Planning Quote of the Day

taking a break

"I'm taking a break in posting new Planning Quotes between now and January 2, 2008."

-- Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Commissioners Journal

Note: I hope you've enjoyed the assortment of Planning Quotes posted the past several months -- I'm looking forward to bringing you a fresh selection of quotes come January.

an infernal machine

"The term 'hoax device' shall mean any device that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such device is an infernal machine."

-- from Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 266: Section 102A1/2. Possession, transportation, use or placement of hoax devices ...

Note: what does this quote have to do with anything? See our related post on PlannersWeb blog: Too Much Traffic in Your City?

the Zippin Pippin

"The Zippin Pippin has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

-- posted on The Gates of Memphis blog (Nov. 26, 2007)

Note: OK, I admit it's not a great planning quote -- but how could I pass up on something called the Zippin Pippin! A sign posted at the coaster's entrance reads: "The Zippin Pippin was Elvis Presley's favorite ride. The "King" rented Libertyland August 8, 1977 from 1:15 am to 7 am. to entertain a group of about 10 guests. Decked in a blue jumpsuit with black leather belt, huge belt buckle with turquoise studs and gold chains, the "King" rode the Zippin Pippin repeatedly during a two-hour period. He lost his belt buckle on the ride that morning, and it was found and returned the next day. Elvis's Libertyland rental became his last public appearance. He died August 16." For more on the history of the Zippin Pippin and for some photos.

raided a roll of candies

"the Plan Commission’s torturous meeting last night went from 6p.m. until a bit past 10p.m. We only had ONE agenda item—-but a quagmire of mind-crushingly tedious last-minute items made the meeting drag on and on and on and on. Commissioners Enright, Newlin, and I raided a roll of candies for sustenance."

-- from "Civic Theater" on the Pin the Tail blog (covering Monroe County, Indiana).

Note: if you look at the "Civic Theater" posting, be sure you also scroll down to the responses.

why not make it equestrian development?

"Historically, economic development and equestrian-based conservation have been at odds. But a new dialogue has emerged. Development is coming, so why not make it equestrian development? ...

Equestrian residential communities maximize the use of the natural environment for both the horse lover and the builder and developer. ... Some horse-savvy equestrian community developers are already starting to think about including hay fields as part of the open space in their future communities because they see the rising hay prices as a harbinger of the crisis."

-- from How Will You Ride and Feed Your Horses in 2030? How the Land-Use Crisis is Threatening Our Horses, by Alejandra Abella, Equestrian Services, LLC

the irony of gentrification

"The irony of gentrification, though, is that while the seeders drive the cycle, they plant the seeds of their own obsolescence. They arrive to be eventually driven out."

-- from "The Embers of Gentrification," by Adam Sternbergh, in New York Magazine (available online)

Note: this is a fascinating article about how the cycle of gentrification has played out in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

veering into the car-pool lanes

"Q: Does talking on a cellphone automatically qualify a driver to use car-pool lanes? That’s what Burien resident Patricia Garner has been wondering.

'I occasionally get onto Interstate 5 at the South Michigan Street onramp,' said Garner, who does volunteer work in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. 'That’s where I see them most often. Many of the drivers seem to feel that talking on a cellphone while driving qualifies them to use the HOV lane. How does that work?'

A: According to state code, car-pool lanes are for the exclusive use of public-transportation vehicles or private vehicles with the number of occupants specified on signs. That means if a driver is alone, the car-pool lane is off-limits. Having someone on the other end of a cellphone conversation doesn’t change that. ... Perhaps, though, drivers on their cellphones could be veering into the car-pool lanes there simply because they’re preoccupied and not paying attention to where they’re going."

-- From Iaq Pubs blog post, Car-pool partner must be in the car (Nov. 26, 2007)

in a town of 500 people

"Cities are funny things. The bigger they are and the more people in them, the less social people seem to be. ... Growing up in a small town often comes with the experience of being familiar with the vast majority of the population. In a town of 500 people, one has a high probability of knowing everyone on their block. Living in a downtown condo, one housing 200 or so people, one has a high probability of knowing not one of the people living in the same building." 

-- from We Are Community blog posting (Nov. 15, 2007)

a lot of broken axles in the future

"The idea is that these little mini roundabouts will slow down speeders in residential neighborhoods ... All I can think of is, what happens with the first good snow cover, when drivers can't see them? I see a lot of broken axles in the future of Edgewood Avenue."

-- from the Letter from Here blog, about Madison, Wisconsin (Nov. 18, 2007)

why those city council seats are so high

"The defining moment for Josh Daines came while standing before the Des Moines City Council last summer, beseeching members to remove one of their own who had ties to the CIETEC scandal. The diminutive Daines recalls looking up at the members and feeling intimidated, even with two master's degrees and his own marketing business. ... 'There is a reason why those City Council seats are so high,' quips the 37-year-old Daines. 'You look up at them while they're speaking and they're looking down at you. There is a perception that they are very powerful and you are just a citizen.' "

-- from column by The Des Moines Register's Rekha Basu (Nov. 2, 2007)

Note: see "Where We Sit," the related post on our PCJ +plus blog.

high density housing

"High density housing offers an inferior lifestyle only if it is without a community as its setting."

