Lee County SDAT

October 2013

THE VISION
A Livable, Economically Diverse Hub for Sustainable Business

Our Charge
Assess the feasibility of the Diamond Concept
How and what it should be
What the public and private sectors can do to make
it happen

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3

What We Heard

What We Heard
7
7

 What does the Diamond boundary

mean?
How can we be competitive nationally?

We want to diversify the economy

through innovative research and
sustainable industries
Is this a marketing exercise?

 Skyplex adjacency to the airport is a

competitive advantage.

Potential synergy with the University.

Some DRGR and lands bordering on
mines poses challenge for
development.

 Effective public-private partnerships

are essential.
A concern planning wont bear fruit

People need to be patient. It will take

time to achieve the vision.
We dont want more of the same

WE HEARD YOU WANT

A complete community to attract families

Walkable, comfortable setting with

Transportation Choices

Attract and retain FGCU faculty and

students

Distinctive architecture and landscape

Cool things to do

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13

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14

1. When Work
Changes, the City is
Transformed

When major change happened: Agriculture & Crafts

to Factories Industrialization v.1

The prosperity machine of early industrialization grew cities and

towns to a never-before-seen scale
Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

Industrialization v.2:
City Pattern re-organized using
Industrial Principles
Business park

Shopping Center

City as Machine (CIAM 1933)

Economy Focused on Making & Moving Goods

Synchronized routines
Segregated land uses linked by vehicle conveyor belts
Mass consumption

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

Housing Subdivision

Industrialization v.2: The Mid-20th Century Suburban

Ideal

When the nature of Work changes, the City is entirely transformed

(The Business Park was ushered in by a small group of business leaders)
Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2012

New Technologies:
Cars
Interstate Highways
Electrification
Air Conditioning

The Experiment FIT with the new

industrial economy of the Era.

Taylorism (Fordism):
Central Control
Mass Production
Mass Consumption
Demographics:
Uniform H/H Structure
Cheap energy
Abundant accessible land
Massive subsidies

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

It became our cultures development

consensus on how to build.

Foundations of the Recent Consensus 1950 - 2007

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Open Road

Demographics uniform household structure
Cheap energy
Abundant, available and accessible land
Massive government subsidies - home mortgages, strip
construction, highway construction & maintenance
6. Fordist model of national economic development
based on consuming homes, cars, and home appliances.
7. Nostalgia - New generations of Americans learned to
associate sprawl with America

Foundations of the Emerging Consensus 2008 - ?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Open Road

Demographics uniform household structure
Cheap energy
Abundant, available and accessible land
Massive government subsidies - home mortgages, strip
construction, highway construction & maintenance
6. Fordist model of national economic development
based on consuming homes, cars, and home appliances.
7. Nostalgia - New generations of Americans learned to
associate sprawl with America

th
Mid-20

Does the
Century
Consensus and its City format
still fit the needs of todays
economic activity?

Beginning in the 1980s: Wide-spread Digitalization

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

At first, many thought it was just a change in tools.

But digitalization has led to
Fundamental changes in work activity

This process of combining ideas

to create new possibilities

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

is called Innovation and it has

become the primary wealthgenerator in the new economy.

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

Saskia Sassen: the heightened

importance of rapid creative
invention has effected all industries
from mining and agriculture to
electronics.

Innovation is a social process

Research has shown that
innovation comes
from:
Group collaboration
rather than individual
solitary effort.

Source: analytics20.org

Interaction between
people with different
specializations,
experiences, and
perspectives.

Essential Principal: Innovation is fostered by

providing settings that bring people together to
collaborate and exchange ideas

In the office and the lab

In the conference room
In cafes, bars and
restaurants

During breaks, recreation

and leisure
Especially while socializing

We are still designing

our cities to meet the
needs of the old
industrial economy

2. Reshaping the City

Leading cities (of all sizes) are beginning to

understand:
To Attract, Build, and Serve
the Businesses of Tomorrow, we must
Physically re-shape cities
to attract and accommodate the needs of
innovators

The Innovation Ecosystem: Dense Collaborative

Network of Partners, Suppliers, Customers

The Innovation Ecosystem: Composed of Companies

at Different Stages in their Life-cycle

Emerging: A Dynamic Mix of Uses

(instead of the old habit of separating uses)

Offices

Hotel
Offices

Studios

Small-medium
sized businesses

University of Salford
& iTV
BBC

Housing

BBC
BBC

HDTV
Entertainment
MediaCity Manchester UK

Emerging: A Range of Building & Workspace Types

Mixture of space costs, sizes, and configurations to
match the needs of different work activity in close proximity

Quality Medium Sized Space

Creative rehab lower cost spaces

New lower cost, small scale space

Established Corporate Space

The U.S. General Services Administration has embraced these

ideas in planning and managing its properties:

Source: GSA Public Buildings Service White Paper, Leveraging Mobility, Managing Place (2010)

Reshape the City:

Connectivity

Segregated land uses + arterial roadway system

failing as a habitat

Forces Undermining the Viability of the Modernist City:

Poor Accessibility
Rapid Consumption of Farmland, Natural Resources
Acceleration of Climate Change
Wasteful of Diminishing Fossil Fuel Reserves
Increasingly expensive for families

Emerging: Transit-Connected Hubs of Activity

Multi-Nucleated
Patterns of
walkable, bikeable,
mixed-use, denser
development
Integrated with a
Transit Network
offering modern,
frequent service

Reshape the City:

Activity

The Workplace District remains out of sync

No activity focus or center

Activity-generating retail is one of the

most precious city building
commodities. Urban vitality drives
innovation and attracts talent.
The most important and most difficult decision in the
design of the (suburban) metro area is where (and how)
to strategically build the retail.

