When Liveability and Development Clash

Liveability means different things to different people. That is the lesson to be learned from an emerging conflict in Austin Texas over whose voice should speak on quality of life issues as they relate to the local business climate.

Liveable City is a relatively new organization, working to promote quality of life improvements in Austin. It includes one of Austin's highest-profile environmentalists and two former City Council members--not exactly the type of leaders that local business and economic development leaders would place in charge of the city's quality of life crusade. Liveable City flexed its muscle this year when it was influential in altering a major downtown real estate development, pressuring a national retail store to abandon the project and leading one of Austin's leading public companies to renegotiate a deal for a new headquarters.

This is not an unfamiliar debate in many cities across America. Smart growth, new urbanism, livable cities initiatives and other movements have clashed with more traditional economic development and business interests. The choices are complex, including whether to go with local merchants or invite in national retail franchises. Economic development advocates argue that the livable communities movement has raised design standards for new developments, in some cases adding to review time and development costs. Livable community advocates say that cities have allowed developers and their tenants to compromise local quality of life by developing efficient, but unattractive and poorly constructed buildings that contribute little to creating high-quality urban places.

This is a tough balancing act for many communities. My advice to local economic developers is to look carefully at both what is desirable and feasible in terms of local development. What does the community desire or want? What type of development is feasible for the community? And yes, what is in the community's long-term economic and social interests? We find in our work that citizens are increasingly concerned about their quality of life. It is the economic developer's job to educate people about their development options and the tradeoffs that are associated with these different choices. Future economic development plans and strategies will need to consider and present more--not less--choices for people. What choices does your plan offer your community?

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