"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 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."
"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).
"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).
"Choate listened to a host of requests from planning commissioners and conceded several changes to his plan. Those changes included adding three strands of barbed wire atop an 8-foot-tall perimeter fence, planting more trees and shrubbery around the property, and limiting incidences of outdoor gun-shooting ..."
Note: Any guesses what the quote refers to? How about a plan to develop a rural 200 acre parcel into a "tactical training center" that will include a gymnasium, a covered pool, two classrooms, nine indoor firing ranges, several mock streets to simulate a town, and -- the "bread and butter of the project -- a "3½-mile urban-style driving track" "nothing like it within 1,500 miles" that "will incorporate urban features such as cul-de-sacs, uneven surfaces and speed bumps." Now how many local planning commissions have dealt with a proposal like that!
From Proposal for security-training center in Homeland advances, by Julissa McKinnon in the Press-Enterprise (Jan. 9, 2008)
"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."
-- Senator Hillary Clinton, speaking to the press while flying above Pennsylvania, as reported by Katharine Q. Seelye on The New York Times Politics Blog (April 2, 2008).
Note: for more on why bowling is something planners should care about see our post, Bowling Together, on our PlannersWeb blog.
"Feeling guilty that there’s a Department of City Planning meeting in my neighborhood about their zoning/re-zoning plans and I’m not going. I should get involved with the world around me ... But I also want to be home making dinner and singing silly songs at Nano, sorry Community."
-- from "Stuff and Things," on le petit hiboux (the little owl) blog of aspiring New York City writer Krissa Corbett Cavouras.
Note: perfectly understandable -- but we do need you 20 and 30 somethings to eat a bit earlier and get to those planning & zoning meetings! We'll have more in the upcoming Spring issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal about how to involve younger generations in local planning. In the meantime, take a look at our blog post, Call the Shots in Your Neighborhood, to find out how you can feel more comfortable attending neighborhood association meetings.
"For the creative economy to become the creative society, we need to see people as consumers and citizens and develop an approach that acknowledges both. The greatest barrier to such a shift is the creative economy ideology. If economic prosperity and competitive advantage depend upon a city's genius class, it's hard to make a case for the welfare of ordinary citizens."
-- from an article by Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, "From Creative Economy to Creative Society," in Progressive Planning (Winter 2007)
"Do you think that local planning and zoning regulations in your community are too strict, about right, or not strict enough?" The responses: 13% too strict; 49% about right; 31% not strict enough; and 7% don't know.
-- From the 2007 Saint Index (a survey of 1,000 Americans on their attitudes about land development).
For more on some of the intriguing findings from this survey, see today's posting, "Attitudes on Development," on our PlannersWeb blog.
"ARE YARD SALES ALLOWED ??? HOW MANY CAN I HAVE ??? THESE TWO QUESTIONS are on the minds of all our people more than any other Questions. ... The YARD SALE has become one of the nation's most cherished symbols of liberty. ... What the Yard Sale does is to summarize the philosophy of self-determination set forth in a list of RIGHTS given to all the world. This includes the breaking of ties to the Malls and Department Stores. ... No one should ever need to wonder "IF" they can have a Yard Sale. The only question should be "When and Where". All over our country the Yard Sale Day is important for keeping JUNK out of our Land Fills and encouraging people to reuse STUFF that may still have a few more days of life. More households should be inspired to participate in Yard Sales to help Recycle Money right in their own neighborhoods. Our people must defend the Yard Sale ... No government, Local, State or Federal, HOA, Condo, Co-op, Farmers Association or Property Manager shall make any Law, Rule or Regulation that prohibits the Yard Sales Days. No one should be allowed to trample on the peoples right to Yard Sale, Garage Sale, Rummage Sale, Estate Sale, flea market sale, Online Sale, Moving Sale or Community Sale. ..."
-- the above is excerpted from an email I received from YardSale Man of YardSales.com (Jan. 30, 2008)
"Edible landscaping, simply put, replaces plants that are strictly ornamental with plants that produce food. Edible landscaping will allow you to create a multi-functional landscape that provides returns (fruits, vegetables, etc.) on your investment of water, fertilizer, and time. An edible landscape can be just as attractive as a traditional one; in fact, the colorful fruits and foliage of many edibles are quite beautiful."
-- from Edible Landscaping, by Eva C. Worden and Sydney Park Brown, University of Florida Extension Service web page.
Note: take a look also at Charlie Nardozzi's Edible Landscaping on the National Gardening Association web site.
