Mayor’s Development Roundtable

By: J. David Chapman/April 12, 2018

I had the opportunity to take a group of students to Mick Cornett’s final Mayor’s Development Roundtable last month.

This is one of my favorite events of the year because it, similar to the annual Commercial Real Estate Summit, is a multidiscipline event where every aspect of real estate development is represented. Tulsa’s new mayor, G.T. Bynum, spoke on improvements in Oklahoma’s second-largest city.

Mayor Bynum focused his time at the podium to tout Tulsa’s new park that they have labeled The Gathering Place – a 100-acre, $465 million project backed with private money led by the George Kaiser Foundation. Tulsa will use this new asset to help heal the wounds that still linger today from the 1921 Race Riots. They see it as a place to attract a diverse constituency, giving people a place to interact with others outside their sphere of influence and gain better understanding.

Can the built environment help solve societal issues that afflict America? Under the direction of Mayor Cornett, Oklahoma City has used development and infrastructure to influence socioeconomic issues and promote social equity. It appears Bynum is taking a similar approach and seems to understand the effect developers can have on our cities. Urban planners, architects, engineers, and developers plan and build out the urban fabric, which includes buildings, homes, roads, parks, and utilities, thereby touching almost every aspect of people’s lives.

The makeup of our cities is changing right before our eyes. We can debate immigration on a national level; however, on a local basis, our cities are transforming into a melting pot for immigrants. Furthermore, our urban cores are being transformed with diversity, multiculturalism, and evolving familial relationships. Our cities must be designed to be gateways to economic opportunity integrating the cultural, spatial, and economic contributions of all citizens. The physical fabric and social norms of urban living are shifting and land-use decisions must reflect the changing environmental needs.

Gary Brooks, of Cornerstone Development, made a passionate plea at the Mayor’s Development Roundtable for developers to use Firstep and other work and recovery programs to give those with felonies a chance. All-in-all there seems to be a strong sense of responsibility in our industry at this time and leaders are stepping up to use the built environment to challenge some of our city’s toughest issues.

J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).