Never Say Never...
Growing up in the ‘burbs, I spent much of my youth
romanticizing the urban lifestyle. But less than two years of living and
working in Downtown Los Angeles pretty much ruined it for me. Sure, there were
pro’s… authentic restaurants and hip bars and clubs within walking distance…
gritty experiences, like befriending the scary guy who lived under the freeway
since he stood guard over my car at night… easy access to the Staples Center
(‘nuff said!). My favorite was, from the eleventh floor of an apartment in the
financial district, I could leave the curtains open and fall asleep to a gorgeous
view of city lights outlining the skyline.
Still, the reality of everyday wore down on me. It started
with little things… costly rent for miniscule apartment space, even costlier
parking, and parking tickets on top of it! I moved to more reasonably priced
Hollywood—along Sunset Blvd, blocks away from Hollywood and Highland—and had to
go through a vomit-in-the-elevator-and-a-property-manager-who-didn’t-notice-it-for-days incident. There’s the well-known LA traffic and horrible
drivers… rude drunks spilling out of bars at 2 AM… and one of my bigger pet
peeves: not being able to do more than a couple days’ worth of groceries at a
time, because I only have two hands and a jug of milk or juice was all I could
carry with one. The last straw was having wheels stolen from a gated
underground parking garage. (The next morning, the car was balancing on two
jacks, not even concrete blocks or anything… I kid you not!)
Since then, I’ve lived back in the suburbs, first in San
Diego and now here. But then, on February 21st, I attended the Urban Land Institute’s program at the Crocker Art Museum titled “Unlocking
Sacramento's Urban Core: Identifying,
Connecting and Enhancing the Assets.” Feature presentations by the
Honorable Doris Matsui and Tim Youmans, and a thought-provoking, moderated
panel discussion (that included John Shirey, City Manager of Sacramento; Martin
Tuttle, City Manager of West Sacramento; David Taylor of David S. Taylor
Interests; and Stephen Jaycox of Fulcrum Property) highlighted efforts to truly
move the City forward via planned civic amenities, infrastructure, and private
development. My attention was thoroughly captured. Those two hours flew by and
made living downtown sound really enticing—not just for empty-nesting baby
boomers or hipster/yuppie types, but even for someone like me who has three
boys (well, okay, a husband and two boys!) in tow.
Imagine public access to and walkable neighborhoods along
the riverfront; bike paths connecting Land Park to Old Sac and beyond; more
bridges to alleviate transportation issues; street cars and pedestrian bridges;
centers for education and the arts; thoughtfully designed recreation spaces
within the concrete jungle... Amidst all the great establishments in Midtown
that I already long for, what more could I need? (A downtown arena, maybe? But
that will have to be an entirely different blog post!)
Of particular note is
how public figures and private developers are collaborating to plan for
Sacramento as a region, not separate parcels of land with different
stakeholders that just happen to be next to each other. Perhaps the economic
downturn has had a profound, positive effect of impressing upon us a simple
truth: it is through working together that we can make great things happen.
The ideas of Stephen Jaycox particularly resonated with me,
when he spoke of how what we plan and achieve in the coming years will have a
lasting impact on the City. Right now is the City’s chance to define its
identity for the future, and our industry in particular can help tie in the
City’s roots in agriculture and maximize its greatest assets, the Sacramento
and American Rivers. It is visionary ideas like that which make me proud to be
part of this industry!
Daydreams aside, in all honesty, I may never leave the
‘burbs again. But I’m excited to watch as Sacramento’s Urban Core grows and
thrives. Who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll at least get to visit my sons living
their hip urban lifestyles downtown.
Did you miss out on the event but want more information? Check out Tim Youmans' PowerPoint presentation here!
