Nancy Edmonds Hanson
hansonnanc@gmail.com

Downtown Moorhead shares its dreary dilemma with cities all over America, says urban planning expert David Dixon. “Downtowns are under siege all over the country,” the internationally known consultant notes. “In many places, people have more or less given up on them.”
But that’s changing. The car-centric, large-lawned, single-family-home lifestyle deemed ideal since World War II is falling away. It’s being replaced by a trend toward smaller households with fewer children – singles and couples who favor compact, convenient, vibrant neighborhoods where they can walk a few minutes to reach everything they want and need. They’re setting the stage for a downtown renaissance.
What sets Moorhead apart, Dixon pointed out to local leaders last week, is that the Moorhead-Fargo community already has all the elements that many other locales can only covet: a knowledge-based economy driven by higher education, a strong housing market, a rapidly growing population, and – most important of all – committed leaders from government, education and business who are of one mind “to tackle issues differently.”
The well-known Boston-based expert on reinventing cities and their suburbs told a packed open house at the Hjemkomst Center that ,in this time of change, “the pieces are falling in place for Moorhead to reap the benefits.” He added, “Now is the right time to unlock the opportunities that are coming your way.”
Dixon was in Moorhead as part of a year-long six-figure project to map out the city’s future. Spearheaded by Downtown Moorhead Inc. and the Economic Development Authority, his visit was part of the first phase, gathering input and ideas from Moorheaders themselves. Their thoughts and opinions will be incorporated into an action plan this fall, followed by review of the investment and development resources that private businesses will need to make it happen.
The consultant’s optimistic vision of what can be built is based on a set of major shifts in Americans’ lives, careers and expectations. He cited three:
First, virtually all of America’s net economic growth today is tied to knowledge businesses and their need for educated, well-trained workers … long recognized as Moorhead-Fargo’s greatest strength. That creates an urgent need to attract and hold onto skilled and educated workers, who are generally younger. These highly sought after recruits have many choices before them; the winning cities must cater to their tastes, interests and the lifestyles they prefer.
Second, the makeup of the population is shifting, with Millennials having fewer children or none at all. Two-thirds of the region’s net population growth already lives in highly mobile households of just one or two people. According to nationwide trends, they often reject traditional home ownership, with its costs in time and money and heavy reliance on cars. Instead, this group is drawn to vibrant, walkable districts blending work, retail, restaurants and entertainment. And downtown Moorhead has plenty of land and facilities available for development into the kind of lively neighborhood that attracts them.
Finally, he says, Moorhead has shown the essential factor that’s the key to making something happen. “The enthusiasm of your community has floored me. We’ve worked in much, much larger cities where the local response to similar projects has been far less. You have people on the ground who are making the case and getting people involved.” He is amazed, he says, that an online survey of residents on what they want to see downtown has already drawn more than 750 responses: “Remarkable!” (You can still respond at www.dtmoorheadplan.org/share-your-ideas)
While the comments suggest many would, first and foremost, like to see more retail businesses downtown, Dixon argues that’s not the right first step in bringing the area to life. “Population density is the key,” he says. “The rule of thumb is about 1,000 units of housing within a five-minute walk or a quarter mile of, say, Center Avenue. Then the other businesses and services will follow – the specialty shops, eating and drinking establishments, ‘caffeine suppliers’ and other kinds of cool businesses that want to serve that population.
“Having people all around who can walk to market is a powerful magnet for growing the business community. Population sparks a sense of vitality and coolness that draws other development. Then it becomes a destination.” Close-in residential development – the opposite of suburban sprawl and isolation – also delivers the sense of community and connection that today’s younger generations crave.
Dixon points to another trend already in motion that will nourish the charms of downtown living – “autonomous mobility,” or self-driving vehicles. “The technology is already here. It’s already beginning to reshape how we move around, starting with delivery vehicles, trucking, mass transit and services like taxis and Uber,” he explains. “Since human drivers represent about 40% of the cost in those industries, the trend is irresistible.”
For individuals, too, the imminent prospect of self-driving vehicles is reshaping budget priorities. Families who live in these denser urban cores may need only one vehicle rather than two, or even none at all. That means putting less pressure on parking. Many newer cars already come with self-parking features far more precise and efficient than the wheelwork of do-it-yourselfing humans. Instead of requiring today’s standard 10-foot parking spaces separated by driving lanes 20 to 24 feet wide, smart cars can navigate 10-foot lanes and slide into seven-foot slots. Many more can be accommodated in the same acreage or garage.
And, Dixon predicts, privately-owned cars may eventually become a rarity among those who choose dense urban living. In the next 10 years, Millennials and those who follow them are less likely than their parents to want or need personal cars at all. Instead, planners foresee the so-called “sharing economy” moving toward what Dixon terms “shared autonomous mobility” – on-demand services where riders call up a continuously circulating vehicle to take them wherever and whenever they want to go. “Imagine how it will cut mobility costs and increase your convenience,” he suggests.
Moorhead is perhaps the smallest city that has engaged Dixon, whom Residential Architecture Magazine has dubbed “the person we call to ask about cities.” His planning group has worked with larger enclaves in the past – Denver, Tampa, Boston and Columbus, Ohio, along with current clients Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. They have also helped assess needs and create plans for stalled suburbs looking to establish their own downtown districts. Before agreeing to personally take part in Stantec’s Moorhead assignment, he knew virtually nothing about his future client. “When we arranged to come here for the first time last winter, I had no idea where we were headed. I was amazed to learn this was the eastern half of Fargo-Moor head,” he jokes. “Fargo sounded very far away. Moorhead didn’t.”
That first visit – an ultimately successful pitch to win the Moorhead contract – offered a memorable taste of local enthusiasm, local culture … and local weather. “We ended up spending a couple more days than we anticipated,” he notes. Yes, they were caught in a blizzard.
The year-long planning process is being directed by Peggy Harter of the consulting company’s Fargo office and Downtown Moorhead Inc. director Derrick LaPoint, whom the city has also tapped to run the EDA. It will culminate next June in presentation of a final road map, including the tools needed to make the vision a reality. More information on the timetable, the planning process and upcoming public events is online at www.dtnmoorheadplan.org.
“Not many cities of Moorhead’s size have taken the big step like this to undertake such a comprehensive project,” Dixon emphasizes. “They’re engaging in a conversation with people from every downtown constituency – the city, retailers, developers, property owners – and they’re really listening. It’s valuable to touch all those bases and understand the issues from each perspective. We tend to center our thinking on our own points of view. Understanding the situation from all the angles moves the ball forward farther and much, much faster.”