To foster creativity & innovation

cities must provide Vital Centers with clustering,
density, mix, and settings for interaction

Centerless Workplace

Vital Center

Classifying and locating these centers

is a critical strategic decision cities must make

ULI Emerging Trends 2011: Commercial real

estate needs to cope with Era of Less
Most areas need less retail,
not more. Endless strip
construction is over. . [we
must] rethink how we deliver
retail in better
transportation-linked urban
centers, moving away from
car-dependent models

Reshape the City:

Amenity & Image

The Workplace District remains out of sync

Plenty of Open Space but no Public Space

The Emerging 21st Century Workplace District Model:

Settings for Convenience, Interaction, Activity

SOMA near South Park, San Francisco

To Attract Innovators:
Promote business livability developments and
districts that respond to 3 scales of activity:
Quick Breaks

Immediately outside the building

Lunchtime Activity

Evenly distributed within 3 minute walk;

activated by food & drink businesses

After Work Activity

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2012

A central cluster within 10-15 minute

walk, bike, drive or transit ride;
activated by restaurants, bars, fitness,
convenience retail

Part 3:
New Formats of
Development in
the Innovation
Economy

PREVIOUS ERA:
Economic Value
Created by large corporate firms

Attracting Talent
Training
Compensation packages
Services
Infrastructure/Building
Investment

PREVIOUS ERA:
Economic Development
Tap into the Big-Firm Ecosystem by attracting large firms
Transportation access
Infrastructure
improvements
Financial incentives
(tax incentives, land
write-downs, etc.)

Change: The scale & complexity of business

operations has increased dramatically

Wrigley

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2012

Change: Work is distributed among a

highly connected network of
specialized, collaborating partners

To be successful in this transformed

economic landscape, Cities need to:

1. Attract and accommodate small and

medium sized firms along with large
ones.
2. Attract, produce and retain a pool
of Knowledge Workers.

CEOs for Cities survey of

25 34 year old college graduates:
Almost 64 percent of them
reported they pick where they
want to live before launching a
job search.
They are about 90% more likely
to live in close-in urban
neighborhoods

The creative class

craves vital centers

Transit

Streetlife

Public Spaces

Attracting, Building, and Serving

the Businesses of Tomorrow requires
a new approach to Economic Development
Industrial Economy

Innovation Economy
Physically re-shape cities
to attract and accommodate the
needs of innovators

Focus Exclusively on
Attracting Big, Vertically
Integrated Firms

+
Assemble knowledge districts
that foster innovation and
produce innovators

The emerging Business District

ecosystem:
City and Regional Centers
(Downtowns)
Workplace-focused districts
Revitalized Business Parks
Redeveloped Industrial Districts

Institution-anchored districts
Educational Campuses
Medical Districts
Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2012

Smaller cities and

towns are
remaking
themselves as
hubs for the
knowledge
economy.
Livable cities draw creative
people, and creative people
spawn jobs. Some places
youd never expectsmall
cities not dominated by a
universityare learning how
to lure knowledge workers,
entrepreneurs, and other
imaginative types at levels
that track or exceed the US
average (30 percent of
workers)
Small Cities Feed the Knowledge
Economy, WIRED Magazine
May 31, 2012

61

Build on Local Strengths

1. Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of
job growth is from existing businesses
2. In the new era of specialized, networked
businesses, proximity matters
3. Focus on strengthening existing workplace
districts / industry clusters
4. Target those industries related to existing
City assets

 When Work Changes, the

City is Transformed
The City will be Reshaped
New Formats of
Development in the
Innovation Economy

Stability Areas and Change Areas

Treeline Blvd

I-75

Daniels Pkwy

RSW

Terminal Acc Rd

Alico Rd

FGCU

LEGEND
Stable Area
Change Area
Institutional Area

Natural Preserve

Estero Pkwy

Current Economic
Conditions
Very large area to absorb
Glut of vacant space across
all commercial and
industrial
Low rents, marketwide

Markets rebounding in
2013, but a long ways to go

Two paths
Wait for market trends to develop the area
Go after what you want

Waiting for market trends

Will likely result in
Low density, low cost development patterns
Scattered absorption
Little cohesive identity

