San Diego Union-Tribune

May 15, 2009

Making San Diego a World-Class City

By Cary Lowe and Patricia Butler It has been a century since noted urban planner John Nolen laid out his grand vision for the future of the small town of fewer than 40,000 residents that comprised San Diego. He foresaw a city oriented toward the bay, with prominent public spaces, landscaped boulevards and plentiful parks. Those features, combined with strong public resolve and the right policies, he declared, could make this a great city. Today, we are a city of more than 1.3 million, the core of a region of more than 3 million, with many of the features that Nolen proposed, but something is missing. San Diego starts from an enviable position. Its setting and climate are virtually unsurpassed. It has a good set of social and cultural institutions and a strong economic foundation. And it has a highly diverse population, providing tremendous cultural variety. For the vast majority of residents, the quality of life is pretty good. Unfortunately, what makes it good is what keeps it from being great. Looking out over the bay, hanging out in Balboa Park, enjoying the distractions of the Gaslamp District or walking about renewed neighborhoods such as Hillcrest, it is difficult to feel a sense of urgency to focus time, energy and money on making it be all that it can be. After all, without any extra effort, it's already very nice. But suppose we want to make it great, to elevate San Diego to the ranks of those cities that truly dazzle and buzz with energy. Think Vienna or Hong Kong, Chicago or Boston. What would that require? Great cities invariably have great public spaces. Those spaces must be vibrant and welcoming, and serve as central gathering places that draw all segments of the community. They can be large plazas such as Prague's Old Town Square, or smaller, more intense locations much like Boston's Faneuil Market, and they work best when they are in the heart of the city. San Diego has a dearth of such places. The closest things are El Prado walk in Balboa Park and portions of the downtown waterfront. Places such as the Gaslamp draw crowds, but the attractions are largely private and indoors. What is most exciting about the pending proposal for a new downtown civic center is the prospect of creating a great public space in the middle of downtown that would draw people day and night for the experience and the opportunities for interaction it provides. Great public spaces are enhanced by great architecture. Yet, we often settle for low-grade architecture for the places that represent our civic culture. And public places that are second-rate beget private development to match. Again, the new civic center could be the turning point in this regard for downtown.
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Great cities make it easy for residents and visitors to move fluidly among communities and to the points of attraction, creating a sense of citywide cohesion and identity. Both the sleek Paris Metro and the creakier New York subway accomplish that. Imagine how different it would be if the public spaces of the city and the most vibrant residential areas all could be accessed readily by mass transit. The trolley lines and the modest bus system are a nice start, but they need to be greatly expanded. It also must be made easier for people to reach San Diego from other regions. We already have a plethora of freeways, the current airport is nearing capacity and the rail service is limited. The proposed reconstruction of Lindbergh Field will buy only a little time, and high-speed rail service would only accommodate traffic from within the region. Ultimately, a site will have to be found for a new, larger, more modern airport to accommodate long-range tourist and business travel. Great cities emphasize learning. One can't imagine Boston or Vienna without their multitude of universities. In this respect, San Diego is in fine shape. If only one could say the same about the primary and secondary school system, which are being bled financially and stripped of anything beyond basic programs. This goes beyond the public schools themselves. Once upon a time, libraries were the most valued civic institution. A new central library downtown would be a great symbolic step. Finally, San Diego's potential can be enhanced by building on its proximity to Tijuana, itself a metropolis of 2.5 million people. Despite the legal and security issues stemming from the international border, San Diego would be enriched economically, socially and culturally by developing stronger ties to its southern neighbor. Moreover, goals such as development of a new international airport may be achieved more effectively if approached in tandem with Tijuana. Achieving these goals will require two fundamental changes: a long-range vision of where we want this city to go, and the willingness to allocate the resources to get there. Creating and maintaining great places, and the infrastructure to support them, takes money. Such civic assets shouldn't be expected to be profit centers. Rather, they are assets that continually contribute to the ambience and the social fabric of the city, that draw people who spend time and money, and improve the quality of life in ways that can't be measured purely in dollars. Between the current economic recession and the city's local budget issues, this is admittedly a difficult time to propose spending large sums on new ventures. However, these are investments in the future viability of the city. The costs will occur over a long time frame, and, like good investments, they will produce great returns. They also can produce substantial savings over time, as shown by the financial analysis of the proposed new civic center. None of this can happen in a vacuum. It requires a civic culture that emphasizes excellence and projects an attitude of greatness. Daniel Burnham, the noted architect who developed the 1909 Plan of Chicago, admonished: Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Big plans require a big
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vision. It can come from civic leaders, from the chambers of commerce or from the community level, but someone must have that vision and rally public support for it. Once that vision is accepted by community consensus, it will take on a life of its own. It will impel public officials to make decisions that support that vision, and impel voters to support funding programs to implement it. Ultimately, it will generate such a sense of civic pride and satisfaction that the city will take on an entirely different social and political ambience. At that point, San Diego will have joined the ranks of cities which deserve to be called world-class. Lowe is a land-use lawyer and planning consultant who has been an adviser to state and local governments. Butler is a principal in BRG Consulting Inc., and a former member of the San Diego City Planning Commission.