Recently, the theory of “placed based” development and policy has grown increasingly important within urban discourse. It is a disarmingly simple idea: that Springfield, IL has completely different needs and exists in a different environment than, say, Mesa, AZ or even it’s northern behemoth brother Chicago, IL. The theory has gained traction with the Obama Administration, which has actively sought to ingrain a place based approach into their programs and budget analyses, requiring federal agencies to identify which programs are place based in their annual budget reviews. The idea is that focusing on place and on identifying the competitive advantages of a particular location will enable investment to target better what drives a region and have greater impact. Using much the same theory as regional economic clusters, placed based theory exploits the existing advantages of an area to spur economic growth.
While I think that this top down approach to place—understanding how place based strategy can grow an economic region—is a critical move in the right direction to fund our nation’s cities, I also believe that there is another way that local areas can understand and make use of a place based approach: through creating emphasis on neighborhoods.
It might seem a little cliche, but this gateway leaves little doubt that tourists have arrived at Carnaby Street in London.
A great city is made up of great neighborhoods. Indeed, neighborhoods that have a strong identity help cities thrive. They serve as their own form of marketing, drawing both locals and tourists to them because of what they represent. For example: In New York, SoHo (short for South of Houston Street) has become known as a mecca for artists and shopaholics alike. Its reputation draws people away from Times Square—perhaps a more famous example of wonderful neighborhood branding—and down into lower Manhattan to explore the small boutiques and await celebrity sightings boasted by the neighborhood’s lore. In Boston, if you want Italian you go to the North End. In New Orleans, travel to Faubourg Marigny for a low key jazz scene or the French Quarter for drinks and beignets. Interested in working in tech? Head to San Francisco’s Mission District. Jumping from city to city you see that neighborhoods with strong identities that define them culturally and economically thrive while those still in identity crises whither.
Moreover, what makes cities different from suburbs and more appealing isn’t just their concentration of people, place, and things that make economies of scale go. Cities are unique and qualitative improvements to suburban life because of their neighborhoods. Cities are neighborhoods in a way that suburbs can never be. They are distinct entities that abut each other each with a unique name, story, and identity, that bring people and economies crashing into one another instead of sitting at the distance between picket fenced yards and strip malls.
The French Quarter in New Orleans is unlike anywhere else. As soon as you enter the neighborhood the architecture, food, sounds, and people announce its distinction.
So when thinking about urban development and enhancing the economic stability of a city, we have to use a place based approach. We have to consider how businesses will play to the advantage or disadvantage of different neighborhoods, just as businesses are doing the reverse analysis. This means taking time to clearly define neighborhoods both already branded and amorphous. This means envisioning where development could go and helping it on its way. This means staking a claim to an identity and developing towards that identity in every way. For example, as Cleveland continues to entice youth into its core, it should seek to develop the downtown Warehouse District, so that its identity as a neighborhood of local businesses, boutiques, and eateries where urban dwellers can mingle will help seamlessly move people from one place to the next.
As the federal government works to increase the flexibility of available funding to promote competitive advantages, local governments must work to enhance the identity of their neighborhoods and define what those advantages are. By doing so they can draw in people and capital, reinforcing the cities existing advantage: its livability born from great neighborhoods.
