Development

Since being cleared for redevelopment in 1967, several city blocks at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side -- known as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, or SPURA -- have lain fallow. For decades, the largest undeveloped, city-owned land below 96th Street was used only for surface parking lots. After years of planning work, this afternoon marked the deadline for developers to submit bids for the site to the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Real estate in the United States, it turns out, isn't really guided by "the invisible hand" of the free market.

Eschewing the faddish steps local governments sometimes take to retain and attract young professionals, Massachusetts has cut to the chase with a common-sense plan. Governor Deval Patrick is catalyzing walkable residential development as an official state policy in hopes of retaining young people by appealing to their needs and preferences.

It's been a bad few years for homeowners around the country, and those in greater Philadelphia are no different. But people who owned houses in Philadelphia's center city or suburban areas near a walkable town center fared better than others.

So, how did Washington, D.C. -- widely perceived as one of the most expensive cities in the country -- end up topping a “most affordable” housing list?

Over the last five years America has seen an historic housing downturn, but the prevailing trend hasn't sapped demand for walkable, urban development, especially in many larger metros.

An 85-unit residential building proposed for the corner of Bergen Street and Third Avenue in Boerum Hill sits just blocks from Atlantic Terminal, with access to nine subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. But the city's zoning requirements mandate at least 43 parking spaces for its 85 units, and the entire first floor of the building will be a giant parking garage, facing both the street and the avenue. According to a report in the Observer, the project's developer says construction is scheduled begin within 10 days and take approximately 18 months.

Transit-oriented development is a virtuous circle. New transit infrastructure makes it easier and faster to get to a place, and then that place grows. New development in turn leads to demand to justify better infrastructure, and more tax dollars to pay for it. That, in a nutshell, is the story of how Manhattan grew into what it is today, first around streetcars, then els, and eventually the subways.

Does walkable development really lead to worse traffic congestion? Opponents of urbanism often say so, citing impending traffic disaster to rally people against, say, a new mixed-use project proposed in their backyards. But new research provides some excellent evidence to counter those claims.