Elements of Urbanism: Downtown Miami

[Metro Jacksonville]

Elements of Urbanism: Downtown Miami



Metro Jacksonville visits Florida's most rapidly growing urban center: Downtown Miami.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-dec-elements-of-urbanism-downtown-miami

[tpot]

Great article! Here's a link to a new multi million dollar project that just broke ground in downtown Miami.
http://bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2010/11/30/infrastructure-works-begins-on-miami.html

[finehoe]

In the 1980s and 1990s, various crises struck South Florida, among them...the Elián González uproar.

LOL.  Really?

[Ocklawaha]

Great article! Here's a link to a new multi million dollar project that just broke ground in downtown Miami.
http://bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2010/11/30/infrastructure-works-begins-on-miami.html

I've never understood why a bunch of OKIES in the prairie can build "the Smithsonian of the West", a science musuem, naval museum, aviation museum, railroad museum, photography museum, zoo, 45th infantry division museum, golf course, theater complex and top rated horse racing facilities that cover acres of ground in the NW part of OKC (same size as Jax)... And Jacksonville has a shoebox science AND history museum, a fountain and NOTHING ELSE... The Zoo is nice but it's location sucks and would better serve K-line OR Evergreen OR some other ocean shipping corporation. The Cummer is sweet but not walkable from the other places...

AND hell's bells, we haven't even got to talk about OKC's DOWNTOWN canal district/Myriad Gardens right smack in the middle of downtown, with dozens more "GOTTA SEE'S".

Why Jacksonville? Just Why?

OCKLAWAHA
OSU RULES

[simms3]

My dad lived in the Atlantis...did you by any chance grab a photo of it?

Also, Ock, I have heard from people that the Canal area of OKC is highly overrated.  The only thing that OKC makes me jealous of is the new Devon Energy Tower going up (850 ft of pure beauty).  OKC is a rather poor, imo desolate metro that is just now seeing vast improvement.  They definitely have more visionary leadership and a great corporate partner in Devon, but they have A LOT less to work with.

[Captain Zissou]

I agree Ock.  Our Museum system is underdeveloped, unpublicized, and scattered around the city.  As a result, I doubt many people know about many of the attractions we do have.

According to Wikipedia, the Zoo takes up 110 acres.  Due to the sprawled out nature and inefficient land uses of Jacksonville, I doubt you'd be able to find that much space within the city for such a use.  It's sad that our leaders didn't have the foresight back then to put the zoo in a better location, but we're now stuck with what we've got.  

We need to develop and expand our existing cultural resources, like MOSH, The Cummer, MOCA, Our pitiful naval museum, Tree Hill, The Arboretum, The Zoo, The Marine Research Institute, The Ritz, The Manuscript Museum, The Jax History Museum....Etc, as well as our massive park system.  We also need to raise awareness and publicity for the separate entities, but also develop some sort of cohesive element or unifying organization for them all. Once that happens, we can start to add more elements.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Some amazing developments have gone on down to our South. Nice skyline and all. I dont really see a problem with our zoo, its pretty nice.

[Captain Zissou]

Jacksonville Zoo: 110 acres, 2,000 animals.  Local and maybe regional draw.

San Diego Zoo: 107 Acres, 4,000 animals.  National and international draw.

Just saying...

[simms3]

Our zoo tops Miami's and Atlanta's in my opinion.  You can also arrive by boat.  I wouldn't say the zoo is underpublicized or underattended.  There are so many people in this city that heavily support the zoo.  Zoo is closing in on a million people annual attendance, and there are tons of fundraisers and a very active board.  There are also tons of events at the zoo each year (my mother helps run the Root Ball there and my father has run the Diabetes Walk there once or twice).

Also, the Cummer is equally supported in this community.  JMOCA is so-so, but is getting there I hope.

Where I agree is that these places are spread out from each other and some of the items on the list need some love (but we just don't have as many wealthy people to support them all as S FL).  I think each can serve as an anchor for their respective areas, though.  The zoo certainly brings three quarters of a million people to that part of the Northside each year (and that's tickets sold, I don't think that counts special private functions and freebies).


Someone recently pointed out to me that after the current crop of 50+ year olds is gone from Jacksonville, who is going to support the Symphony?  Who is going to support the Cummer?  Etc.  It had me a little worried because 20-35 year olds aren't as into such things, but I think taste for the Symphony and fine art come with age, so I guess we'll see.

At any rate, there is a lot more money here to support such ventures than OKC, which is why I still think we are well ahead of them even with their Canal district.

[Keith-N-Jax]

We should be happy with the progress the zoo has made and is making. They are heading in the right direction. Not much in Jacksonville is going to be a national or international draw-maybe golf courses or the annual FLA/GA.

[simms3]

Jacksonville Zoo: 110 acres, 2,000 animals.  Local and maybe regional draw.

San Diego Zoo: 107 Acres, 4,000 animals.  National and international draw.

Just saying...

It costs a pretty penny to get new animals because you have to support these animals and build habitats for them.  To double the amount of animals we have in a short time would be impossible.  San Diego Zoo is in San Diego, which is also half the draw.  If our zoo were in San Diego, you can expect our attendance to most likely more than double with what we currently have, not only because it would be serving a metro of over 3 million people and Tijuana, but because of the higher tourist numbers.

Miami's MetroZoo is pretty dismal for being a zoo in a major metropolitan/cosmopolitan city in a tropical climate.  What we do with our zoo is a heck of a lot more than what Miami does with its, and don't forget the former curator of the Lincoln Park Zoo came to our zoo and turned it around.  We have a good guy in their now, too.

[simms3]

Edit: moved my quote to the more relevant Miami Design District thread.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Never been to Miami's zoo, but I have heard the same things. I've been to San Diego's wild life animal park and its nothing to write home about. Going to San Diego in March will make sure I check their zoo out on that trip. Miami and San Diego both have more reason to visit their cities than ours. Not that were big on tourism anyway.

[simms3]

Well, let's not forget that we actually can compete with Miami in their zoo/garden/wildlife category.  We have a better zoo and they have Fairchild, a better arboretum.  We have the Alligator Farm which doubles as another zoo and they have Jungle Island.  We have a game preserve (private) in Nassau County and they have something similar.  We have the nearby Okeefonokee Swamp and they have the Everglades.  We have Big and Little Talbot/Timucuan/Guana and they have Key Biscayne.

[north miami]

Well, let's not forget that we actually can compete with Miami in their zoo/garden/wildlife category.  We have a better zoo and they have Fairchild, a better arboretum.  We have the Alligator Farm which doubles as another zoo and they have Jungle Island.  We have a game preserve (private) in Nassau County and they have something similar.  We have the nearby Okeefonokee Swamp and they have the Everglades.  We have Big and Little Talbot/Timucuan/Guana and they have Key Biscayne.

Located in the same county as Miami (among many others)The Everglades is not as remote to Miamians as Okeefenokee Swamp is to Duval.
On the other hand,Osceola National Forest ,hany to Duval has increased considerably in size during the past decade and between Osceola and here we are ringed with Jennings State Forest,new state forest in Nassau and more,much evolving via the Northeast Florida Timberland Project.

We can never be too smug regarding Miami however- Biscayne bay.....
A certain conservation legacy emerged early on with the creation of Crandon Park- a first in many regards that comprises half of key Biscayne.
The Everglades complex creates a certain sprawl buffer lacking in Northeast Florida.Proposals to leap frog this boundary with a Jet Port and general urban expansion in the Big Cypress resulted in the creation of the Big Cypress preserve.The Everglades wilderness public lands system extensive and continuing to expand