Planning Quote of the Day

Signing off ... from the Editor

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Because of other time commitments, especially my recent appointment ot the Burlington (Vermont) Planning Commission -- after 9 years off -- I'm going to need to discontinue the Planning Quotes page of our Web site.

We're continuing our PlannersWeb site/blog, which I hope you're all familiar with! You can sign up there to receive emails containing all new postings on the PlannersWeb, usually about one a week.

Some of the postings provide news about our publications (see, for example, the posting outlining the contents of our Spring issue), others cover a wide range of planning topics, some serious, others on the lighter side -- as you'll notice in today's posting about "Symbolic Zoning."

The PlannersWeb also is your "portal" to more than 250 articles published in the Planning Commissioners Journal over the past 17 years -- almost are available to immediately order & download.

We also offer several publications especially designed for new members of planning commissions. Most importantly, you can subscribe to the quarterly Planning Commissioners Journal -- that's the heart of our business. For subscription information and to access all of our publications, back issues, and articles.

little demand or support

"Some state and local officials continue to think there is little public demand or support for bicycling and pedestrian facilities ... Nothing could be further from the truth."

-- Edward T. McMahon, "Bicyclists and Pedestrians Belong!" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #31)

note: this article is also available as part of a collection of articles in Transportation: New Directions .

you can't zone for aesthetics

" 'You can't zone for aesthetics. It is not within the purview of the police power.' This is a familiar refrain heard often by planning commissions ... While that statement might have been true in a good many jurisdictions thrity years ago, today almost all local governments have the authority to adopt strong sign controls, design standards, and other similar ordinances. "

-- Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq., "Zoning for Aesthetics" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #7)

note: this article is also available as part of a collection of articles on Planning Law .

definition: asset-based development

"Asset-based development can be defined as a strategy that builds on existing resources -- natural, cultural, structural, and leadership -- to create valued products and services that can be sustained for local benefit.  ... The key is to identify the potential within a community and maximize its impact, developing new revenue streams by turning perceived liabilities into strengths, or developing untapped natural and cultural resources into desired products and services."

-- from Asset-Based Development Regional Initiative, Appalachian Regional Commission

For more on the origins and aims of asset-based development, see "Asset Based Community Development: A Model for Nebraska Communities?" by John C. Allen (pdf file). See also The Asset-Based Community Development Institute web site.

land use and transportation

"Properly integrating land use and transportation requires a clear vision and policy framework developed through active citizen participation. Communities must more broadly define the objectives of the transportation system and how its performance is measured."

-- Whit Blanton, "Integrating Land Use and Transportation" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #40)

note: this article is also available as part of a collection of articles in Transportation: Getting Started.

definition: belisha beacon

Belisha beacon is a flashing orange globe atop a tall black and white pole. They appear on either side of the road at zebra crossings in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in the former British crown colonies of Singapore and Hong Kong. They are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha (1895-1957), the Minister of Transport who introduced them in 1934. Their function is to provide additional visibility to zebra crossings for motorists. From Wikipedia.

Note: for more on belisha beacons, see Is there a Belisha Beacon in Your Neighborhood? on our PlannersWeb blog.

foreclosures are not only bad for the individual

"Foreclosures are not only bad for the individual who loses his or her home ... each foreclosure within one eighth of a mile of a single-family home in a low- and moderate-income neighborhood reduced the home's value by more than 1.4%, an effect more than 40% greater than in middle- and upper-income tracts."

-- from "From the Subprime to the Exotic: Excessive Mortgage Market Risk and Foreclosures," by Dan Immergluck (in Winter 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association)

everyone has to have a car

"Why do we lay out subdivisions that make it impossible for a ten-year old to walk to a store for a Popsicle or a loaf of bread? Why are streets and land uses in postwar suburbs arranged so that everyone has to have a car to reach even the most routine daily destinations? Wouldn't it be better if everyday necessities were easy to reach and if the streets and sidewalks were designed as convivial places for meeting friends and neighbors?"

