Planning Commissioners Journal

The Next Generation of Your Planning Commission

From: Wayne Senville, Editor, PCJ, editor@plannersweb.com

I asked Kit Hodge, who is CEO of the Neighbors Project, if she'd be willing to write an article for the Planning Commissioners Journal, sharing her thoughts on ways in which local planning commissions can seek out younger members -- in particular, younger "Generation Xers" (born 1965-1980) and older "Millenials" (1981-1999). The Neighbors Project focuses on creative ways of involving people in their 20s and 30s in the civic life of their neighborhoods and cities.

We're reprinting below Kit's article, from our just-published Spring '08 issue. Consider posting your thoughts or feedback after you read her short article. What works best for involving younger generations in local planning? And do younger commissioners bring different "generational" perspectives?

Transportation Planning: May Special Discount Offer

We've just released two publications containing 30 of the best articles we've published on transportation-related topics. For this month, you can get both (102 pages total) for just $30.00, and that includes free shipping.

Take a look at the full content of what you'll receive.

New members of planning commissions and zoning boards will find our just released Transportation Planning publications especially useful, while more experienced members and staff planners will gain many useful insights and ideas.

1. Transportation: Getting Started

Communities are coming to a better understanding of the critical relationship between land use and transportation planning. Transportation: Getting Started includes two groups of articles that will provide you with an introduction to the transportation planning process and basic issues related to street and sidewalk design.

The Transportation / Land Use Connection:  Why a strong connection between transportation and land use planning is essential to the overall livability and character of any community.

Street & Sidewalk Basics:  Key elements of street and sidewalk design, including an introduction to traffic calming techniques and the use of modern roundabouts.

2. Transportation: New Directions

From context sensitive roadway design to creative connections between neighborhoods, communities are seeking new and improved ways to plan for pedestrians, bicycles, and motor vehicles. Transportation: New Directions includes three groups of articles exploring new ideas and trends in transportation planning.

New Ideas / Creative Thinking:  How to manage traffic, mitigate the impact of roadways, provide for the mobility needs of an aging population, and better market public transportation are among the most important issues in transportation planning today.

What About Parking?  What is it about parking that gets everyone talking? A look at planning for parking, and new ideas on the role of parking in our communities.

On Your Feet ... or Bikes:  There has been growing interest in creating walkable neighborhoods, and promoting physical activity for both young and old. Insights into how planning can better address the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists.

For more details & to order: www.plannersweb.com/specialoffers.html

Train-ing for May 10th

Commemorating the anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869, Amtrak has set Saturday, May 10th as National Rail Day. Amtrak is offering a free companion ticket for travel on that day -- so if you're near an Amtrak station, consider an outing!

Many American planners -- and citizens who have traveled to Europe or Japan and enjoyed high-speed rail service -- realize that our national system is far behind where it should be. With gas prices projected to keep on climbing, and concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, it's time we turned our attention to catching up with countries like France, Germany, Spain, and Japan.

While there has been progress in many U.S. cities on light rail and trolley systems -- something highlighted in the Planetizen update in our Winter issue -- the same can't be said of our inter-city rail system. Even in our dense Northeast Corridor, our high-speed rail is nearly a generation behind that in use in Europe.

For just a quick look at high-speed rail in Europe, see "Touring Europe at 200 Miles an Hour: Travel by High-Speed Rail Catches On as an Alternative to the Hassles of Flying," in the Mar. 12, 2008 Wall Street Journal:

"Consumers are flocking to the comfortable, speedy trains -- while growth is slowing in parts of the airline industry. Eurostar reported a 15% rise in ticket sales for 2007, with much of the increase occurring after the London enhancements. Meanwhile, airport passenger-traffic growth has fallen to 2% in Britain for the past two years ..."

photo above is of the new TGV-Est line, connecting Paris and Strasbourg at operating speeds in excess of 200 mph. Interestingly, France views its high-speed rail system as key to strengthening regional economic development by facilitating access to medium size cities throughout the country. See, e.g., Strasbourg: a "Magistrale" city. The video below shows tests of the new TGV breaking the world speed record of 574 kph (344 mph).

It didn't used to be this way. America for nearly a century was the world-wide leader in passenger rail, with trains like the 20th Century Limited connecting cities between New York and Chicago.

But countries like Spain now far surpass us -- witness their expanding high-speed AVE network, which connects Barcelona and Madrid -- 314 "air miles" apart -- in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

By comparison Chicago and St. Louis are just 260 miles apart. Amtrak connects the two cities, but it takes 5 hours and 20 minutes.

