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Jane Jacobs and the Value of Older, Smaller Buildings 167 Jane Jacobs and the Value of Older, Smaller Buildings Michael Powe, Jonathan Mabry, Emily Talen, and Dillon Mahmoudi Problem, research strategy, and n The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs (1961) argues fi ndings: In recent years, some economists that “plain, ordinary, low-value old buildings” are critically needed envi- and urban development advocates have ronments for small, entrepreneurial businesses and healthy districts and argued that historic preservation is funda- I cities (p. 187). Despite Jacobs’s prominence in urban theory and her place in mentally at odds with a growing, diverse economy. We supply empirical support for most graduate planning curricula, scholars rarely study the role of older build- Jane Jacobs’s (1961) seminal argument about ings and the importance of a mix of old and new buildings in supporting the value of “plain, ordinary, low-value old neighborhood vitality. This leaves city planners and policymakers without a buildings,” fi nding that older, smaller clear rationale for supporting older and diverse urban fabric. buildings support dense, diverse streets and We assess the extent to which areas of Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), neighborhoods (p. 187). We use spatial Tucson (AZ), and Washington, DC, with small-scaled building stock, older regression models to analyze how social and economic activity relate to building charac- building age, and a greater mix of building age, have greater population den- teristics in Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), sity, greater density of jobs, and greater diversity of residents and economic Tucson (AZ), and Washington, DC. On a activity. We do so using metrics constructed on a 200-m by 200-m grid over per commercial square foot basis, areas with these four cities. We analyze the relative densities of jobs in small businesses older, smaller buildings and mixed-vintage and new businesses in areas with older, smaller buildings and greater diversity blocks support more jobs in new businesses, of building age compared with areas predominantly characterized by large, small businesses, and businesses in creative industries. However, while areas with older, new buildings. smaller buildings have greater diversity of We fi rst review research on the value of older, smaller buildings and resident age and higher proportions of small mixed-vintage blocks, as well as research and theory on the value of density businesses, we also fi nd lower proportions of and diversity. Next, we explain our research strategy, including the data and Hispanic and non-White residents, indicat- measures used, and detail the fi ndings of our analysis. We conclude the study ing limited racial and ethnic diversity. Takeaway for practice: Focusing on new with suggestions for future research and discussion of tools for keeping older construction alone to achieve denser, more buildings in use while still promoting new real estate development for growing sustainable cities elides the important role populations and economies. that older, smaller buildings play in dense, We fi nd that the presence of older, smaller buildings and greater diversity diverse neighborhoods. Planners should of building age is associated with signifi cantly greater population density, support the preservation and reuse of older buildings and the integration of old and new buildings. Relevant policies include adaptive director of research at the National Trust for Dillon Mahmoudi ([email protected]) is a reuse ordinances, performance-based energy Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green PhD candidate in the Toulan School of codes, context-sensitive form-based coding, Lab. Jonathan Mabry (jonathan.mabry@ Urban Studies and Planning at Portland and deregulation of parking requirements. tucsonaz.gov) is the historic preservation State University. Keywords: preservation, Jane Jacobs, offi cer for the City of Tucson. Emily Talen diversity, economic development, commu- ([email protected]) is a professor in the School Journal of the American Planning Association, nity development of Geographical Sciences and Urban Vol. 82, No. 2, Spring 2016 About the authors: Michael Powe Planning and School of Sustainability at DOI 10.1080/01944363.2015.1135072 ([email protected]) is the associate Arizona State University. © American Planning Association, Chicago, IL. 168 Journal of the American Planning Association, Spring 2016, Vol. 82, No. 2 lower median age of residents, greater diversity of the age the fi nancial return generated in the buildings—and that of residents, greater density of jobs per commercial square new businesses often naturally emerge in buildings with low foot of space, and higher proportions of jobs in small economic overhead (Jacobs, 