-- Philip Langdon, "New Development, Traditional Patterns" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #36)

note: this article is also available as part of a collection of articles on Understanding Smart Growth.

after decades of stability

"After decades of stability, we expect the ratio of seniors to working-age residents to grow abruptly, increasing by roughly 30% in each of the next two decades. ... this change will make more homes available for sale than there are buyers for them."

-- from "Aging Baby Boomers and the Generational Housing Bubble," by Dowell Myers and SungHo Ryu (in Winter 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association).

the last vestige of public free space

"Public libraries are the last vestige of public free space."

-- Joshua Prince-Ramus, who worked on the design of the Seattle Public Library.

Note: for more on the Seattle Public Library, and the role libraries can play in our downtowns, see today's post on our PlannersWeb site.

the maximizing of profit

"The maximizing of profit is not the animating concern of the First Amendment."

-- from U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in Naser Jewelers v. City of Concord, New Hampshire (Jan. 18, 2008).

Note: the Court succinctly summarized what was at issue: "The city of Concord, New Hampshire, enacted an ordinance prohibiting all Electronic Messaging Centers ("EMCs"), which the city found were detrimental to traffic safety and community aesthetics. EMCs are signs which display electronically changeable messages (as opposed to signs with static or manually changeable messages) and so display illuminated text that can change frequently, for instance by scrolling or flashing."

The Court, in upholding the Concord ordinance, noted that: "Billboards and other signs are protected by the First Amendment, but courts have long approved subjecting them to the police powers of local government. ... We give some respect to 'the accumulated, common-sense judgments of local lawmakers and of the many reviewing courts that billboards are real and substantial hazards to traffic safety.' ... It is given that a billboard can constitute a traffic hazard. It follows that EMCs, which provide more visual stimuli than traditional signs, logically will be more distracting and more hazardous. ... The maximizing of profit is not the animating concern of the First Amendment. The fact that restrictions [on electronic messaging signs] prohibit a form of speech attractive to plaintiff does not mean that no reasonable alternative channels of communication are available."

1/3 of a region's impermeable surface

"In densely urbanized areas, streets and sidewalks often constitute around 1/3 of a region's impermeable surface."

-- from "Using Individual Parcel Assessments to Improve Stormwater Management," by Meliss Keeley (in Spring 2007 Journal of the American Planning Association).

note: the Spring issue of JAPA has some very good articles on water issues, including the article cited above. We'll be running an article on stormwater management more geared to citizen planners in the Summer issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal.

retirement ready!

"Athens, Texas is retirement ready! Athens is the largest city and the county seat of Henderson County.  Athens is a town filled with a great sense of pride on the quality of living that has been established for the population of 12,000.  Surrounded by lakes, ponds and woodlands, Athens is only an hour away from Dallas and you need only to step out your back door to enjoy a breath fresh air and the smell of pines.

Home to an extensive medical community, Athens array of medical services is a comparative to those of large metropolitan cities.  East Texas Medical Center offers a 117 bed unit , Level III Trauma Center – 24/7 Emergency Care, EMS Ambulances and an Air 1 Emergency Helicopter."

-- from Athens [Texas] Economic Development Corporation web page

Note: see the related post on our PlannersWeb blog, Hospital Boom(ers).

alert us to early warning signs

"In January, the Council approved a proposal ... to redevelop Allied Drive. Crime there is down by half since the City acted on my initiative to buy 20% of the housing there. Now we’re starting to see millions of dollars of private reinvestment there, which was exactly what we intended when we bought the property ...

But we are also attempting to do two things that have not been tried much anywhere in America: we are trying to improve Allied Drive without driving out low-income working families and we are trying not to simply force problems into other neighborhoods.

Along those lines, we are working on [an] initiative to develop the Neighborhood Indicators pilot project. Inspired by a program in Charlotte, North Carolina, this is a set of statistics that is designed alert us to early warning signs of stress in a neighborhood. Armed with that knowledge we can go to these neighborhoods and ... attack a problem before it gets out of hand."

