Historic height requirements should be maintained. Creation of parks is essential in downtown development. The role of each park in a city is different. There are no cookie-cutter designs or uses. Parking garages, while necessary in the urban environment, should not dominate the landscape.
Affordable housing is an essential component of downtown development.
If housing will work, it has a higher priority in the redevelopment scheme than anything else. You can build nice housing for poor people. There should be access to the public realm. Downtowns need to give people a sense of pride, affection, and connection with the public realm in their city. Real estate columnist and media consultant Don DeBat has written about Chicago area housing and mortgage markets since 1968.