UN Undersecretary-General Joan Clos (left) meets with the author (right) at the COP21 climate conference in Paris. To his right are Louise Belfrage of Ax:son Johnson Foundation, and Raf Tuts of UN-Habitat.
The former chair of the UN’s Habitat III conference says, “If you leave the market alone, it’s going to be a spiral of prices.”
Joan Clos, former Mayor of Barcelona and now head of UN-Habitat, has weighed in on the growing housing affordability crisis, now a global problem. In an interview in Metropolis magazine he pointed to the need to address economic factors, and to target the financial mechanisms necessary — especially above the local level. (For Oregon, this would presumably include the State.)
Clos chaired the recently concluded UN Habitat III conference, which produced an outcome document known as the “New Urban Agenda.” The document was adopted by consensus by all 193 member states of the United Nations, including the US.
In the interview, Clos was asked what was required to meet the affordable housing crisis. He replied:
“Successful affordable housing policies are always an outcome of a good coordination between a national housing policy and then local implementation. You need a strong national housing policy, which can help to develop financial mechanisms for addressing affordability, because affordability cannot be guaranteed only by the market. Supply and demand are not sufficient to guarantee affordability, especially in successful cities. If you leave the market alone, it’s going to be a spiral of prices.
“Strong affordability policies have two components. One is income redistribution, usually paid for by the redistribution funds of the budget, which are usually national funds. Then you need another component, which is the local design of the solution. How do you make sure that there are no gated communities, that they are not segregated, that there are no massive poor housing schemes, these kinds of things?
“These are mostly in the hands of local authorities. In order to be successful, you need a good relationship between both. This is the difficulty, because in many places you can have a very committed local authority that puts affordable housing at the center. But if you don’t have the financial mechanisms to support that, it’s not going to work.”
Simon Jenkins, a dean of London’s urban critics and journalists (and former Editor for The Times) writes in The Guardian that the Grenfell disaster reveals more than issues of fire protection. He argues that the very idea of residential towers is fundamentally flawed and anti-urban.
“Towers are again raising their heads across the urban landscape, creatures of egotistical architects, greedy developers and priapic mayors.. They do not converse with their context, they thumb their noses at it.
“They are antisocial, high-maintenance, disempowering, unnecessary, mostly ugly, and they can never be truly safe. No tower is fireproof. No fire engine can reach up 20 storeys, period…
“The housing expert Anne Power spoke of the craving of architects and planners at the time for “something distinctive and prestigious”. Architects even invented a vocabulary to justify what was in effect a sales pitch. They would build “vertical streets … villages in the sky … new cities for a new age”. Social consequences were damned….
“The most “crowded” parts of London are not around towers but in eight-storey Victorian terraces. The boulevards of central Paris have treble London’s residential density without towers. Westminster council’s aborted Paddington Pole, at some 60 storeys, had fewer housing units than the high-density street housing suggested by its opponents. The tall blocks wanted by Boris Johnson for Clerkenwell’s Mount Pleasant estate are at a lower density than the low-rise town houses proposed by the consultants Create Streets…”
“Today’s surge in tower building – some 400 are in the pipeline of London’s uncontrolled property market – is driven by a quite different demand. It is from high-income migratory couples and foreign buy-to-leave investors. These people do not want a neighbourhood. Their social life is dispersed. They want a locked gate, a concierge and a pied-à-terre with a view. They want a gated community in the sky. When I moved from a tower flat to a street flat, I encountered a completely different city, exchanging what amounted to a self-catering hotel for a community of neighbours.
“Lessons will need to be “learned” from the Grenfell disaster. But I hope they extend beyond just more sprinklers and safer cladding. They should plead for the sensitive planning of a modern, sociable city. This has nothing to do with the nature of property tenure, with wealth or poverty, or with population density. Streets can be just as densely packed as towers. By whom they are occupied is a matter for housing policy. What matters in the long term is how flexible the buildings are, how they interact with each other and their surroundings. No one asked such questions of Grenfell.
