Planning Commissioners Journal

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Piano Stairs

You might have noticed that we previously posted separate stories about the health benefits of using stairs and a piano map of Ohio. Then we came across a video that actually combines both! This very enjoyable short (under 2 minute) video was filmed in Stockholm, Sweden. If you like it, take a look at the two other videos on thefuntheory.com web site. 

EPA Smart Growth Assistance Available

 We received the following announcement from Deloris Wingo-Huntley of the U.S. EPA which we thought might be of interest to some of you:

Request for Letters of Interest: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance

Free technical assistance available!

The Development, Community, and Environment Division in EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation is seeking applications for technical assistance from communities that want to incorporate smart growth in their future development to meet environmental and other community goals. This request is being coordinated under the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Staff from HUD and DOT will assist in the provision of this technical assistance.

Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional, and state governments, and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. Letters of interest are due at 3:00 pm EST, April 9, 2010.

EPA has identified some key topics in which communities are likely to benefit from technical assistance:

• climate change
• equitable development
• financing and planning infrastructure investments
• hazard mitigation plans
• removing local barriers to implementing LEED-ND
• suburban retrofit
• transportation solutions for rural communities and places without rail
• cities in transition (significant population loss, poverty, or economic deterioration)

Proposals are not limited to requests for technical assistance in only these thematic areas; other topics for assistance are welcome and encouraged, provided they demonstrate cutting-edge challenges and the possibility of replicable solutions. The type of work may incorporate policy analysis and review, planning and visioning processes, scorecard/ranking criteria development and assessment, and/or other elements pertinent to the role of the applicant.

Selected communities or states will receive assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a team of experts organized by EPA, HUD and DOT and other national partners to work with local leaders. EPA plans to assist three to four communities over a period of twelve months. The Agency anticipates announcing the selected communities in fall of 2010.

For more information and application materials, visit

http://epa.gov/smartgrowth/2010_0128_rfli.html

F is for Farmland

Automobile | Budget | Comp Plan | Design | Ecology | Farmland | Growth Management | Historic Preservation | Inclusionary | Justice | Knowledge | Land Subdivision | Maps | Neighborhood | Open Space | Public Health & Safety | Quiet | Regional Planning | Sustainable | Takings | Urban Sprawl | Vision | Water | X-rated Uses | Zoning

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Maintaining productive agricultural soils has been the basis for the economic and cultural growth of most nation states. In America, however, farmland preservation efforts have gained momentum only fairly recently. For years, the accepted practice was to show agricultural fields and woodlands on land use maps as "white -- undeveloped." The plain message was that these properties were blank slates waiting to be filled with higher and better uses.

Another significant cause of the loss of farmland has been our property tax system, which views farmland in close proximity to new residential and commercial development as the natural extension of the expanding city. It assigns a speculative future value to those sites -- and then taxes that speculative increase before it is realized. This tax burden falls on the farm owner. As a result, farmers are often driven to sell their land to speculators.

The all-too-common result has been that as metropolitan centers expand, they not only chew away the farmland, but surround and destroy the life of small farm villages in their regional hinterland. 

As regional planning pioneer Benton MacKaye showed as far back as the 1920s, this does not have to be the case. Through effective regional planning, this smothering suburban development can be directed to the spaces beyond and between existing rural villages, maintaining their economy and character.

While farmland is still being lost at too rapid a pace in most metropolitan areas, agricultural land preservation is increasingly being recognized as a major component of state, regional, and local planning policy. Among the techniques planners are using to preserve farmland:

Large-lot zoning. Where the urban center is still remote, where farms are still large, where the land is superior in its productivity, where there is consensus in support of maintaining the rural life style (and where state law permits), land can be zoned for agriculture use, with subdivision limited through the use of large minimum lot sizes (sometimes, 160 acres or more).

Urban service limits. The path of future development can be redirected, relocating the pressure to develop to areas less destructive of farm life. This can be done by limiting the prime growth-supporting facilities, such as road access and utilities, to other areas. Lexington, Kentucky, used this device as long ago as 1958 to direct city expansion away from the famous "blue grass" horse farms. An urban service limit was established that denied improved roads, utilities, and other services to areas near the horse farms, but assured them in other sectors.

Purchase of development rights. A public agency (or a non-profit) can purchase a farm parcel's development rights. This leaves the property privately owned and in farm use. Purchase of development rights, while expensive, can be effective when used to preserve critical farm parcels.

Transfer of development rights (TDRs). In this approach, farm land is zoned for very low density development, but farm owners can transfer (and receive payment for) valuable development rights to their property. These development rights, in turn, are acquired by landowners in other parts of the jurisdiction. This permits the farmer to reap the benefits of land speculation and still continue farming on land now taxed only on its value for agriculture. The most widespread use of TDRs has been in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the New Jersey Pinelands (pdf file).

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For more on agricultural land preservation, see the following articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal:

Farmland Protection: What's Behind the Growing Interest?

