Why we should design cities like Disney | Zach DeBoer

0:00You're listening to Ted Talk's Daily where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. During the pandemic, artist Zach DeBourre fell down a very specific rabbit hole, watching hours and hours of videos about Disney theme parks, how they're built, their history, their design. But the more he watched, the more he saw something beyond escapism. Zach the parks presented a case study in what happens when human experience is the top priority in designing a place. And that he noticed is usually the first thing cut in the real world. Nothing influences our lives more than place. Our surroundings affect our relationships, emotions, habits, even how long we live. Zach works with what's called creative place making, or using art and design to transform the places people love. And in his talk, he asks a fun question. Why do these places only exist on vacation? What if we made our main streets more like Main Street, USA?

1:03From density to walkability to what he calls magic, Zach lays out concrete place making ideas that any town of any size could use to be a happier, healthier place to live. It might change the way you see your own Main Street. That's coming up right after a short break. Being a serious business owner takes hard work, patience, and a drive to keep moving forward. So it's important to find a serious business card that goes the extra mile. With the Venture X Business Card from Capital One, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. And with big purchasing power, you can spend more and earn more. This is your sign to take your business to the next level. The Capital One Venture X Business Card. What's in your wallet? Click on the top right corner of the screen. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. It's a new school year, which means yet another back to school shopping list.

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3:07Kohler has been pushing these boundaries for over 150 years, mastering that balance of stunning form and high performance function. That's a long time to get it right, and it shows in every detail. With the difference of Kohler Smart Toilets, find out more at Kohler.com. And now our TED Talk of the Day. During the pandemic, I got really into watching videos about Disney theme parks. How they're built, their history, upcoming developments, stuff like that. As I worked from home, I would even put on these long 4K video walkthroughs of the parks up on a second monitor and just let them play in the background like a window into another world. But it wasn't just the escapism that drew me to these places. As an artist, I saw the parks as unique studies of what happens when art, human experience, and emotion were the highest priority when it came to designing a place. In the real world, those are usually the first things cut from any budget. But at Disney theme parks, they were essential.

4:09And because of this guest, they're able to immerse themselves in fantastical worlds and transcend their daily routines. They can embrace feelings of wonder and joy while creating lifelong memories with their family and friends. And to many Disney theme parks truly are the happiest place on earth. See, nothing influences our lives more than place. Our surroundings, in fact our relationships, emotions, habits, even how long we'll live. So if we design places with care, purpose, and with a human experience in mind, we can nurture well-being, foster creativity, and innovation, build stronger, more resilient communities. And while pockets of great places exist all over this country, most of America looks aesthetically bad. They're a drain on her physical, mental, and economic health. But our places weren't always like this. American cities at the turn of the 20th century were designed for people to traverse, experience, and understand, work, food, school, whatever you might need was only a short walk or trolley ride away.

5:09Developments in street were smaller and folks weren't as spread out as they are now. And that meant you were more likely to know your neighbors and be more engaged with what was going on in your community. Downtown streets were shared by people, carriages, cyclists, and vendors. And as they grew larger, more diverse cities would develop their own unique identities and cultures that became sources of pride for anyone they called it home. This wasn't like a new thing for thousands of years across continents. This is how we built cities. But at the start of the 20th century, the way we built our places in who or what they were built for would change dramatically due to one invention. From 1900 to 1915, the number of automobiles in America went from 8,000 to over 2 million. And while the first cars shared the road, it wasn't long before their dangers high speeds and exhaust fumes drove vendors, cyclists, and people back onto the sidewalks. The streets now belongs solely to the car. But this would only be the first change to the American landscape it would be responsible

6:11for. And just like Disney's cars, the second one was even worse. The economic boom in America after World War II led to a series of disastrous experiments in urban planning that continued to affect us today. The mass exodus of people from city centers to the suburbs on the edge of town, restrictive zoning laws that separated building uses and segregated people based on race or economic level. And destructive government-funded projects like highway expansions and urban renewal, that demolished historic buildings, erased entire city blocks, usually just for more places to park their cars. So instead of designing places for people, we were now designing them for vehicles. And that trend continues to this day, but on an even larger scale than before. And while over the past 30 years we've seen the rebirth of many downtowns and historic neighborhoods, we need to do better. All pockets of great places aren't enough, and I think our communities deserve more.

