Detroit, as with many large US cities, is absent of residential life in its dowtown…but, there are signs of regeneration and life. All vacant buildings in the downtown were in some state of rehabilitation with a growing residential marketplace desperate to make the downtown home once again. This trend was so prevalent that new buildings were starting construction on vacant parcels. Something’s going on here…how does this happen? What’s driving this influx of people back to cities?
For one, we know that over 50% of the population now lives in cities around the world. Millennials want complete communities and social interaction. They are happy to forego the hassles of car ownership and their ridiculous commuting times. On the other end of the spectrum, empty-nesters are seeking social support, nearby amenities, walkable places and a lifestyle the suburbs cannot deliver.
So if the market is there, let’s give ’em what they want.
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Dan Romanko is a consulting Professional Planner practicing urban design, and neighbourhood development in Ontario with over 25 years’ experience.
Growing up in Mississauga in the ’80s, his childhood years were spent in a categorically suburban environment. This experience sparked an interest in land-use patterns and ultimately the Urban Planning profession. Dan began his academic career at Sheridan College, graduating as a Civil Engineering Technician in 1992; he then went on to complete the Honours Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1997. Years later, his interest in community scale sustainability found him continuing his education and he received a Master of Engineering Design in Sustainable Infrastructure from McMaster University in 2012.
Dan has worked as a planner in a consulting role since 1998. From 2000-2009, Dan worked with Barr Associates in St. Catharines as urban designer. After a five-year stint at another multi-disciplinary firm downtown St. Catharines, Dan returned to Barr Associates in 2015 as partner and the company changed its name to Better Neighbourhoods Inc.
In addition to his managing partner role, Dan is a full member in the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and been qualified as an expert witness at the Ontario Land Tribunal. He has been an accredited member of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU-A) since 2009 and has attended annual Congresses since 2006. Dan lives downtown St. Catharines with his family and is fortunate to have a seven minute walk to work.
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