Purchase of Development Rights: Preserving Farmland and Open Space

Putting Growth In Its Place With Transfer of Development Rights

Building Your Planning Process from the Ground Up

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Text by Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP. Illustration by Paul Hoffman.
Text & illustration copyright Champlain Planning Press, Inc. | contact: pcjoffice@gmail.com

Purchase of Development Rights: Preserving Farmland and Open Space

The purchase of development rights, or PDRs, is an increasingly used tool in state and local land preservation efforts. Gayle Miller and Douglas Krieger provide an introduction to PDR programs: how they work, what they can accomplish, and questions that often come up in developing a program. by Gayle Miller and Douglas Krieger; from PCJ #53 (Winter 2004); 7 pages

Development pressure in Peninsula Township, Michigan, along Grand Traverse Bay, threatened its cherry industry. Since 1994, the town has acquired development rights on some 2,000 acres. Read first part of article: to order & download complete article, scroll to end of post The Growing Demand for Land Preservation As strip malls and subdivisions eat away at undeveloped land, a growing number of communities are taking new steps to save their remaining farmland and open space. While land use tools such as zoning and cluster development facilitate land preservation, citizens are recognizing that these methods alone may not be enough. Despite tough economic times, preserving open space is a top spending priority for many communities. Between 1999 and 2002, 544 successful state and local ballot measures generated approximately $16.7 billion in funds for land conservation programs. In 2003, voters approved an additional 99 measures with a total value of $1.3 billion. Overall, between 75 and 80 percent of initiatives and referendums that raise taxes or fees for land conservation have passed. While there are numerous reasons for preserving open space, the main benefits fall into four general categories: environmental (protecting groundwater, wildlife habitat, etc.); agricultural (preserving farming industries and communities); aesthetic (preserving rural character and scenic beauty); and managing growth. The specific benefits to any given community depend upon the area's growth patterns, geography, and economy. Preserving undeveloped land around cities can contain urban growth and direct development towards areas already served by infrastructure. Maintaining floodplains can benefit entire watersheds by reducing flood damage. Preserving woodlots or fallow fields can protect scenic vistas important to tourism. Retaining farmland can help support the local economy by maintaining a viable agricultural base. In the past, communities have reaped these benefits "free of charge," thanks to the owners of undeveloped land. Yet as development pressures and land values have increased, the quantity of undeveloped land has shrunk. As a result, communities are recognizing the importance of preserving some farmland and open space. Preserving Land by Purchasing Development Rights Purchase of development rights (PDR) programs are one viable approach that state and local governments are using to preserve farmland and open space. See also Sidebar, An Array of Land Conservation Strategies. The following discussion provides an introduction to PDR programs, explains how they work, and discusses some of the issues that commonly arise in their implementation. Purchase of development rights programs provide a way to financially compensate willing landowners for not developing their land. When buying development rights, the community obtains a legal easement, sometimes referred to as a conservation easement, that (usually) permanently restricts development on the land. The landowner, however, still owns the land and can use or sell it for purposes specified in the easement, such as farming, timber production, or hunting. Since PDR programs are flexible, program administrators can customize purchases of development rights to meet the objectives of both landowners and communities. For example, an easement designed to preserve agricultural resources might allow the landowner to build an additional home or two as long as their placement does not limit the property's long-term agricultural potential. Development rights are similar to mineral rights: they represent a portion of the land's total value. This amount can be estimated by appraisal. The value of development rights is the difference between the fair market value of the land without the easement and its value as restricted by the easement. For example, an 80 acre farm may be worth $10,000 per acre if sold for home sites, but only $2,500 if restricted, by an easement, to agricultural use. This means the parcel's development value would be $7,500 per acre (or $600,000 for the entire 80 acres) -- that would be the cost to purchase the development rights. PDR programs are becoming increasingly popular because they offer substantial benefits to both communities and landowners. Many agricultural landowners are cash-poor: that is, they have a great deal of equity in land, but little income. By selling only their development rights, owners can convert some of the wealth tied up in their land into cash, without relinquishing ownership of the land or use of its productive capacity. Landowners may use proceeds from a sale of development rights in any way they choose -- purchasing additional acreage, upgrading equipment, paying taxes, or investing for retirement. While proceeds of a PDR sale are taxable, depending upon state tax laws, selling development rights may offer significant tax savings by reducing the taxable value of the land, or by reducing future inheritance taxes. For communities, PDR programs are a means to manage growth and provide the benefits of open space without the expense of purchasing, maintaining, and policing publicly-owned land. Preserving land can also save communities money in the long run, since development often costs more in public infrastructure and community services than the tax revenue realized by the growth. See Sidebar, Community Costs. PDR programs recognize that owners of undeveloped land provide valuable amenities to the community. Buying development rights from willing landowners provides a market-driven and compensatory approach to preserving those amenities, and an attractive option or addition to other forms of land management, such as zoning. ... article continues with sections on: Developing a PDR Program; Paying for the Program; and Dealing With Opposition. Sidebars include two short case studies (Peninsula Township, Michigan, and Dunn, Wisconsin), as well as: State & Local Funding; Community Costs; and An Array of Land Conservation Strategies

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Farmland Protection - What's Behind the Growing Interest?