7:13So as I said, my sweatpants watching my computer monitor longingly wanting to be in these places, I started to wonder why do these places only exist on vacation? What if we made our main streets more like Main Street, USA? So I want to share with you some ideas, techniques and lessons from Disney theme parks that communities of any size can use to build better places. And so I've broken these ideas up into five different categories, density, variety, walkability, theming, and of course, magic. But let's start with density. Every Disney theme park has jam packed with things to do and see. Each landing visit is filled with a mix of rides, attractions, food, and all within a few yards of each other. And this makes it easier to immerse yourself in the land's theming and helps create a more lively, engaging environment. Their density places offer greater opportunities for interaction and socialization. But density isn't just about building community or making friends say that. No, no, no. Dense places also make us more money.

8:15Not only do existing businesses benefit from denser development due to higher foot traffic, but because of their more efficient land use, cities see significantly higher return on investment from denser development too. Take this local example. When we look at zanbrose and wallmart, at first wallmart seems like the more valuable development. But just like when we look at a car's miles per gallon to determine its value, we need to look at this parcels value per acre. So when we divide these numbers by the amount of streets and utilities it takes to serve the entire property, we can see that zanbrose is actually five times more valuable than wallmart. Downtown and denser developments are actually subsidizing the rest of the city. So now we know why density matters, where and how do we start applying in our communities. It's impossible to spread these ideas out evenly across an entire city. So it's important to focus on places where things are already working, where people are already gathering, and usually that place is somewhere downtown.

9:18So first we need to start by filling in the gaps. Making lots, empty storefronts, parking lots, they're sprinkled throughout downtowns, and while they may seem innocuous enough, their lack of life can repel people from exploring further on foot. And filling in these gaps with mixed use buildings is the ideal first choice. But new construction and renovations can be expensive, and I know that's not always an option for some communities. So if money is concerned, there are plenty of other options that require smaller budgets that can make a big impact. So we need to take a lot of different markets, community gardens, outdoor stages, food trucks, along with regular programming, or great ways to take empty spaces and turn them into ones filled with life. They say variety is the spice of life. Variety adds beauty, vibrancy, and interest to the built environment. Main street USA is the perfect example of variety. Dozens of uniquely styled colorful buildings filled with different kinds of businesses line to busy streets. And when used well, variety builds excitement and makes people want to explore further. And when used, really well, variety builds excitement, makes people want to turn that

10:21next corner. So here's how we can add a little bit more variety to our places. First, mixed use space is one of the best ways to activate your neighborhood 24-7 and keep them activated throughout the day. Next, instead of multiple architects designing these places over time, we now have a single developer building entire blocks at a time. Now, no one does this price out smaller developers. It also tends to make downtown feel more like an office park rather than the charming main streets we all know and love. Finally, using a variety of colors and styles is essential to creating engaging places. By differentiating the look of your facades, you can create places that are much more interesting. In fact, Main Street USA is actually closer to a strip mall than it is to a traditional downtown street, but you'd never know it from the outside. Disney theme parks are some of the most walkable pedestrian places on earth. You're able to enjoy all these different places and attractions without having to worry about loading up your car, driving through traffic, finding a place to park, and then doing

11:24it all over again when you want to go somewhere else. And beyond looking out for the occasional parade float, children are able to explore the environment freely and safely. Which leads me why it's so important that we focus on making our streets more walkable. If someone you love is hit by a car going 40 miles an hour, they only have a 15% chance of surviving. By changing the geometry of the streets through road diets, we can create places that naturally encourage safer driving. Here's where we can start. The wider the traffic lane, the faster the car. Traffic lanes inside city limits shouldn't be wider than 10 feet. They're usually 11 and two faults. Anything more than that encourages speeding. Converting four lane roads into three lane roads have been shown to actually improve traffic flow and reduce the potential for accidents. In fact, one study showed that when they did this four to three conversion, accidents dropped by 47%.

12:25Pining or parking lane lines can visually shrink the streets and help slow speeding traffic. A few years ago, I worked with the city of Sioux Falls to add parking lane lines on 18th street between Minnesota Avenue and a Vera hospital. The average speed dropped from 33 miles per hour to 28. That might not seem like a lot. Remember that every little bit could mean the difference between life and death. Adding bump outs and painting crosswalks at major intersections can shorten crossing distance between corners and give pedestrian greater visibility. Smalls like to point out smaller roads means less snow to plow and fewer potholes to fill each spring. Some to think about. Now that the roads are smaller, we have room to add more useful things like street trees, plants, bike lanes, and even angled parking. And now we're getting to the fun stuff. Feming is the art of creating a cohesive and immersive environment that enhances the guest experience. Feming is crucial to telling a land story, setting the mood, and creating a unique sense