-- from State of the City Address, by Madison (Wisconsin) Mayor Dave Cielewicz (April 9, 2008)

inclusionary development policies

"Inclusionary development policies, by considering the impact of public actions on housing availability for all citizens of the community and region, have resulted in significant progress toward the realization of a just society."

-- Laurence Gerckens, FAICP, from the Planning ABC's

a car is like your mother-in-law

"I'm not against cars. But your city doesn't have to be oriented toward them. A car is like your mother-in-law. You want to have a good relationship with her, but you can't let her conduct your life. When a city has good public transportation, it becomes for people and for cars. Imagine a city with 30 percent fewer cars on the streets."

-- Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitaba, Brazil (pop. 1.7 million); Lerner was instrumental in Curitaba making a major investment in "bus rapid transit" systems. From "Imagine a City With 30 Percent Fewer Cars" (interview in Sierra Magazine, Jan/Feb. 2006).

definition: POPOS

"San Francisco’s privately-owned public open spaces ("POPOS") have multiplied in the last twenty years, and as major new development is poised to begin downtown, they promise to become even more common. Taking the form of courtyards, plazas, rooftop gardens, and corporate atriums, fourteen POPOS have been created since 1985. San Francisco’s Downtown Plan enabled developers to build high density commercial development in return for providing spaces that were to be 'open to the public' during certain hours and provide amenities such as restrooms, shade, and protection from the sun and wind.

However, what appears to be win-win for developers, citizens, and open space advocates masks a deeper question: just how 'public' are these spaces?"

-- posted by the COMMONspace project

note: POPOS are increasingly common in cities, as zoning codes authorize the granting of density bonuses in return for providing open space accessible during certain times of the day to the general public.

thousands of store closings

"The consumer spending slump and tightening credit markets are unleashing a widening wave of bankruptcies in American retailing, prompting thousands of store closings that are expected to remake suburban malls and downtown shopping districts across the country. ... The International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group, estimates there will be 5,770 store closings in 2008, up 25 percent from 2007, when there were 4,603."

-- from "Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies," The New York Times (April 15, 2008)

"solved" by physical isolation and segregation

"[After World War II] virtually every American problem, real, imagined, or socio-psychopathic, was 'solved' by physical isolation and segregation; from race relationships, to illness, to illegal behavior, to undesired contact with persons of lower income, spatial segregation was the answer -- an answer embodied in and enforced by local zoning ordinances."

-- Laurence Gerckens, "American Zoning & the Physical Isolation of Uses" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #15)

located in an area with urban planning?

"Thinking of selling your house? About one-third of Southern California homes sold in February had been foreclosed since January 2007, according to DataQuick. ... If there are few or no foreclosures in your neighborhood, advertise that. People don't want to buy into an area that is on the downward path. The fears of the suburbs becoming the next slums are very real. Located in an area with urban planning? Use that to your advantage."

-- from "Thinking of selling your house? This is what you're up against." The Home Blog (Mar. 14, 2008).

difficult and time-consuming

"Difficult and time-consuming as town centers are to develop, they can add immeasurably to community pride and satisfaction, while boosting the tax base. Charles Bohl, director of the Knight Program in Community Building at the University of Miami, regards such centers as "live, work, play" settings that answer a wide-spread hunger for community life. "We are still in the infancy of reintroducing town centers after six decades of not building them but destroying them at a rapid clip," he says. The centers that have emerged in recent years are all imperfect. But they point in the right direction -- toward a much-needed rebirth of public gathering places."

-- Philip Langdon, "Creating the Missing Hub" (in Planning Commissioners Journal #62)

note: this article is also available as part of a collection of articles on Downtowns & Town Centers .

I have no time limit, honey

"Mae Smith, the 64-year-old mayor of the teeny Central Texas town of Holland, seized the civic center lectern like a dragon-slayer ascending the throne. In a fiery red pantsuit and a voice that echoed without the help of a malfunctioning microphone, she and her cohorts revealed to a crowd of about 50 souls clad in denim and plaid a little-known weapon against the foe of all in the room: Gov. Rick Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor.