Why more towns, cities, and counties are recognizing the benefits of farmland protection, and some of the strategies being used to keep land in agricultural use. by Keith Schneider; from PCJ #63 (Summer 2006); 8 pages

A farm in Leelanau, Michigan. Purchase of development rights programs have grown increasingly popular in Michigan, and across the country, as part of local efforts to preserve farmland. Read first part of article: to order & download complete article, scroll to end of post LOWELL, MI - As it happened, the rain stopped on May 15, 2006, the morning that a caravan of late model vehicles dropped a swirl of local dignitaries, including a state senator, one of Michigan's wealthiest philanthropists, and two TV reporters on Lloyd Flanagan's farm in the green countryside 25 miles from Grand Rapids. Mr. Flanagan, a sturdy man whose family raised crops and livestock since 1947 on the corner of 4 Mile Road and Lake Murray Avenue, greeted his guests with a smile and a hearty handshake. In this part of West Michigan modesty is a virtue. Mr. Flanagan listened quietly, shifting his weight and fingering the bill of his worn baseball cap as speakers extolled the farm's natural beauty, the family's good work, and the $580,000 that Kent County raised to buy the development rights and make sure 145 acres of good Flanagan ground would be forever used solely for agriculture. At the program's end, Mr. Flanagan and his wife, Kathleen, who have two sons and a daughter, received a handsome sign commemorating the occasion. "It's been in the family all these years," Mr. Flanagan said afterwards. "I want it preserved. I want to see it stay a farm and see it set up so my son can take over." The ceremony, gracious in its simplicity, marked the second farm permanently protected by Kent County's four-year-old Farmland Preservation Program. But what was most significant was the event's location in a county that not only is among the largest farm producers in Michigan, but also is among the state's fastest growing and most politically conservative. Here in a region where mixing the basic ingredients of farmland preservation -- open ground, government oversight, and public spending -- often arouses considerable ire, a new and much more supportive attitude about the value of farms, farmers, and farmland is quickly developing. The switch in allegiance is as evident in this part of Michigan as it is in countless other regions of the nation where local and state campaigns to protect farmland have surmounted partisan, class, race, and political impediments to become a powerful, though little noticed economic and political movement in the United States. From New England to southern California, Florida to Washington state, and countless places in between, local planning officials are teaming up with elected leaders, non-profit conservancies, and the farm community to spend nearly $500 million annually to preserve more than 400,000 acres of orchard and crop land, according to farmland conservancies. Though the nation's farmland protection efforts also include enacting new zoning rules, taking steps to enhance farm profitability, and enforcing state right-to-farm laws in order to help farmers stay in business, paying farmers to permanently set aside land solely for agriculture is seen as far and away the most effective solution to farmland loss. The reason? "It's voluntary," says Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, who's working to establish a farmland protection program in southern California, in one of the nation's largest farm counties. "The other important element is it doesn't cost much. It's much less expensive than building roads and sewers and all the other costs that come out of land development." ... article continues over next seven pages with discussion of farmland conservation strategies.

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Ohio is ... a Piano

As I was sorting through some old email, I came across a link to The music of geography: Ohio is a piano, a blog post I looked at -- or I should say listened to -- last Summer. See the screenshot on the right I took while playing one of the songs you can "test drive" the map with. 

It's a creative and entertaining diversion, but it also raises some interesting possibilities about what it might be like if we incorporated sound into mapping. We've come a long way with visualization techniques; maybe we need to also give some thought to how sound might enhance our understanding of place.

Here's how cartographer Andy Woodfruff describes his post:

"Last month, as I was driving through Ohio to collect my final three counties in the state, it dawned on me: There are 88 counties in this state. There are 88 keys on a piano. I don’t know anything about music, but holy crap, I have to make a map based on this coincidence.

And so I did, bit by bit, gradually descending into madness in the process. It has no purpose, really, apart from being an experiment in some sort of weird artistic musical cartography. Ohio is a piano. ...

 Sonification of data is reasonably commonplace: think metal detectors and Geiger counters. Representing spatial data using sound is a subject about which I know little, but it is an active research topic in cartography. Obviously what I have made here is necessarily an example of mapping with sound, although I don’t believe it to be especially useful for understanding data. It is, rather, artistic in intent, allowing one to hear the 'music' of the data and geography (whatever that means) rather than actually explore the data values."

p.s., Woodruff has some other fascinating posts on his Cartogrammar blog.

Where to Park in Miami

We covered a fascinating bike parking garage in our last post, so in the interests of fair play, let's turn to a car parking garage today. The Financial Times of London -- of all papers -- ran a story recently about a new parking garage in Miami. It's an interesting story, especially since we rarely think about parking garages as structures that can be visual assets to a city. That's probably because we've rarely seen ones that are. We feel fortunate if they're not downright ugly.

Here's part of what Edwin Heathcote, the Financial Times' architecture reporter writes:

"There was a moment when the multistorey car park looked like it was going to be the future of architecture. It was everything that traditional, bourgeois buildings were not. It was the symbol of the new city, geared not towards the individual but to the machine. It was the modernist dream, untainted by history or sentiment; it was to be to the modern age what the great railway stations had been to the age of industry. It didn’t quite work out. ...

herzog & de meuron
Originally uploaded by Paul Soulellis

It is that sad, unfulfilled history that makes the newest building from the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron such a surprise. The designers of Tate Modern and Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium have produced not a new cultural behemoth but a strange sculptural structure, reviving the idea of the car park as a figure in the city. ... The idea is to create a series of layers that extend the public realm up into the building, to attract events, parties and life into the structure. Both architects and developer see the structure as an experiment in a new kind of downtown transport architecture, a building as exciting to enter as to emerge from, blinking into the Miami sun."

• Read the complete article in the Financial Times
• View series of illustrations of the garage
• Read a related NY Times article on the development background of the project

Bike Storage ... Japanese Style

 Given the high population density in Japan's metropolitan area, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a Japanese firm has come up with an automated bicycle storage facility. Take a look at this short video from The Guardian newspaper's website.