Stability Areas and Change Areas

Treeline Blvd

I-75

Daniels Pkwy

RSW

Terminal Acc Rd

Alico Rd

FGCU

LEGEND
Stable Area
Change Area
Institutional Area

Natural Preserve

Estero Pkwy

Daniels Pkwy

I-75

Institutional

Treeline Blvd

Potential Development
Pattern

RSW

Innovation Cluster
Tradeport/Industrial

Terminal Acc Rd

Commercial Strip
Alico Rd

Commercial Retail
Hospitality & Services
Residential

FGCU

Natural Area
Estero Pkwy

Entertainment

Potential Development
Pattern
Daniels Pkwy

Institutional

Treeline Blvd

Innovation Cluster

Commercial Strip

RSW

I-75

Tradeport/Industrial

Commercial Retail
Hospitality & Services

Terminal Acc Rd

Residential
Natural Area
Entertainment
Alico Rd

Potential Development
Pattern

Alico Rd

Institutional

I-75

Innovation Cluster
Tradeport/Industrial
Commercial Strip

FGCU

Commercial Retail
Hospitality & Services
Estero Pkwy

Residential
Natural Area
Entertainment

Daniels Pkwy

Potential Development
Pattern

I-75

Innovation Cluster

Treeline Blvd

RSW

Institutional

Tradeport/Industrial
Terminal Acc Rd

Commercial Strip
Commercial Retail
Hospitality & Services
Alico Rd

Residential
Natural Area
Entertainment

Implementation
Economic Development Approach
Policies
Capital Improvement Projects

Encourage development will

require addressing
Innovation
Infrastructure
Quality places
Human capital

through

Investment
Encouragement
Recruitment
Focus

Innovation

108

Human Capital

Infrastructure

Place

Target industries
Aerospace
Clean technology
Biomass, renewable fuel sources

Life sciences
Information technology
Health care
Medical devices
Freight and logistics
Travel and tourism

Investment
Direct investment
Planning
Infrastructure
Mobility
Transit
Streetscapes

Public private
collaboration
Co-investment
Incentives

Programs
Technology transfer
Collaborative support

Encouragement
Business retention
Airport related
FGCU

Focus on human capital

Foster entrepreneurship
Education

Recruitment

Long odds game

Requires focus, clarity
Customer service, capacity
Central points of contact,
role clarity

Focus
Consistent messaging
Leadership
Patience
Long-term payoffs

Policy
CURRENT: County General Plan Update
Ensure that the Research and Enterprise Diamond
vision is emphatically articulated in the Update.
Define the resulting supportive regulations and
catalytic capital investments

CONCURRENT/FUTURE: Zoning & Regs Update

Where new formats critical, revise development
regulations to provide greater investment reliability
(i.e. form-based) for both investors and neighbors
The Land Development Codes Compact
Communities Regulations is an example and
template.

Industrialization v.2:
City Pattern re-organized using
Industrial Principles
Business park

Shopping Center

City as Machine (CIAM 1933)

Economy Focused on Making & Moving Goods

Synchronized routines
Segregated land uses linked by vehicle conveyor belts
Mass consumption

Freedman Tung + Sasaki 2013

Housing Subdivision

Conventional Zoning
1. Very Restrictive Use Control (Use
Separation)
2. Very Specific Density & FAR Control
3. Not Enough Building Scale, Type, Form, &
Character Control

Hard to envision and predict physical

outcomes

TOOL
District/Form Based Regulations:
Regulations that shape physical characteristics of
buildings for compatibility, such as orientation,
volume, relationship to the street, and
architecture/massing.
Regulations that are more flexible about adjacent
uses that are compatible with each other (e.g.
housing, workplaces, services)
These provide greater investment security by
insuring that new (or renovated) buildings will be
located near others of similar type.

Sense of place
Understand the pieces of city (neighborhoods,
subdistricts) whose in-common physical and
performance characteristics of development tell you
where you are.
Each piece of city has to have developments of
physical coherence and regularity to make them
recognizable, valuable and secure for investing.
< < < OUTSKIRTS < < <

The Urban Transect (from the Smart Code, v.7)

> > > CENTERS > > >

Code Focused on Physical Outcomes

1. District Zones / Standards

2. Corridor Frontages / Standards.

Land Use Zones

District Zones

Define the Places for Incubators, Accelerators, Training Organizations,

Technical Assistance, NGOs, Institutions, Regulators

Capital Improvements
Priority Catalyst Projects
Multi-modal street improvements
Transit links for highest-priority destinations
Boulevard Street Tree Plantings (ensure that Lee
Countys natural image remains visible along entry
corridors)

Public-private partnerships to enable highspeed internet connectivity opportunities

(dark fiber activation, etc.)

The Public Agency Role:

1. Lead (or support) the vision

2. Provide a reliable policy
context for investment at
different scales
3. Ensure the emergence of
critical physical elements
(especially the infrastructure +
public pieces)

Thanks!

AIA Florida Southwest

Lee County Port Authority
Florida Gulf Coast University
Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization
Real Estate Investment Society
Estero Council of Community Leaders
Horizon Council
Lee County Community Sustainability Advisory Committee
Alliance for the Arts
Lee County Board of County Commissioners
Lee County Departments: Community Development, GIS,
Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Visitor & Convention Bureau,
Economic Development, Administration, Office of Sustainability

www.aia.org/liv_sdat