RezoneOKC

As the announcement of MAPS 3 lights up the discussions about our new central park that will be the focus of the Core to Shore redevelopment, a lot of park names have been thrown around as possible inspiration for our new public space. The chief idol of modern urban parks is of course Chicago’s Millennium Park, a 25-acre area within the 320 acres of Grant Park. Chicago in 1997 decided to build a parking facility and park above a railyard in the corner of Grant Park, at an estimated cost of $150 million with a completion date of 2000. Once they got started, they apparently couldn’t stop- the final budget approached half a billion dollars and was not completed until 2004.

An aerial view of Millennium Park

What resulted was a new icon for Chicago. The images of Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavillion and Anish Kapoor’s “Cloudgate” sculpture (”the Bean”) are already inseperable from the thought of Chicago. The park has captured the attention of cities around the world who want to create a similar interactive, iconic space in their centers. Thus, the name of Millennium Park has come up often in planning for Oklahoma City’s new central park. In no way are we the first ones inspired by Millennium Park. In fact, this phenomenon has been named “The Millennium Park Effect.” Here are some recently planned and opened urban parks that have been compared to Millennium.

Discovery Green- Houston, TX

Discovery Green opened in April of 2008 in downtown Houston. It is of particular interest from Oklahoma City’s perspective because it was designed by Hargreaves Associates, the same firm that has been drawing preliminary plans for our MAPS 3 park. Additionally, this particular space in Houston is adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Center and large Hilton hotel, making it compare nicely with the location of our future park.

A plan of Houston's Discovery Green.

Discovery Green is similar to Millennium Park in that it is a piece of reclaimed land located within the urban core, and it is a small space that is highly programmed with public art and performance venues. It also features the small 1-acre pond for model boats. The coolest thing I have read about Discovery Green is that they actually imported 100-year old oak trees to line the central promenade. Discovery Green is powered by its own solar array, so sustainable energy is something that Hargreaves may be interested in doing in Oklahoma City (The renderings of our park show windmills throughout the area).

An overview of Houston's Discovery Green, showing the George Brown Convention Center

The aerial view of Discovery Green shows its relationship with the neighboring convention center. Is this the best use of that frontage of Discovery Green?

Citygarden – St. Louis, MO

Citygarden was completed earlier this summer in central St. Louis, very close to the Gateway Arch. It is only a two-block area, about 3 acres, and a part of the “Gateway Mall” of St. Louis, an area that was demolished to create an urban park in 1993 but remained an ugly patch of grass until the completion of the Citygarden. The park cost around $30 million to complete.

An overview (rendering) of CitygardenCitygarden is primarily described as a sculpture garden, but it features some fountains, splash areas, and a cafe.Interactive public art is a major draw in the new generation of urban parks

So why the big turnaround now? Partly it’s the “wow” in the new city parks–fascinating gardens, theaters, concerts, fountains, ice skating. That’s why, says Harnik, the 2004 opening of the Millennium Park in Chicago had the biggest impact on the American parkland scene since New York’s great Central Park opened in 1873.

But Harnik insists there’s more to the revival–that we’re seeing a revival of factors “ignored in the din of massive suburbanization and sprawl–human scale, walkability, efficiency, and respect for ecological principles and democratic ideals.” Or put another way, we’re reawakening to parks’ ultimate value: “an interplay–a conversation–between people and nature.”

And as if that’s not enough, new and revived parks bring massive associated benefits. The parks embellish cities’ reputations and become “must see” destinations for tourists. And they turn into meeting places not just for city residents, but magnets for visitors from across their metro areas.

I have finally gotten around to completing the series on Homelessness by looking at some innovative solutions being done by nonprofits and local governments in other cities.

East Main Place – Norman, OK

The main reason I became interested in solutions for homelessness was that I heard about Norman’s East Main Place. East Main Place is a transitional housing service that offers a furnished apartment sponsored by “dedicated room sponsors.” Clients are able to live at East Main Place for one year, while working with case workers who help them make lifestyle changes and learn skills so that they can enter the workforce and begin to save money.

Rent at East Main Place is capped at $150 per month, but it is determined on an individual basis. Residents must also save at least $50 per month from their job earnings. When they leave East Main Place, residents take the furniture from the apartment with them to their new housing.

The success rate at East Main Place is really good. According to their website, 91% of residents increase their income over the year, 56% leave with savings, and 74% go into permanent housing. Clearly, the program at East Main Place is working to help homeless people get back on their feet and become productive members of society.

The Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force recommended that 1,000 of these Housing First units similar to East Main Place be created in Oklahoma City.

