Of Malcolm and Reubens: The role of public-private partnerships in city making

By Connie Spellman

Malcolm X. The Reuben sandwich. An innovative approach to city making that may well set a standard for the future.

The common denominator for this seemingly disparate trio is Omaha, Neb. Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little in Omaha. The Reuben sandwich, or so the story goes, was invented by Reuben Kulakofsky, a wholesale grocer who made the culinary sensation for his buddies during a late-night poker game at Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel in the 1920s. The third item is noted urban planner Alexander Garvin’s characterization of Omaha’s Urban Design Element, a tool that has positioned Omaha to become the first city of its size to develop and implement a comprehensive urban design plan.

How does a Midwestern community, steeped in a tradition of practicality, find itself in the rosy glow of the national urban design spotlight? The short answer is four words: commitment, vision, vetting, dialogue.

The long answer dates back to 2001.

It was then that a group of Omaha’s civic leaders from the private sector began to chart a new direction for the city’s growth, one that recognized the role of Omaha’s physical and social environments in sustaining its economic health. Their commitment to taking an active role in the future of their community, along with the commitment of their counterparts in the public sector, is the first tenet of city making in modern-day America - the will of the power brokers must not only be present, it must be palpable.

This new direction inspired the launch of a new initiative hosted by the Omaha Community Foundation and supported by private donors. Its mission: to create an Omaha that is connected, smart, significant, sparkling and fun. When the proposed design plans for a pair of Wal-Mart stores threatened to impede the success of this mission in 2002, the initiative, now known as Omaha by Design, began galvanizing community support for a new plan to create a better Omaha, a place that respects its natural environment, fosters civic pride and celebrates the diversity of its neighborhoods.

That plan, the Urban Design Element (UDE) lauded by Garvin, is a blueprint for changing the quality of development in Omaha while safeguarding its natural environment. Its 73 recommendations center on three components: Green Omaha, which seeks to preserve and enhance the city’s natural setting and park system; Civic Omaha, which seeks to define and improve the city’s civic places and public image; and Neigh­bor­hood Omaha, which seeks to preserve and enhance the diverse character of the city’s neighborhoods.

The UDE represents the vision Omahans have for the future of their city. It’s the product of a cast of thousands, including a volunteer Working Review Committee comprised of development and design professionals as well as others representing civic interests, national urban de­sign consultants, city officials and hundreds of interested citizens. I’ll never forget our first com­munity meet­­ing, which was held on an exceptionally cold evening a week before Christ­mas in 2003. One hundred and thirty people attended, and the numbers grew at subsequent meetings designed to outline the Green Omaha, Civic Omaha and Neigh­borhood Omaha components.

The key to our visioning process was the constant vetting of ideas generated. In addition to the community meetings, we developed an interactive Web site, created a speakers’ bureau that catered to audiences small and large, and secured the support of the Omaha World-Herald, which examined these issues through a series of articles and editorials.

The plan was unveiled to the public in October 2004 and was subsequently approved by the Omaha City Council and incorporated into the City of Omaha’s master plan that December. Since that time, we have been facilitating part­nerships be­tween the public and private sectors to implement the UDE’s 73 recommendations. The key to the implementation process is dialogue - continuous and inclusive of all who care what their community will look like and, perhaps more importantly, what it will feel like in the decades ahead.

The importance of continuous, inclusive dialogue in city making is perhaps best illustrated by the Omaha City Council’s August 2007 approval of a groundbreaking package of zoning code revisions and additions that will bring life and weight to the UDE.

For 18 months prior, a volunteer Technical Advisory Group worked side by side with the city’s planning staff, city officials, Omaha by Design and our national urban design consultants to draft a comprehensive package of code revisions and additions that will literally change the appearance of Omaha. Together, through healthy, honest debate and creativity, they authored a thoughtful package that makes sense for our city, our development community and, most importantly, our citizens.

Successful city making is not for the impatient nor the faint of heart. Our implementation of the UDE - this celebration of all things Omaha - continues.

Urban planner Jonathan Barnett of Wallace, Roberts & Todd, LLC in Philadelphia and one of the architects of the UDE, looks into the future of Omaha and sees the following:

“When the work is done, new parks will have been created around the creek systems throughout the city; the main highways and streets across the city will be landscaped; stores, offices and apartments will be grouped around identifiable civic locations that have the presence of traditional downtowns; and each cluster of neighborhoods will have its own amenities and centers of civic life.”