“North Kensington used to be a tough area, and has long been under pressure from inward migration. That it has responded so well is, I believe, because of its topography, its intimate streets and squares and its relatively subtle rich/poor mix. Towers are here wholly out of place and character. Their plutocratic reincarnation, backed by developer-led mayors Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, signals only a crumbling, atomised urban society.
“Such atomisation delivers ugly, inappropriate buildings under distant, careless custodians. That is the true message of the Grenfell tragedy.”
The design for the neighborhood square at NW Pettygrove/21st is gradually getting back on the rails since our last report, but the process still needs input from the community to transform the current proposal for a courtyard into a real neighborhood square that fulfills the requirements of the Master Plan.
By Suzanne H. Crowhurst-Lennard
PORTLAND – The Design Review Commission for the Conway Square proposal meets to review the proposal at 1.30pm on July 6, at 2020 SW 4th Ave (Lincoln Room). Public testimony is invited. Please join us to voice your opinion on this new design (see below). To check the agenda (since the schedule may change), click here:
On May 4th the Portland Design Review Commission (DRC) met to review the earlier appalling proposed design of Slabtown Square, which would have been a 65 foot wide courtyard between the 7-story wings of a U-shaped apartment building, with half of the required 16,000 square foot of the square hidden beneath the buildings.
The architects, developer and DRC were seemingly unaware of the five centuries of literature on squares, from Alberti to Sitte to Gehl, which defines “squares” as “gathering places under the open sky”, and the DRC was apparently ready to approve the project.
It took outraged public testimony to bring the developer and DRC to their senses. DRC suggested a working meeting on June 8 between the BDC, NWDA, and the developer to come up with a somewhat better solution. This is what is now proposed:
Slabtown Square updated design for review by DRC July 6, 2017.
Speaking for myself, this new version looks nothing like a European-style neighborhood square to me (and I have been studying and writing about them for 35 years). It looks more like a parking lot or private courtyard for the surrounding residents.
Photo: Neighborhood square, Plaça del Diamant, in Gracia District, Barcelona. (120 feet x 160 feet). Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard
Current design project: The resulting proposal from the developer is still far from acceptable. The developer is requesting numerous Modifications and Amendments to the Master Plan to allow them to build a larger building than should be on that site. As NWDA states in their testimony:
“The NWDA adamantly opposes the proposal for Block 290 that was reviewed at the June 8, 2017 Design Commission work session. It fails to meet the goals and standards for the public spaces required in the Con‐way Master Plan.
“By our findings, the applicant will need to seek twelve Modifications and one Amendment to the Master Plan that would, individually and collectively, diminish the size, quality and purpose of the required open spaces. The requested Modifications and Amendment would have the following negative impacts on the public open spaces:
Expand the development site to allow market‐rate apartments in the public park;
Reduce the required size of the neighborhood public square; • Increase the allowable heights of buildings on the square;
Increase the allowable floor area of the buildings on the square by 40,000 sf, or 27%;
Eliminate required top‐floor setbacks for buildings on the square;
Reduce the size of the required connection between the square and park;
Diminish the goals for the Quimby Festival Street;
Eliminate required connection between the square and festival street;
Reduce ground floor active use requirements on the square.
“The NWDA objects to the use of designated public spaces for private development. The proposed Modifications and Amendment would co‐opt required public open spaces for private for‐profit development. The proposal seeks a reduction of required open space by roughly 6,000 square feet and seeks to increase private developable floor area by more than 40,000 square feet in excess of what is defined by the Standards in the Master Plan.”
Simply put, the proportions of the square are unacceptable: the square is too small in relation to the proposed height of the. surrounding building. It is overwhelmed by the excess building that the developer is trying to cram onto the site. The Master Plan intended that on this site, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) should be transferred OFF the site, not onto it as the developer is doing.