As Guardian editor David Munk describes it: "Has Japan designed the world's best bike shed? It's not often something stops you in your bike tracks. But a spectacular "bike tree" invention from Japan bowled me over when I was in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago.

Fed up with bicycles locked to railings, piled on top of each other, blocking doorways and roads, a local council in the city installed the mechanical masterpiece. It's basically an automatic storage system for cycles and operates with computer tagging of bikes and either storage in a building or a basement structure.

There are a number of locations where these bike trees are now in place in Tokyo some hold 600-odd bikes, others more than 6,000. The concept came from the massive Japanese steel company JFE, whose engineering works division first started them in 2007 but are now spreading.

... The process of retrieval normally takes 15 seconds but can be slightly longer (it took 30 seconds in my experience). The advantages are plain your bike becomes theft-proof, you are encouraged to cycle to work and local authorities don't have to deal with unsightly and sometimes annoying bicycle clutter. The downside is that it costs a lot of money and the infrastructure involves serious resources."

For more details on the bicycle storage facility, see:

• CYCLE TREE: Multi-level Mechanical Bicycle Parking System (from JFE Engineering corporation, which built the facility)
• Yet Another Video of Amazing Japanese Bike Storage System (from Treehugger.com)

On the Fast Lane

I have to say that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has surprised me. But it's in a way I didn't expect: he knows how to communicate. He (or his staff) is just about everywhere -- heading out around the country, and also online. 

Whether it's on Twitter, Facebook, or the Web, our Secretary of Transportation is doing a terrific job of informing us of what's going on at the Department of Transportation. I'd especially recommend you take a look at his web blog, if you haven't seen it. 

Sure, there's a certain amount of promotion involved. But more importantly, there's lots of good information, conveyed in a very readable style. I've been especially impressed by the focus LaHood has been giving to distracted driving, a very important public health and safety issue. 

LaHood's Fast Lane blog will give you a better feel for the big picture (as well as some of the details) of federal transportation policy and programs. But given the attention high-speed rail has been getting, I almost expect the blog to be renamed from "Fast Lane" to "Fast Track"!

If you Tweet, be sure to follow Ray LaHood on Twitter:

 

E is for Ecology

Automobile | Budget | Comp Plan | Design | Ecology | Farmland | Growth Management | Historic Preservation | Inclusionary | Justice | Knowledge | Land Subdivision | Maps | Neighborhood | Open Space | Public Health & Safety | Quiet | Regional Planning | Sustainable | Takings | Urban Sprawl | Vision | Water | X-rated Uses | Zoning

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 The word "ecology" literally means the study of homes ("eco"= homes; "ology" = the study of). In common use, however, ecology denotes the environment that surrounds our human existence and how people interact with it.

Ecology was powerfully brought to public attention with the publication of Rachel Carson's The Silent Spring in 1963, exposing the devastating effects of agricultural insecticides on wildlife and on the food chain. 

Six year later, landscape architect and planner Ian McHarg focused on how ecology can be taken into account in planning and design in his landmark book, Design With Nature.

With the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (which required "environmental impact statements" for federally funded projects having significant impacts on the environment), ecological considerations became part of the everyday planning vocabulary.

It is logical that ecology should be integral to planning. The natural environment is the community's birthplace. Terrain, soils and tree cover, underground water, surface streams, vegetation, and wildlife all form an interdependent unity of impact and adaptation. The goal of ecological studies, as applied to community and regional development, is to make the human impact on the elements of the environment mutually supportive and integrative with the whole, becoming one with the order of the natural world.

The protection of the quantity and quality of water in underground aquifers and wetland areas is a key concern when planning with ecological considerations in mind. Care is given to avoid building on and polluting natural aquifer recharge areas. Yet, with careful planning, even a site that includes large areas of flood plain or swamp land, may be developable -- while preserving its wetland functions. This was demonstrated in The Woodlands, a Texas new town built in the 1970s with the guidance of Ian McHarg and following his ecological principles.

Similarly, Village Homes, built in Davis, California in 1975, became a model for ecological application to a suburban neighborhood. It utilized natural drainage channels and grassed "soft" channel recharge areas in lieu of pipes and hard-sided channels to handle the increased rainwater runoff resulting from conversion of the site to a residential neighborhood. 

At Village Homes, the width of the street paving was narrowed to reduce the impervious area, minimizing runoff. Grape arbors were located between buildings and adjacent to drainage swales to absorb ground water, as well as to interject agriculture as an immediate, visible, and continuing presence in the residential environment.

When ecology is considered as part of a the comprehensive planning process, the community's natural systems (its soils slopes and land forms; underground water and surface drainage patterns; tree cover; grassland areas; ponds and wetlands; and wildlife) are all carefully mapped and studied in an effort to understand their role and to protect them from adverse human impacts. Ecological design calls for interacting with these natural systems to meet human needs in a manner that results in minimum disruption and maximum retention of the natural environment.

