By Jan Gibson
This paper will offer questions about the CBD Study Area, show examples of aesthetics that other cities possess that could relate to those in Lake Forest, explain features of a traditional city, and question why the consultant used the examples that do not relate to Lake Forest.
I like to think of Lake Forest’s uniqueness is comparable to that of Savannah’s, Charleston’s, and Alexandria’s special historic districts that are all different but also charming and enduring. Lake Forest’s unique character transcends Chicago’s North Shore and is worthy of comparison to commercial districts on a national basis. Market Square has been cited as a special and influential commercial area in several books. According to Andres Duany’s, et al. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, we have rebuilt our nation every fifty to sixty years. We have impositions such as federal policies, local zoning laws, the demands of the automobile, and more recently an awareness of sustainability that intersects environmental, economic, and equity (health) concerns. This is a critical time for our CBD committee, City Council, and those of us who care about our historic city.
Why do old places matter?
Why do old places matter so much to us? What is the essence of their enduring pull? Some writers have highlighted how places help us to establish a sense of identity – to recall who we are and where we come from. Although many people study place, only a handful choose to focus their work on older and existing places. Almost all the attention is on new places – on placemaking rather than place sustaining.
Thompson Mayes, vice-president and general counsel of the National Trust said in his book Why Old Places Matter, “Much attention is given to green products and to building new green buildings, but little attention is given to the importance of continuing to use the resources we already have. Similarly in the world of planning, particularly new urbanism, much attention is given to building new communities that are walkable and dense in a way that fosters people’s capacity to form community, but very little attention is given to sustaining existing communities, which have already become community through the intertwining of people and place over times. It’s almost as if these existing older places are so much a part of our lives that they are invisible.”
Lake Forest is evaluating its Central Business District (CBD) to determine its future configuration and what would be appropriate for its function. Recently the City had its consultant, Teska & Associates host a public display of urban design concepts, presented at the Gorton Community Center on Dec. 8, 2022. In the presentation was a map of the proposed CBD Study area and visual displays of building concepts for a revised CBD.
