Too Many Master-Planned Communities Look Sterile
Too Many Master-Planned Communities Look Sterile
How can developments like that in Ballantyne, NC, better incorporate elements of community in their design?
A new development called The Bowl at Ballantyne in a Charlotte suburb provides a fascinating case study of a master-planned community. Ballantyne was previously known for bland stretches of corporate office parks and upper-class housing, but the $1.2 billion "Ballantyne Reimagined" project aims to inject new energy into the sleepy edge city. At its heart is the mixed-use Ballantyne Bowl, a "brick main street" lined with local restaurants, retail, apartments, and in typical Charlotte fashion, a brewery. As developers have slowly realized the value capture of placemaking, master-planned communities have emerged as a major force in suburban development. These carefully designed neighborhoods promise a utopian mix of homes, offices, shops, and amenities all interwoven by pedestrian-friendly streets and green spaces.
Master-planned neighborhoods like these are designed to mimic Charlotte's walkable urban neighborhoods of Uptown, South End, and NoDa. These neighborhoods have an unmatched pull. The energetic bustle, rich historical fabric, and delightfully unpredictable array of local characters give these areas an unmistakable sense of soul that keeps you coming back. However, communities like The Bowl at Ballantyne, which are meticulously planned, struggle to truly deliver vibrant, authentic local experiences, instead often coming off as sterile approximations of more organic neighborhoods.
By bringing in businesses with established Charlotte cred and loyal followings, the Ballantyne Bowl instantly imported an authenticity typically reserved for more organically developed, older neighborhoods. Landing major local institutions like Olde Mecklenburg Brewery was a big success for the developers. Coupling that with a healthy mix of new-to-market brands, small parks, long greenways, an event lawn, and considerations for a future social district, you have all the ingredients for engineering a modern live-work-play community from scratch, in theory.
Through the Urban Land Institute’s Carolinas Meeting, I had the incredible opportunity to view this development up close, walking through the near-completed property for the first time. The brochure promised “a cultural magnet…attracting diners, shoppers and music fans from across Charlotte and beyond.” And yet, as I walked this property, it lacked the ruggedness of old city streets and almost felt like someone had wiped a community clean of its culture leaving only gray buildings, streets, and sidewalks. In short, it was bland.
A certain sterility is hard to avoid in these master-planned utopias. No matter how thoughtfully designed, these communities inherently lack the delightful chaos and unplanned beauty that develops naturally over decades as an incremental neighborhood takes shape. At the walkthrough, one of the developers explained in detail why they chose to round the street corners, hide the power lines, widen the sidewalks, and taper the curb. The turf in the small pocket park was lined with artificial rocks with no trees in sight (in fairness, they will be planted and filled in with time). Every last detail was calculated by developers, financers, architects, and planning committees rather than growing spontaneously through the tiny urban changes that give real neighborhoods such rich character. It's the difference between a fishing lure and a real pheasant feather.
Still, the Bowl at Ballantyne makes a compelling case that these new communities can certainly be pleasant places to live, work, and play. The lavish high-rise apartments will undoubtedly be prime real estate. Integrating local mainstays, prioritizing walkability and open spaces, and emphasizing community connection are important for any urban community. Allowing for some unpredictable growth can help instill a sense of organic vibrancy in the future.
Ultimately, master-planned communities may never capture the soul of iconic old city neighborhoods. But as land grows scarce, creating these new live-work-play hubs from scratch is a big part of our future-- not building homes in isolation, but crafting entire modern communities in one fell swoop.
Sonia Birla is a student at UNC Charlotte majoring in Finance, Geography, and International Studies. She is the James Hardy Fellow for Urban Development Spring 2024.
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