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For more on ecological considerations in planning, see the following articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal:

Moving Towards Sustainability

Managing Stormwater Runoff: A Green Infrastructure Approach

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Text by Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP. Illustration by Paul Hoffman.
Text & illustration copyright Champlain Planning Press, Inc. | contact: pcjoffice@gmail.com

Stormwater Runoff & Low Impact Development

The practice of stormwater management is evolving beyond engineered approaches applied at the site level to an approach that looks at managing stormwater in more natural ways. Green infrastructure and low impact development techniques can be better for the environment and cost-effective. But before they can be implemented, changes to local land development policies and regulations may be needed. Managing Stormwater Runoff, by Lynn Richards | Taking Low Impact Development from Research to Regulations, by John S. Rozum & David Dickson | from PCJ #73 (Winter 2009); 8 pages total

A bioswale is one of several "low impact" features designed to manage stormwater in a North Charleston, S.C., development. Read first few paragraphs of Lynn Richards article: Increasingly, communities are looking for ways to maximize the opportunities and benefits associated with growth while minimizing and managing its negative environmental impacts, especially in terms of stormwater runoff. In many places, however, stormwater management is still primarily dealt with only at the site development level using "end-of-pipe" practices, such as detention ponds or conveyance systems, such as sewer systems or culverts. These practices, however, fail to address cumulative water quality impacts from the excessive amounts of impervious cover associated with land development. While conventional stormwater approaches work to drain each site, the continued spread of development in many areas has resulted in too much water, carrying too much pollution, running into drains and receiving water bodies. This can reduce water quality, especially at drain outlets, and lead to a dramatic drop in the refill rate of aquifers and streams. Today, the practice of stormwater management is evolving beyond engineered approaches applied at the site level to an approach that looks at managing stormwater through more natural approaches. These "green infrastructure" approaches can be better for the environment and cost-effective. Green infrastructure strategies reduce and locally manage stormwater through infiltration (water soaking into the ground), capture and reuse (water being stored in a rain barrel or cistern for later use in watering plants or flushing toilets), and evapotranspiration (water being used by trees and plants). A comprehensive green infrastructure approach to stormwater management seeks to: Preserve and enhance natural features, such as undisturbed forests, meadows, wetlands, regional and neighborhood greenways, trails, and other natural areas. Recycle land by directing new development to already degraded land, such as parking lots, vacant buildings, and abandoned malls. Reduce land consumption and development footprint by using land more efficiently. Reuse stormwater by directing it back into the ground through infiltration, evapotranspiration, or through capture and reuse techniques. While traditional approaches to stormwater management have focused at site-level techniques, green infrastructure takes into account the wide range of development-related issues at the regional, neighborhood, and site-level that affect impervious cover and stormwater runoff. ... Read first few paragraphs of John Rozum & David Dickson article: As anyone involved in land use knows, a new subdivision rarely garners much emotion, particularly of the positive variety. So it was surprising when while on a tour of the new Glenbrook Green subdivision in 2006 Connecticut's chief environmental official exclaimed, "this subdivision is wicked cool!" The 29-lot Waterford, Connecticut subdivision, also known as the Jordan Cove project, is one of the country's premier applied research sites for a variety of stormwater management and site design approaches often referred to as Low Impact Development (LID). However, making "wicked cool" subdivisions like Jordan Cove commonplace will require a multi-pronged, yet doable, revision of local land use regulations. A "New" Approach to Stormwater We know from countless studies that current stormwater management practices are not doing a great job of protecting water quality. Increasingly, communities are recognizing the need to manage stormwater through an integrative, comprehensive approach to land use planning and site design. LID refers to a variety of land use practices, including rain gardens, vegetated swales, pervious pavements, green roofs, and others, that seek to maintain or even improve the pre-development hydrology (i.e., quality and quantity of runoff) of a particular development site. LID practices have been highly touted throughout the country in recent years as one large piece of this puzzle. Research findings suggest it is worth the hype. The Jordan Cove project (see next page), funded by the EPA through the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), represented a ten-year research effort to gauge the effectiveness of many of these onsite stormwater management techniques in "real world" conditions. The project found that when used in combination these practices can indeed replicate or improve the pre-development hydrology of an area. Yet, implementing these practices will require communities to make changes to the way that land development is done from top to bottom and changes of this magnitude are rarely taken quickly. ...

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Moving Towards Sustainability

Trends in human activity, both at global and local levels, are still headed in directions that are largely unsustainable. Yet a growing number of cities and towns are incorporating sustainable development principles in their planning and zoning efforts. Sarah James, co-author of the American Planning Association's Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability, takes a look at ways in which some communities are starting to implement sustainable development principles. by Sarah James; from PCJ #47 (Summer 2002); 8 pages