-- Andres Duany (from his firm's web site; Duany is an architect and planner and one of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism

time stays, we go

"Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go."

-- poet Henry Austin Dobson (see the related post on our PCJ +plus blog, The Fountain of Time)

definition: food desert

Food desert: "an urban district with little or no access to foods needed to maintain a healthy diet, but often served by plenty of fast food restaurants."

-- from Wikipedia.

For those interested in the origins of the term "food desert," this is from the fooddeserts.org web site:

"Food deserts were defined, by the Low Income Project Team in 1996, as ‘areas of relative exclusion where people experience physical and economic barriers to accessing healthy food’. The actual term ‘food desert’ is quoted, by S CUMMINS (British Medical Journal, 2002, Vol.325, p.436), as having been originally used by a resident of a public sector housing scheme in the west of Scotland in the early 1990s."

Note: for a recent discussion about food deserts see Matthew Yglesisas' blog. We also recently published two related articles in the Planning Commissioners Journal (available to order & download), Community Food Needs & Opportunities, by Amy Souza, and Wanted: Downtown Grocery Stores, by Kennedy Smith.

copy that rectangle 24 times

"Using the rectangle tool, make a rectangle about 20’ by 90’. Copy that rectangle 24 times, being careful to snap the endpoints together ... Make a rectangle about 60 feet deep and copy it across ... Select all new rectangles ... and click open RandomPushPull function from Plugins ... Now turn around to the back of the “buildings” to make first floors. On the back face of one building, make first story rectangle about 10’ in height. Copy across the others ... Delete any extra lines ... Select all first floor rectangles and apply RandomPushPull from 0 to -30’ ... Repeat same process on other half of block ... On the other side of the block, start again with 60’ deep rectangles, extrude randomly from 30’ to 70’. Then draw the 10’ first floor rectangle on the rear face and copy across, extruding all 0’ to 30’ ... Select the first floors on either side of the block to extrude, since rear yard requirements don’t apply to corner lots. Extrude 20’ to 60’ ... Move each façade of corner lot envelopes to the rear lot line, to close off the block ... Put 2 squares about 15’ x 15’ at each corner of the block, to establish dimension of sidewalk ... Draw a rectangle from endpoint to endpoint to create 15 foot perimeter sidewalk ...

Does this look like a typical New York City block?"

-- from Parametric Zoning Studies: 15 minute randomized block (Nov. 19, 2007)

they'll pay big bucks for a sea view

"Sometimes I like to walk along West Cliff Drive, where houses these days go for two million, three million, four million dollars. Rich people love the coast; they’ll pay big bucks for a sea view, fresh air, the water, boating and surfing. Go inland half a block, and the prices drop by two thirds.

But 40 years ago, the coast -- the waterfront -- was where industry lived. It was where fish were gutted, where sewage was dumped, and where the rents were low. The rich lived up in the heights above the stink and noise. Not just in Santa Cruz, but everywhere."

-- from Tales from the Coast: The Railroad Not Taken (October 9, 2007)

I noticed the other day

that we have over 300 folks who have signed up for our Planning Quote of the Day feed or to receive the quotes by email.

That's great! But are you also aware of our Planning Commissioners Journal blog site (PCJ +plus, as we're calling it). We've been adding one or two new posts there every week, on a wide range of topics. Take a look, for example, at our two recent posts on "local boys make good." And have you seen our posts on draft Planning Commissioners Journal articles we're looking for feedback on?

As with our Planning Quote of the Day, you can add our PCJ +plus feed or sign up to automatically receive new posts by email.

One other note: a few people have told us that the Quote of the Day comes too often (5 days/week). For those of you who feel this way, we've just added an alternative: you can sign up to receive a Weekly Digest of the past week's Planning Quotes (you should receive the Weekly Digest on Wednesdays). Just go to our main Planning Quote of the Day page -- then sign up for the Weekly Digest. After you start receiving it, simply unsubscribe from the daily email. You can always switch back. (And as we're just starting the Weekly Digest, please email us if you run into any problem: editor@plannersweb.com).

-- Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Comm'rs Journal & Compiler of the Planning Quote of the Day

up and running

LIGHTED CHRISTMAS PARADE
Rotary of Greensburg is up and running. We started a tradition several years ago of sponsoring the Lighted Christmas Parade and we are determined to again. We are planning for December 2nd. So put on your thinking caps and light something up for the parade!

Greensburg Planning Commission meetings are held Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Kiowa County Meeting trailer, located directly west of the courthouse square.

GREENSBURG AA
Greensburg AA meetings have resumed. Meetings are held on Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. at the Elmore Heights meeting room.

Note: Evidence of a return to normal life Greensburg, Kansas, the city devastated by a powerful tornado last May. From the Kiowa County-Greensburg (KS) Recovery web blog. For more on Greensburg, see my post of June 21, 2007, Rebuilding Greensburg (describing my visit to Greensburg).