by Charles Marohn
It uses all the current buzz words….
Mixed use. Redevelopment. Independent living. Walkable. Main Street.
Do those words mean anything? Sadly, Omaha’s Sterling Ridge Development – a so-called “Main Street” concept — is not even a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is a wolf in wolve’s clothing. Here’s the layout.
My favorite quote from the article, where words are simply objects with no real meaning, is this one:
The architects said the idea is for the multipurpose campus to be a walkable community where people work, live, play and worship.
How quaint.
Thankfully there are (a growing number of) people in Omaha who get what is going on, including Charles Gifford who accurately explained it in the comments section.
This is not a “Main Street” scheme. It’s an office park defined by vast stretches of surface parking. The only walking going on here is from your car to your office. There is no street wall continuity, no density, no grid, no residential, possibly no sidewalks, and apparently no diversity of architectural design. It’s sad that Omaha continues to follow this pattern of low density development. When will we start to view ourselves as a city with a viable downtown, a reliable transit system, and interesting and intelligent architecture?
Generally the comments are the worst part of any article like this, but in this case it is the only thing that gives me hope.
(Cross posted from Strong Towns)