If Malcolm X were alive today, I’d like to find him on the rooftop terrace of The Blackstone in Omaha, enjoying a Reuben while gazing out upon the nearby Midtown Crossing at Turner Park construction site, watching his city remake itself in accordance with the wishes of its populace - and the collaboration of its public and private sectors.

21 goals leading to a better Omaha

Omaha’s Urban Design Element, incorporated into the city’s master plan in December 2004, is a blueprint for changing the quality of development in Omaha while safeguarding its natural environment. Its 73 recommendations, which fall under 21 goals, center on three components: Green Omaha, which seeks to preserve and enhance the city’s natural setting and park system; Civic Omaha, which seeks to define and improve the city’s civic places and public image; and Neighborhood Omaha, which seeks to preserve and enhance the diverse character of the city’s neighborhoods. Progress toward the realization of the 21 goals is noted below in parenthesis.

Green Omaha

Goal 1 - Safe floodways and floodplains forming a city-wide park system
Omaha should follow policies that minimize as far a possible the dangers to life and property present in the watershed. At the same time, the watershed and its surrounding topography are tremendous assets to the city. The city should follow policies that preserve and enhance both the creeks in the watershed and their floodplains as green, publicly accessible settings for the city. The city should also foster development policies for the area immediately surrounding the watershed that diminish negative effects on the watershed and enhance its character as a green setting for the city. (The recently launched Cole Creek Restoration Project will serve as the pilot for realizing this goal.)

Goal 2 - A complete trail system
Omaha has a very popular trail system, mostly constructed along the creeks in the Papio watershed. The city should continue to design, finance and build a complete trail system within the Papio system, connect it with others parts of the city, and make it more visible, accessible and effective as a means of transportation. (Several new trail connections have been completed in the last three years, and more are on the drawing board. A new bike trail map was developed in 2006.)

Goal 3 - Preservation of landscape at the city’s edges
In conjunction with Omaha’s master plan policy that development will extend to the Douglas County boundaries north and south and to the ridgeline at the edge of the Elkhorn preserve to the west, the city should identify important areas of the existing landscape, including certain farmlands, bluffs, prairies, woodlands, wetlands and floodplains, which should be preserved. (The Douglas County Master Plan, developed and approved in 2007, contains a major focus on low impact development and conservation design.)

Goal 4 - Landscaped highway edges
The limited-access highway edges in the city are large areas of landscape that should be turned into landscape designs that create a positive image of the city. (Keep Omaha Beautiful has completed Phase I of a pilot project at the northwest corner of 72nd and Center streets in Omaha and is currently seeking funding for Phase II, which will focus on the I-680/Center Street interchange.)

Goal 5 - Green streets
Older sections of Omaha have many tree-lined streets. Newer sections of Omaha do not, but the main arterial streets in the western part of Omaha have been built with wide rights of way that can accept substantial amounts of landscaping. Budgetary cutbacks and current city policies have not encouraged tree planting and maintenance. The city should adopt policies to preserve and enhance a connected series of landscaped streets as an important component of the city’s image. (The City of Omaha has developed a Green Streets Master Plan and also updated its Suburban Parks Master Plan.)

Goal 6 - Green parking lots
Large parking lots for industrial, commercial, institutional and apartment residential uses in the city should be designed to minimize negative effects on the environment and microclimate, and provide a landscaped environment. (A zoning code revision package, spearheaded by Omaha by Design and unanimously approved by the Omaha City Council in 2007, includes guidelines and standards for landscaping parking lots.)

Goal 7 - A green image for Omaha
The open spaces of the city should be unified
and connected to create an image of Omaha as a green city. (Addressing the previous six goals and implementing the zoning code revision package will greatly enhance the green image of Omaha.)

Civic Omaha

Goal 1 - Delineating the Areas of Civic Importance
Omaha’s image should be defined by its built environment as well as by its green setting. The city should select the locations within the city that are of primary importance in shaping its physical image, and pursue objectives and policies to preserve and develop these places of civic importance in ways that help Omaha to be recognized as a first-choice city. (The zoning code revision package identified specific Areas of Civic Importance in the City of Omaha.)

