Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1514

I have a secret to tell all of you.

When I rebranded this blog a few months and renamed it Architect This City , it wasn’t just to come up with a more interesting name (initially this blog was just called “Cities”). That was partially the reason, but it was also so that I could begin to create a brand that was independent of myself.

I wanted to do this because I’ve been thinking for a while that I would like to open this blog up to guest bloggers and eventually turn it into a much larger conversation around cities—one that me alone would never be able to provide.

I also keep hearing from a lot of readers that—time permitting—they would “love to start their own blog” and create something similar to ATC. Well, here is your opportunity. If you’re passionate about cities and would like to write a post or two, shoot me an email . Let’s work together to architect awesome cities.

Yesterday when I was researching for this post on Lean Urbanism , I came across a really interesting way of describing and classifying the groups typically involved in the emergence of a new neighborhood.

It came from New Urbanist Andres Duany, who explained the process, here , using 3 groups of people: those that are  risk-oblivious ; those that are  risk-aware ; and those that are  risk-adverse . 

Risk-oblivious  are people like the artist, who go into a crappy neighborhood and magically make it hip. They’re the ones that give the neighborhood its character. They’re the first catalyst.

Risk-aware  are people like real estate developers. They know risks exist, but they believe they can manage it, as well as profit from taking it on. They take the neighborhood to the next level.

And finally,  risk-adverse  are the boring people who only come to a neighborhood once it’s absolutely clear that it’s a safe investment. Duany typecasts this group as the “dentist from New Jersey.” There’s much less value creation at this stage.

Most of you have probably heard of this cycle of urban renewal, but I thought it was really interesting to frame it in terms of risk tolerance.

The term “lean” is well known in technology and startup circles. Thanks to people like Eric Ries and Steve Blank , it’s become all about starting up lean and not investing a lot of time and money before you’ve really tested your business assumptions in the marketplace.

But keeping it lean isn’t unique to just tech companies. Its origins are actually in manufacturing—mostly from Toyota’s celebrated production system. Lately though, it has been starting to make its way into cities with a new buzzword called “Lean Urbanism.”

Championed by New Urbanist Andres Duany —who is actually in the midst of writing a book on the topic—the methodology seems to be gaining awareness in cities spanning from Detroit to San Diego.  Here’s an article  that a friend of mine (currently working in San Diego) sent me yesterday on the topic.

At first, the article gave me the impression that the movement was all about building as-of-right. That is, build what’s allowed and stop asking for special discretionary permissions, which is often  how real estate development works .

But then I started to do a bit more research.

And it turns out that Lean Urbanism is about something much deeper. It’s about empowering incremental urban growth :

"Lean Urbanism…focuses on revitalizing cities by finding ways for people to participate in community-building — specifically, by enabling everyday people to get things done."

What Lean Urbanism hopes to do is create tools and techniques that will help local communities avoid and workaround overly onerous regulations. It’s about removing the barriers to entry—whether that be a business permit or a building permit—so that more people can participate in shaping their own community.

What I like about it is that it’s building upon the renewal cycle that has traditionally always powered cities. It hopes to empower the proverbial artist that moves into a neighborhood like New York’s Soho and magically makes it cool—then spurring an onslaught of investment.

And so while the buzzword might be new, it’s a renewal cycle we’ve seen before. But, if it works, maybe not with so much frequency.