so that the economics are on a level need that many more roads. We may playing field with the greenfield develneed some improvements. We’ve got opment. Work with the city on really the sewer lines and the water treatment good design, to design places that people
Hamilton County Business Magazine/ February • March 09
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