A friend here in Kaaawa has recently been musing about several topics. He raises some interesting points, good for sharing on a lazy Sunday morning. Here’s one of his latest….
Ridership in rail systems tends to diminish the further one gets from the urban core.
The way to deal with this is through expanding the urban core through Transit Oriented Development.
Unfortunately, TOD has its limits. Even TOD begins to diminish the further one gets from the Central Business District.
The one place where TOD might work is Kalihi. Kalihi might redevelop into a high-density urban area with the advent of rail.
It might be a good idea to move the prison out of Kalihi. Kalihi needs to be rethought.
Unfortunately, if Kakaako is any indication, when Kalihi is redeveloped, it won’t be for the locals. It will probably become luxury condos for investors, which is what Kakaako seems to be morphing into.
It’s not a conspiracy. I don’t think that this disappointing form of development in Kakaako is a conspiracy. That area was slated for development decades ago at the behest of all sorts of community organizations. Like the idea of Kapolei as a ‘Second City’, there were good intentions behind something that just did not work out properly.
It’s ineptitude. It’s complacency and over-optimism. In Kapolei, Kakaako and now with the rail project, people should have known that things won’t simply happen the way you hope them to if you just happily pour some cement. For whatever reason, there seems to be a remarkable lack of realism in planning on Oahu.
Speaking of conspiracy theories….
Back to David Ige’s unusual candidacy for governor. I had assumed that it’s some kind of conspiracy. Anti-Mufi? Anti-Aiona? Anti-Schatz?
Perhaps more simply it is an anti-Abercrombie move to punish him for not always towing the line.
It might not be a complex conspiracy after all, just an impulsive thing. But it could be a big mistake. It could mean four years of Governor Duke Aiona. When Aiona ran against Abercrombie, Aiona’s popularity ratings were just as high as Abercrombie’s. It would be hard to believe that Aiona’s ratings have come down since then. He’s probably the most popular guy in the race.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
“It’s ineptitude. It’s complacency and over-optimism. In Kapolei, Kakaako and now with the rail project, people should have known that things won’t simply happen the way you hope them to if you just happily pour some cement. For whatever reason, there seems to be a remarkable lack of realism in planning on Oahu. ”
Could not have put this clearer if I tried. Unfortunately, the lack of realism is not limited to planning. Economic expectations are completely unrealistic. Hawaii is in the year 2014, but many brains are stuck in the 1970s. If Hawaii did not have a state balanced-budget law, we would be Greece II. The Natatorium is our Temple…………………..
— Mr Sarcasm
All these ‘make-work’ projects will cripple Honolulu for years to come. One commenter (in regards to rail) on the Star-Ad basically said, “I don’t care if it ever gets built as long as I have lots of work, lots of overtime. It’s my gravy train and my house is getting paid for, my kid’s college is getting paid for – that’s all I care about.”
The glut in Kaka’ako is nothing more than greed gone mad for foreign money; screw the locals and the need for affordable housing.
Its sad since the community spent years and many meeting to come up with a really solid workeable plan for a vibrant Kaka’ako . This has basically been flushed down the toilet by Tony Ching/ HCDA in favor of no plan and endless variances for any greedy developer that wants one.
So, everything is wrong. What is the correct way to do economic development and how can it be implemented?
“What is the correct way to do economic development and how can it be implemented?”
Step One: Tone down Hawaii’s unrealistic, belief-driven, co-dependent, bureaucratic and sit-and-talk-story environment.
Unfortunately, we all know this is not going to happen. Why? For starters, the population is aging and getting even more stubborn. You cannot wave a magic wand, pass a bill at the Legislature, and suddenly make Hawaii “friendly to business.” Business are in business to make a profit, and many people will never get this or support this. Why? Many people see a job as an entitlement, not an achievement. Changing this viewpoint is as simple as getting the NRA to hate guns.
since when do Civil Beat polls predict the outcome of elections, that Aiona would beat Ige? Kalihi along Dillingham, the rail route, especially makai of Dillingham, could obviously use some renovation, but I doubt it would attract luxury condos — ocean views are far less scenic.
