The idea of "sister cities," or town-twinning — at least the idea as most of us know it in the United States — is usually accompanied by associations of cultural exchange and, well, only cultural exchange. Goodwill visits, softball-playing delegations, and language study are the kinds of soft-focus approaches that are expected, then forgotten, by sibling communities.
But what if these intercontinental relationships became more than cultural trivia and feel-good global gestures? What if Ann Arbor used its partnerships as a way to benchmark development and our commitment to urban innovation? What lessons might be learned?
After all, few American communities have as many global siblings as Ann Arbor's seven sister cities.
Building an urban family tree
Instituted as a national program by Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, a soft complement to the president's post-war, peace-keeping efforts, the American sister cities program pairs cities stateside with those of similar names, latitudes or backgrounds abroad: Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain; Oxford, Michigan and Oxford, England; the hectic urban giants of New York City and Johannesburg.
Cities often have multiple sisters, but few have as many as Ann Arbor's seven. As the "Welcome" signs marking city limits read, Ann Arbor's sisters include Tübingen (twinned with Ann Arbor in 1965); Belize City, Belize (1967); Hakone, Japan (1969); Peterborough, Ontario (1983); Juigalpa, Nicaragua (1986); Dakar, Senegal (1997); and, the most recent addition, Remedios, Cuba (2003).
While the sister cities program — now administered through the non-profit "citizen diplomacy network," Sister Cities International — is sometimes regarded as little more than a breezy, light-hearted cultural exchange (more enjoyment of signature food and drink than, say, advice on climate crises) or where one "First World" city delivers relief to its "Third World" partner (as in past Ann Arbor delegations to Juigalpa), it's useful to think of the policy possibilities that can be derived from sister city relationships.
For example, for all the talk of Ann Arbor being a "green"-thinking town (not just environmentally friendly but environmentally progressive), there are many other things we as a municipality and we as individual citizens can do to be a Seattle or Berkeley of the Midwest, (analogues which idealistic Ann Arborites may already find suitable). Reconsidering the heat generated by local squabbles over development would be a start.
Learning from our big sister
But another way might be to look to our sister cities for inspiration, namely Tübingen, Ann Arbor's oldest "sister." Itself a university town of like size and of similar distance to Germany's automotive hub, Stuttgart, as Ann Arbor is to Detroit, Tübingen has become known for its innovative urban development projects, city-wide efforts to cut down CO2 emissions and emphasis on public transport.
Although an official Ann Arbor "sister city committee" no longer operates under the auspices of city government, dedicated Ann Arborites have taken up the mantle of maintaining connections with their sister cities through visits and correspondence. (The supporters in the Ann Arbor half of the Ann Arbor - Tübingen partnership are officially organized as the Friends of the Ann Arbor - Tübingen Sister City Relationship). The long-running practice of goodwill visits between Ann Arbor and the cities of Tübingen and Hakone, especially (Hakone is in Shiga prefecture, which happens to hold a "sister state" relationship with Michigan) means exchanging groups of citizens in alternate years.
Last May, a delegation of citizens from Tübingen, including city council members and the mayor, Boris Palmer, came to Ann Arbor. Palmer, an up-and-coming leader in the European Green Party, spoke about environmental issues and his city's work on the climate change issue. Last April, the city launched a major campaign called "Tübingen macht blau" (or "Tübingen is going blue") to reduce carbon emissions 10% by 2010, asking citizens to use energy-saving light bulbs and power bars, and set up a solar roofing market, among other efforts. Bicycling, walking and taking the bus, and leaving the car at home is, of course, very much encouraged. To that end, the German city is renowned for its elaborate integration of bicycle lanes into the local road system and expansive bus services (that run late into the night).
As mayor, Palmer practices what he preaches: bicycle-commuting, taking the train and using the bus system. When he does drive, it's in a SMART car.
"Hopefully we can learn something from [what Tübingen is doing]," said Carol Kappus, secretary of the Ann Arbor-Tubingen club. "It's always a little difficult to apply what works in Europe to our cities because our cities are so much more spread out and dependent on each person having their own vehicle for transport. It might be more difficult … but might inspire us to find similar solutions along the same lines."
The similarities between the two university towns might make certain ideas seem more applicable. Both are known for fiercely individual identities; what better role model for the "People's Republic of Ann Arbor" than a city that's been setting itself apart since the 7th century?
