During the past ten years, Alexandrians have talked a lot about revitalizing our downtown. We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on planning and millions of dollars on urban streetscape repairs. We’ve created political subdivisions solely dedicated to the project. We’ve even attracted federal incentive programs in order to attract businesses back to downtown.
And yet, despite the emerging nightlife scene and despite the millions of dollars spent by private businesses on redevelopment, some continue to doubt the merits of downtown revitalization. To those dissenters, there’s something you don’t quite understand: Downtown revitalization is already happening– and it’s moving faster than you think.
But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt: You dissenters don’t go downtown much, and even when you do, your experience of downtown is limited to the courthouses and government buildings. Believe it or not, however, downtown Alexandria is showing all of the healthy signs of an area experiencing revitalization– and there are numerous reasons this is a positive development for the entire community.
It’s important to note that a conversation about downtown revitalization isn’t unique to Alexandria. Cities all across the country have been engaged in the same discussion– and for a good reason.
Throughout the past fifty years, American cities sprawled as a response to Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System, advances in the automobile industry, the relatively cheap price of gasoline, and certain demographic changes. We have tended to view this sprawl as “progress,” with little understanding of the long-term implications of such a trend.
It’s somewhat radical to propose that sprawl may have done significant damage to a city’s capacity for growth, because for fifty years, sprawl was considered to be a reflection and indication of growth. But, in fact, many cities have learned the hard way that uninhibited suburban sprawl actually harms a city’s ability to grow and manage existing infrastructure.
How?
Well, for one, simply because a city is sprawling does not mean it’s growing. Alexandria is a perfect case in point. We may have sprawled fifteen miles out from our original city core, but our population has remained relatively stagnant. Due to this sprawl, Alexandrians have had to shoulder the burden of an over-extended infrastructure, our inner-core has become blighted, and our downtown, the location of our original development and our greatest civic institutions, has been neglected.
Back when sprawl was the solution and LeCorbusier’s vision of superhighway cities was the reigning paradigm, Americans could have never predicted that their enthusiasm for sprawl could lead to long-term planning problems and that the price of gasoline could become prohibitively high. But such is the case, and if our city is to properly respond to the problems presented by sprawl, we must follow the examples of other cities who have successfully redeveloped their cores.
There’s another related point: The revitalization of downtown Alexandria doesn’t just affect downtown; it affects all of the surrounding neighborhoods.
So why is this important?
Understandably, there are many people who believe that the government should be more focused on solving problems such as access to health care, crime, and poverty. They view “revitalization” as a pie-in-the-sky idea, proferred by self-interested politicos and real estate developers, a distraction from solving bigger and more important problems. And perhaps it is important to state this: Yes, undoubtedly, we face some daunting problems, and it should be our mission to solve those problems. But the project of downtown revitalization should not require us to “put all of our eggs in one basket.” It should not be considered a distraction, but an essential component in addressing larger needs. By improving our inner-core, we can help solve a number of different problems:
- We increase the property values of homeowners in surrounding neighborhoods; this represents thousands of homeowners in neighborhoods that have been neglected and/or under-prioritized for decades.
- We increase the prestige of our city. Visitors judge the health of our city based, partly, on the health of our downtown, and if we neglect our downtown, we risk losing outside investment, tourism, and convention business.
- We create opportunities for the creation of a coherent arts and music community and a vibrant nightlife, two essential quality of life components that attract and retain large employers.
Downtown revitalization should not come at the expense of improving the quality of life in other blighted or impoverished neighborhoods; however, the improvement of our core should take priority over cost-sharing agreements in the city’s outer reaches.
Many people like to claim that the “free market” should determine and manage our growth. But they fail to realize that the free market is never exactly “free.” Government can create incentives or offer services that make an area (or a certain location) more financially lucrative than others, and this can lead to an influx of development. It’s often said that real estate is about “location, location, location,” but often, location takes a backseat to a constructed notion of value based on zoning policies and inexpensive land. Can’t we all agree that it makes little sense for our taxdollars to fund and encourage development that ends up costing citizens in the long run? Can’t we agree that it’s not healthy for a city to continue to expand its infrastructure without expanding its tax base?
Downtown revitalization isn’t about using monies that could otherwise be allocated toward police coverage or workforce development. Simply put, government does not and has never worked like that. Federal and State funding and incentives are allocated and available for specific purposes. In other words, often, if we fail to utilize earmarked funds, we’re missing out on “free money.” (No, I know it’s not really free, but it is typically generated by federal or state taxes, which are readily available for our use. If we fail to take advantage of this, we simply lose out).
So have hope in the project. And let’s work together.
Because ultimately, we all benefit from a healthy and vibrant downtown.
CenLamar 
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