Ditch the business-focused downtown model for the mixed use urban neighborhood of the future
Last week’s announcements that Fifth Third Bank and Humana would be leaving their downtown office towers bolstered the narrative that downtown Louisville is doomed. In reality, this moment is best thought of as a chance to acknowledge that the old model of commuter-centric, business-focused downtowns is done for. Louisville has a chance to be a pioneer in developing the mixed-use urban neighborhood of the future that melds business, life and leisure that is independent of the working habits of neighborhoods farther afield.
Humana Tower closing: A giant step in the wrong direction for downtown Louisville
How do we leverage downtown Louisville's amenities?
While office towers may be emptying, downtown still has some of the city’s best amenities. In hindsight, the 8664 people were probably right, but Waterfront Park is still a world-class public space. The Yum Center and Slugger Field are blocks from each other as well as entertainment assets like Fourth Street Live, Whisky Row and Louisville’s theaters—to say nothing of the independent restaurants and stores in between. These are the types of things people want to live near to have the type of lifestyle that many of Louisville’s young folks (myself included!) have moved to other cities to experience.
How do we leverage these? Start with building more housing. By some measures, 30% of downtown’s surface area is dedicated to parking (compared with 7% of Chicago, 4% of DC and .4% of New York). These lots are rarely full, now less so than ever. Better to think of them as blank slates! Turning them into affordable and market-rate apartments and townhomes would be a much better use of space. Add in options for retail, education and health care and you’ve got yourself a thriving neighborhood. With fewer commuters and a more walkable residential community, wide streets solely dedicated to cars are also unnecessary. Redoing the streetscape to accommodate multiple modes of transportation—cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians—not only makes them safer and more efficient, but often more pleasant. In New York City, leaders are planning to completely overhaul 5th Avenue, one of the world's busiest, most iconic streets, by expanding sidewalks, reducing car lanes and increasing buses and bicycle space.
Mayor Craig Greenberg: My team has a big, ambitious agenda for every part of Louisville.
Let Louisville create a future-focused ecosystem
And what of empty skyscrapers? Office conversions to residential buildings are becoming increasingly popular. For some, particularly the Fifth Third building, this would be impractical—but conversion to co-working, arts and events and educational space is possible. Some cities are even converting vacant office space into laboratories. These unused spaces could be beacons of the new economy that lean into Louisville’s existing strengths. A UPS blockchain logistics research center or a major life sciences AI lab above several floors of a start-up hub? We could create a future-focused ecosystem in one building where highly educated and well-paid employees are able to live and play right around the corner.
The hollowing out of the nation’s business districts was, in crucial ways, out of our collective control. However, we can shape what happens next. With the right regulations, policy and strategy, downtown can stand on its own and serve as a regional and national model for a thriving neighborhood fit for a great city.
Joe Losavio was born and raised in the Highlands. He has dual BAs from the University of Southern California, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He spent six years as a specialist on the Cities, Infrastructure and Urban Services team at the World Economic Forum and now works in global partnerships at Mastercard.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville must leverage its amenities to create a city of the future
