How do we provide metrics?

Is Historic Preservation a qualitative metric or quantitative metric.

It might be both?

This provides WDAC with the opportunity to “Think Tank” Wisconsin!

If we come up with Metric’s then these form the good research to further justify WDAC and provide measuring sticks that others may use, buy, and the WDAC has found part business model?

People across the nation, the Federal Reserve, and others are grasping for these things to say that effective capital, and social deployment is happening.

WDAC may become somewhat of an expert, that many other groups use like UW-EX market analysis has become. Maybe WDAC will become the Downtown Brookings Institute?

Let’s keep working on this, lots of good mind power here! Now let’s channel that into funds, reputation, information to better the inner core, and last to provide good spinoff that brings members in. They can be research members, business members, municipality members, or whatever the board decides?

I may be wrong but the ultimate goal is a sustainable organization that benefits each members individual and corporate needs?

I agree with Gary’s comments on the hub and node system of land use planning. Instead of building new downtowns as housing expanded, we have spread out commercial growth into unrecognizable, diluted strips. ULI’s book ‘Revitalizing America’s Suburban Strips’ recommends ‘pulse node development’ which in my mind is creating new town centers divided by mixed use and housing. If our downtowns are one of a select group of commercial nodes, reinvestment and redevelopment are allowed to take place.

excellent points all..another way to say it is..Why here in Wisconsin did we not learn from the mistakes of the suburbanization of American cities from the 60s till now? when others have? sure, the energy and growth will spread…but allowing the hole in the donut will only lead to major issues for metro areas down the line….and many missed opportunities for appropriate growth and change.
Best, Troy
p.s…somehow the word “Employment” needs to be added into that mix as a prioritization goal…housing trends follow that…et tous Verona?
Troy Thiel

Point #1: “Commercial and residential growth in the suburbs has contributed to the decline of downtown.” This is a worn cliché that does not accurately reflect (in my humble opinion) the dynamics of growth. It is akin to saying that kids leaving home is the cause of the decline of the family. As our economy grows, it is a natural growth dynamic to spin off and grow new areas. The problem is that we have not done a very good job at understanding and managing that growth. As our understanding of these dynamics is growing, we are moving toward a better defined hub and node urban system where the goal is vital hubs and nodes of higher density throughout the region. The bottom line is that we can have commercial and residential growth in the suburbs and a healthy downtown if attention is paid to the entire urban system. An alternative phrasing could be “Our ineffectiveness at planning for commercial and residential growth in the suburbs and commensurate failure to develop a multi-modal regional transportation system has contributed to the decline of downtown.” This tone would probably want to be softened for any final document.

Point #2: “The purpose of these initiatives is to create an attractive environment to increase the number and variety of businesses downtown and bring in shoppers and tourists” I don’t mean any disrespect in saying this, but isn’t that the purpose of a mall? In my opinion this is just a small part of the purpose of a downtown. The purpose for carrying out downtown redevelopment is to create a vital dynamic environment that contributes to the quality of life within the region and efficient functioning of a regional system. The variety of business are a part of that vitality, having visitors come in from outside the area is also part of the vitality, but so are the institutions, the non-profits, the transportation systems, the public spaces, and even the rural parts of the region contribute to the vitality of downtown in a healthy regional system (and vice versa).

I don’t disagree with any of the rest of this, except that regional transportation linkages are missing and should be included, although mention is made of transportation and land use within the downtown, it is critical to mention regional transportation linking the regional nodes with the CBD.

JD – thanks again for getting the ball rolling on this. This is the kind of debate that will hopefully result in a refined message for WDAC that we can use in our membership recruitment and fundraising efforts.