In 1953, Charles Wilson, Chairman of General Motors, remarked, "What is good for General Motors is good for the nation" during his confirmation for Secretary of Defense. A logical assumption at the time, GM was the linchpin of a robust economy, and the Interstate Highway Act ended up funded through the Department of Defense. GM and the federal government fueled a new American Dream, a partnership that created the first suburban nation.
In an evolving world, endless repetition invites disaster and, after a half century, the American Dream is in transition. General Motors and its Hummer ambitions went bankrupt, malls are dying, golf courses are going under, and obesity is epidemic. Re-invention, however, is the genius of America. Free enterprise is responding to a streamlined economy where water conservation, personal health, transportation and housing options, and energy efficiency equate with profit. Gas-guzzling enterprises, such as GM and auto-oriented development, are being recast as the Volt and walkable urbanism defines the aspirations of a new generation. Even in Orlando, where the Cars R US transportation network has produced a glut of "underwater" subdivisions and the nation's highest pedestrian death rate, change is underway. Major new development is taking form in urban areas and along the new SunRail commuter line.
Capitalism demands innovation, and progress is taking form. I experience it daily as apartments rise on the vacant land next to my Baldwin Park townhome. Despite protests from several neighbors (I was the project's lone supporter before the City Council), the new units will house over 1,000 residents who can walk to get groceries and will not water and fertilize lawns like suburbanites.
Given that residents live at higher densities than the typical subdivision, the designers paid special attention to the public places. There is a plethora of parks and lakefront space (which are public) and have been replanted with native vegetation to filtrate nitrates, the same sound science driving the Everglades restoration. Wildlife is returning and, with the lakefront preserves ringed by bike trails, nature is a draw. Bike trails are now a more desired amenity than golf courses and more beneficial. Easy access to bike trails can reduce obesity rates by 25 percent and, research shows, an active lifestyle is the best investment in healthcare reform.
The Orlando real estate market is showing signs of life. The Orlando Sentinel recently analyzed the hot and cold areas, and Baldwin Park epitomized the hot market. A photo of a 25-year-old woman in her new condominium not only denoted the most profitable trend, it denoted the aspiration of a large and undersupplied market segment, Generation Y, which is looking to invest in walkable urbanism. Real estate values reflect human desires that play to our genetic coding, which is wired to enjoy communal settings and social interaction.
Fortunately, we are not going blindly into the future. Historic communities such as Deland, Anna Maria Island, and Winter Park are excellent guides. Winter Park's 1883 plan had concentric circles (representing 5-minute walks) radiating from the train station in a central park. The town was platted to the edge of the third ring, as 15 minutes was the extent of a comfortable walk in the Florida heat. This logic proved successful and the quality urbanism running from Park Avenue through Rollins College is priceless. Baldwin Park and a growing number of neighborhoods have replicated its design.
Our task, then, is straightforward -- construct communities based on cherished historical patterns that will produce authentic urbanism and a resilient democracy. This is the test of any republic. Who are we to fail?