The weapon, Smith said, doesn't involve marching on the Texas Capitol, like more than 1,000 did last year, some on tractors and horses. It doesn't involve clever Web sites that have been launched with cartoon characters and screaming rainbow text. And it doesn't involve confronting TxDOT big shots at public hearings across the state, like thousands did last year.

No, the mighty sword revealed by Smith is something called the Eastern Central Sub-Regional Planning Commission. 'It's a mouthful,' Smith acknowledged quickly of the bureaucratically nebulous name. 'You ought to try saying it with a lisp.' "

From, "Putting up a roadblock of questions," by Lisa Falkenberg in the Houston Chronicle (March 19, 2008), posted on the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog.

Note: According to Falkenberg's commentary, Texas law requires state agencies, "to the greatest extent feasible," to coordinate with local commissions to "ensure effective and orderly implementation of state programs at the regional level." As Falkenberg explains, "the law may require TxDOT officials to sit in a room for hours, months, years, maybe even decades, as members of the Eastern Central Sub-Regional Planning Commission dwell on how the corridor might affect their water lines, EMS response times and any unforeseeable impact on their rural way of life. ... ECSRPC commissioners plan to prolong the 'coordination' process until, as Smith puts it, 'they do it right or change their mind. I have no time limit, honey.' "

For more on the massive proposed Trans-Texas Corridor highway/rail project, see: the Texas Dept. of Transportation's Trans-Texas Corridor web site, and -- for opposing viewpoints -- the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog.

as early as 1752

"As early as 1752 one hundred and twenty licensed taverns did business in [Philadelphia] ... . Such houses offered a genuine social solvent. 'I dined at a tavern with a very mixed company of different nations and religions,' recordered Dr. Alexander Hamilton in his Itinerarium in 1744. 'There were Scots, English, Dutch, Germans,and Irish; there were Roman Catholicks, Churchmen, Presbyterians, Quakers, Newlighters, Methodists, Seventh daymen, Moravians, Anabaptists, and one Jew,' gathered in 'a great hall well stocked with flies.' Daytimes, hundreds frequented the London Coffee House at Front and Market streets, opened by William Bradford in 1754, which served as a general clearinghouse for business, news and gossip ... ."

-- From Rebels and Gentlemen: Philapdelphia in the Age of Franklin, by Carl and Jessica Bridenbaugh, (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1942).

For more on the important role that taverns and other "third places" have played in cities and towns, read excerpts from Ray Oldenburg's, "Our Vanishing Third Places" in the Planning Commissioners Journal (complete article is available to order & download).

Take a look also at a post on our PlannersWeb blog, "Exchanging Local News: from Colonial Taverns to Email Networks," that discusses how neighborhood communication has moved from the kind of third places Oldenburg focuses on to email networks. We take a look at one such network: Front Porch Forum. Is this trend something to be cheered, or saddened, by?

the subtle qualities of architecture

"Why is it, do you imagine, that so many people want to live in the lovely old conservation areas of our towns and cities -- the bits that weren’t knocked down in the orgies of destruction in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s -- or to visit them while abroad on their holidays? Because their essential characteristics of harmonious proportions, of human scale and hierarchy, strike a common chord within our hearts. These are the subtle qualities of architecture that so many people find instinctively beautiful. But their origins lie in shared human psychology; which -- as new research is confirming -- is intimately connected to human well-being."

-- excerpted from Remarks of HRH Prince of Wales (pdf file) on Accepting the Vincent Scully Prize (Nov. 7, 2005)

Note: Having offered three quotes from Vincent Scully this past week, I thought it might be appropriate to follow-up with brief excerpts from remarks of Prince Charles on receiving the Vincent Scully Prize in Washington, D.C. in 2005.

be eternally vigilant

Q. How do you see the developer?

A. Clearly he is the one through whom the money is flowing to build our environment. The kind of thing the developers won't pay for, like low-cost housing, is not being built. I don't mean that developers are sinister, but they do have the power to shape the environment. That's why towns, cities and preservation societies have to be eternally vigilant. ...

-- from interview of noted architectural historian Vincent Scully by New York Times reporter Eleanor Charles (February 7, 1988)