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Any observer who looks at the growth projections for this delightful part of Mother Nature we call San Diego must be struck with the question: "Where in the world is the exploding population going to go?" Back in the 1970s we used to structure that question as, "Where will our kids live?" Well, my kids live in Oregon and Colorado — both environmentally sensitive places, in love with nature and self-preservation.
Here, we will continue to struggle with what’s next. We know that land is in short supply and hard to come by. We also realize that our housing market is as hot as we wish the Padres or Chargers to become. We who own our homes are pleased. We who will look for homes will be shattered by the inflationary cycle.
My good friend, Richard Louv, extraordinary journalist and interpreter of family quality of life, is unhappy with the attitude of builders who seem always to be leaping over what is, to the next chapter in sprawl. He says that most don’t seem to be interested in developing the myriad opportunities in the urbanized portions of our cities. That is true but could be changing.
Pending legislation threatens to put a freeze on thousands of acres of land, either to protect endangered species or to ensure that we do not mega-leap over every cranny of land in the county. In addition, we see entities from the Padres to the Centre City Development Corp. encouraging the use of land that is urbanized, already served by infrastructure. They look to develop where transit systems can be utilized rather than the almighty auto which demands so much for any convenience it offers, exacting a high price in terms of air pollution, highway construction and stress called traffic.
Here are my solutions for the future of development:
We must demand and appreciate politicians who do not run from controversy so that innovation is worth their taking a risk. We need to educate the citizenry as to land-use choices, in advance of controversy, so that the emotionalism of entitlement and land use do not cancel out prudent and imaginative land use.
I love Horton Plaza. I call it a "theme park" without the roller coaster, for it has design theme and extravagant use of creative chaos, otherwise known as excitement. As we plan to use significant parcels of land in the Downtown and urban areas, they should become "theme parks" — combining residential, commercial, hospitality, public, educational, recreational and retail products. What do I mean? The park has a design connectivity that runs throughout; it also has mixed uses cultivating fun, livability, excitement, use and variety.
This will not only lend critical mass to new development, but animate the reuse of land and buildings. Look at what’s happening to the Gaslamp Quarter. Out of that acorn grows a New Orleans milieu that makes Super Bowls more super. Hillcrest attracts builders with soul. There is privacy when you want it and action when you crave it. It is where the action takes place.
It doesn’t take a Disney or a Universal to make a theme park sizzle. Developers Ernie Hahn and Jim Rouse, and architect Jon Jerde (among others) understood "people places," which were created to attract, stimulate, satisfy and benefit segments of the population. This is what is needed to house the new population, which will be a new, diverse demographic reality.
The new Padre ballpark could demonstrate this fast-evolving factor of life in San Diego: a place to play baseball within a park, all melding into a themed park of human scale, human dynamics — a true people place. This is real estate's near future, the most creative possibilities this geography of nature has ever seen. The dream will happen in the minds of a new breed of developer, planner, designer, user and bureaucrat. Each will be necessary to answer the question "Where are we heading?" One without the cooperation of the other will cause delay, confrontation and mediocrity.
Sanford R. Goodkin is managing partner of Goodkin Considine Strategies LLC, located at www.millennianet.com on the Internet. He can be reached by e-mail at realgood@mil.net.
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