Read excerpts from start of article: Planning and zoning officials have powerful influence over the future shape and land use of our communities. Making sure we leave our children and grandchildren livable communities and a livable environment is reason to consider planning and zoning a approaches that move toward sustainability. A sustainable society is one where human needs -– ours and those of future generations -– can be met within the capacity of the earth to support those needs. At present, trends of human activity -– including development, consumption, population growth, and degradation of natural resources –- both at global and local levels, are heading increasingly in directions that are unsustainable. At the same time, more and more communities are redirecting planning and zoning to help shape development and land in more sustainable directions. We can learn from their examples. A Look at the Big Picture To better understand what sustainability means, it helps to step back and take a look at the big picture. Two broad trends can be seen. First, the natural systems around us are being depleted at a rate faster than they can be renewed. Second, population growth and consumption are continuing to rise. It should come as little surprise that Americans lead the world in resource consumption and waste generation. ... These two trends are like the sides of a funnel, converging upon one another. The time we have to stabilize these trends is diminishing. And we don't know at what point irreparable damage will occur. What we see happening around us in our communities are local manifestations of these global trends: diminishing open land and forests; threatened wildlife habitat; increased traffic congestion; poor air quality; contaminated water and earth; and many people without an affordable place to live. However, a growing number of communities have taken actions that hold promise for slowing, if not reversing, these trends -– actions often grounded on one of the following perspectives: Dealing with Upstream Causes Taking a Systems Approach Thinking in Terms of Cycles 1. Dealing With Upstream Causes Two paired phrases often used in discussing sustainable development are: "upstream causes" and "downstream effects." Planning and zoning strategies that address the root causes of land use and environmental issues are said to deal with "upstream causes." In contrast, strategies that focus on remedying (or managing) existing problems deal with "downstream effects." The connection is that by taking preventive measures -– that is, by dealing with what creates environmental and land use problems in the first place (i.e., "upstream causes"), one can often avoid the more costly and intractable steps needed to remedy land use problems after they occur (i.e., "downstream effects"). Traditionally, most land use and environmental regulations have focused on managing downstream effects. For example, regulating hazardous, toxic substances usually takes the form of controlling their on-site storage and disposal. In contrast, an upstream approach might encourage alternatives to the use of toxic chemicals, thereby avoiding the need to deal with storage and disposal concerns. Likewise, efforts to deal with traffic congestion usually take the form of widening streets, adding lanes, lights, or other mitigation measures. An upstream approach might instead focus on developing strategies that work to reduce the volume of traffic, eliminating the need for dealing with congestion. ...

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Blogging from Cuba

Follow planner Beth Humstone's blog postings as she tours Cuba this week and next with other planners, architects, developers, and historic preservationists. Note: Humstone will be joining the Planning Commissioners Journal this Spring as one of our regular contributing writers. 

Federal Agencies to Coordinate Smart Growth Planning

 Excellent post by Bill Fulton on his blog (via the California Planning & Development Report web site) about some very promising news coming out of this month's New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Seattle. 

To read his full post: Are Federal Agencies Finally on the Same Page 
Here are some excerpts:

"There's an old joke that what the locals fear more than a federal government in disarray is a federal government that has its act together. Well, now the joke's being put to the test. At the plenary session of the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Seattle the other night, President's Obama's so-called Green Cabinet -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, and EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus, filling in for his boss Lisa Jackson -- presented the most cohesive vision of federal involvement in planning and development since the Johnson Administration 40 years ago.

'When it comes to housing, transportation, and environmental policy, it's time the federal government spoke with one voice,' HUD Secretary Donovan said at the plenary.

 The coordinated federal effort would have vast reach and billions of dollars in resources if it is successful. It takes at least three forms -- the creation of special offices on sustainable communities inside each of the three agencies; the addition or continuation of funding programs inside each agency; and an unusual level of coordination among the agencies on the sustainable communities effort. ...

The major brainpower for the coordinated effort would appear to be located in HUD -- an unlikely place for policy innovation in recent administrations. Donovan, the former New York City housing commissioner, is viewed as one of the Obama Administration's brightest starts. ... In addition, Donovan selected Rafael Bostic from the University of Southern California's School of Planning Policy & Development as his Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research."

Fulton goes on to highlight three of the key components of this coordinated approach to planning:

• HUD's creation of an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
• U.S. DOT's establishment of an Office of Livable Communities (which has proposed a $527 million budget for livable communities programs in the next federal budget)
• The expansion of EPA's current Office of Smart Growth into the Office of Sustainable Communities

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See joint Press Release from HUD, DOT, and EPA (June 16, 2009)

Twitter users: you can follow some of the key agencies:

• DOT Secretary Ray LaHood
• EPA Office of Smart Growth
• HUD News

"I Know It's Only Rock and Roll, But I like It," Says Austin Mayor Leffingwell

This January and February we'll periodically be including excerpts from "State of the City" addresses given by mayors from across the U.S. These addresses can offer insights into both innovative programs and challenges facing cities.

Previously posted:

Shoreview, Minnesota, Mayor Sandy Martin

Salt Lake City, Utah, Mayor Ralph Becker

Ashland, Oregon, Mayor John Stromberg

Topeka, Kansas, Mayor Bill Bunten

Albany, New York, Mayor Gerald Jennings

Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mayor George K. Hartwell

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Austin, Texas, Mayor Lee Leffingwell
To read his complete State of the City address 

Our technology industry -- and especially our semiconductor industry -- has been central to Austin's economic growth, and thus our quality of life, over nearly two decades. But it's time to face facts: Big chunks of the semiconductor industry have shipped overseas, and those jobs are not coming back. That doesn't mean our technology industry isn't important to Austin anymore. It absolutely is. It's critically important. And it will continue to be. ... But, as the nature and focus of the national and global economy evolves, so should the nature and focus of our local economy ... 

We've been talking about this long enough that I think there is general agreement about where our economic focus should be moving forward: Renewable energy, creative media, and medical technology. These industries are the future of Austin's economy. They can, and will – if we play our cards right – form a new foundation of sustained economic growth into the next generation.

