Three new businesses designed to help shape up Deacon Boulevard have gone out of business —- in a matter of months. Now the mixed-use development in partnership with Wake Forest is in jeopardy.
The Winston-Salem Journal consulted a planning expert:
Tom Murphy, a senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute in Washington, said that it is important to create public space in a mixed-use development, such as a square with fountains, where people can gather.
“If you begin to put that in first — and it is high quality — then people get a sense that this is going to be a neat, nice place,” Murphy said. “It’s like everything else. It’s branding the place.”
I’ll let Mr. Murphy’s comment stand for itself. Hey, the reporter was just trying to get her second source, and experts who can generalize any situation are great second sources.
For what it’s worth, take note below of ULI’s vision for America in the year 2050. Antiplanner has some thoughts on another America 2050 plan.
Yes, 2050 might not be that far away, but in many ways it’s an eternity.
