HONOLULU | Projects Thread

[Maksima]

An interesting article on CivilBeat... :hmm:

Is Kapolei a Mistake?
Oahu's "Second City" doesn't meet the generally accepted elements of "smart growth" and even city officials are putting more emphasis on development along the Honolulu rail line.

MAY 27, 2015
By ANITA HOFSCHNEIDER

The 1977 decision to transform fields of sugar cane in West Oahu into a new city known as Kapolei is one of Honolulu’s most significant planning decisions.

Nearly $11 billion has been spent on major infrastructure, commercial and industrial improvements in the Kapolei region over the last 10 years, and billions more are expected.

But some urban planners now think that starting a community from scratch miles away from downtown Honolulu was a bad idea.

Originally envisioned as a solution for Honolulu’s affordable housing crisis and bad traffic congestion, Kapolei is still largely a residential community. Many residents spend hours commuting to and from urban Honolulu for work.

The decision to leapfrog growth into Kapolei has had the added effect of promoting development on what had once been productive farmland and creating urban sprawl.

In an ideal world, some planners think Kapolei would not have been developed the way it has been. Instead, Honolulu would include more high-density low-rise and mid-rise buildings, rather than so many single-family homes and skyscrapers.

Copyright 2015 Civil Beat. All rights reserved.

Read article here:http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/05/is-kapolei-a-mistake/