Renewable energy is a natural fit for Austin. We have a proud legacy of environmentalism in this community. We have the technical expertise and the drive to innovate. And, we are the capital city of the most important state in today's energy economy. There's no excuse for Austin not to be at the forefront of the global clean energy revolution happening today. ... I want to make special mention of the Pecan Street Project, which is a collaborative effort of the City, Austin Energy, U.T., the Chamber, and a dozen other partners, to work on developing smart grid infrastructure in Austin. Two months ago, the Pecan Street Project won a $10 million federal grant – an indicator of its promise, and the promise of the clean energy sector as a whole for Austin.

Our second clear opportunity for economic diversification is in the world of creative media. Already, Austin is known internationally as a center of creativity. We are the "Live Music Capital of the World" – and our music industry continues to be critical to both our economy and our culture. Together, South by Southwest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival generate more than $150 million in economic impact every year. ... I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it. ...

Our film and television industry continues to mature. As more state incentives come online, we'll be able to attract more studio and independent productions, and begin to reach a critical mass of local talent and facilities.

Video gaming is another creative media sector that has enormous economic potential for Austin. Overall, video game sales were down a bit in 2009, but still did more than $20 billion. To put that number in perspective, it's three times the size of total sales in the music industry last year. ... We've got a steadily-growing group of game developers and distributors here in Austin now, but we want and need more.

Finally, everything happening with web-based services, mobile computing, and social networking also holds great promise for our city. This is where I believe we have a unique opportunity to marry our tech-savvy culture, and labor force, with the next generation of growth. In particular, I'd very much like to see some of the largest social media companies, like Twitter, establish a significant presence in Austin in the near future. ...

The third big opportunity for Austin is in the area of medical technology and life sciences. Already, some of our largest employers are in the health care sector: Seton, St. David's, Girling, and others. And one of our biggest ambitions as a city, and a region, is to become home to a full-fledged medical school. There are lots of creative, dedicated folks working hard on that goal right now. ...

Lastly, I want to talk about the importance of small local business. Here's a stat that may surprise you: 90% of companies in Austin have fewer than 10 employees. And about 75% of all Austin jobs are with companies that employ fewer than 100 people. I think those figures make it pretty clear how critical small local businesses are to Austin. They are really the backbone of our economy. ....

I can't stand up here today and tell you that the worst of what's happening around us is over. The truth is, it may not be. But, after a lifetime in this city, I know the fiber of Austin, Texas. I know the character of the people who live here. And I can stand up here today and tell you – with great confidence – that for us, the best is yet to come." 

Vancouver City: In Motion

I enjoy watching good time-lapse videos, and there are some quite good ones on YouTube of various cities. But this is one of the best I've seen. What's more, it couldn't be more fitting now that the Vancouver Winter Olympics are about to begin. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Vancouver!

Some information about the video posted on YouTube: "Vancouver City" music video is an artistic collaboration between Innerlife Project and TimeLapseHD. These time lapses are shot with a 12 mega pixel digital single lens reflex cameras. Original resolution is 6 times better then HD (high definition). The images have been resized for HD and are much better quality then shown here on YouTube. Video clips are for sale. For more information and music downloads go to www.innerlifeproject.com 

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Read Planetizen's Nate Berg interview of Vancouver Planning Director Brent Toderian in "The Olympics and the City" on Places.

OK, perhaps we're being Janus-faced, but for those of you who finding this video too upbeat or who are concerned with mega-scale sporting events and some of their negative impacts, take a look at: Closing Ceremonies: How Law, Policy and the Winter Olympics are Displacing an Inconveniently Located Low-Income Community in Vancouver (scroll down article to get to the Vancouver section).

The Beer Belly of America

 We love maps. In fact, you may have noticed on our PlannersWeb site that we have links to Doug Greenfield's fascinating Map of the Week site (near the bottom of our right sidebar). But Greenfield's not the only map enthusiast. In fact, the Web seems to be proliferating with fans of geography and cartography. We can, at least in part, thank Google for this, by enabling mapping of all sorts of data.

So, maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that you can map the geographic distribution of bars. And that's just what the professional geographers at FloatingSheep.org have done. Take a look at their recent post, The Beer Belly of America. Here's some of what they have to say about what the data shows:

"We were quite surprised when we did a simple comparison between grocery stores and bars to discover a remarkable geographically phenomenon. We had expected that grocery stores would outnumber bars and for most parts of North America that is the case. But we could also clearly see the "beer belly of America" peeking out through the "t-shirt of data". Starting in Illinois, the beer belly expands up into Wisconsin and first spreads westward through Iowa/Minnesota and then engulfs Nebraska, and the Dakotas before petering out (like a pair of love handles) in Wyoming and Montana.

The clustering was so apparent that we wanted to check how it compared to the "official" data on this activity. So we gathered 2007 Census County Business Pattern on the number of establishments listed in NACIS code 722410 (Drinking places -alcoholic beverages-) and divided by Census estimates for state population totals for 2009 and found remarkable correspondence with our data.

On average there are 1.52 bars for every 10,000 people in the U.S. but the states that make up the beer belly of America are highly skewed from this average."

From a table they include, it looks like the winners are North Dakotans, with 6.54 bars per 10,000 very cold people -- at least in February! (Well, maybe we found the explanation).

Take a look at some of the other equally offbeat maps on FloatingSheep.

D is for Design

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Creative designers established the foundations of American community and regional planning in the second half of the 19th century, and early years of the 20th century. Their visions of a more ideal America, one that was orderly, clean, rational, functional, efficient, inspirational, and beautiful, kindled efforts in political reform that were realized in the community comprehensive plan, land use zoning and building bulk controls, capital budget processes, and public park and parkway planning.

