About a decade ago, during the debate over new proposals to develop some of the open land areas near the Princeton Junction railroad station, the word “urbanize” was tossed around as if it were a foregone conclusion that it would eventually apply to West Windsor, or, at least, large parts of it. To many, that was a pretty scary thought. Along with the concept that such undeveloped areas were “blighted,” the whole notion created, at first, a “let me at it” mania among drooling developers.
But then, after a few years went by with no specific “money-making” plans or proposals in the works, the open space preservationists began to breath easier. There was even support for reinstating some of the ever-decreasing open space tax to enable the preservation of more of our land “as it is.”
Does that mean that some areas are not still blighted and in need of “improvement”? Don’t bet on it. Not only has the one-time Intercap site near the railroad station now come under renewed interest by architect/developer Bob Hillier, but the 660-acre property on Clarksville Road now owned by the Howard Hughes Corporation is under consideration for residential and commercial development, as well. Maybe “urbanize” has made a comeback and eventually will apply to all of West Windsor. Ouch!
But first, think about a few things that need to be considered. First of all, what does “urban” mean? Try the dictionary:
Urban: adjective: of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city.
Urbanize: verb: 1: to cause to take on urban characteristics; 2: to impart an urban way of life to.
Those definitions are from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, ninth edition. Although it was published in 1984, it is still a standard for the English language. Words like “urban” still have the same meaning now as they did then. At least they do if you believe in reality. But some people in the real estate business use the word according to their own definition. They consider that any area that was once a farm and is now covered by houses on individual lots has not only been “urbanized,” but also “improved.” That’s scary to people who prefer open space and low population densities. Talk about urbanizing all you want. Just don’t expect many people to be grateful for your candor.
The problem is that many of the people, like me, who have come to West Windsor in the past few decades came here to get away from real urban areas. I grew up in Brooklyn, in an area that, though residential, was also about as urban as you could get — all brick or stone row houses and pavement everywhere except for a small patch of grass in the backyard.
If you looked straight up, you could actually see the sky. Local recreation was playing stick-ball or touch-football in the street with other kids from the neighborhood, with frequent time-outs to let traffic go by. There were some nice trees along the sidewalk for shade, but many, many ailanthus seedlings grew out of every crack — the kind made famous by Betty Smith in her 1943 novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” My occasional family outings with cousins in the “country” made me realize that “urban” really wasn’t all that great a concept — at least not for me. I looked forward to an alternative at an early age.
How far does the urbanizing process have to go before West Windsor becomes “too urban” to attract still more new transplants — even with all its hoped-for new places for “fine dining”?
Let’s consider some numbers that apply to a real urban area many of us are familiar with: Manhattan Island. Its area of 23 square miles is just a little less than West Windsor’s 27. But its residential population is 1.62 million, that is more than 70,000 per square mile or 110 people per acre. In comparison, West Windsor’s current population of 30,000 is spread out over its non-preserved area of 13.7 square miles for a density of only 3.42 people per acre. If we really want to urbanize, we have a long way to go by Manhattan standards. One is tempted to say, “If that really appeals to you, go live in Manhattan. I’m sure there would be space for you.”
But developers probably see West Windsor’s “blighted” area as an opportunity: All that underutilized land! Wow!! Let me at it! So it might take a few multi-story apartment complexes, maybe even a modest “skyscraper” or two, but who says it can’t be done?
Well, maybe geologists. Much of Manhattan is almost solid rock down below, and that supports the high-rise buildings there. West Windsor’s underlying terrain is just dirt, clay, and sand — and the sand goes a long way down. But don’t breath too easy, developers usually find a way. And you can still be urban without the concentration of people that Manhattan has.
How many people per acre equates to “urbanizing” in the first place? 5, 10, 20, 100? Let’s try some examples. How about what used to be called Princeton Borough. Before consolidation its area was 1.843 square miles, or 1,180 acres. Its population as of 2010 was 12,307, for a density of 10.43 people per acre. That’s about a 10th of Manhattan’s’ density but three times West Windsor’s. So if we want to be more like downtown Princeton we have a ways to go. Forget Manhattan. I think most people around here would agree that it’s too crowded.
Another place for comparison might be Hamilton Township. Like West Windsor, it has population centers and open areas, but it is also much larger. Hamilton occupies more than 40 square miles and has a population of more than 88,000. That amounts to a population density of 3.44 people per acre, the same as West Windsor’s. But Hamilton and West Windsor are quite different in character. Because of its larger size, Hamilton has many more commercial centers than West Windsor, and there are distinct population centers such as Yardville, Mercerville, and Hamilton Square that make it a much different community. Is it urbanized in the sense of Manhattan? No, but more so than West Windsor, even though the population densities are the same.
I’m sure we all realize that West Windsor will never go back to being a farming community, but there are certainly desirable levels of development that do not have to go all the way to “urban.” We may be pretty close to that level right now. But our success in trying to control development over the years has been limited.
In 1979 the Environmental Commission had an extensive study done of West Windsor’s natural resources, partly with an eye to making sure any new development was consistent with them. But by that time a large percentage of what we have now had already been developed. The study, which was updated in 1991, has had little effect on what has happened since. Ironically, in a recent issue of New York Times there’s an article about how, on a nation-wide basis, people are actually deserting the suburbs and moving back to the cities. Well, not around here — yet.
