Chandler May Have Taken A Hint From Sacramento

I wrote yesterday about Chandler, Arizona’s initiative to bring walkable urbanism and higher-density living to intersections that currently have worn down strip malls.  It seems that cities who have been dealing with suburban sprawl a lot longer than Chandler are also on the right path.

The Wall Street Journal wrote about Sacramento’s Blueprint plan for changing it’s growth strategy.  The “Blueprint” for the future - which sets goals of how Sacramento should look in 2050 - was adopted in 2004 and includes goals of creating walkable environments where work, entertainment and living are all in the immediate neighborhood.  Furthermore, it connects mass-transit options so that if you do need to get across town you don’t have to jump in your car.

Four years later, Sacramento has seen a dramatic increase in higher-density building - to the tune of 533% more apartment, townhomes and condos while traditional suburban communities fell by 21%.

Those who encouraged the Blueprint took an ingenious approach to promoting the idea.  Rather than throwing a bunch of graphs and numbers into a PowerPoint presentation they utilized realistic imagery to show how traditional suburban streetcorners with worn down strip malls could be transformed into a walkable and much more liveable environment.

Take a look at some renderings here - and then imagine areas of Chandler, Tempe, Phoenix, Gilbert or Mesa (or whatever city you live in) and what would happen if they underwent similar changes.

Again, I say “Cheers!” to Chandler for starting the push towards walkable environments.  Chandler already has great plans for Historic Downtown Chandler that include more townhomes, condos, higher-density single family homes, an expanded convention center and more.  Let’s hope Chandler continues to promote higher-density growth and the continuation of linking mass-transit options.