Small-town Urbanism

Small-town urbanism

What makes a place a city? What makes a place urban? By definition it would seem a part of either would be a large population, or at least population density. But can urban simply be a style appropriated for marketing purposes? Or can urbanity actually be created in a small place, designed for those who desire urban amenities in a place in which it doesn't naturally arise?

The sign here is for a condo conversion in downtown Champaign, IL. By declaring itself the "heart of the city," one has to ask what city exactly is being talked about. A town, yes; a city, well, that depends on definition. Champaign certainly doesn't have the population usually associated with cities; in places, however, it does have the population density of larger cities. And for a block or so it has many of the amenities - expensive restaurants, numerous bars and cafes, apartments above storefronts. These are the kinds of things that only 15 years ago or so would be found exclusively in larger cities. Good beer, good coffee, good food it seems were not so long ago nowhere to be found in places like this.

Then again, Champaign is a college town, albeit a schizophrenic one, spread out across two downtowns, Champaign and Urbana, and also the University of Illinois campus. The possibility of urbanism was diffused, much moreso than in towns with similar college populations like Madison, Ann Arbor or Bloomington, Indiana. Add to that mix the usual new exurban box-store style growth and the problems of keeping a population density that could support true urbanism multiply.

One problem is that the market for downtown apartments is small, but the developers who have been renovating and building apartment and condo buildings seem to think that in an area where the average house sells for $133,000, condos whould sell for $200,000 and up. Word around here is that units in one recent building were mostly purchased by the University, artifically inflating the market price for condos. Much of the building stock that remains, such as this building here, sits empty, perhaps a tax write-off, definitely a blight on the landscape and definitely underutilized. The idea of conflating "urban" or city with luxury seems ridiculous in an area in which within a matter of a few blocks houses with yards and ample space cost less than the "downtown" condos offering little more than a shallow feeling of urbanism.

The failure of luxury marketing in this regard has been manifested recently in the closure of two stores, a wine and grocery store and a combination art gallery/cafe. In order for this area to be more livable, it needs a place people can buy real groceries, not just wine and cheese. The limited appeal of an art gallery in the area is already taken care of by a gallery in Urbana and by the numerous art fairs and sales sponsored by art student groups as well as the local Springer Cultural Center. Developers and retailers it seems want to jump the gun on gentrification, before any of the real living that usually comes before ever has a chance to take hold. That shallow feeling of urbanism is even shallower when couched in terms of fake luxury.

That said, though, it seems there are successes here and it makes for a comfortable place to spend time if not to live. It's become an entertainment district while avoiding the Disneyfication and corporatization that has plagued many other small downtowns desparate for revitilization. The campus town area and the exurban sprawl are the places corporate chains feel more comfortable, and therefore the downtown area remains in the hands of independent businesses and small non-profits. Many of the apartments, those that have not yet been gutted, remain somewhat affordable, although not compared with nicer and larger spaces within a mere few minutes' walk or bicycle ride. And there is the lack of a grocery store nearby, coupled with the problem of parking: existing apartments and condos are not required to provide parking, but newly constructed buildings are; this means that for those who already live in the area or those moving into the more affordable buildings, a car is necessary for shopping, but difficult and expensive to keep nearby, while for those who can afford the newer places, car storage is built into the price. This has the unfortunate and seemingly unrelated side effect of keeping the market for having a nearby grocer down (Urbana, on the other hand, has been less successful in attracting both development and nightlife businesses, while oddly maintaining three nearby grocery stores.) But in order for this to be a real urban space and not just a shell of an entertainment district dependent for its existence on the ups and downs of a fickle economy, it needs a real spine, a real base upon which real lives, and real spaces, can be built.