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(Analysis by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott) A new slogan is being used by several Decorah City Council members as a way of explaining what they would like the future of Decorah to look like—"Densify the Bowl." The slogan takes a little explaining to understand. First, "the Bowl" refers to the portion of Decorah which is in the bowl of the crater formed centuries ago when a comet struck the area. "Densify" is an urban planning concept which started in Europe. Most growing cities need to have additional buildings to serve as offices, apartments and houses for all the additional people. As Britain's "Centre for Cities" puts it, "In theory, there is a simple way for cities to have their cake and eat it too. Increasing density—allowing taller buildings on the same space—should enable cities to provide more property space without having to expand outwards." So the slogan "Densify the Bowl" being said by several Decorah City Council members is shorthand for saying "Decorah should expand upwards instead of outwards." The slogan was mentioned recently during a discussion about proposed economic development incentives for Skyline Motorsports, LLC. Several city council members questioned whether the incentives should be given to a company which was moving from one location in town to another, instead of a new company to Decorah. In other words, the move of the company from one location to the other did not help "densify the bowl." But there are several issues with applying the slogan to Decorah. First of all, Decorah's population has fallen in recent years, so there might not be a great need to build up instead of out. Big cities in Great Britain might be "building up, not out," but is that something Decorah needs to follow, with a population of 7,500 people in "the bowl?" The slogan has also been used in connection with the proposed 40-unit apartment complex in Decorah—a prime example of building up instead of building out. But a recent housing study of Decorah and Winneshiek County concluded there was no need for such housing and a big need for housing for very low income families, especially the elderly. Secondly, some residents of Decorah may live here precisely because it's not a big city with all the challenges of a booming expansion of population! Does Decorah need to take the same approach to housing as London is doing? Finally, even if a goal of "Densify the Bowl" is set, it's not easy to achieve. "It's easy to forget the administrative and technical complexities of densification," says the Centre for Cities. For a lengthy discussion of the pluses and minuses of densification, visit the Centre's post on "Is increasing density the answer to the land squeeze in successful cities?"

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New phrase being heard at Decorah City Hall: "Densify the Bowl"