Goal 2 - Preserving and creating distinctive civic places
There are some distinctive places that help to define Omaha’s image, and there are opportunities to improve these places and create more. Omaha should promote the preservation and creation of these places through legislation and public investment. (Mutual of Omaha is developing the city’s first Civic Place District. Midtown Crossing at Turner Park is set for completion in 2009.)

Goal 3 - Streetscapes
Streetlights, traffic signals, traffic information signs, parking signs, street identification signs, street trees, and street and sidewalk materials are important components of the city’s image. All elements of streetscape with the delineated Areas of Civic Importance should contribute to harmonious and consistent designs for these areas. (Omaha by Design is spearheading the development of a Streetscape Handbook for the City of Omaha, which is set for completion in January 2008.)

Goal 4 - Major commercial corridors and intersections
Major commercial corridors should be designed to present a coherent image for the motorist and a safe and manageable environment for motorists and pedestrians. (The zoning code revision package addressed guidelines and standards for the development and redevelopment of Omaha’s major commercial corridors.)

Goal 5 - Pedestrian-oriented mixed-use centers
Commercial activities in Omaha should occur in park-once, mixed-use centers rather than in continuous strips along arterial streets. (Several examples of mixed-use centers have developed during the past four years, including Village Pointe, Aksarben Village and Midtown Crossing at Turner Park.

Goal 6 - Conservation of buildings
Existing buildings should be recognized as a potential resource to be preserved as part of our heritage, as useful parts of the city’s built environment or to reinforce a community’s sense of place. (Examples of successful building conservation in recent years include the Baum building at 50th and Dodge, and the Omaha Building at 17th and Farnam.)

Goal 7 - Lighting significant structures
The city should encourage effective lighting of significant structures in Areas of Civic Importance so that these illuminations reinforce the city’s distinctive image. This lighting should be energy-efficient and should be carefully directed to minimize light spill beyond the structure being illuminated. (Omaha has many examples of effective lighting of significant structures, including the new First National Tower and the Twin Towers in downtown Omaha. The new Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge, set for completion in late 2008, will feature dramatic illumination.)

Goal 8 - Public art
The city should encourage the placement of public art in appropriate locations and the incorporation of art in public structures. (The zoning code revision package encourages the use of public art. The city has also participated in several community public art projects, and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art has sponsored several public art projects.)

Goal 9 - General quality of public design
The city should seek the highest quality of design in the structures it constructs and in significant buildings open to the public that are financed by the city. (The zoning code revision package calls for the creation of a Design Review Board to review all publicly funded or partially funded projects.)

Neighborhood Omaha

Goal 1 - Creating neighborhood alliances
In 1990, Omaha established community-planning districts as part of the master plan. Although the city has changed substantially since then, the principle of establishing planning districts within the city still has validity. The city should create planning districts that foster strategic alliances of individual neighborhoods defined by mutually ac­ceptable boundaries. (The Ben­son-Ames Alliance, managed by Omaha by Design, was launched in 2005 as the first city-sponsored alliance.)

Goal 2 - Preservation and enhancement of older neighborhoods
Older neighborhoods should be recognized as resources to be preserved and enhanced for the residential environment that they provide. (Omaha by Design and the Neighborhood Center for Greater Omaha support neighborhood development. The zoning code revision package also has guidelines
and standards for the preservation and enhancement of older neighborhoods.)

Goal 3 - Preserving and enhancing retail in older neighborhoods
Retail districts in older neighborhoods should be preserved and enhanced where they remain viable, and replaced by other uses in areas that are underutilized. (The zoning code revision package has guidelines and standards for preserving and enhancing retail in older neighborhoods. The Dundee Business Associ­ation is using these guidelines and standards to preserve and enhance its business area at 50th and Underwood.)

Goal 4 - Neighborhood retail and other amenities in post-1950 neighborhoods
The city should pursue policies that promote the creation of neighborhood amenities that enhance newer neighborhood al­liance areas. (The zoning code revision package has guidelines for addressing post-1950 neighborhoods.)

Goal 5 - Walkable neighborhoods in newly developing areas
Omaha has many traditional, walkable neighborhoods in older areas. However, in the parts of the city that are currently going through the development process, walkable neighborhoods are seldom being built. The city should pursue policies that promote walkable neighborhoods in newly developing areas. (The zoning code revision package contains a new voluntary section for creating walkable neighborhoods. The Leytham project at 168th and State streets will be the first in Omaha to use this zoning option.)

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