Overdevelopment of Kakaako is one of the reasons Cayetano gives for abandoning one of his closest friends, Abercrombie, and endorsing Ige for gov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktftUCp-2NQ
Speaking as a longtime resident of Kalihi Valley, here are my observations:
1) I don’t see lower Kalihi attracting a plethora of luxury condos like Kakaako. There’s no Ala Moana beach park nearby. No shopping-restaurant-entertainment meccas like Ward and AMC to speak of.
2) With #1 said, I do think rail development offers an opportunity for a modest form of urban renewal in Kalihi, if done right. Redeveloping the blocks currently occupied by OCCC and Puuhale Elem. School….. there are many possibilities right there. How about residential projects for middle class families fed up with having to commute from Ewa and Kapolei into town? An influx of these kind of residents could, in turn, stimulate retail development in Iwilei.
I don’t really fear rail as something that would mess up Kalihi, Palama, and Dillingham because, quite frankly, the area is a mess right now and can’t get any worse. The gritty mix of industrial businesses with dumpy-looking low-rise apartments sprinkled here and there…. does anyone honestly want to perpetuate that?
I recently reviewed the 2005-2009 plans for the development of Kakaako and it is amazing how closely the actual development has tracked what was planned and presumably approved by the community back then. I’d hardly say that Hughes, Kamehameha Schools, the others and HCDA are “inept”. In fact, they all seem to be very focused, efficient and effective in carrying out an approved plan.
Your friend sounds thoughtful, but I think he is missing the boat. when he writes:
“It’s not a conspiracy…. It’s ineptitude. It’s complacency and over-optimism…. For whatever reason, there seems to be a remarkable lack of realism in planning on Oahu.”
I took planning courses at the University and gave some thought to becoming an urban planner. I think your friend has a “remarkable lack of realism” in understanding the development process in Hawaii. It is not due to inept planning. It is because the planners either work for developers or are handcuffed by politicians who, indirectly, work for the developers.
The “planning process” as it now exists has increasingly abandoned real “planning” on the part of government agencies. At least, planning designed to serve the general public interest rather than mediate conflicts between different corporate interests.
The Abercrombie administration maintains only the thinnest wisp of a pretense that development in Kakaako is driven by anything other than maximizing construction, to provide profits for developers and union wages for the building trades. There is a warped Keynesianism at work here and Neil probably believes building luxury condos for wealthy part-time residents from Korea, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and North America will “provide jobs” for local residents and “stimulate the economy.”
The belief in SOME SECTORS of the public that we should have a voice in the shape of our city and state, due to our status as CITIZENS, conflicts with the administrations view that the “stakeholders” are the owners and developers. In a way, it is a worse view than even the Citizens United ruling that corporations are “people” with the same rights as natural persons. In Hawaii, citizens have fewer and fewer rights and are not even invited to participate in the meetings of those who have status as “stakeholders” with a “legitimate” place at the table.
The rest of us are merely “the Usual Suspects,” an unruly mass of misguided, uppity people who have a mistaken believe we have “ownership” over Hawaii, and Honolulu’s, future. The developers, with Neil as their quarterback or, perhaps, their tank commander, intend to “roll over” us, in Neil’s memorable phrase.
I can believe the part about developers having cozy relationships with politicians. But do they control the outcome of elections? I think not, and I believe Kolea is wrong about the importance of the citizenry.
People voting or not voting puts individuals in office who can influence and exert control over parts of, but not the entire process of development. Getting the approvals/permits doesn’t guarantee the completion or financial success of a project. Permits/approvals are pieces of the whole puzzle, and in large, complicated projects there are many moving pieces (e.g., timing, financing) that have to fit together to make a project an actual and financial success.
If you spend time perusing OEQC’s online library of environmental documents, you’ll find many examples of projects that didn’t happen. And those dead projects represent expended time, labor and dollars that apparently went POOF.