The 'City Beautiful Movement' in Valparaiso, IN

Vale of Paradise, a critique of policy in Valparaiso

The attached (PDF) article is a 35+ page academic analysis and critique of Jon Costas and his administration's performance during his first term as Mayor of Valparaiso, IN. This work was produced by one of my good friends at Valparaiso University, Political Science Professor, James Old (with Alan Bloom). I believe this piece gives us a strong understanding of what Valparaiso was, is, and will be tomorrow.

My reasoning for posting this blog is to boldly answer concerns of Valparaiso residents who deem Costas' change (development) bad for the long term viability of the community. My post also goes out to challenge those who believe that Valpo's urban renewal plan will cause a large migration of unwanted residents (deemed "those people") to the community.

I copied the abstract and introduction to the article below. Please read the entire piece and comment.

The South Shore Journal, Vol. 2, 2007, pp.30-68.
“Reconstructing the Vale of Paradise:
A Return to the City Beautiful Movement”
Alan Bloom and James Paul Old

Abstract: Since the election of Jon Costas as mayor of Valparaiso, Indiana in November
2003, his administration has embarked on an urban renewal program that fits—for better
and for worse—squarely in the tradition of the City Beautiful movement of the early
twentieth century. Like earlier proponents of the City Beautiful movement, the Costas
administration has implemented urban renewal policies that have emphasized commercial
development, beautification, civic culture, efficiency, and health and fitness. The
administration’s plans include some initial successes, particularly its efforts to use civic
institutions to revitalize rundown sections of the city; however, the city’s policies also
share some of the drawbacks of the City Beautiful movement, by emphasizing the
benefits of upscale commercial development while overlooking the housing needs of
lower-middle class and poor residents of the community.

Reconstructing the Vale of Paradise:
A Return to the City Beautiful Movement

Valparaiso is an affluent and growing community of around 27,000 residents
located in Northwest Indiana. While the economy of Northwest Indiana historically has
been dominated by steel mills and other manufacturing industries, Valparaiso has had a
somewhat more diverse economy. The city has more “white-collar” jobs to offer than
most other cities in the region, partly due to the presence of Valparaiso University and
numerous medical facilities, such as Porter hospital, in the city. In recent years, the city
and surrounding Porter County have experienced a strong wave of residential and
commercial development. The city government has responded to these trends, especially
since the election of Jon Costas as mayor in November 2003. The city has taken
advantage of this period of growth by annexing new residential developments and
attracting new business to the city; however, it also has embarked on an urban renewal
program to revitalize and beautify its existing commercial districts and to enhance public
space within the city.

The best way to understand the Costas administration’s notion of urban renewal is
that it fits—for better and for worse—squarely in the tradition of the City Beautiful
movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.1 By way of temperament
and policies, Costas is a neo-progressive Republican who believes that government can
and should improve communities by helping to re-shape their physical environments so
that they are ennobling, and thus, like his predecessors in the City Beautiful movement,
2
he has begun to implement urban renewal policies that have emphasized commercial
redevelopment, efficiency, beautification, the central importance of civic culture, and
health and fitness. Yet, the Costas administration’s policies are vulnerable to the same
sorts of criticisms voiced by detractors of the City Beautiful Movement: the approach to
city planning is excessively top-down, commercial interests are given more attention than
those of lower-income residents, and the policies cater narrowly to the lifestyles of higher
income, “upscale” residents to the exclusion of others who live in the city. To be sure, the
administration, which is much more concerned with practical outcomes than with theory,
has not self-consciously followed either this earlier model of city planning or any more
recent model. In particular, the administration’s policies are not consistent with the ideals
of recent urban planning models, such as New Urbanism and New Pedestrianism, which
try to blend residential and commercial space and to address environmental issues
induced by urban sprawl.2 Ultimately, both the successes and the missed opportunities of
Valparaiso’s renewal policies demonstrate that the city’s approach is securely in the City
Beautiful tradition. The greatest strength of Valparaiso’s plan for urban renewal is its
emphasis on the role of civic institutions. Indeed, each area slated for urban renewal will
be anchored by a specific major civic institution in the city, an approach which will
enhance the possibilities for both greater economic prosperity and an increased sense of
community. The primary weakness of the administration’s approach to urban renewal is
that, ultimately, it is too narrow. As with earlier City Beautiful efforts, Valparaiso’s
leadership has focused primarily on improvements in the physical environment that will
aid the more affluent members of its community. Unfortunately—again in the City
Beautiful tradition—while the administration successfully has reached out to commercial
3
and civic leaders to develop a plan for commercial beautification, it has failed to address
the pressing housing needs of lower-middle class and poor residents of the community.

Vale of Paradise Report