Will higher gas prices create market for urban living?

[Coolyfett]

Me personally I want to live as close to downtown as I can get. That is where all the action is.

Downtown jacksonville is where all the action is?  Ummmm I appreciate the power of positive thinking, but I think that statement is a bit overblown?

Huh? I don't live in Jacksonville.

[Coolyfett]

Continuing today's Charlotte theme, I agree with Civil due to the fact that almost no one would walk from any of the surrounding communities downtown.  In Charlotte, you can walk from all of those neighborhoods into the heart of the business district to enjoy those ammentities.  Thanks to the riverwalk you can do the same if you live between FNF and downtown, but someone north of State/Union, south of the river, east of Maxwell house, or west of the acosta would not make the walk to the core.  Those brave souls in Springfield make the journey every now and again I'm sure, but name one urban hipster from riverside who doesn't hop in their car to go eat at the Burrito Gallery. 

By this logic, I say that while the urban neighborhoods are a tremendous blessing for our city, they do no more for the area than my suburban self in Ortega.   

That is a really good point. It is actually the truth man. Its a lot of dead land between downtown Jax and those  areas. Coming from riverside do you really want to walk over the Park Street bridge? or take Riverside Ave? Does the side walk on Riverside Ave even go that far? I think it stops right before the Newspapers building. Please correct me if you know actually.

[thelakelander]

I disagree.  The biggest difference between Uptown Charlotte and Downtown is that the city has had a lot of new houses built in Uptown in the last decade.  Charlotte's "Wards" are our LaVilla, Springfield, Brooklyn and Cathedral District.  Unfortunately, we ripped out most of the housing stock and replaced it with surface parking lots of suburban low rise office parks.  On top of that, we've eliminated most of the streets that once connected downtown with Springfield.  Charlotte's NoDa, South End, Dilworth, etc. are cut off from Uptown by the I-277 freeway loop. That's worse then crossing State & Union, which can be eased with wide, well marked crosswalks and pedestrian crosswalk signage.  However, the light rail line now provides a direct connection with some of those inner ring neighborhoods and the proposed commuter rail line will connect more.

Nevertheless, even Riverside and San Marco are a skip and a hop away from the CBD and a significant amount of those people spend time either working downtown or visiting its natural and cultural amenities.  While they may be accessible only by car for the most part, they are still a critical element to the ultimate success of the CBD.  We just need to realize this and make it a point to reconnect what we ripped apart.