Looking at a Post Pandemic Capital Region of Upstate New York By Carlos Balsas,PhD, AICP

The pandemic has affected the Capital Region quite dramatically. Based on pre-pandemic published research and applied teaching activities, in this essay I argue that there are some important planning orientations to keep in mind in a post-pandemic reality. They are centered on neighborhood planning, downtown revitalization, walkability, industry and advanced manufacturing, and arts and culture.  Neighborhood planning is critical to successful cities and metropolitan areas. Albany’s historic downtown district has struggled in its fight to become a thriving community. Undergraduate students at the University at Albany studied which programs and initiatives have been implemented to revitalize the downtown and what must still be done to aid the creation of a more vibrant, livable and socially just downtown. Other neighborhoods throughout Albany and the Capital Region are also in need of assistance. A different cohort of students examined neighborhood transformations and planning efforts in Arbor Hill and Beverwyck in Albany, and Harmony Mills and Hamilton Hill in Cohoes and Schenectady, respectively. Although these neighborhoods are in different stages of development, the research methods uncovered both socio-economic and urban difficulties and revitalization potential. The recommendations put forward range the gamut from crime mitigation tactics and school-based programs, to housing renovations, public space improvements, capacity building and community gardens.

Walkable places are assets in cities. They have advantages over vehicle-oriented spaces in terms of economic, social, health, energy and environmental perspectives. Continued car-dependence in New York State has threatened the existence and expansion of walkable places. But there are exceptions, Albany has a walkable concourse in the Empire State Plaza built during the 1970s; Ithaca has a downtown pedestrian precinct on State Street, which was expanded a few years ago; and finally, Buffalo has completed a redesign of its Main Street Transit Mall to increase its vibrancy in connection with the city’s waterfront district, Canalside historic redevelopment district. As upstate cities are greatly impacted by their latitude, all have to deal with inclement weather conditions during winter. Walking outdoors during winter months is not comfortable, safe or pleasant. This condition can accentuate sedentarism and car dependence, which also tends to worsen health conditions. Recently, I analyzed how the city of Albany enables walking conditions, with particular attention to two subterranean facilities: The underground concourse at the Empire State Plaza and the service tunnels at the University of Albany uptown campus. I argued that all cities benefit from comfortable, safe and pleasant walking environments; however, winter cities tend to benefit the most from the existence of indoor, grade-separated walking facilities. Upstate New York cities will likely derive benefits from extending, and especially connecting, their existing underground pedestrian facilities.

In terms of industry and advanced manufacturing, it is important to recognize how urban industrial transformations occurring in upstate New York communities can succeed at creating long-term, well-paying and high-skilled jobs for their host cities and towns. Although it is difficult to convert former 20th century industrial sites to 21st century advanced manufacturing requirements, state and localities should not abandon existing industrially zoned land in favor of out-of-town greenfield industrial developments. A comparative discussion of five upstate cases according to a fourfold criterion (land, labor, capital and triple bottom line) has revealed some puzzling findings. Finally, the Berkshires-Hudson region is a hotbed of creative enterprise. Although, it can be approached as one region, the Massachusetts – New York state border differentiates two slightly separate back-to-back Janus-faced realities. Both territorial halves have been negatively impacted by decades of de-industrialization. A study of the emergence of the Berkshires-Hudson regional creative cluster uncovered how local and regional leaders have influenced arts and cultural priorities, public funding, territorial development agendas, and creative economy educational opportunities. The in-depth reading of these various materials, and especially the careful implementation of the planning orientations they propose will certainly help create a more resilient and sustainable post-pandemic Capital Region.

References

(2020) The reinvention of indoor walking for sustainable non-motorized active living in winter cities. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment.

(2020) Reconsidering Industrial Policy in Eastern New York, U.S.A. Urban Research and Practice.

(2019) A collaborative geophilosophical perspective on creative territories: The Massachusetts-New York case. Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, 75(4): 2537–2566.