Babies downtown

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Urban Land Institute’s Fall Session in Las Vegas. Forgetting that Vegas is an adult Disneyland with more than enough fun to kill someone the event had some really cool sessions to learn from.

One of the sessions that drew my eye talked about getting families downtown. As one might expect, many cities wrestle with the loss of families in their downtowns. Denver seems to be no different, as friends I know continue to abandon their urban desires and pack their yoga bags for the burbs. Of course, they often speak later with regret about how bored they are but martyr themselves for the sacrifice they made for their children.

That sucks.

There is no reason that urban living and family life have to be mutually exclusive. The discussion I attended took on these issues head on and discussed some specific projects in Portland that were trying to do a perception change with it’s residents. The first question is what needs to be added to keep families in their urban lives.

First and foremost, in every situation discussed, was schools. This is no big shock and no surprise to anyone but certainly something we need to address. Charter schools are the common step, where those who pay can get the best play. But why not turn the world on its ear as it were. If the city really wants to keep families downtown then find a way to invest in having the best public schools downtown. Can you imagine the change that would take place if families sought a home downtown the get their kids in the BEST schools? What would the chain reaction be? Would the influx of families boost more retail growth? Would tax dollars driven by an increased demand for housing, products, and services create a revenue boom for the local government? Maybe that could be used to repay the initial investment in the school system and the city might be looking at a future stream of increased revenues.

Dunno, but cool to think about.

An interesting item that did come out of the session was the lack of value perceived in children’s parks and the increased values in cool public spaces. Funny to watch their example, where an old school children’s park was unused and slowly got into a state of disrepair while a public water park with simple open spaces became a family and children’s playground. The message was simple. Children can find play anywhere, that is the beauty of being a child. So create family oriented spaces appealing to everyone and the energy and activity will help make it a success.

And of course there are other contributing factors such as the lack of day care to support families downtown. Nothing shows this better than one city study that identified multiple puppy day care establishments, close to one every few blocks, with no human day care centers for miles around. As an urban resident with a pup I know that is because our fuzzy buddies are our children at this time in our lives and we pamper them so.

There was also talk about the families that are paving the way downtown. These urbanites, often shown in Marketing and Sales advertising as the strong, sexy, young creative class balancing a baby on one arm and a powerbook on the other are symbols of those who refuse to leave for the burbs. They want their children to grow up with exposure to the world. Trips to the museum (one item that promotes families downtown), the ball park, to restaurants and around people from different backgrounds and beliefs. They want to enrich the lives of their children.

They also want space. One of the biggest criticisms was that most cities rarely if ever offer 3 bedrooms as a predominant unit type in new urban developments. And if a 3 bedroom unit is offered it is usually in a penthouse or top floor (aka highest price) situation. Other cities are addressing this issue by offering incentives, either tax or direct, to developers who focus on creating more moderately priced 3 bedroom opportunities in their buildings.

But change will happen. People are tired of moving to the burbs because in the past that was the path. People want to fight this and there is a movement of change that is happening in every city. The topic is coming up for planners and developers, at conferences and in education. Downtowns are growing and those of us who live in them aren’t leaving. So we need to change them.

Do I think Urban Planners, Developers, and city officials will make the change… nope. I think they will embrace it, assist it, see opportunity in it and act, but they aren’t the catalyst. The true catalyst is you, and me, and our friends. People effect change by changing perceptions, sharing ideas, and creating a demand that others want to provide a solution for. I love to watch the media to see what is going on as a lead for the trend. For example, there is a recommended (I haven’t read it book) that I have heard about called Urban Babies Wear Black that approaches it from the aspect of pride in the Urban Baby lifestyle.

Or my favorite, the growing online community of urban family support at www.urbanbaby.com. Of course, there is no mention of Denver yet and the list of cities to date is Austin, Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. So does that mean this cities are more family friendly or just plain more progressive in their thinking. Either way, lets get Denver on the plan. Don’t look at this lightly. There are Urban Mom (and to a lesser extent Urban Dad) blogs, websites, support forums popping up in most every city across the nation. In a grass roots movement people are sharing ideas and thoughts, raising awareness and support for others, and causing a change. But nothing I saw for Denver yet. Someone kick that off and go ahead and let the rest of us know.

What are your thoughts on raising a family downtown today? Would having a child be your passport for a move to the burbs? What would make the downtown a place where you would want to stay and what areas appeal to you? Why?

You can download any sessions from ULI for your own education and enjoyment (depending on what you enjoy) here.

Happy learning!!

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