At high speeds now common in much of Western Europe, rail often replaces air as the fastest city-to-city travel option. Only in a very few places in the U.S. can the same be said.

Meet Lisa & Jim ... our new columnists

From PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz:

We are pleased to welcome new columnists Lisa Hollingsworth and Jim Segedy to the Planning Commissioners Journal (PCJ). They each bring a wealth of experience and tremendous practical knowledge, and together will provide our readers with information and insight into the "nuts and bolts" of planning commission business.

They are resuming "The Planning Commission at Work" column, which was written for many years by Mike Chandler. Lisa and Jim begin a four-part series on the comprehensive planning process in our Spring 2008 issue.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa and Jim by phone recently -- to find out more about their extensive planning backgrounds, and why they want to be involved with the PCJ. They're both dedicated and highly motivated individuals -- who also truly enjoy the work they do. We believe that with their combined talents and experience, our readers will be in for a treat.

Just a bit of background.

Lisa is currently Managing Partner with "The Community Partnership" based in Liberty, Missouri. Over the years she has worked on planning issues in communities in a number of states, including many rural areas.

Jim is Senior Planner and Urban Designer with Olsson Associates, also in the Kansas City area. He is also Professor and Director Emeritus of Community Based Projects at Indiana's Ball State University. Jim has co-authored the Small Town Planning Handbook, published by APA Planners Press. Last, but not least, he's a past member of the Delaware County-Muncie [Indiana] Metropolitan Plan Commission.

Here are excerpts from our conversation:

Ready for Car Sharing?

For some good online resources on car sharing, take a look at: Dave Brook's CarSharing.us blog. Brook was founder of Carsharing Portland, the first commercial car sharing company in the U.S. in 1998. He later worked with Flexcar, which recently merged into Zipcar. Dave also recently posted a google map showing North American cities with car sharing programs. For links to a variety of newspaper articles on car sharing, go to CarSharing.net. Finally, here are some of the car sharing programs discussed in Hannah's article in the Planning Comm'rs Journal: -- PhillyCarShare -- Chicago I-GO -- Zipcar -- Enterprise Rent-A-Car -- Arlington, Virginia, Car Sharing -- San Francisco City CarShare

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Curious about one of the hottest trends in transportation. We've got an excellent article, "Ready for Car Sharing?" in our Spring issue. Written by our transportation columnist Hannah Twaddell, it will help you understand how car sharing works, and factors in successful programs. You can take a look at excerpts from Hannah's article and, if you're interested, order & download the full four-page article. Take a look also at the video clips at the end of this posting.

Right now, car sharing is more common in larger cities. But it's expanding to smaller places, especially where partnerships can work together to promote it -- and where neighborhoods have high enough densities to support it.

Private businesses such as Zipcar, U-Haul, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car are also expanding their neighborhood-based operations to more communities. For a recent article on this newly competitive environment, see "Warning to Zipcar: Traffic Ahead" (Boston Globe, Mar. 30, 2008).

But in smaller cities, it still usually takes a nonprofit to get a car sharing program underway.

PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz recently spoke with Annie Bourdon, Executive Director of a nonprofit car sharing program under development in Burlington, Vermont. Take note, in particular, of the supportive role being played by the county metropolitan planning organization (MPO), which sees the value car sharing can play in reducing overall vehicle use and benefitting the region's transportation infrastructure.

Car Sharing Comes to Vermont
by PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz

"Car sharing programs can be successful in a lot of communities," asserts Annie Bourdon of Green Mountain CarShare in Burlington, Vermont. "The key is in understanding the needs and habits of the community in which it operates."

Bourdon is heading up this new organization, on a mission "to provide an affordable, convenient, and reliable alternative to private car ownership that enhances the environmental, social and economic well-being of our region and planet." It is gearing up for operation in Burlington, a city of 39,000 residents,

Exchanging Local News: from Colonial Taverns to Email Networks

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Neighborhoods have long been a cornerstone to community life in America. But there have been some striking changes in how we keep abreast of local news and participate in neighborhood life.

Historians have documented the central role that taverns and coffee houses have long played as places for people to exchange news and information.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg has also highlighted the valuable service that these and other "third places," as he calls them, have performed in knitting together communities and integrating newcomers and immigrants into their new place of residence. Here's some of what Oldenburg had to say in an article we published in 1997:

"Americans long enjoyed third places in the form of the inns and ordinaries of colonial society, then as the saloons and general stores springing up with westward expansion. Later came the candy stores, soda fountains, coffee shops, diners, etc. which, along with the local post office, were conveniently located and provided the social anchors of community life.

