| When parks and real estate mix, there's often a hard | | | | preserves and parks. In Irvine, powerline rights of |
| working local resident behind the plans. Or a couple. In | | | | way double as bike corridors, and large landscaping |
| the case of New York City's High Line green space | | | | allowances on every street are irrigated by reclaimed |
| and commercial corridor, two unlikely promoters (a | | | | water. Redevelopment and renewal are also popular |
| Chelsea artist and a Village painter) sat down with | | | | in Irvine, as seen in the city's annexation of the |
| developers and city planners to come up with | | | | decommissioned El Toro Marin Corps Air Station, |
| something truly innovative: an abandoned freight | | | | which will become a 1,749 acre park surrounded by |
| railway that quickly became the city's favorite brand, | | | | beautiful custom properties. |
| and a model for how to make the most of an old | | | | Developers and residents have also joined forces on |
| industrial space. Warehouse to condo conversions | | | | a wide variety of open-air malls and markets across |
| have long been a trendy ticket for developers and | | | | the nation. These projects encourage a more |
| high-end buyers, but projects like the High Line show | | | | attractive development style than big boxes and |
| how the non-wealthy majority can participate in | | | | parking lots, and often become the most popular |
| exciting urban renewal, leaving lots of room for | | | | place in the city to shop and do business. Summerlin |
| investors to make a buck. | | | | Center, with its planned 1.2 million square foot |
| But it's unlikely big projects like these would get off | | | | shopping plaza, near Las Vegas, and Pearl Street Mall, |
| the ground without the help of smart developers. | | | | in Boulder, Colorado are two of the most well-known |
| Funding to preserve and transform the High Line | | | | outdoor mall developments in the nation. |
| railway had to come from somewhere, and nobody | | | | Another positive effect of developers and local |
| can get a construction project done faster and | | | | residents working together is the economic spin-off |
| better than a developer who sees a profit down the | | | | potential. Most developers buy local construction |
| road. In Orange County, California, the Irvine | | | | materials to save costs, and hire local workers. When |
| Corporation has been creating whole cities combining | | | | a $100 million development project hits town, money |
| parks and real estate since the 1960s. The city of | | | | is quickly spread throughout the community, and |
| Irvine, headquarters to the company, is the most | | | | more people have jobs. It's that kind of prosperity |
| well-known example, where residential and | | | | that encourages people to preserve their natural |
| commercial areas are woven around large ecological | | | | surroundings through innovation and urban renewal. |