13:26of place. But how do we theme a city? Every land, ride, and restaurant in a Disney theme park has a detailed backstory. Imagine history and it's communicated through its layout, its architecture, its food, and a dozen other details you probably never even notice. But they all come together to form places with distinct identities. By preserving the history, buildings, and culture that made your community the place it is today is an essential part of creating unique spaces. One way we can do that is by preserving our existing places. The houses, buildings, bridges, barns, even the trees around us create the settings for our life stories. And as the years go on, we form emotional connections with these things. So when they're torn down, we're also severing people's connection to their community and to their own past. So prioritize filling in your existing gaps before you start making new ones. Many parks are full of iconic buildings, structures, and they act as symbols for the parks. Due to their size and eye catching designs, they act as beacons, urging guests forward.

14:30Inspired by the way, his dog would follow him from room to room whenever he was snacking on a hot dog, Walt Disney would refer to these buildings as weas. And civil has a new shortage of iconic weenies, like the Old Courthouse Museum, the Cathedral, the Ark of Dreams, or also home to an internationally famous weenie, the Statue of David. Burl Towns Water, in Burl Towns Water Tower's Church of Silos, they can all act in that same purpose. Like in Faulkton, South Dakota, where this amazing mural can be seen from miles away and it's the envy of any town with a grain elevator. Speaking of murals, they're a great way to communicate in places identity. I paint a lot of murals in cities across South Dakota and some of my favorite to do are these postcard ones, where I get to work with communities to showcase the history, places and people that make them unique, like the rodeo and clear lake or centerville zebra donuts. City flags can represent a place of history, culture and aspirations as well and a well-designed flag can evoke a sense of pride and belonging in the people that live there.

15:35And there are few cities that have embraced their flag more than the city of Sioux Falls. Cities are filled with ugly stuff. When things like light, speakers or outside buildings break the reality of land, steaming, Disney uses a color called Go Away Green to make that item fade into the background and disappear. And you can use color to hide things or make them part of the theme. You can also draw more attention to them by making them into artwork. They'll ask category I want to talk about tonight's magic. And this one can be a little harder to define. Disney magic is created by the combination of unique sites, sounds and smells by the attention to detail and the energetic atmosphere found in every corner of the parks. Magic is the thing that keeps people coming back for more and makes them fall in love with a place. And we can make magic happen in our places in big and small ways. Public art is great. But public art isn't just murals and statues. So why have a normal garbage can on the beach when you could feed it to a fish named Gabi?

16:37Or if you're pulling our new sidewalk, why not add some local poetry? Integrating art in a unique or unexpected way can turn ordinary cities into extraordinary ones. Street mystery is the term Disney uses for the various performers and sites you might see at the parks. And great places have energetic streets. You can make your streets more active by adding outdoor seating or patios, hiring street musicians, or you can close down streets for special events like block parties or parades or farmers markets. Disney is not the only home. The only place that's home to iconic costume characters that generations of people know and love. Masked dots from your city sports teams and high schools as well as beloved TV personalities can all play a part in developing a city's identity. And just like flags, they can become simple, so pride for communities too. Disney goes all out during holidays and celebrations with decorations, seasonal characters, limited time only food. In your community, little efforts like hanging some lights or tailgating before the big

17:39homecoming game are ways to communicate visitors and the people that live there that their town is alive and loved. And this is another place where I guess they too close gets it right. When it comes to the holidays, we don't mess around. Years before Disneyland opened, every Saturday, Walt would take his daughters around town for some quality time together. They visit amusement parks, playgrounds, carousels, which the girls loved. But Walt would inevitably find himself alone on a park bench with all the other adults watching their kids play. And he thought himself there should be something built where parents and children could have fun together. And eventually that idea evolved into Disneyland, a place where people of all ages could come together, create lasting memories, where imagination could become reality, where dreams could come true. But I want to challenge you to dream bigger than Walt Disney. These ideas don't have to stay on vacation.

18:42If we design places with care, purpose, and for people, any community can become the happiest place on Earth. Thank you, Sir Falls. You were listening to Zach DeBoer speaking at TEDx Sue Falls in 2023. If you're curious about TEDx curation, visit TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TEDx. This episode was fact checked by the TED research team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Tobner, and Tonsica SunglearniVom. Additional support from Daniella Ballerizo, Christopher Faisy-Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Ann Banchang, Brian Green, and Lanyl Lot. Learn more at podcast. TED.com. I am Elise Hugh. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet. Thanks for listening.

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