LAI KeyNotes: April 2007

Land Economics Weekend in Ireland
May 30 - June 2, 2007
Register Now!

There Are Still Registrations Available for the Spring Land Economics Weekend!

LAI’s Land Economics Weekend in Ireland will give ample opportunity to see all the changes in that country and to meet a wide range of the most influential people on both sides of the border who are driving the changes. Dublin’s recent success is palpable, while the work in hand in Belfast, the subject of a day trip, should certainly impress. For those looking at investment opportunities in Ireland, there will be much over which to ponder.

Malahide Castle

All in all, the Irish Weekend will be an exciting occasion, full of interesting things to see and hear. For those who can spare a little more time, the Irish countryside, regardless of the border, is beautiful to behold, while travel around the whole island is easy. And for those tempted to include England, Scotland and Wales on their itinerary, these are but a short hop by air across the Irish Sea.

Dr. Karen Sieracki

LAI member Agenda for the Dublin Land Economics Weekend (pdf)
Registration form for the Dublin Land Economics Weekend (pdf)
Registration form for the Dublin Land Economics Weekend (doc

Letter from the President

Dr. James A. Fawcett

Six years ago, our Society awarded the venerable Jane Jacobs our International Author award at that year's biennial congress. Ms. Jacobs was never a fan of parks but instead believed in neighborhoods where kids could play and adults could enjoy the company of their neighbors. She also had a distinct distaste for Los Angeles, my home. She could be a crank at times and yet a passionate lover of her city. And from her vantage point--New York--the neighborhood itself gave life to the city.

In the Editor's column this month, our thoughtful scribe and urbanist, Helen Sause, has taken on Ms. Jacobs' distaste for parks and shown us how a city can create a park worthy of that city. I speak of Millennium Park in Chicago, built over an old railyard, now parking for thousands of cars, once a stinking mess in the heart of the city and now a jewel on the Lake Michigan waterfront. Ms. Sause has taken on, to be sure, the thorniest issue of urban parks--upkeep. For if parks are not maintained, they do, indeed, become the locus of crime that Ms. Jacobs decried. Yet, by thoughtful application of fees provided by advertising, the City of Chicago has at least kept at bay the holy grail of park opponents--upkeep. Chicago now has a major city park worthy of the name--Millennium.

When I spend time in cities with good park space, Chicago, New York, Boston, London, San Francisco, Ottawa, Toronto, Denver, etc., etc. I'm always struck by how these special places came to be. In my sprawling city, it seems that parks have always been the very last thing on the mind of our city officials and Ms. Jacobs' biases have been heeded to a fault. How refreshing it is to hear not only the Chicago had the moxie to put together Millennium Park but that now they've found a way to keep it viable into the future. And, thank you, Madam Scribe, for helping us to understand how, with cooperation from public and private sectors and thoughtful officialdom, those parks can be enjoyed by generations to come.

James A. Fawcett
International President
fawcett@usc.edu

Millennium Park—The wonder and humor of it!

This magnificent 24.5 acre park opened July 16, 2004 and is a case study in the impact such a new icon can have on a city and its immediately surrounding area. The park is located at the northwest corner of Grant Park and transformed 16.5 acres of rail lines, a surface parking lot and another eight acres of shabby park land which fronted historic Michigan Avenue into an outdoor cultural venue. Chicagoans and tourists enjoy gardens, ice skating, indoor and outdoor concerts, restaurants, festivals, fairs, fountains, water features which provide the wonder and the humor is provided by interactive public art. There is a large number of publications and speakers who have shared the beauty and community impacts and studies verifying the favorable economic impacts on the entire City.

All this is well known. But this Scribe started her term by asking about public developments and their long term funding sources to ensure that such public/private public spaces continue as assets vs. falling into disrepair and becoming a blight on the community as City budgets may ebb and flow. Finding such information has been difficult but a Ely Chapter member pointed me in the direction of Ed Uhlir, Executive Director, Millennium Park, Inc. who knows all there is to know about the Park.

A brief reminder of truly heroic community efforts to build the park. The City of Chicago provided $270 million for park infrastructure from City bonds being retired from parking revenue from the 2,200 space garage built beneath the park and $95 million from tax increment financing. Individuals contributed $1 million, corporations generated $160 million for park "enhancements" and $60 million was raised for the Harris Theatre. Ten donors gave between $3 and $15 million to underwrite the special "enhancements" on top of the park. These individual and corporate gifts totaled $220 million which included a maintenance endowment of over $30 million.

That was the crux of the Scribe's questions. "How are these public/private spaces maintained over time?" Obviously the public events and ticket sales do not provide enough revenue for an assured funding stream for the life of the facility (let's think in terms of 80 - 100 years). Costs of maintenance, capital replacements, personnel to do the myriad tasks from security to the artistic performers, all rise more rapidly than does a static funding source. In some cities the maintenance costs are tied to rental income from publicly owned adjacent properties but even that is risky business unless there are ways to augment the endowment income stream.

My understanding from discussions with Mr. Uhlir and from reading reports and articles, the source of an adequate maintenance fund was a major issue for Chicago. Studies documented the increase in real estate values and property tax base as early as 2000 when construction started on the park. The park’s opening resulted in buyers standing in line to put down deposits on adjacent condominiums. Overnight the park became a destination and source of pride. The attraction of new businesses and enhancement of existing ones as well as the increase in tourists to the City have had a huge measurable economic impact as well as raising the esteem of the residents of the Chicago region. It has also attracted world wide attention. Despite these documented contributions, efforts to create a maintenance funding mechanism like an assessment district paid for by property owners in the area broadly surrounding the park have failed. The ideas for other types of assessments fared no better. But the Mayor of Chicago is not a person to be daunted, his and his staff's huge support for the park and creative ideas solved the problem.

The Mayor killed two birds with one stone. Chicago does have some weather challenges and the idea of standing in chilly or windy weather waiting for public transit has little appeal for most of us— ergo! The need for bus shelters! And firms that put up bus shelters usually sell advertising on such shelters for the perusal of those waiting, right? So this very clever arrangement was brought into play and the bus shelter income is partially dedicated to the maintenance of Millennium Park. This source of funding should increase annually to keep pace with the increasing costs of park staffing, maintenance and capital replacement. This will ensure that Chicagoans should not endure the agony of watching a beloved place fall victim to City budget shortfalls. Bravo to Chicago for creating a magnificent place and solving how it can be enjoyed for generations!

Interesting that Chicago has been chosen for the 2016 Olympics and that their downtown parks played a large part in the selection. The message seems to be that making public spaces a priority benefits a city in many ways!