... Third places also serve as "ports of entry" for visitors and newcomers to the neighborhood where directions and other information can easily be obtained. For new residents, they provide a means of getting acquainted quickly and learning where things are and how the neighborhood works."

In many neighborhoods, you'll still find these kind of gathering stops, sometimes taverns, sometimes grocery or convenience stores, sometimes a donut shop, and sometimes even the laundromat.

The Willard St. Market in Burlington, Vermont.

For years, a common sight outside many of these places was the message board, where neighbors left word about a missing dog, a yard sale, an apartment to rent, a community meeting ... and where candidates for city council, alderman, school board, or mayor placed their campaign posters.

But fast forward to 2008. Email is how we often "talk." Many bemoan this, feeling it has weakened civic life and resulted in a loss of connection within our neighborhoods. And, yes, count me among those who've made such claims.

Yet something quite remarkable has emerged over the past two years here in Burlington and Chittenden County, Vermont. A locally-developed email-based message service, called Front Porch Forum, has established itself as

Message on a Pole

I did a double-take when I passed this utility pole a block from my home last week (hit your browser's refresh button to re-run the photo sequence).

Photo taken on North Prospect Street, in Burlington, Vermont. I have no idea who put this worn and faded poster on the pole, or why. Is this graffiti, public art, or something else?

But seeing this poster did get me thinking about how we "communicate" with each other in our neighborhoods -- and how that's changing. More on this in my next post.

Our Spring issue: Car Sharing; Gen Xers; Chairing the Commission; and more.

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Here's a quick look at the contents of our Spring issue -- due out May 2nd.

Our cover article, Ready for Car Sharing?, by talented transportation planner Hannah Twaddell, takes a look at the growing interest in car sharing and factors important to the success of local programs.

Two articles focus on how to involve those in their 20s and 30s in local planning: The Next Generation of Your Planning Commission, by Kit Hodge (also includes feedback from Richard Florida and several planners & planning commissioners) and Consider the Needs of Generation Xers ..., by Elaine Cogan.

You'll also find tips from long-time planning commission chair Carol Whitlock on the ins and outs of chairing a planning commission.

Greg Dale returns with cautionary advice on dealing with ex parte communications.

Ric Stephens talks about urban design "cookies."

And last, but not least, we introduce two new columnists: Jim Segedy and Lisa Hollingsworth, who will be resuming our "Planning Commission at Work" column. Over the course of the year, they'll be focusing on the basics of putting together the comp plan.

If you're not currently a subscriber to the Planning Commissioners Journal, why not try out our quarterly publication. Use our online subscription form, and we'll start you off with our Spring issue -- due out May 2nd. Or call our office: 802-864-9083 (government orders can request invoice).

Individuals articles are also be available to purchase & download. Click on the article links above if you're interested in learning more about the article and/or downloading it.

Table of Contents: Spring 2008 Issue:

Bowling Together

  Just read that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a long-time bowler, has challenged bowling-impaired Barack Obama to a match. So why I am writing about this on a planning blog? We'll here's what The New York Times reported on its Politics Blog today about Clinton's thoughts about bowling:

"She was most amused about the whole bowling thing, parodying the idea of 'bowling alone,' as proposed in a 1995 essay by Robert Putnam about how people were doing more isolated activities and fewer communal ones. 'This is a big sociological phenomenon,' she said. 'Bowling alone is a sign of our times. We could bring it back. We could like, transform the entire society. We could have bowling alleys on every corner. We could have a sense of community together. People setting pins again. End the automation! Get the pin boys back. No telling what could happen.' "

OK, she's (probably) joking about this. But is it really such a bad idea? In fact, take a look at this photo from an article by Lila Shapero (published in our Summer 2005 issue) titled Bowling Together: The Role of Neighborhood Associations.

By the way, Shapero put together a quite interesting article, highlighting ways in which neighborhood associations can help build community, while supporting local planning efforts.

Housing & Transportation Spending: Are They Related?

We all know that more and more people are driving longer and longer distances to get to work. But there's some surprising information I came across when, in catching up with some of my back reading, I read through A Heavy Load, a report prepared by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference.

A Heavy Load (available to download), examines "the combined housing and transportation cost burdens of working families in 28 metropolitan areas at the neighborhood level."

The bottom line, according to the report, is that working families "spend about 57 percent of their incomes on the combined costs of housing and transportation, with roughly 28 percent of income going for housing and 29 percent going for transportation." What's more, "while the share of income devoted to housing or transportation varies from area to area, the combined costs of the two expenses are
surprisingly constant."