Widespread efforts toward the physical improvement of American cities were inspired by the work of landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., designer of New York's Central Park (1857), and George Kessler, designer of the Kansas City Metropolitan Park System (1893), as well as by the work of architect Daniel Hudson Burnham, director of works for the widely acclaimed Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair of 1893). In addition, significant contributions were made by sculptors, including Augustus St. Gaudens, who collaborated with Burnham in preparing the plan for the Columbian Exposition and the McMillan Plan for Washington, D.C (1902).

 The work of these designers resulted in this period being known as the Era of The City Beautiful. Their work, emphasizing the public built environment and focusing on roads, parks, public buildings, and monuments, also generated a Civic Center Movement in which city boosters across America vied with one another to produce plans (sometimes accomplished) for impressive groupings of public buildings and monumental boulevards.

Although city planners no longer commonly execute detailed plans for civic centers, their activity still involves design issues, now often termed "urban design." Urban design focuses on creating spaces (and places) that are multi-faceted, multi-use, pluralistic, interactive, and rich in the way people experience them.

Planners also often deal with the design of the "streetscape." This involves the careful construction of relationships between people and the immediate elements of the pedestrian and automotive environment such as paving, trees, signs, building facades, and lighting fixtures. Streetscape design is very important. The experience of the community by people on foot, on bicycles, and in automobiles or transit vehicles, structures their understanding of the community, their role in it, and their perception of the community's attitude toward them.

The role of the creative designer in community planning has been strengthened (some say, rediscovered) in recent years. A renewed recognition of the value of the physical designer has resulted in ever-increasing support for The New Urbanism, a movement to restore detailed neighborhood-scale design as an element of planning practice, and in the involvement of fine artists (such as muralists) in planned improvements, and as valued contributors throughout the entire planning process.

The following short video, highlighting the goals of new urbanism, won an award at the 2009 Congress for the New Urbanism video award annual meeting.

Design, when considered in its broadest sense, is what virtually every planner is engaged in. The act of community planning itself involves participation in the design of relationships that fulfill community goals and aspirations through preparation of integrated plans for community action. Planners today design plans not only for development, but also, for example, for the protection of agriculturally productive soils and for the shaping of patterns of development.

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For more on design issues in planning, see the following articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal:

An Introduction to Urban Design

An Introduction to Design Guidelines

Pattern Books: A Planning Tool

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Text by Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP. Illustration by Paul Hoffman.
Text & illustration copyright Champlain Planning Press, Inc. | contact: pcjoffice@gmail.com

Pattern Books: A Planning Tool

“Pattern books” filled with historical and architectural data and guidelines can help cities and towns protect and enhance their identity. The push to create them often comes after a community creates a special redevelopment district, or witnesses buildings that seem out of place. A look at the growing use of pattern books. by Amy Souza; from PCJ #72 (Fall 2008); 6 pages

A page from a pattern book prepared for Norfolk, Virginia. Read excerpt from start of article: Think of an older neighborhood with smallish houses set back from tree-lined streets. Then picture a new home, three stories high, pushing to the edge of its lot, towering over its neighbor. Even if the design is right -- Craftsman on a street of bungalows -- the scale is all wrong. The house looks bloated and out of place. Or maybe three blocks of modern townhouses are built just outside a village of historic single-family homes. Most people know when buildings do not fit their surroundings, but many communities struggle with how to combat such construction proactively. What's at stake is a sense of place, which comes as much from a town's man-made landscape as from its natural setting and the personality traits of its residents. New England's picket fences, San Francisco's colorful Victorians -- these speak to each area's character and uniqueness and are part of what attracts people to visit or live there. But what of the street lined with nearly identical garage-fronted homes lacking architectural details and providing no regional clues? That generic street could be anywhere, and for many people that's a problem. "A lot of things get done hastily, without people being very aware of what gives a place distinction," says Philip Langdon, senior editor of New Urban News. Pattern books filled with historical and architectural data and guidelines can help cities and towns steer development efforts to more easily protect and enhance their identity. Sometimes they contain regulations that must be followed; other times they offer suggestions. Pattern books have been called a tool for New Urbanism, and though many are used to promote traditional neighborhood design, that is not their only purpose. The push to create a pattern book often comes after a city witnesses out-of-place building -- a log cabin in the seaside town of Denton, Maryland, or rebuilt dwellings crowding small lots in Kansas City's post-World War II suburbs -- or after a municipality creates a special redevelopment zone. Norfolk, a city on Virginia's southern coast, has experienced extensive infill development and renovation of older homes. "The houses have character and history, but often lack the modern amenities that support today's lifestyles," said Acquanetta Ellis, Norfolk's assistant director for planning and community development. "We were seeing construction that was not compatible or appropriate and were concerned because it's devaluing the communities." City officials turned to Pittsburgh-based Urban Design Associates (UDA), an architecture and urban design firm, to develop a citywide pattern book. Created as part of Norfolk's strategic housing initiative aimed at strengthening the city's neighborhoods and increasing home ownership, the pattern book was intended, in part, to educate residents about the architectural and historic significance of their homes in the context of Norfolk's neighborhoods and housing patterns. Virginia law does not allow a city to dictate residents' architectural style choices, Ellis says, but "what we find is if you educate residents about the choices, most of the time they will make better decisions." ....

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