The Bridge - Dallas, TX

The Bridge is a new $24 million facility funded by a public-private partnership. It opened in May 2008  in downtown Dallas and according to the website costs about $1.6 million to run every four months, or about $25 per person per day. The Bridge is similar to the proposed WestTown facility in Oklahoma City in that it combines homeless services into one collaborative effort at one location.

Some of the services offered at the Bridge include assistance in filing for benefits, mental healthcare, housing assistance, mail, job seeking assistance, storage, and even a kennel for pets. The key to the Bridge is that it provides for both emergency care and transitional care. That is, short-term and long-term solutions determined on an individual basis.

The good news is that as I researched what other cities are doing about homelessness, I found that most of the different approaches toward prevention and alleviation are already being implemented or planned in Oklahoma City. Several other cities have implemented programs similar to the Real Change Voucher- Columbus has “Put Your Change Where You Can Make One” and Philadelphia is known for “The More You Give Change, the More Things Stay the Same.”

The work of the Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force was thorough and well-reasoned, and hopefully the city and local nonprofits can stay on track toward meeting the suggestions and objectives made by that committee.

Homelessness and Downtown Series
Part 1: Current Initiatives
Part 2: Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force
Part 3: Homelessness Solutions Elsewhere

In 2007, Mayor Cornett set up the Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force, with members including (among others) Brett Hamm, Ann Simank, Chip Fudge, Greg Banta, Russel Claus, and Richard Tanenbaum. There was good representation from the city and from property owners.

The team was supposed to look into the problem basically in light of the billions of dollars of investments that have changed downtown. More people live, work, and spend time downtown- so more people are aware of homelessness in the city.

As Oklahoma City continues its emergence as a city with national visibility, the elimination of chronic homelessness is well within our capabilities.

Here are a few of the major recommendations that were made in the September 2007 report.

1. Coordinated System

The issue is that some resources are overwhelmed while others are underutilized. Most of the homeless service providers are independent entities without a coordinating body. The issue is being addressed by the development of WestTown (see Part 1) and, at the time of the report, a “dream team” that would coordinate efforts of service providers.

2. Develop 1000 Housing First Units

The “Housing First” model revolves around the idea that the home itself is the most central part of recovery for any homeless person, whether the problem is financial or substance abuse related. After placing the client in an apartment, further assistance is offered. The report said there were only 180 units already available. Ideally, the units are “scattered site,” meaning the clients are not all herded into the same place downtown, but spread around at locations around the metro.

Above all, the Housing First approach would mean we could switch from an “emergency shelter strategy” to a “rapid re-housing strategy” that would better serve people.

3. Sustainable Public Transportation for the Homeless

The Homeless Alliance offers the H.net Express, a privately funded bus that is free for homeless people that connects them to shelters and service providers. The task force hoped that MetroTransit would be able to help support the H.net Express.

4. Collaborate with Law Enforcement

A recommendation was to add more “Crisis Intervention Team” trained officers, who are able to deal with situations involving “mentally ill and intoxicated” people. Additionally, these CIT officers would connect the homeless individual involved to services rather than taking him to jail.

5. Relocate homeless services

Efforts should be directed at concentrating homeless services outside of the downtown core. Indirectly this would relocate the homeless population and divert negative behaviors, which tend to be prominent in areas where homeless services are abundant and where the primary needs of the homeless can be met.

The task force recommends that a day service center be located “outside of and sufficiently buffered from the downtown redevelopment area.” Probably they are referring to WestTown at 3rd and Virginia, about one and a half miles from the Arts District.

The task force also focused on other service providers in the area like the Salvation Army, which they noted is in the Core to Shore planning area. They note that the Salvation Army and other service providers in or near Core to Shore would be encouraged to relocate somewhere else.

The suggestions of the Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force are well thought out and generally rely on examples from other cities’ successful programs. They focus first on reducing homelessness, and second on putting homelessness a little bit more out of sight from our ritzy new downtown.

It is the latter that could cause controversy and I do think it sounds crass to suggest homeless people should just be pushed over to 3rd and Virginia where downtowners won’t be bothered by them. If this is the direction that the city elects to move toward, I would hope that it wouldn’t end up being a “swept under the rug” issue- maybe high visibility in a new downtown is the only way we can get enough popular awareness to fight against homelessness.

The following quote from the task force’s report assures me that priorities are in order:

Reducing homelessness, particularly street homelessness, will require serious, focused, ongoing collaboration between all service providers and funding sources. Any effort to reduce the negative impacts of homelessness should also recognize the value of preventive measures over short-term attempts to simply relocate the problem.

If you’d like to read the full text of the MHATF Report, I have put it on my server here (opens as PDF file).

Homelessness and Downtown Series
Part 1: Current Initiatives
Part 2: Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force
Part 3: Homelessness Solutions Elsewhere