Abstract
The development of alleys into European-style streets with cafes and living spaces – termed "alley activation" by developers – has gained attention and garnered buzz in the city of Sacramento in 2008 and 2009. Proponents of alley activation believe that Sacramento's grid system presents a unique opportunity to enhance a valuable resource through identification of an extensive alley network. Several projects are in the beginning stages of development including a restaurant row, a lane of midtown condominiums, and greening and landscaping of midtown alleyways. The purpose of this thesis is to give context to an issue that is relatively new in the planning world – to debate the costs and benefits of these innovative future uses of alleyways. Is activation of the Old Soul Alleyway an efficient use of funds, and what benefits could the City of Sacramento and its residents expect? What makes the restaurant row located at Belden Place alley in San Francisco so successful, and how was this success intertwined with local ordinances and policies? What can Sacramento policymakers learn from these two examples? vi Written in the style of a client report to the fictional client of the City of Sacramento, this thesis uses two different analysis techniques – a case study and a costbenefit analysis – to answer these questions. A case study of Belden Place Alley in San Francisco uncovers the reasons why the restaurant row located at Belden Place alley is thriving, and identifies the likely costs and benefits of a similar restaurant row in Sacramento. Results from the case study indicate that location, pedestrian walkability, tie to the character of the surrounding neighborhood, exclusivity of restaurants on the row, and support from policymakers all have an impact on the creation of a successful restaurant row. Benefits received from this type of alley activation project include public safety benefits from more eyes on the street, economic benefits in terms of sales tax revenue and impact on surrounding property values, and social benefits like community cohesion and aesthetic enhancement. An alley activation project proposed for Old Soul Alleyway in midtown Sacramento is examined using cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Results from the cost-benefit analysis indicate that benefits received from the project over a 25-year time horizon do outweigh the initial and ongoing costs of that project. This analysis uses a set of variable assumptions including different discount rates, and a 25% increase/decrease in costs and 25% decrease/increase in benefits to calculate the net present value under these different scenarios. Most of the scenarios return a positive outcome, but several do not. One important thing to note is that the costbenefit analysis does not quantify social benefits (stimulation of community cohesion, vii aesthetic value, direct use value, and health benefits), and therefore the benefits that could be realized from the social aspects of alley activation are not included in the net present value calculations. Policymakers can use the cost-benefit analysis as a framework to discuss the various impacts of alley activation, and determine for themselves how to value the non-monetized benefits of alley activation. The final chapter provides conclusions about the results of the two analysis techniques, and makes a set of recommendations for policymakers on future alley activation projects in Sacramento.