"It's blasphemy, creature, and criminal, too
to suggest such a terrible sight,
as a densely packed city with sidewalk cafes
With people out strolling at night"
They rattled their pikes and they clattered their swords
they chanted and ranted and roared
"Desist and dismount you deplorable beast,
decamp we demand and implore"
"It's statistically proven with table and chart
Your City is no longer there.
You're defeated, discredited, quite out of touch,
and your prattling is too much to bear".
"We've graphed and we've analyzed, summed and regressed
til we've come to the only conclusion
That the City is evil the City is dead
... So stop spreading noise and confusion".
-- From "The Phelton Rides a Train," posted on the AtlantaLarry blog (Aug. 14, 2007)
Note: the above is excerpted from a wonderful longer posting. The author of the rhyme describes its origins: "For several years I participated in an internet forum started by Wendell Cox, who has staked out a position as a defender of post-WWII development patterns and road-building policies. As a person with strong urban proclivities I often served as target practice and a punching bag for that particular forum ... At some point along the line I wrote this poetic narrative drawing inspiration from both Dr. Suess and Lewis Carroll, based largely on my interaction with that particular subculture."
"The hospital is essential to the city. If the hospital closes its doors we will have an exodus of boomers, including me."
-- posting by an Oregon planner on Cyburbia about the importance of retaining the community's 37 bed hospital (Jan. 13, 2008).
Note: take a look at the extended blog post added today on the PlannersWeb, Hospital Boom(ers)
"'I couldn't sleep one night," said Mr. Swearer, who was dean of the [Parsons New School for Design] until 2004, "and once the dawn broke, I just thought 'I've got to get out of this apartment.' So I walked to work, and I saw all of this amazing stuff: delivery trucks unloading weird junk, phenomenal light plays on the buildings, fabulous wall postings and graffiti, wonderfully eccentric people ... It was like going to the theater. So I started walking to work, and after a few months liked it so much that I walked home too, about eight miles total."
-- from "The Extreme Boulevardier," by Alex Marshall in The New York Times (Aug. 17, 2007)
"Climate change is real ... we need to be part of the solution ... that's a significant shift for us."
-- Nancy Gioia, Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Program at Ford Motor Company (on Ford's attitude towards climate change; part of remarks Gioia made at a Conference on plug-in electric hybrid vehicles at the University of Vermont, Dec. 10, 2007).
Note: See the related post on our PlannersWeb blog today, Plug In Your Car & Save Dollars (and the Environment).
"Making data available in a spreadsheet is nice, but you can't visualize a 250 row spreadsheet like you can a map."
-- Richmond, Virginia, resident Ross Catrow on the benefits of geographically mapped crime data and vacant property information (in correspondence with Planning Comm'rs Journal editor Wayne Senville).
Note: for more detail on the remarkable online, real time, maps available through RichmondCrime and Vacant Richmond, see the post on our PlannersWeb blog, Real Time, Real Value.
"On the streets of Baltimore, it is getting harder and harder to hear the holler of arabbers. These street vendors, peddling produce and seafood on horse-drawn carriages, have been a part of Baltimore life for decades. But with less than a dozen arabbers on the street today, along with new city regulations on their horses and the potential loss of the stables they use, the cries of the arabber may be a thing of the past."
-- from The Wanderers' Songs: The Last of Baltimore's Arabbers -- Horse-and-Cart Vendors -- Are Fading Away (Preservation Online; Nov. 2, 2007)
"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.
"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 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.
"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 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.
"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)
"The American city of the 1890s was cacophonous. City streets were not only filthy, creating public health hazards, they were also noisy. Cobblestone or granite Belgian block streets rang out with the clang and thud of steel-shod wagon wheels and the shouts of draymen. With masonry buildings packed close together, and sound reverberating off the hard surfaces, noise was a constant factor in urban life. Not surprisingly 'rural quiet' was one of the earliest, and most effective, sales pitches for suburban development.
Among the considerations in support of the separation of industrial and commercial areas from residential areas through land use zoning was noise avoidance, that is, isolating the residential environment from the noise of commercial and industrial operations. Similarly, the wide side yards and deep setbacks from the street called for in suburban zoning were based, in part, on providing residents with a quieter environment."
-- from Q is for Quiet, in the Planning ABC's by Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP
Note: Looking for a holiday gift for a planner (or planning commissioner) you know. Consider the Planning ABC's. For details on this special holiday offer.
"In an increasingly borderless world, local communities everywhere are less protected by national government from the consequences of international economic competition ... At the same time, each community is much more directly in competition with every other community than ever before."
-- Christopher Leo, from The Age of Community: Introduction (July 24, 2007), on his blog