"I think Ann Arbor is very isolated, and in kind of a bubble — with Tubingen, take that and multiply by 50," said Lisa McDonald, president of the Ann Arbor-Tubingen club and owner of TeaHaus in Kerrytown, a tea shop inspired by her favorite tea seller in Tübingen, where she lived for 10 years. "This sounds negative and I don't mean it to be: They kind of live in a non-reality in Tübingen, but to the benefit of the city … They are able to ignore the rest of the world and do their own thing."
Perhaps that famous, do-its-own-thing sentiment is what led to Tübingen's urban development project, Tübingen-Südstadt, a converted "inner-city wasteland" that was occupied by French troops after World War II. The re-envisioning and redevelopment of the former military space began after the French garrison closed in 1991. Plans sprung up for high-density, multi-story housing surrounding an open square that would allow for events, markets, and so forth. The resulting Tübingen-Südstadt project won the European Urban and Regional Planning Award in 2002.
Directly lifting concepts and models from our sister city isn't the most feasible approach.(It's certainly difficult to come by shuttered military barracks in Washtenaw County. But we can allow the motivations behind Tübingen's environmental and urban development-driven action in recent years to influence mindsets to positive effect. What if Ann Arbor were similarly ambitious with the space above the new underground parking lot, creating a mixed-use development in the heart of downtown where people lived, worked, and shopped?
To buoy support for high-density building, those who champion this kind of development sometimes tie in the green angle: it's easy to make the argument that having high-density is "greener" — people can walk from grocery store A to restaurant B to business C, for example.
But there's also "the simple fact that it's nice to live in a town where you can just go and walk," said McDonald. "I really don't think that that many of my German friends think of it as a green issue — that's just how they live."
Urban planners and theorists of late have increasingly written about a possible cultural and generational shift in America, where the children and grandchildren of Americans who first moved out to inner-ring suburbs (and then further and further away, thanks to cars and the interstate system) are re-embracing the idea of a city that actually functions as a bustling, dense urban core where cars aren't an absolute necessity. Ann Arbor could get there yet — and recent news about more bike lanes gives hope to the idea that one could conveniently and safely live in Tree Town without a horseless carriage.
"I don't think Ann Arbor is where it needs to be in order to be a walkable city," McDonald said. After living in Europe for several years — what was planned to be a post-college backpacking trip turned into something much more extended — McDonald and her family moved to her husband's hometown of Ann Arbor three years ago. She says she quickly fell in love with her new city — but misses the ease of getting all necessities taken care of without need for a car.
"If you need to buy full-on groceries, you still need to have a car," said McDonald, who also bemoans the lack of pedestrian zones in high foot traffic areas like Main Street. "Ann Arbor is close but it just kind of misses the mark."
Another idea to consider that would arguably enhance the aesthetic beauty of our city as well as quality of life is the preservation and further expansion of green spaces in Ann Arbor — and a recent University of Michigan study calls for just that. It might take a lot of trees, hedges and other greenery in dense urban areas (and several years) before allocated green areas in Ann Arbor start looking like Neckarinsel, or Neckar Island, in Tübingen. But a space in the central city where "you can walk down it and feel like you're in the middle of the forest" (as McDonald describes Neckarinsel, situated at a brief division in the river), is certainly one to aspire to.
Furthermore, one look at Tübingen's idyllic and integrated riverfront is to incite instant envy, making clear how little downtown Ann Arbor has done to leverage its own proximity to the Huron River.
Ann Arbor is not a New York, or even a Tübingen. Middle America is not Europe. (And why would we want it to be?) But perhaps what cities like Ann Arbor, in this relatively young country of ours, can learn from developments in older sister cities is why the European-style, dense, walkable city has worked for so long. This is not to discount the Eisenhower-era, all-American exports of baseball and apple pie — but with a new look at sister city relationships, perhaps what we import can redefine how we live, from transportation to living spaces.
Kimberly Chou is a freelance writer living in Ann Arbor. She is a frequent contributor to both Metromode and Concentrate. She will soon be leaving us to intern at the Wall Street Journal. Her previous article was MASTERMIND: Carrie Hensel.
This story first ran 5/27/2009. Send your feedback here.
Photos:
Ann Arbor's Welcome Sign on Plymouth Road-Ann Arbor
Houses in Tubingen-iStockPhoto
The Dense Development Known as Kerrytown-Ann Arbor
A Bike in Tubingen-iStockPhoto
Lisa McDonald-Owner of Tea Haus in Kerrytown-Ann Arbor
Closeup of Tubingen Houses-iStockPhoto
Photos by Dave Lewinski (except where noted)