Humanities Homework Help

Downtown Revitalization: Entertainment, tourism, culture + megaprojects

Partnership planning and public finance

Responses due 4/7 – see below

Slide show: Downtown megaprojects + the entertainment zone – to be shown live on 3/31 + posted without narration to Canvas

Chapin, “Sports Facilities as Urban Catalysts,” Jnl. of the American Planning Association 70-2 (2004)

Dye and Merriman, “Tax Increment Financing: A Tool for Local Economic Development (Links to an external site.),” Land Lines 18-1 (Jan. 2006).

Campo and Ryan, “The Entertainment Zone: Unplanned Nightlife and the Revitalization of the American Downtown,” Jnl. of Urban Design 13-3 (2008).

Birch, “Downtown in the New American City (Links to an external site.),” Annals of the Academy of American Political and Social Science 2009 (626). (Suggested)

Baltimore Development Corporation (Links to an external site.) (suggested/browse)

Discussion questions

Due 4/7, 3 pm – 300 words minimum total not including the questions themselves.

1. What are some typical downtown (or near downtown) megaproject developments in Baltimore or Washington? Which are the ones that you typically patronize? What do you estimate are some of their public benefits and public costs?

2. What is Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and what is a TIF district? How do TIFs provide funding for megaprojects?

Answer 3a or 3b or both

3a. Megaprojects, and in particular sports stadiums and arenas, have been the subject of significant criticism (see Slide 40 of Megaproject PPT). Chapin notes that “almost every systematic study of the economic impacts of sports facilities has concluded that at face value these facilities promise a great deal for a city but deliver very little in economic returns.” If this is true, why do you think mayors, governors and urban leaders continue to champion them and spend large sums of public dollars towards their realization?

3b. In assessing the development of Baltimore stadium development and its impact on downtown, Chapin concludes, “Camden Yards that cannot be considered a successful urban redevelopment catalyst.” Considering the present state of the Howard Street corridor/Project 2 study area in particular, do you agree or disagree with his assessment and why?

4. In “The Entertainment Zone,” Campo and Ryan suggest that the lessons derived from entertainment zones can help inform and become the basis of an alternative development strategy for downtown and inner city districts. In your estimation, what are the most important lessons of the E-Zone and how might they be applied to our downtown Baltimore Project 2 study area?