What cities can do to help build infill/CoolTowns

To answer the previous entry’s questions:

Municipalities (economic development agencies in partnership with planning agencies) have the power to reverse the ‘greenfield easier’/’infill-harder’ reality. The overwhelming desire to truly accomplish this is years away unfortunately.

What municipalities can do to help build CoolTowns:
1. Property/site identification and assembly assistance.
2. Tax increment financing (TIF) program to fund public infrastructure, namely project-killing parking garages. Or better yet, reduce the parking ratios.
3. Promotion of specific infill projects as models for more effective job creation/talent attraction ventures over the long-outdated, traditional and ineffective means of stealing companies from other cities. The mayor, economic development agency and chambers of commerce will then support it – it becomes pretty much a slam dunk after that.
4. Fast-track and incentivize infill projects like crazy, as it used to be for sprawl in its heyday. Make it clear at the onset.

As Thomas Jefferson (re abolishing slavery) and Jane Jacobs have said, the only comprehensive solution is time – for a new generation to lead.

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neilkt