Veterans Day '67 on Plum Street...

[gnome]

Plum Street was never really a "hippie hangout", the scene was "invented" and didn't grow organically. Basically, it was a block long row of shops ...

You bring up a very interesting point about "invented" places. We've seen a few fail: Trapper's Alley, AutoWorld, pedestrian malls in downtowns from Kalamazoo to Lansing and Battle Creek and now we have the New Paradise Valley aka Harmonie Park. I wonder why these planned places fail and organically grown ones prosper. The old warehouse district comes to mind as an area that was hopping 6 nights out of 7 dispite the fact that the area was a little rough.

What is it about planning that planners don't get? Don't mean to poke at out resident civic planners, but you guys must look at these failed experiments and wonder the same thing.

The only successful "invented" place I can recall right now, is the San Antonio Riverwalk. I'm sure there are others ...

[DetroitPlanner]

You bring up a very interesting point about "invented" places. We've seen a few fail: Trapper's Alley, AutoWorld, pedestrian malls in downtowns from Kalamazoo to Lansing and Battle Creek and now we have the New Paradise Valley aka Harmonie Park. I wonder why these planned places fail and organically grown ones prosper. The old warehouse district comes to mind as an area that was hopping 6 nights out of 7 dispite the fact that the area was a little rough.

What is it about planning that planners don't get? Don't mean to poke at out resident civic planners, but you guys must look at these failed experiments and wonder the same thing.

The only successful "invented" place I can recall right now, is the San Antonio Riverwalk. I'm sure there are others ...

How about Campus Martius, the Riverwalk, Dequindre Cut? Those are invented places and had a lot more planner input than private developments like Auto World or Trappers Alley. Look at Eastern Market, that was invented 150 years ago and is still going strong. Many pedestrian malls go like gangbusters. Look at Downtown Disney, Universal Walk, or Lincoln Rd those are successful ped malls. The lakefront in Chicago was developed by a planner. Lincoln, Jackson, and Grant Park seem pretty well used to me. Belle Isle was built by a landscape planner, it draws people despite the fact the city has little money to maintain it.

There are a lot of complicated factors in trying something new. Would you rather have a world full of Super Walmarts?