As many of you know, Toronto has a highly successful public space underneath the Gardiner Expressway called The Bentway. I have ice skated in this space during the winter and I have listened to hard techno in this space during the summer. It has become a public space anchor in the city. Ilana Altman and the team are doing great work. And this week, they just announced that Field Operations (New York) and Brook McIlroy (Toronto) have been hired to design a major expansion. Called The Bentway Islands, this next phase consists of three "islands," totalling 11,500 m2 (~125,000 ft2).

Here's a map:

And here's what the spaces look like today:

Both of these firms do fantastic work, and so I'm excited to see what they come up with. (Field Operations is the firm behind New York's High Line.) But if I can offer two unsolicited (yet related) suggestions, they would be: 1) Let's incorporate more commercial uses and 2) let's aim for these three parcels to not actually feel like urban islands. Generally speaking, the spaces underneath highways aren't the most desirable. They also tend to be surrounded by inhospitable urban environments. Stitching them in and creating continuity in the fabric of the city (existing example, here) is the best way to make the highway above more or less disappear.

Earlier this year, the first phase of The Underline opened up in Miami's Brickell neighborhood. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, The Underline is an eventual 10-mile linear park that will live underneath the city's elevated Metrorail and run from the Miami River all the way south to Dadeland South Station.

The first phase -- called Brickell Backyard -- is the shortest phase at only 0.5 miles. But it cuts through one of the densest parts of the city, if not the densest. Total construction costs for this phase came in at $16.524 million and here's where that funding came from (source is The Underline):

$7,688,760 Miami-Dade County
$1,944,000 FDOT TAP Grant
$2,000,000 State of Florida
$4,871,690 City of Miami
$19,808 FDOT

The Underline is clearly looking to the example of New York's High Line, which was also designed by Field Operations. And for good reason: The High Line is a shining example of placemaking as economic development engine.

The first two phases of The High Line cost around $153 million to construct. But as of 2014 (when I wrote about it here) it was already attracting some 5 million visitors a year and was believed to be responsible for about $2.2 billion in new economic activity. I'm sure the numbers are much higher today.

As city builders, we are always looking for ways to create value and spur economic development. But it's perhaps important to keep in mind that the underlying goal isn't all that complicated: Create cool places where people want to be.

Images: The Underline

Lincoln Road is one of my favorite parts of Miami Beach. Supposedly the pedestrian-only street attracts some 11 million visitors a year. But I have noticed that the street has lost some of its mainstays to areas such as Wynwood. This is probably why the city and local property/business owners struck a deal this past summer to makeover the street based on a design by Field Operations.

The deal works like this: The City of Miami Beach is going to pay for the entire US$67 million makeover. This money will come from city and county taxes, as well from bonds. In return, property owners in the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID) have agreed to tax themselves an additional 25% in order to pay for promoting and programming the street.

Obviously everyone believes that they will come out ahead as a result of this makeover. An improved Lincoln Road means more foot traffic, more sales, and more tax revenue. There's also talk of expanding the boundaries of the BID, which would generate additional funds. Right now the district is bounded by Alton Road on the west and by Washington Avenue on the east.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Business Improvement Districts, they are essentially defined areas where additional taxes are levied in order to fund projects and improvements that help overall economic development within the district. It is a structure that is used all around the world and it is one that was actually pioneered here in Toronto.

Here we call them Business Improvement Areas, and the first ever was the Bloor West Village BIA, which was established in 1970. There are now 83 BIAs in the City of Toronto. The first BID in the United States was the Downtown Development District in New Orleans. It was established in 1974. There are now over 1,200 across the U.S.

If you'd like to learn more about the improvements planned for Lincoln Road, here's a copy of the master plan that was submitted to the City of Miami Beach's Historic Preservation Board. The link is from The Next Miami.

Rendering: Field Operations