[OldNorth] Density Op-ed

[John Lofland]

Old Northers,

Below I paste a copy of a draft of an op-ed will be sending to the 
Davis Enterprise. Before I do, I would welcome suggestions on how to 
improve it.

Thanks. John

_________________

Density and Densification in Davis: Some Facts and Questions

John Lofland

People interested in Davis "densification" owe City Councilmember Ted 
Puntillo a big thanks for clarifying this subject at the Council's 
December 9th meeting.

Commenting on a proposed R-2 Conservation District for the Old East 
and North areas, he emphatically declared about this measure: "THIS 
IS DENSIFICATION -- BIG TIME!"  On this and other measures he 
additionally observed that "everything is getting as many people as 
we can on a piece of property."

His assertions are important because (among other reasons) a city 
planner had several times previously in this hearing claimed that 
this ordinance was NOT a densification measure.

Therefore, Ted and the Planning Department are in conflict. Who is 
right? Will the proposed R-2 Conservation District ordinance produce 
densification or not? And further, should it?

This dispute raises the larger questions of: "What do we mean by 
densification?"  and "Where in Davis, if anywhere, should it happen?" 
Let me begin possible answers to these questions under the rubrics of 
"facts" and "questions."

FACTS.

How many people live in a square mile in various locations?

1. Davis' density is about 5,500 people per square mile.

2. Is 5,500 a big number or a little number? The answer is that it is 
a fairly big number.

Consider these populations per square mile counts of nearby cities 
and communities:

Woodland: 4,400
Sacramento: 3,800
Dixon: 2,700
Winters: 2,000

Then consider these square mile populations of some major American cities:

Chicago: 3,200
New York City: 7,500
Los Angeles: 7,500
San Francisco: 15, 800

In a much wider and comparative perspective, contemplate:

Planet Earth: 118
United States of America: 77
United Kingdom: 635
Germany: 597

And then think about these places with very high populations per square mile:

Hong Kong: 16,700
Singapore: 17,300
Monaco: 45,000

QUESTIONS.

1. I think we Davis residents might start to talk about our target 
level of population per square mile. Do we want to go from 5,500 to, 
say, 10,000?  Should Monaco, at 45,000, be our model?  Or, do we want 
to go lower? Without a public understanding of where we are and where 
we want to go, we are merely moving bodies around in the dark.

2. In what parts of Davis (if any) should we encourage or discourage 
densification? 

3. For example, the Old North already has a population per square 
mile of 7,000. Do we want to push above this already elevated number?

As can be seen in the densities above, the Old North is already in 
the range of New York City and Los Angeles. Do we want it to be in 
the range of Singapore and Hong Kong?

4. Alternatively, should we try to raise the density of those areas 
that are significantly below the city-wide average of 5,500?

For example, College Park has a density in the range of a mere 2,000. 
Should we develop policies that bring it up to the 5,500 city-wide 
level? Or, because it is so close to UC Davis, perhaps we should set 
a goal of 15,000 per square mile (or higher) for College Park.

In addition, many of the blocks in the downtown have a density of 
zero. Should new ordinances coerce them to raise from zero to at 
least 5,500 people per square mile?  To 15,000 per square mile?

5. Should areas now way above the 5,500 level be left alone until 
city-wide parity is achieved?  (Interestingly, Davis already has a 
fair number of very, very high density areas that some people refer 
to as student apartment ghettoes.)

I hope that the idea of a population per square mile measure will 
help move us beyond mere slogans and toward real policy. 

__________

John Lofland is the author or co-author of books and articles on 
Davis history and current affairs. He is a Professor of Sociology 
Emeritus at UC Davis and can be contacted at jflofland at ucdavis.edu
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