Scientists have been struggling for years to come up with a single unified theory that explains the very mundane while at the same time handling very exotic creations like quasars (or black holes or whatever) and their effect on surrounding space, etc. In this vein, I have come up with a unified theory that will help frame the debate concerning Manassas and her future direction. If not, it’s at least worth a laugh.
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Think of a yardstick. At 0 inches you have “City” and at the other end (36 inches) you have “Suburb”. This is our scale.
A perfect City, if it were to exist, would be at “0” on the scale and would be a lot like a smaller version of New York. It is very “City-ish” and has many of the qualities assigned to Cities: high population density, diversity, educational choices, culture, attractions and higher taxes. A perfect City is also a destination: people who don’t know a soul in New York go there to see the City or something in the City.
A perfect Suburb would be at “36” on the scale and would be somewhere that looks like Western Fairfax but has lower taxes. It would have low population density, decent schools, lower taxes but isn’t a “destination”. If they don’t live there, people wouldn’t go there for any reason other than to see people they know.
It is my position that the debate that is occuring in Manassas concerning every aspect of our shared public life is a debate over how “City-ish” Manassas should be.
Take a look at recent debates: Housing Density, Overcrowding, Budget, Traffic and Schools. These are the debates that a City has. Surely suburbs have these problems, right? Well, yes. The difference is that these debates have *all* occured here in the past 4 months and in conjunction with one another. We are dealing with City problems, not suburban or rural problems.
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The real question that we must answer is how City-ish do we want to become and is there room for a city of that size and/or intensity (I say “intensity” to convey density of commercial and residential space). The answer to this question will drive tax rates, commercial and residential space, overall economic health and most other things. We are, in my view, a “tweener” moving along at about a 20. We are building some new commercial (and residential) space but some of our older commercial space needs attention. Our older neighborhoods have mixed results but that problem seems fixable. We have some “cultural” resources but they are limited. We are a bit of a destination but that has more to do with a battlefield 15 miles away. As to wether there is room for a city of the intensity we select we need to consider that the commercial developers along 29 are building like the devil himself is driving them. How much of a consideration is that? If we become less City-ish (or stay the same) will our efforts to date simply fade as we are passed by?
January 19, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I would have to agree that Manassas is getting a more urban feel to it, and I am not sure if I like it. That said, iniatives like B-3.5 are needed to ensure that the Old Town are has sufficient “bio-mass” to prosper. As property values continue to rise, albeit slowly, many of our retirees will move on. Rightly or wrongly, Younger professionals singles and DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) are what the city (and developers) is looking to attract. They want people who will buy one of the 3.5 condos, work in Crystal Ciy, ride the VRE, and relax in old town. All this talk about “creating new affordable housing” should be viewed through this prisim. Perhaps another Lilly will move to innovation, and we’ll get more professionals. These would be the market for the new townhuses and condos as well.
But the real question is, what then? Say we’ve 3.5’d the ever-expanding Old Town District to it’s fullest, then weve redeveloped the 28 corridor, where do we go from there? That’s when the regentrification starts to happen. Places like GTS and Bristow Station get bought up, torn down, and new housing or businesses get built. I am not saying that it is right or wrong. It’s just the way of things in smaller cities that have hit their boundries. To do otherwise is to risk us ending up like some of those depressed little cities and towns you find around larger cities, especially in blue-country NE.
What I want, and it is a tall order, is for the City Council to closely scruitinize every development plan, and balance the positive economic impacts of new development, while doing everything that they can to maintain the “small town feel” that still exists. And for the LOM, quit letting staff use the word “progressive”.
January 19, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Steve:
Thanks for your excellent reply. Very insightful. I am very worried about the redevelopment of 28 and other parts of Manassas. If you haven’t seen the Route 28 Sector Plan, drop me a line. I think you’ll be very interested in what’s in there.