Modern planning and the accommodation of the automobile effectively prevent the emergence of the properties we associate with "downtown". This goes down to the street grid, not to mention the scale of the individual buildings and lot sizes. "Downtown" is effectively a cluster of varied things, and the nature and scale of the sort of large complexes built in "pseudo-downtowns", or at areas that support large-scale development with no pre-existing, fine-grained fabric, mean that these areas top out at something like the Vegas Strip or Sheikh Zayed Road.
Here in Stockholm, there is an area called Hammarby Sjöstad that is essentially a central urban neighbourhood built from scratch, and arguably built to get beyond the "Mississauga" issues. It incorporates a lot of the thinking we celebrate here, from its mixed-use buildings to the tram that services it, but at the end of the day it still sort of sits in an uncanny valley.
As you can see, it's pretty good:
But it's not the same as neighbouring Södermalm, and real estate prices reflect this:
Why is this? The planning is top-notch. But look at the street-level experience:
It's just a bit off, isn't it? Tram and everything. But the scale is wide, and overly rigid. It's all there, but in terms of "stuff per 100 metre walk", it's not good. It's pretty bad.
Now look at Söder, and keep in mind, this is Sweden. It ain't the Lower East Side.
It's a pretty standard neighbourhood high street, but the storefronts are much narrower, the buildings somewhat more varied and intricate -- there is the feeling of more going on.
A few blocks down that street, at Götgatan, a pedestrianized street in an old area heightens the contrast even further:
Söder isn't the old centre. In fact, it's the Hammarby Sjöstad of the late 19th century.
The old part looks like this: -- much, much more intricate:
Söder was a suburb. But it was a suburb built when most people got around by foot. And at the end of the day, TOD, mixed-use, whatever, that's the issue. The scale must favour the pedestrian. Narrow buildings and streets. It's so simple but we just can't do it anymore.
Is it outmoded, then? I don't know -- price/m2 is reliably higher in Södermalm and similar areas than in Hammarby Sjöstad. A lot higher. People who are alive right now, with modern lives, find Söder more attractive, just as they do with Greenwich Village and the Marais. But we can't do it. Not even to make money!
Hence "pseudo".
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