| My evaluation for Dwtn is smaller than Google Maps and other measures. I include only the areas btwn F St to the west, the river to the east, and Truxtun Ave and 24th st to the south and north, respectively. Blocks outside of this more constrained area lacked a cohesive Dwtn fabric in my estimation. 18th, 19th, Chester Ave contained the best urban form and best vibrancy Downtown. These are in the heart of Dwtn. Edge arterials such as F St, Truxtun, and the wide one way 23rd and 24th pairs are rather auto centric in character and move large amounts of traffic. As a way of trying to drum up interest in Downtown the City has created a couple of subdistricts that are somewhat based on reality. The Arts District contains Dwtn’s concentrations of theaters and cultural amenities and is roughly bordered by 21st Street, Chester Avenue, 17th Street, and G Street. Civic Center is the center of government for both the City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern. Mill Creek is along the eastern edge of Dwtn and is centered around attractive green space lining Mill Creek, the famous Mexicali restaurant, and a handful of new mixed-use apartment buildings. Downtown has decent vibrancy, cultural amenities, and historic stock mostly concentrated in its core with rather autocentric and dead spaces on the edges of Dwtn. Dwtn also excels with quality local shopping and boutique options, decent streetscaping, and some regional amenities. Downtown Bakersfield simply needs more residents and mixed-use development. Other important areas of improvement include more parks, better cultural and regional amenities, larger college presence, and slower more pedestrian friendly streets. |
Click here to view my Downtown Bakersfield Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Solid bike network throughout most of the Bakersfield City limits, even out to more suburban areas. A dockless bike program also exists serving mostly just the dwtn area.
* Strong street grid that is easy to navigate but roads are overbuilt and wide.
* Some nice pockets of historic architecture, which generally correspond with better urban streets.
* Generally a pretty safe Dwtn. Pretty low homeless for a CA downtown.
* Dwtn streetscaping is pretty decent, esp. the core of Dwtn.
* Bakersfield’s regional amenities include a decent sized convention center and arena, a dwtn post office & library, some museums, plenty of bars & restaurants, a couple live music venues, a couple local theaters, the gorgeous Fox Theater (now a local cinema).
* Some retail amenities including plenty of boutiques, clothing stores, gift shops, and antiques/furniture stores. Also several banks, a toy store, a couple book stores, a couple gyms & dessert stores, several churches and a major hospital is nearby.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Pretty low population density for a dwtn.
* Not much income diversity of the population living Dwtn, but plenty of people of means who work and visit Dwtn.
* Some kid friendly activities Dwtn (Arena complex, Natural Historic Museum but really not a whole lot.
* Well rated Dwtn public elementary school but schools surrounding Dwtn are poorly rated.
* Not a ton of for sale options Dwtn but what does exist is pretty affordable. 1-beds & 2-beds sell for around 200K, and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 200K-300K.
* Rentals are also limited but a bit more plentiful. 1 beds lease in the 1Ks, 2-beds lease btwn 1.5K-2K. Larger rentals are largely absent.
* Decent # of nice mid-century buildings but also plenty of unattractive modern building without great urban form.
* Very autocentric and unattractive urban form along the edges of Dwtn.
* Tree canopy is pretty thin larger the result of the climate.
* Park space is limited to Mill creek park on the eastern edge of Dwtn and a couple unimpressive plazas.
* Central Park is the only plaza space with some semblance of a Civic Heart of Dwtn with some events.
* Other than a couple md-sized bldgs. not much of a skyline.
* Sidewalks are consistent but ADA curb cuts are spotty.
* Kern College Community Center is Dwtn but not much else.
* Missing several key amenities including hotels, court houses stadiums, art galleries, and major theaters.
* # of jobs Dwtn is pretty low. Likely btwn 5K-10K
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 