DTMP: Section Three - Five Districts

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by Scrutiny Hooligans
on Wednesday, May 27, 2009

[This is the third of several posts examining the proposed Downtown Master Plan (DTMP). You can see a brief overview of the plan here. Click here for the entire plan. Click here for the appendices. Here's my Section One post. Here's Section Two. A public hearing on the DTMP will be held May 26th at the City Council meeting.]

The third section of Asheville's Downtown Master Plan puts forth the creation and recognition of five distinct downtown neighborhoods.

Each neighborhood designation would bring its own strategic goals, and each would serve as a "Gateway" into downtown.

My own view is that new development downtown must all be created with green and affordable priorities in mind. Unless we address our affordable housing crisis head on, then it will not lessen. Unless we address our energy future with a sober eye towards results, then we will later be stuck building more carbon-era power plants as the world moves on without us. Our emerging green industries will develop much more rapidly if the city prioritizes the sector. Recruiting tech industry will be more likely if workforce housing is readily available. Our environmental and community aspirations will be reached only if we put a brave foot forward and begin the work of achieving them.

The Downtown Master Plan's vision depends on many factors. The Patton/River development district is almost wholly dependent on a 22 acre development corridor available to us only if a version of Alternative 4B is chosen for the I-26 Connector. This will free up the land necessary to create this western gateway into downtown. The South Slope depends on the successful completion of the Zona Lofts, an anchor of affordability and green design. The Eagle-Market district depends upon the city tapping into existing community resources and leadership. Battered again and again by Urban Renewal projects that have targeted this area, the African-American communities have a historical prerogative to lead a true renewal of this historic neighborhood. The Beaucatcher Gateway district, in addition to encompassing the narrow strip of land on the west side of the tunnel, also includes a great deal of commercial area east of Merrimon.

Content Source: scrutinyhooligans.us/2009/05/25/dtmp-section-three-five-districts/