Cross section of design for review July 6
If you would like to testify against this unacceptable design, please consider referencing some of the following specific objections:
Building height: The developer seeks a modification to the Master Plan Standards to increase the height of the west wing from 47 feet to 57 feet. As NWDA states: “The Master Plans designates the square as a “major open space.” Increasing heights of buildings on the square increases the sense of enclosure and reduces solar access. Increasing the height limit for buildings on the square does not BETTER meet the design guidelines.”
Ground floor retail facing the square: The developer seeks a modification to the Master Plan standards to reduce the amount of retail facilities fronting the square on the northern building from 75% to 38%. This is not acceptable. As NWDA states:
“The purpose of this Standard is to ensure an appropriate level of social interaction at the perimeter of the square for the square to be successful by requiring that 3/4 of the frontage of the square be devoted to publicly accessible commercial uses that can animate the zone directly outside of their lease areas… Retail activity, neighborhood facilities, and active uses are critically important to a lively and successful square.”
Dimensions of the square: The Master Plan states that no horizontal dimension of the square should be less than 100 feet. This is to ensure that the space of the square does not feel constricted by surrounding buildings. To achieve the required 16,000 square feet the square should therefore be at least 100 feet x 160 feet, or 127 feet x 127 feet, or somewhere in between.
The developer now claims to be providing a square open to the sky of 16,007 square feet. However, this claim is deceptive, because it measures areas beneath the overhanging building on 3 sides. The actual area open to the sky is 14,674 square feet.
Moreover, the 14,674 square feet has only been achieved by pushing the east building out 15 feet into the public space facing the park. The developer should be making the building thinner, not stealing the required area of public space on the park side of the building to try to meet the requirements on the square. I adamantly oppose reducing the overall required amount of public space by 3,000 square feet and handing it over for private development.
Moreover, the developer is proposing to divide the square into 2 sections, the main part between the 7-story buildings (approx. 100 feet x 131.7 feet), and an “apron” at the SW corner of approx. 47 feet x 32 feet, most of which consists of steps. While the SW corner could be sunny, the resulting restricted dimensions of the main part of the square deprives it of sunlight – and it is the main body of the square that should be designed to accommodate the greatest amount of social life.
This “apron” has no dimension of at least 100 feet (required Standard), and has a building only on the north side (3 sides are required) so as NWDA states: “…it does not meet the requirement for the square and the square footage cannot be included in the calculation of the square size.”
Connections to surrounding neighborhood, and between square and park: The Master Plan specifies there must be a link between the square and the park, preferably open to the sky between buildings, or at least 25 foot high to make the transition beneath the building comfortable. The developer asks for Modification of the Standard to allow them to reduce the height of this connection to an average of 15 feet. This would result in a tunnel 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.
NWDA strongly rejects this. As they testify:
“The Master Plan calls for a high degree of connectivity between the park, square, Quimby, and the pedestrian walkways. The required proportion of the connection between the open spaces is necessary for the desired visual and spatial connection. Reducing the size of the connection between the square and park does not BETTER meet the application design guidelines for connecting two public spaces. It is purely a desire by the applicant to reduce the cost of development by eliminating the need for an extra set of elevators or other architectural changes.”
With regard to connecting the square to the surrounding neighborhood, this design is woefully inadequate. If you are approaching from the south, you can enter via two flights of steps or two ramps. If you are approaching from the park, you can enter through the tunnel. But if you are approaching from the north or west, there is no entrance into the square. The block-long buildings are barriers.
This means that those living to the north and west will feel excluded from the square; it will not feel like a place that belongs to them; and they will not be able to take a short cut through the square on their way south, or to the park – they will have to go around the buildings, not through the square. The lack of entrances on the north and west will therefore cut down on the number of serendipitous meetings on the square that happen when people’s paths cross as they pass through in different directions.
Reducing the size of the park to increase private development: The developer is requesting an Amendment to the General Plan to allow them to increase by 15 feet the width of their building facing the park. This reduces the public open space by 3,000 square feet – and it does not increase the size of the square, which is still too small.
