”New urbanism” projects put city on road to hip

It was once said that when you landed at the Spokane airport, you had to set your watch back 30 years. Conventional wisdom held that fashions would arrive in Spokane five years after they were stylish in bigger cities.

But Spokane is right in step with a national trend called “new urbanism.” A simple definition of new urbanism is the ability to live, work and play in a city’s core. Newurbanism.org, a Web site devoted to the trend, recently reported that “urban living is rapidly becoming the new hip and modern way to live for people of all ages.” Spokane on the way to hip?

Recently, several projects were unveiled that will move Spokane closer to being a model of new urbanism. The key component is downtown housing. Walt Worthy announced last week that he’ll build a downtown high-rise offering both hotel and residential space. The north bank of the Spokane River is slated for a 32-unit condo near the Flour Mill, and big plans are in the works for 77 acres of the Summit property west of Monroe.

Meanwhile, The Murphy family is turning its former Central Pre-Mix Concrete site into River Run, a housing development just 3 miles from downtown. And Wendell Reugh has sold his 136-unit Ridge Apartments in Browne’s Addition to investors who will convert them into condominiums. Home ownership in the core is an essential factor in successful new urbanism.

Much of this new housing will be pricey, but new urbanism projects succeed only when citizens of all classes, ethnicities and creeds mingle in neighborhoods, coffee shops and stores. Spokane already has substantial downtown housing for low-income residents. New urbanism dwellers also need services within walking distance. No problem finding restaurants, cafes, churches and retail shopping in Spokane’s core. Maybe some entrepreneur will see the need for a full-service grocery store.

Best of all, new urbanism projects open up civic engagement.

“When you walk you meet your people,” said Joseph Kohl of Dover, Kohl and Partners, a Miami firm that oversees new urbanism projects throughout the world.

Many communities must build their new urbanism from scratch, Kohl said, because their downtowns disappeared when families fled to suburbs in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Spokane folks did the same, but many now desire a return. These new projects, and the excitement around them, should make downtown a welcome place to call home.