Some of the data is downright scary. Looking at the average household budget in these metro areas, 27.4% is spent on housing and 20.2% on transportation (incidentally, those figures dwarf the 10.6% needed for food and the 4.7% spent on healthcare). But when looking at what the study defines as "working families" (with household incomes between $20,000 and $50,000) the portion of the typical household budget spent on transportation skyrockets to 29.6% (the share for housing is 27.7%).

Think about that for a minute. It's remarkable that approximately 30% of a "working family's" household's budget is going into transportation-related expenses -- and that the share substantially exceeds that spent on housing.

What's even more frightening is that since the study (which relied on 2000-2004 Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data), gas prices have sharply increased.

Eco-Municipalities Step Forward Naturally

• a power plant fueled entirely by a city's own solid waste.
• only bicycles and pedestrians allowed in the city's downtown center.
• an eco-industrial park built to minimize energy consumption.

That's just some of what makes Umea, Sweden (population 110,000) an eco-municipality, planner Sarah James pointed out during the annual meeting of the Vermont Planners Association.

James, the co-author with Torbjorn Lahti of The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices, has focused much of her consulting work on helping municipalities develop approaches to reducing local energy needs and become more environmentally-conscious.

Screenshot from the Umea Energi web site of their Dava power plant.

Eco-municipalities seek to weave long-term sustainability into the fabric of their community. It's an idea that's taken hold in Sweden (click on the British flag icon for English), but is starting to catch on in the U.S.

At the Upper Midwest Planning Conference last November, Anna Haines, Director of the Center for Land Use Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, described how twelve Wisconsin municipalities in the rural Chequamegon Bay area have moved towards becoming eco-municipalities.

Local residents have taken the lead in advocating for their city or town to adopt a resolution designating itself as an "eco-municipality." The process usually starts with interested individuals meeting in weekly "study circles" to educate

Surplus Home Center

Attitudes on Development

From Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Commissioners Journal:

What do Americans think of development in their communities? That was the focus of a nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans conducted this past Fall by the Saint Consulting Group (for more on what this consulting firm does, as posted on their web site).

According to the Saint Group, it's "the first [survey] of its kind to quantify and track the politics of land use, spotlighting who actively opposes and supports real estate-related projects and why."

But perhaps the most revealing finding of the survey (referred to as "the Saint Index") was the strong level of interest residents have in local land use issues. One of the first questions in the survey was:

"When considering candidates for county and local office, how important is their position on new development and growth?"

The responses:

• Very Important ........... 54.7%
• Somewhat Important .... 34.2%
• Not Very Important ......  7.0%
• Not Important at all......  2.4%
• Don't Know ................. 1.6%

The survey asked individuals to rate their level of support or opposition to a range of hypothetical projects. Here's the way these questions were worded:

"I am going to name some real estate projects. Please tell me how you would feel if each project was proposed in your community ... Single family homes / Apartment buildings or Condos / Office building / Grocery store / Large shopping plaza or mall / Landfill / ... " [and several other possible land uses].

The Wild West Today

Note from Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Comm'rs Journal. See my trip report, Dodge City Places Its Bet; and take a look back at Dodge City's history.

The Changing Climate of Smart Growth

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

It wasn't all that long ago that when you heard talk of smart growth, it focused on reducing sprawl in order to preserve farmland and open space, reduce infrastructure investment costs, and develop more walkable, livable neighborhoods with a mix of uses. Certainly, that's still integral to smart growth. But one new element seems to have come to the fore of the smart growth agenda: climate change.

Yes, minimizing energy consumption has always been part of smart growth's aims, but if this February's national Smart Growth Conference in Washington, D.C., is any indicator, climate change and global warming are now an important way of "framing" the benefits of smart growth.

The Conference's opening plenary session, titled "Let's Change the Climate," was specifically oriented to how smart growth can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This was immediately followed by a session headed up by Conference honoree Dr. Richard Jackson on "Climate Change, Public Health and Smart Growth." And many other conference sessions also paid attention to the link between climate change and smart growth.

During the Let's Change the Climate panel discussion, Steve Winkelman, the Transportation Program Director for the Center for Clean Air Policy (and co-author of Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change) directly made the point that framing climate change as the major issue we're facing as a nation can help promote smart growth principles. Or as panelist Jemae Hoffman (head of Sustainable Transportation and Climate Change in the Seattle Dept. of Transportation) put it, "climate change is another good [reason] to do what we all want to do," adding that it is also "putting pressure on us to move faster on transportation issues."

Indeed, putting climate change on the front burner elevates the focus on transportation policy, especially efforts to reduce vehicle miles traveled. After all, it is the transportation sector (through motor vehicle fuel use) that is in most places the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, during the Conference sesssion Winkelman noted we'll soon "need to get to vehicle miles traveled taxes."