Spencer Crowley and Nicholas Barshel wrote a column for the Miami Herald looking at the transformation undergone in Miami neighborhoods over recent years. Crowley and Barshel focused on the development of the Underline Brickell Backyard construction project, which is transforming 10 miles of underutilized land below elevated MetroRail tracks into an urban trail for pedestrians and cyclists. The Underline obtained a $22.3 million federal grant for the second phase of the project that will extend south into Coral Gables. A similar trail will be built extending from Miami International Airport south to the Dadeland area, and eventually connecting to the Underline.
“These examples are part of a nationwide trend in which government, advocacy groups, and the real estate industry are working together to turn some of the most neglected elements of the 20th-century urban environment into great public spaces. Positive impacts on property values around the most successful projects (Highline in New York, BeltLine in Atlanta) have been well-documented, as well as residents’ desire to live near these new public spaces,” they wrote.
Crowley and Barshel continued, “On the heels of these recent advancements, Greater Miami is slowly beginning to realize the importance of providing its residents and visitors with a world-class waterfront.”