The road to hell is paved by Good Intentions (not an original thought) but let's count some of these 'intentions'.
- Commerce needs to be planned. By Planners. With Degrees. So
let's hire a few dozen and see what they produce. And, as
John McCrone notes, what they've duly produced is a whole bunch of pretty drawings,
some spatial thoughts, and little else. Whereas, as anyone with
commercial experience knows, a classic strategy for building a business
is simply to start any old where, NOW. Then, constantly tune products,
prices, places and propositions,. That way. people (customers) actually
shape your business into something that is good for them, and in the
process make you profitable. But this approach (which relies on short
feedback loops, business nous and a willingness to abandon unprofitable
ventures) is simply not understood by Planners, who have rarely run a
business in their short, cloistered lives.
- Spatial Plans (the frames, precincts etc) have a nice logic to
them, and feed the illusion that Progress is being Made. This is
largely what Share-an-Idea turned into - precincts, compulsory purchases
to enable a pure occupation of the spaces, and yet more pretty
drawings. But, (and John, this is an avenue to explore) the precincts
seem destined to be inhabited by Government (the only large tenant with
deep enough pockets) - so Justice, Health, IRD, WINZ, and their
accessories - cafes, meeting spaces, are destined to be the main
occupants of said Frames. The collateral damage (NG gallery, the car
yards, any business still hanging on in there) is already apparent. And
because the per-square rents for these large chunks of land and their
largish buildings are so large compared to those in suburban and new-CBD
(Sydenham/Addington/Middleton/Riccarton/Hornby/Airport arc, plus the
Oxford Terrace to Bealey Ave strip (Montreal/Victoria street, non
CCDU...) locations, most potential tenants outside Government have opted
for the lower rents and immediate availability there. This may change,
but only at the rate of contractual review. And the high old-CBD
rents, identified as the commercial killer three years ago by the
original Sir Bob (Jones), will surely not have gone down in the
meantime.
- the notion in John's article about the creatives going first is a
partial and I would argue incorrect rendition of an idea better
developed in Stewart Brand's (SB put together the Whole Earth Catalogue
last century) '
How Buildings Learn'. Brand's argument was that
creatives need cheap, uncared-for spaces to colonise, and bend to their
own whims. This kicks off a cycle of what John's article rightly notes
as 'Buzz', money starts to take an interest, the nature of the area
slowly but subtly changes, the creatives move on to more old cheap
premises and the cycle turns. But an overall regeneration has occurred.
These spaces, of course, (High Street was a local example) are
precisely the 'old dungers' that fell down. And no-one is planning more
old dungers - they will by definition be new dungers, and not cheap
ones at that. So bye-bye creatives, especially since spaces where, as
Brand notes 'the landlord doesn't care what you do in there' are not
going to be countenanced by new landlords, CCDU, CERA or whoever.
Imagine the EPIC building getting modified by its tenants (as was the
famous innovation hub that started it all:
MIT's Building 20). Hmm,
not gonna happen, is it.
- the large Precincts run exactly counter to an interesting
streetscape.
Jane Jacobs, a half century ago, identified one key to
varied-but-rhyming streetscapes: small plots, many owners, hence many
ideas and the ability to put them into practice. The precincts are the
polar opposite of this.
Finally, a quote from the great lady herself:
“There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make
it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”
The road to hell is paved by Good Intentions (not an original thought) but let's count some of these 'intentions'.
- Commerce needs to be planned. By Planners. With Degrees. So
let's hire a few dozen and see what they produce. And, as John McC
notes, what they've duly produced is a whole bunch of pretty drawings,
some spatial thoughts, and little else. Whereas, as anyone with
commercial experience knows, a classic strategy for building a business
is simply to start any old where, NOW. Then, constantly tune products,
prices, places and propositions,. That way. people (customers) actually
shape your business into something that is good for them, and in the
process make you profitable. But this approach (which relies on short
feedback loops, business nous and a willingness to abandon unprofitable
ventures) is simply not understood by Planners, who have rarely run a
business in their short, cloistered lives.
- Spatial Plans (the frames, precincts etc) have a nice logic to
them, and feed the illusion that Progress is being Made. This is
largely what Share-an-Idea turned into - precincts, compulsory purchases
to enable a pure occupation of the spaces, and yet more pretty
drawings. But, (and John, this is an avenue to explore) the precincts
seem destined to be inhabited by Government (the only large tenant with
deep enough pockets) - so Justice, Health, IRD, WINZ, and their
accessories - cafes, meeting spaces, are destined to be the main
occupants of said Frames. The collateral damage (NG gallery, the car
yards, any business still hanging on in there) is already apparent. And
because the per-square rents for these large chunks of land and their
largish buildings are so large compared to those in suburban and new-CBD
(Sydenham/Addington/Middleton/Riccarton/Hornby/Airport arc, plus the
Oxford Terrace to Bealey Ave strip (Montreal/Victoria street, non
CCDU...) locations, most potential tenants outside Government have opted
for the lower rents and immediate availability there. This may change,
but only at the rate of contractual review. And the high old-CBD
rents, identified as the commercial killer three years ago by the
original Sir Bob (Jones), will surely not have gone down in the
meantime.
- the notion in John's article about the creatives going first is a
partial and I would argue incorrect rendition of an idea better
developed in Stewart Brand's (SB put together the Whole Earth Catalogue
last century) 'How Buildings Learn'. Brand's argument was that
creatives need cheap, uncared-for spaces to colonise, and bend to their
own whims. This kicks off a cycle of what John's article rightly notes
as 'Buzz', money starts to take an interest, the nature of the area
slowly but subtly changes, the creatives move on to more old cheap
premises and the cycle turns. But an overall regeneration has occurred.
These spaces, of course, (High Street was a local example) are
precisely the 'old dungers' that fell down. And no-one is planning more
old dungers - they will by definition be new dungers, and not cheap
ones at that. So bye-bye creatives, especially since spaces where, as
Brand notes 'the landlord doesn't care what you do in there' are not
going to be countenanced by new landlords, CCDU, CERA or whoever.
Imagine the EPIC building getting modified by its tenants (as was the
famous innovation hub that started it all: MIT's Building 20). Hmm,
not gonna happen, is it.
- the large Precincts run exactly counter to an interesting
streetscape. Jane Jacobs, a half century ago, identified one key to
varied-but-rhyming streetscapes: small plots, many owners, hence many
ideas and the ability to put them into practice. The precincts are the
polar opposite of this.
Finally, a quote from the great lady herself:
“There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make
it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”