1961). businesses. Contrary to expectations, we also fi nd signifi - Despite Jacobs’s considerable infl uence on planning cantly lower proportions of Hispanic or non-White resi- practice and research, many of the seminal ideas in The dents where there are older, smaller buildings and greater Death and Life of Great American Cities have received scant diversity of building age. empirical testing. Weicher (1973) and Schmidt (1977) Our fi ndings offer some support for Jane Jacobs’s 1961 conduct statistical tests of the relationships between land observations about the value of a mix of old and new use diversity, diversity of building age, and measures of buildings and counter arguments from Glaeser (2011) and neighborhood vitality and fi nd limited evidence supporting others that density and affordability can be best supported Jacobs’s assertions. Schmidt (1977) uses the census tract as by simply increasing the overall supply of units. Growing the unit of analysis and explores data related to crime and cities seek density in new development and redevelopment delinquency, mental illness, and death rates. Weicher to reduce automobile dependency, energy consumption, (1973) analyzes 65 of Chicago’s community areas— and infrastructure costs, and to increase the use of transit neighborhood boundaries, as they were defi ned by social and other alternative transportation modes. We argue, scientists at the University of Chicago around 1930—and however, that a focus on density alone elides the important fi nds that diversity of land uses is actually associated with role that older, smaller buildings play in supporting small higher rates of delinquency, mental illness, and death. businesses and functional, diverse neighborhoods. Planning In more recent years, economists and urban develop- tools and programs that support the continued use and ment advocates have challenged Jacobs’s focus on the value adaptive reuse of existing older, smaller buildings constitute of old, small-scaled buildings. Glaeser (2011) recognizes compelling options for managing growth while retaining Jacobs’s work advocating for diversity and arguing for neighborhood character. mixed-use zoning, but he holds that her claim that old Future research should dig further into Jacobs’s (1961) buildings support entrepreneurship is ill supported. Glaeser observations by directly comparing the performance of (2011) believes Jacobs “thought that preserving older, landmarked buildings and buildings in historic districts shorter structures would somehow keep prices affordable for with that of buildings that are simply old and low in valua- budding entrepreneurs. That’s not how supply and demand tion. Researchers should also explore the extent to which works” (p. 147). He notes that new construction may not areas with buildings constructed prior to major shifts in itself house “any quirky, less profi table fi rms, but by provid- construction techniques and materials—buildings con- ing new space, the building will ease pressure on the rest of structed before the postwar suburban boom, for instance— the city’s real estate” (p. 148). Other urban development perform differently than areas with buildings that are advocates have joined this argument, connecting preserva- merely old relative to a city’s overall building stock. tion with high rents and limited supply of space (Been, Ellen, Gedal, Glaeser, & McCabe, 2014; Real Estate Board of New York, 2014). Hedonic price models tend to show Valuing Older, Smaller Buildings that historic district designation is associated with increased property values (Gilderbloom, Hanka, & Ambrosius, 2009; One of the most revered and widely read urban plan- Haughey & Basolo, 2000; Rypkema & Cheong, 2011). ning works, Jane Jacobs’s 1961 book, The Death and Life of A crucial distinction between our study and studies Great American Cities, sheds light on the important role that pointing to the effects of historic districts is that the latter diversity plays in supporting healthy neighborhoods and are focused on protected districts as opposed to buildings cities. An outsider to the planning profession, Jacobs wields that are just older. The difference is between preserved keen observations and pithy arguments to openly criticize districts of valued architectural character, which tend to city planning and urban renewal and calls for a renewed have relatively higher property values (Leichenko, Coulson, focus on the “intricate…ballet” of city streets and sidewalks & Listokin, 2001), and Jacobs’s (1961) “plain, ordinary, throughout the day and night (p. 50). Jacobs gives consider- low-value old buildings” (p. 187). We seek to evaluate the able attention to the “need for aged buildings” in urban spirit of Jacobs’s insight that old buildings serve an impor- neighborhoods and argues that the healthiest areas of cities
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