Downtown resilience: A review of recent (re)developments in Tempe, Arizona

Abstract

Urban development is very susceptive to economic cycles. Can resilience theory be used to analyze these cycles and to find appropriate answers to minimize their impacts? Business rotation is part of a healthy economy; however, prolonged phases of devaluation can have serious economic consequences. The purpose of this paper is to apply resilience theory to the area of urban revitalization in a US southwest context and to identify sets of recommendations and traps to be avoided in future urban revitalization interventions. The main argument is that the creation of two new centralities in Tempe has weakened the vibrancy of the Mill Avenue district, even despite the new streetscape improvements and the light rail induced development efforts on Apache Boulevard. The key finding is that downtowns need to be nurtured through the use of urban design practices and community-oriented planning decisions; otherwise they can lose critical elements that make them livable.

Introduction

Urban development is very susceptive to economic cycles (Briguglio, Cordina, Farrugia, & Vella, 2008). For instance, Phoenix, the prototypical growth machine city, has been experiencing high foreclosure rates and a depressed housing market caused, in part, by the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Economic cycles result from intense periods of growth and contractions in investment and consumption. Due to high concentrations of real estate investment, some downtown areas are very susceptible to these cycles (Grant, 2003, Seasons, 2003). City center livability is affected by regional factors and global trends and, usually, redevelopment and revitalization strategies are not coordinated at the city, much less at the regional level. Ernstson et al. (2010, p. 531) have argued that “the traditional paradigm of planning for a predictable future is not only insufficient, but it may, in some ways, also be destructive.”

Can resilience theory be used to analyze these socio-economic cycles and to find appropriate answers to minimize their negative impacts? Resilience is the capacity that systems (nature, people, institutions, and networks) have to withstand change, abrupt (i.e. shock) and or continued modifications (i.e. crises), and to continue their development patterns in similar or reinvigorated ways. Resilience theory has been extensively used in ecological systems and less so in social and economic contexts (Adger, 2000, Cumming, 2011, Walker and Cooper, 2011).

Business rotation is part of a healthy economy (Wrigley & Dolega, 2011). However, structural vacancies and prolonged phases of devaluation can have serious economic consequences. Mismatches between types, times and locations of investments are likely to exacerbate the negative impacts of crises.

Writing before the recent financial crisis, Lang, Nelson, and Sohmer (2008) argued that downtowns in fast growing suburbs were under researched. The purpose of this paper is to apply the resilience theory to the area of urban revitalization in a US southwest context and to identify sets of recommendations and traps to be avoided in future urban revitalization interventions in a post-financial crisis era. Although such interventions are often greatly influenced by local and regional circumstances, it is possible to implement a type of urbanism that helps cities become more resilient to economic cycles, while also decreasing their carbon footprint. The main area of analysis is the Mill Avenue district in downtown Tempe, AZ. This neighborhood is considered the most walkable downtown district in the State of Arizona (Fig. 1&2). This paper uses a case study approach and the research methods included reviews of the literature (books, academic journals, and popular and specialized media), in-loco observations and documentations, a brief characterization of businesses in the district, analyses of public and private investments and of urban redevelopment interventions, interviews, and a review of urban design patterns and languages, as a way to assess the relationships between urbanity, walkability and vibrancy.

The main argument is that the creation of two new centralities in Tempe has weakened the vibrancy of the Mill Avenue district, despite the new streetscape improvements and the light rail induced Transit Oriented Development (TOD) efforts on Apache Boulevard. From a town–gown perspective, the building of the Arizona State University (ASU) honors campus on the southeast corner of University Drive and Mill Avenue would have had different spatial impacts, probably very similar to the ones generated with the building of the new ASU campus in downtown Phoenix. The key finding of this research is that downtowns need to be nurtured through the use of urban design practices and community-oriented planning decisions; otherwise they can lose the critical elements that make them livable.

The paper begins with a review of the literature in four main research areas and then it uses a case study approach to analyze the main tenets of the resilience theory. The four main areas are: (1) resilience theory, (2) city center change and revitalization, (3) retail evolution, and (4) town–gown relationships.