KyleEzell2

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The graphic on the right is an aerial of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Red indicates surface parking lots, at least 40 percent of the city. This means that the 15th largest city in the USA has pavement where hundreds of businesses, restaurants, offices, and especially residences should be. But Columbus is far from being alone. Dozens of Heartland cities are similar parking lots.

Just by looking at the ground, it's clear that having a place to park cars is far more more important to local Columbus residents than buildings. After all, most of Columbus' historic buildings were torn down to pave these lots. This simple parking lot example is one of many that suggests that, for most of us, providing a thriving city for people isn't a top priority.

It's time to target values as the primary determinant of urban revitalization. Until values tip toward appreciating cities and the urban lifestyle they can provide, especially In the Heartland, very little can ever be expected to change. Vital American cities are about 60 years past due.

To further illustrate the importance of "Urban Values" and the idea of teaching an urban lifestyle, see the slide show for my theory of true urban revitalization and Get Urban America's mission.

GRAPHIC BY KEVIN CHASTINE

Look closely. Some areas of downtown have four to five square blocks of parking lots, making this a ghost town after 5:00 p.m. These parking lots could hold 50,000 residential units instead of 100,000 temporary cars. It makes sense that if people in America appreciated cities then the landscape would automatically reflect this. (In other words, locals wouldn't stand for seeing another parking lot replace another building.)

Unbelievably, the biggest complaint

about Downtown Columbus (and most

downtowns) is the lack of parking. This clearly

demonstrates how cultural values

imprint the landscape!

There is much more to this issue than parking lots. For fifteen years I've heard planners try to convince developers to provide a "walkable" development near public transportation. It's no wonder they resist! The vast majority of Americans don't walk, nor would they be caught dead on a city bus. Cities just aren't an important part of our culture. Still, decade after decade, cities create downtown revitalization plans, build big expensive projects such as stadiums and convention centers, and, of course, pave more parking lots They hope that these efforts will finally turn their cities around. Effort after effort, a great number of cities become even less vibrant, losing population and business. As Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."