Sustainable Cities - A new report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation confirms that older, smaller buildings are extremely important to the vitality and liveliness of a city,
and even for its economy. The researchers focused on three cities with
strong real estate markets and extensive older fabric: San Francisco,
Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Looking not just at historically
designated or older buildings, but all existing structures across these
three urban landscapes, the research team empirically documented the age,
diversity of age, and size of buildings and statistically assessed the
relationships between these characteristics and 40 economic, social,
cultural, and environmental performance metrics.
Here is what they found:
1. Older, mixed-use neighborhoods are more walkable.
In Seattle and San Francisco, older neighborhoods with a mixture of small, mixed-age buildings have significantly high Walk Score rankings and Transit Score ratings that neighborhoods with large, new buildings.
2. Young people love old buildings.
In
Seattle, San Franciso and Washington D.C., the median age of residents
in areas with a mix of small, old and new buildings is lower than in
areas with larger, predominantly new buildings. These areas are also
home to a significantly more diverse mix of residents from different age
groups.
3. Nightlife is most alive on streets with a diverse range of building ages.
San
Francisco and Washington, D.C., city blocks composed of mixed-vintage
buildings host greater cellphone activity on Friday nights. in Seattle,
areas with older, smaller buildings see greater cellphone use and have
more businesses open at 10:00 p.m. on Friday.
4. Older business districts provide affordable, flexible space for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds.
In
Seattle and Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with a smaller-scaled mix
of old and new buildings host a significantly higher proportion of new
businesses, as well as more women and minority-owned businesses than
areas with predominantly larger, newer buildings.
5. The creative economy thrives in older, mixed-use neighborhoods.
In
Seattle and Washington, D.C., older, smaller buildings house
significantly greater concentrations of creative jobs per square foot of
commercial space. Media production businesses, software publishers, and
performing arts companies can be found in areas that have
smaller-scaled historic fabric.
6. Older, smaller buildings provide space for a strong local economy.
In
Seattle and Washington, D.C., streets with a combination of small, old
and new buildings have a significantly higher proportion of non-chain
restaurants and retailers, and in Seattle, San Francisco, and
Washington, D.C., areas of the city with older, smaller buildings host a
significantly higher proportion of jobs in small businesses.
7. Older commercial and mixed-use districts contain hidden density.
In
Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., streets with a mix of old
and new buildings have greater population density and more businesses
per commercial square foot than streets with large, new buildings. in
Seattle and Washington, D.C., these areas also have significantly more
jobs per commercial square foot.
One finding of this research is that racial and ethnic diversity is significantly less in older, smaller neighborhoods. This is a very problematic finding and may be attributed to gentrification. As older, smaller neighborhoods go up in price, immigrants
and minorities are pushed out into the suburbs that are comprised of
bigger, newer building fabric which isn’t as conducive to
community-building, a strong local economy and urban vitality.
After
looking at a variety of big data, this report concludes that the
character and scale of buildings matter. And that moving forward, it’s
vital that cities consider the role of older, smaller buildings and
neighborhoods into their growth plans and look for way to integrate new
development into a healthy existing urban fabric instead of destroying
the existing fabric to accommodate new development.
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