Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

by Ken Mayer

Ever notice how popular the kitchen is at a party? Besides the food, there seems to be something about that density of other people that causes us to crowd together in one room.

We humans are fundamentally social animals, and we like being close to one another. We will instinctively crowd together in all sorts of situations. Sometimes this isn’t good for us. It’s generally not considered safe to cozy up to other cars at 70 miles an hour on the highway.

On the other hand, when we build ever bigger houses and spread them out all over our city, trouble ensues. It’s called urban sprawl, and it’s right here in Omaha.

Omaha growth patterns. (courtesy of David Drozd)

Consider this map (click to enlarge) prepared by David Drozd, research coordinator at UNO’s Center for Public Affairs Research. The areas in red and pink have lost population between the 2000 and 2010 Censuses, and the areas in green have gained people.

Growth has continued outside the city limits to the west. Declines are showing up along the I-680 corridor, creating a gap in a once booming suburban area.

This isn’t good. Omaha will never develop a sustainable and healthy infrastructure if this pattern continues.

When we rely on cars alone for transportation and live in houses that are too big and spread too far apart, there are consequences.

• We simply cannot develop a viable and low cost mass transit system under these conditions. There isn’t enough density to make mass transit feasible.
• Air and water pollution get worse. Cars and trucks are the biggest sources of air pollution, and rain water draining off our parking spaces fouls the water.
• Our physical and mental health suffer. We become more sedentary, and our commutes are stressful.
• It’s wasteful. Energy gets used heating and cooling rarely used rooms in houses that are too big for the number of people living in them.

The list goes on and on.

Nobody seems to have a solution to all this that’s been proven to work, but I think there are a few rays of hope.

While many people have suffered as a result of the housing crisis, there may be a silver lining. It wouldn’t hurt us to think about our houses a bit more carefully.

Young adults today are likely to be much more skeptical about buying houses. They already seem less interested in the suburban lifestyle. Future generations may be getting wise to the possibility that housing prices, like all assets, can fall as well as rise.

We all may be better off getting some perspective on our houses. For a long time housing has been seen by many as a good investment. I’ve had my doubts about this proposition for many years, because a lot of ownership and maintenance costs are ignored in most people’s reckoning.

Older Americans today have about 80% of their household net worth tied up in home equity, according to the Census. This kind of all-your-eggs-in-one-basket financial decision making may have contributed to the problem. When you are that heavily invested in a single fixed asset, you tend to protect and defend it. You may even feel validated if your kids follow suit.

Recent news of commercial redevelopment on and near the I-680 corridor – like the plans for University Village at Crossroads, Sterling Ridge at the former Ironwood Country Club, a new ice arena at 72nd and Q, and improvements at the L Street Marketplace near 120^th – will help attract those who will also upgrade and renovate the housing stock in these parts of the city.

Maybe it’s time we started congregating a little closer together, like we do in the kitchen at a party. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask ourselves if the real American dream is something that requires a down payment.

I think we will be happier and healthier.