As the NWDA testimony states:
“NWDA adamantly opposes allowing private development in areas designated as public open space by the Master Plan. More than 90% of respondents to a recent survey of residents oppose reducing the size of the park to accommodate private development… A smaller park simply is not BETTER than a larger park, and the proposed exchange of public open space for private benefit is unacceptable.”
The biggest problem – Too much building: Perhaps the biggest problem with this project is that the developer is trying to cram 12 pounds of sand into a 6 pound sack. The primary purpose of 290W is to provide a hospitable neighborhood square with a minimum square footage of 16,000 square feet.
As NWDA states:
“The remaining portion of the development site is 23,400 sf. This buildable area, when extended to maximum allowable heights of 47’ and 77’, results in a maximum allowable floor area of ~144,600 sf. The proposed development calls for 184,589 sf. Proposing to build 27% more building than the Master Plan allows, and in doing so building taller buildings surrounding the public square, and being allowed to build this additional building area in a public park does not meet nor BETTER the goals or Standards of the Master Plan.”
It is clear that neither the developer not planning staff have yet accepted that the primary purpose of 290W is to create a neighborhood square (with associated development). They continue to reverse these priorities to a definition that is more familiar to them: “Type III Design Review for a new multi-story residential building (with … a publicly-accessible plaza)”. It is time that they acknowledged that the primary challenge here is to design a neighborhood square!
Conclusion: There is a long way to go before Portland can claim to have created a successful neighborhood square. Judging from previous reviews of this project, the Design Review Commission seems poised to accept the new design. Please join us on July 6th to strongly oppose this project, and to call for a neighborhood square that is truly hospitable for all.
To download the latest building plans, click here:
Photo: Neighborhood square Plaça de John Lennon, in Gracia District, Barcelona. (115 feet x 140 feet, i.e. 16,100 square feet). Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard
Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, points to evidence that historic preservation and adaptive reuse are not the enemies of affordability, but one of its best assets
A few of the many affordable housing projects around the country done with adaptive reuse of under-utilized sites, including former industrial sites, schools, self-storage units, and even a closed Sears store – from Housing Finance magazine (see http://www.housingfinance.com/tag/adaptive-reuse)
In a reminder that the affordability crisis is hardly an Oregon-specific issue, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation has pointed out that “tearing down old buildings won’t make our cities more affordable or inviting.” Instead, president Stephanie Meeks says, “it’s time to make better use of the buildings and spaces we already have.”
She continues:
As anyone who’s tried to find an apartment lately can tell you firsthand, many of America’s biggest cities are in the midst of a full-blown affordability crisis. All over the country, as young job-seekers and empty nesters both look to enjoy a more urban daily experience than offered by the previous suburban ideal, neighborhoods are struggling with skyrocketing housing and rental costs and surging development pressure.
We face some tough challenges in trying to navigate these pressures, but creating a false dichotomy between affordable housing and historic preservation should not be one of them. Creating affordable housing and retaining urban character are not at all competing goals. In fact, contrary to the conventional wisdom, they can most successfully be achieved in tandem.
Meeks mentions Oregon’s embarrassingly ill-conceived HB 2007, and other examples of the “false dichotomy” between affordability and livable heritage. In fact, NTHP research has documented that heritage can be a powerful asset for affordability. “In city after city, we have found that neighborhoods with older, smaller buildings and mixed-age blocks tend to provide more units of affordable rental housing, defined as housing whose monthly rent is a third or less of that city’s median income.” She went on:
These areas also performed better along a host of other important social, economic, and environmental metrics. Across all 50 cities surveyed in our new Atlas of ReUrbanism, a comprehensive, block-by-block study of the American urban landscape, areas of older, smaller buildings and mixed-age blocks boast 33 percent more new business jobs, 46 percent more small business jobs, and 60 percent more women- and minority-owned businesses.
Simon Jenkins, a dean of London’s urban critics and journalists (and former Editor for The Times) writes in The Guardian that the Grenfell disaster reveals more than issues of fire protection. He argues that the very idea of residential towers is fundamentally flawed and anti-urban.
