Austin Contrarian

Density Bonuses II: Why downtown high rises are so valuable

In a past post, I discussed the density-bonus plan being floated around City Hall.  (Council will consider the Downtown Design Commission's recommendation tonight.)  I'll discuss density bonuses in more detail in future posts.  But the gist is that the City is considering charging developers more -- possibly millions more -- to develop high-rise condominiums and office buildings. 

It seems to me that the people who are pushing density bonuses have their analysis backward.  They start by trying to figure out what additional concessions the City can extract from new development.  But I think it's smarter to start by figuring out what downtown high rises already provide.  Imposing millions of dollars of special obligations on new high rises will discourage the marginal ones; we need to know what we stand to lose.   

So let's get to it.  The three main benefits of downtown condos are housing, the property tax windfall, and the development of an urban environment. 

Density bonuses: Raising density's price

If you are interested in downtown development, pay attention:  There is growing support for adopting a system of "density bonuses" downtown.  The idea has been recommended by the Density Bonus Task Force of the Austin Design Commission, which was created by City Council for the purpose of . . . recommending a system of density bonuses.

Andrew Blum on urbanism and modernism

I love Jane Jacobs, especially The Life and Death of Great American Cities.  Jacobs understood that the vitality of a city emerges spontaneously and organically, and can not be created by fiat through urban planning.  Of course, she was also the first "urban naturalist"; she described almost scientifically what gives cities and neighborhoods vitality and what saps it.  Ironically, this has made her the patron saint of modern planners, who seem to view Life and Death as a recipe for good planning, rather than a rejection of planning.  (You can't sit through a City Council meeting without hearing about the need for "eyes on the street.")  She has also been canonized by neighborhood activists who fight change of any type.      

Andrew Blum has written a great piece on urbanism that captures the increasing tension between these views in the modern, global enviornment: