Walmart Respect DC advocacy campaign signs placed on the proposed site for a Ward 4 Walmart

Walmart Respect DC advocacy campaign signs placed on the proposed site for a Ward 4 Walmart, a photo by rllayman on Flickr.

Even though the signs were placed in the public space and therefore land not owned by the property owner, my understanding is that the signs were removed.

WMATA 35th Anniversary and rethinking mobility ... or not

Union Station, Day 1 on the Washington Metro, Railway Age Magazine, issue of April 12th, 1976. (I found this magazine in 2005 in a used bookstore in Portland, Oregon. Too bad I didn't poke through other copies of the magazine as I am sure there were other goodies.)

I will be writing a few posts over the next couple days on various aspects of transit triggered by the anniversary of WMATA's opening 35 years ago today.

One of the things that WMATA could have done is used the 35th anniversary as a way to begin its repositioning and rebuilding of trust process through the organization of conferences and other activities. And also as a way to capture and harvest the learnings from the various aspects of the system, its operation, and its impact.

They have not done so.

A couple days ago, the Post published a story "Getting to and from new Metro stations," about the future subway stations in Tysons Corner and how they won't have parking lots and structures.

... it will take time before the shopping and employment center redevelops into a mixed-use downtown with a mass of residents who can walk to the stations from home. For now, residents of nearby neighborhoods are accustomed to driving, and there are few firm plans for how people will actually access the stations.

Fairfax County’s challenge lies in identifying the many ways in which McLean, Vienna and Falls Church residents will access the stations on foot, by bicycle and via transit. The goal is “as many options as possible that are alternatives to driving,” said Leonard Wolfenstein, a Fairfax transportation planner.

Some residents pointed out that access should have been integrated into the Metro station planning long ago. “I think this meeting is about five years too late,” said Andrew Gutowski, a real estate developer who is president of his McLean neighborhood homeowners association. “It’s the lack of planning for a continuous and seamless network of alternate transportation,” he said.

Gutowski said his neighborhood has tried unsuccessfully to get the county to build a sidewalk connecting it to downtown McLean, making him dubious about plans for linkage to Tysons.

Concerned residents are right that the planning for this should have started earlier. On the other hand, it's difficult to get people focused on making these kinds of changes in advance of the infrastructure actually opening. (E.g., DC made no accommodations for sidewalk and other improvements before the New York Avenue infill subway station opened. It only occurred to them after the station was opened that something needed to be done.)

The cost of building parking structures to support transit is astronomically expensive, such as the new $26 million parking garage at Glenmont in Montgomery County, which will add spaces for 1,200 cars. See "Glenmont station to increase parking spots for commuters by 67 percent" from the Gazette.

But by not building parking garages, Fairfax County is, in a good way, forcing a more fundamental rethinking of how people will get around in the Greater Tysons Corner area, when they use transit and how they will get around in general.

This is important because we don't want people to drive to transit, we want them to be able to use transit efficiently and effectively without having to drive.

-- Tysons Metrorail Stations Access Management Study
-- Fairfax County Transit Development Plan
-- Tysons Corner Bicycle Master Plan

As an example of rethinking, Mike Licht of Notions Capital sends us an article from the London (UK) Daily Telegraph, "EU to ban cars from cities by 2050: Cars will be banned from London and all other cities across Europe under a draconian EU masterplan to cut CO2 emissions by 60 per cent over the next 40 years," about steps the European Community is taking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and how that will transform how people get around in cities.

Plus Metro Magazine, a transit trade publication, has a piece about James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, "Web Extra: James Madison U. to limit on-campus vehicles to boost sustainability."

From the article:

Beginning this August, Harrisonburg, Va.-based James Madison University (JMU) will change how students, faculty, staff and community members navigate campus, with the addition of four gates, reconfigured parking lots around portions of the Bluestone area of campus, some bike lane and crosswalk modifications, and the addition of a bus staging area. ...

"The reason why we did this as a university was to support overall efforts for environmental sustainability. The goal over time being reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles on campus, reducing congestion on campus and reducing a lot of the cut-thru traffic on campus," explained Don Egle, JMU's director of public affairs. "Also, I think what we're going to see is the efficiency of the public transportation system increase, because we are reducing a lot of the vehicles on campus, allowing the buses to move more freely and stay on schedule."

Another primary reason, Egle added was JMU's goal of creating a more pedestrian friendly campus, by making it easier for those who either walk or ride their bicycles.

The gated portion of campus will be closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gated portion of the campus will be open weeknights after 7 p.m., on weekends, during certain events and during the summer. The new gates on campus, which help control traffic flow, are expected to have little impact on JMU's student body.

"The changes this summer will have a slight impact on some of our faculty and staff," said Egle. "What I mean is they may not be parking right outside their building, but at an adjacent parking lot, for example. But, our students won't see any significant changes in parking, because their lots are located primarily on the perimeter of campus."

Another goal of JMU's program was to cut its overall environmental footprint and increase students' use of the City of Harrisonburg's public transit system.

On March 16th, 2005, I wrote this blog entry, basically about the same topic, with regard to the Virginia Railway Express:

Maybe the Virginia Railway Express and Fredericksburg can learn from Ride On?

Today's Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on the success of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE):

"With daily ridership of more than 16,000, the VRE's commuter trains have more than doubled ridership over the past decade as traffic congestion has gotten worse in the Washington area, Dale Zehner told members of Virginians for High Speed Rail at the Science Museum of Virginia. The 'real issue is the demand for service outstrips our supply of seats and parking,' said Zehner, a retired Navy captain who has worked for the commuter railroad since 1995. In Fredericksburg, the VRE's southern terminus, 'We're turning away people because they can't park.'"

Maybe, comparable to the Montgomery County Ride On system, they could consider complementing the heavy rail system with buses designed to get people to stations, and reducing the demand for parking, allowing the commuter railroad to spend more money on rolling stock? By determining critical mass centers of origination for rail trips, bus service could be provided in a relatively low cost fashion.

-------

I meant to, but was unable to attend the presentations last week in Fairfax County about access planning for the new subway stations.

But there is no question that there needs to be a fundamental rethinking about how to get to the stations, how to integrate transit in an automobile-centric place in ways that are transformational, just as how Montgomery County created the RideOn system to move people to and from subway stations once the Red Line opened.

For the 40th Anniversary of the WMATA system, which will really be a 50th anniversary if you think about it, in terms of the planning, design, and construction of the system, there needs to be a multiple day assessment and "lessons learned" conference.

Ideally, it would have people with a variety of perspectives, not just cheerleaders...

Comic book format for planning reports

Awhile back, Mike Licht sent me info about this project, "Public Space, Information, Accessibility, Technology and Diversity at Oslo University College," where they produced the final report in comic book format. The project is discussed in this blog entry, "The Anthropological Comic Book - an alternative way of reaching the audience from the Antropologi.info blog

I have never read the full book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud, but this book is considered pathbreaking in terms of webdesign and hyperlinking. It was all the rage in the mid-1990s...

This report takes that idea to a new level, although the Center for Urban Pedagogy has done some similar kinds of design-policy projects, such as with street vending or the cultural studies book series that explains topics through comics, the "For Beginners" books.

Advocacy campaign logo, Arts & Humanities, Montgomery County, Maryland

The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland has a pretty good set of advocacy tools up on their website with regard to advocacy for continued arts funding in the County Government Budget.

Self help neighborhood revitalization as Tactical Urbanism

The Pattern Cities blog calls our attention to the new report on Tactical Urbanism, which focuses on a variety of short term urban design and placemaking actions, ranging from street fairs to guerrilla gardening.

-- Download Tactical Urbanism Manual

Entrepreneurship idea for local bikeways/multiuse trails

Teri Meehan, co-owner of Wash Perk, talks with Glenwood Allen, the first patron at her new cargo bike, a mobile version of her bricks-and-mortar coffeehouse. Meehan set up shop at Washington Park on Wednesday. Photo by Andy Cross, The Denver Post.

The Denver Post reports in "Cargo-bike coffee shop rolls out in Denver," about the Wash Perk coffee shop's "Coffee Bike," based on a Metrofiets Dutch-style cargo bike.

As DC's bikeways, really shared use paths, such as the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail develop over time, I could see the advantage of integrating commerce-type options such as cargo bike-based vending into their operations.

If I have occasion to write other bicycle/pedestrian plans, I will definitely integrate this idea. (In the Western Baltimore County plan I did, I mentioned the Trek bike parts vending machines as something to integrate into trailheads. See "Vending machines for bicycle parts" from Springwise.)

Trek Vending Machine Flickr image by Hugger Industries.

Civic engagement, redistricting, and who knows what else...

David Alpert of Greater Greater Washington created a nifty application, the "Redistricting Game," that allows anyone with access to a computer to weigh in on the Ward redistricting process in DC.

Others have developed similar applications for use at the state level, such as in Virginia, which likely piqued David's interest. See "Va. redistricting likely to shift power north: Some sitting lawmakers could be drawn out of their territories" from the Washington Post and the Redistricting Game website for state-based redistricting from the USC Annenberg Center.

I used it myself over the weekend (my home computer and wifi system is finally now working again) and found with just a few changes--I can't remember exactly, but moving one block group from Ward 8 to Ward 7, one or two from Ward 6 to Ward 7, and a handful from Ward 2 to Ward 6--Ward 2 has lots of downtown real estate under its domain although just a handful of people live in many of these block groups--maybe 8 in total, you can accomplish all that is necessary for redistricting with minimal changes, without changing the boundaries of Wards 1, 3, 4, and 5.

Sadly, the Washington City Paper's Housing Complex blog reports in "The Committee of 100′s P.R. Problem," that somehow this interesting web application is seen by the Committee of 100 on the Federal City as a toy and demeaning of the seriousness of the civic engagement process--this despite the various iterations of web-based redistricting applications created across the country by universities and other organizations.

I myself am sometimes torn about web-based engagement. It can be deep with great breadth. It can be incredibly glib and pathetic. But there is no question that it allows for greater communication and engagement if the processes are robust. And for applications that are map (GIS) based, there is no better way to do it.

It's sad that the C100 doesn't see this and makes themselves look like Luddites in the process. Generally, I believe it is best for organizations to change with the times. Certainly, NYC's Municipal Arts Society shows that a civic organization can be around for more than 100 years and remain incredibly innovative and engaged.

DC's civil society is weak by comparison, at least in terms of organized groups, and that is a shame.

Idea: College student urban research conference

I have been meaning to mention how the undergraduate planning students at the University of California San Diego present their senior research projects at an annual Urban Research Forum, now in its 21st year. See "Smart growth, preservation goals missed in practice: UCSD urban studies students report results from senior research work" from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

From the article:

Former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory called the projects "dynamite," and urged the students to apply their energy and enthusiasm in the work world. "I don't want people to sit back and say what I say, say yes to me and not challenge me," he said. "I want people to be be vocal, enthusiastic, energetic around me. Most managers would tell you the same thing. It's important to be as positive as you can be."

Headed by political science professor Steve Erie, the urban studies program is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. And the students continue to find much to study in the county under the direction of Keith Pezzoli, who oversees field research.

Projects for 86 students are posted for the current year. Website, Grand Challenges & Research, Department of Urban Studies & Planning, University of California San Diego

I have thought something like this is necessary for the DC area for awhile. Students, individually and in teams, do projects about the city and the suburbs all the time. Sometimes the projects are very good and are worthy of wider distribution, collection, and retention. An annual conference open to students from all the colleges in the region would be a way to start off such a process here.

Frequently, I am contacted by students with regard to their projects, not just around here, but occasionally from other areas and other countries. I am happy to work with students, because their questions and ideas help me think through issues, sometimes in new ways. And their approach to a subject will be different from mine, and open me up to new ideas and resources.

BUT, in return for my assistance, I always ask that the students send me a copy of what they produce. Interestingly, when I put this out there up front in the interaction, some of the students never contact me again...

Some of the papers students/teams have done have really been quite good. In our area, student projects at the University of Maryland School of Architecture and Urban Planning are archived online. Same with the senior student and graduate projects at Catholic University.

Impact on universities, City of Richmond from participation in NCAA basketball tournament

See "March Madness boosts VCU, UR and Richmond" from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Of course the article focuses on how the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University both were selected for the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament--VCU remains in contention.

The article mentions increased attention on both universities as well as the city, but also how the participation in tournament is bringing the two universities together more, and they already do some collaboration.

From the article:

"I think things will not be the same after this," said Eugene P. Trani, who served as VCU president from 1990 to 2009 and reshaped the university as an economic engine for the city, as well as a major research institution.

Trani, speaking from San Antonio, predicted that the public exposure from the NCAA run will prompt a closer look at all the university has to offer, including by Richmond's neighbors.

The pride on public display for the past week is about more than athletic bragging rights — it has brought together the two universities as the public champions of a city that is getting unprecedented national attention for all the right reasons.

"It's nothing but good for the city of Richmond," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones, who returned from San Antonio on Saturday and promptly issued a proclamation of gratitude and support for both universities.

UR President Edward Ayers, who also returned from San Antonio on Saturday, said the experience has deepened the collaborative ties between the two universities.

"They were supposed to be rivals, between UR and VCU, and they turned out to be allies," Ayers said. ...

"I think things will not be the same after this," said Eugene P. Trani, who served as VCU president from 1990 to 2009 and reshaped the university as an economic engine for the city, as well as a major research institution.

Trani, speaking from San Antonio, predicted that the public exposure from the NCAA run will prompt a closer look at all the university has to offer, including by Richmond's neighbors.

"This is an opportunity for people from the Richmond metropolitan area to discover the university and the importance of this institution," he said.

The ties on display last week between VCU and UR aren't entirely new. After all, both universities are sponsoring the French Film Festival, a three-day smorgasbord of films and lectures this weekend. But this was a public embrace.

"The last week was very important to the University of Richmond," said Ayers, who appeared at a community pep rally downtown with Rao and Jones. "We so much want to be woven into the fabric of Richmond, and we are."

Both universities are reaping immediate rewards with rising interest in admissions by prospective students, as well as financial dividends. Rao said he gained significant monetary pledges from three donors over dinner in San Antonio.

I know that Philadelphia and Baltimore (Baltimore Collegetown Network) have focused efforts on universities and college students (and post-graduation retention) as an economic development and quality of life initiative.

This is an "easy" thing for cities to work to encourage.

Resources:

- PUTTING THEIR TOWNS ON THE MAP: Baltimore and Philadelphia institutional and city planners are working together to create great college towns from Business Officer, the publication of the National Association of College and University Business Officers

- The Brains in Baltimore: How Higher Education is Driving the Region's Economic Future, 2008 Economic and Community Impact Study, Baltimore Collegetown Network

- Baltimore Collegetown wants to connect students with employers," Baltimore Business Journal

Disaster Planning Manual

From Professor William Berkowitz via the Comm-Org e-list:

In light of recent events in Japan, we are writing to remind Co-Listers that a group of community psychology colleagues has recently published a disaster recovery manual (free, downloadable) titled How to Help Your Community Recover from Disaster: A Manual for Planning and Action.

Chapters cover the steps required to understand the potential effects of disaster, organize the community, assess its needs, make an action plan, choose a strategy or strategies for intervention, reach out to various constituencies, track results, and share lessons learned. A distinctive feature of the 104-page text is its grounding in psychological knowledge and in psychological principles closely linked to disaster recovery.

New deadline: Gowanus Canal Lowline Design Competition

From David Briggs, co-founder, Gowanus by Design:

Gowanus by Design is extending the deadline for its first design competition, Connections: The Gowanus Lowline.

The new registration deadline is Sunday, May 1 and the entry deadline is Friday, May 27. Please see the competition website for more details.

Reprint of the previous blog entry:


New York City's heralded "High Line" (City of New York photo) has touched off a recognition that unusual public space and placemaking projects that reconnect people and place to what had been abandoned industrial infrastructure (an above ground freight railroad line in this particular case) can be incredibly transformational.

The Gowanus Lowline Connections Design Competition sponsored by Gowanus By Design, aims to bring a similar kind of focus, intensity and rebirth to the area around the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The registration deadline is in early April; the design submission deadline is April 17th.

Gowanus Canal, looking north from Union Street bridge.

The project, although on a much bigger scale, reminds me of a not dissimilar idea as part of the Open City Challenge sponsored by the Urbanite Magazine in Baltimore. In "The Urbanite Project 2010" "Architect Gabriel Kroiz and environmental lawyer Eliza Smith Steinmeier propose daylighting Harford Run, a stream that runs under Central Avenue, and turning it into a lively community recreational space."

Gentrification, neighborhood change, and wacked discourse

This week the big news is that DC's demographics are changing and that African-Americans remain a bare majority of the population. See "D.C.'s black majority status slips away" from the Post. The article has graphics, although I think the graphics printed in the hard copy edition are superior to the online package.

Today's Post has a pretty limited follow-up article, "On Barry's old block, a racial shift," considering this issue in terms of the context of a block where Marion Barry, the former Mayor, lived when he first became Mayor. Because history and DC existed before 1975, when Marion Barry moved to the 1200 block of E Street NE, I don't think the article offers us much in the way of a long term, historically infused perspective.

Also see these blog entries I wrote the week before:

- Is commercial district revitalization racist?
- Is smart growth racist?

and years earlier:

- Commerz in the 'hood... (aka Commerce is the Engine of Urbanism) (2006)
- More about contested spaces and gentrification (2005)

- Contested spaces (2007)

and this paper by GWU sociology professors Gregory D. Squires and Charis E. Kubrin. "Privileged Places: Race, Uneven Development, and the Geography of Opportunity in Urban America," Urban Studies 42, (1): 47-68. 2005

Plus, last week the City Paper had what I thought of as a not very interesting article, "Confessions of a Black D.C. Gentrifier."

I just didn't think it offered much of anything new. I'd summarize the interesting points in fewer than 30 words--that African-Americans are moving into city neighborhoods, but because they are black, they aren't seen as interlopers and may in fact feel invisible.

While I know the writer is a journalist, not a planner, I didn't think the piece offered much insight from the perspective of planning or the voluminous writings on the "gentrification" process (isn't that something a journalist ought to look into when writing a story on gentrification?), especially the theoretical problems with the literature, because it's based on a presumption that neighborhoods and cities are only supposed to decline and that people with income and choice are not supposed to want to live in/move back to cities.

The real color of urban living is green: it's about money first and foremost; and attitude--a favorable belief, willingness, and interest in living in the city when most of the nation lives in the suburbs.

This is complemented by educational attainment and age. Generally, people who are younger and have more income and education are more willing to live in the city than people who don't share these demographic characteristics.

So as the city continues to improve, albeit fitfully, and with many many bumps along the way, most people seem to be asking the wrong question.

Here's a better question.

Q: Why is Prince George's County majority black? Why is Charles County majority black?

A: Because African-Americans continue to move out of DC--primarily to Prince George's County, making it a majority African-American community, and in subsequent waves of migration from PG County, Charles County has also become majority black over the past decade.

The most interesting and important question is why are middle class and upper middle class blacks fleeing the City of Washington?

People want bigger houses and more land, things they don't feel they can get in the city. Plus, people see the city as something to escape, the place where their parents and grandparents--the old people--lived, not as something exciting.

Yes, the knock on "Ward 9," Prince George's County, is that it is many of the residents there are people who made their nut working for DC Government, such as Leslie Johnson, wife of the former County Executive, who served as an administrative law judge for the DC Government for decades, long enough to retire from the position with a full pension.

The other question that isn't being asked is where would the city be if Asians, Hispanics, and Whites weren't moving into the city, while outmigration of middle class African-Americans continues unabated?

The answer to that question is that the city would be facing further revenue shortfalls and a population marked by an increasing percentage of the region's poorest residents.*

The issue isn't that scads of whiteys (and Hispanics) are moving into the city as much as it is that they are moving in as the outmigration of middle class African-Americans continues and accelerates.

As long as the so called lament about "gentrification" isn't direct about this fact, the discussion for the most part is empty.

Tom Toles editorial cartoon from the Buffalo News, 1998.

Now I live in Ward 4, which historically has been the most African American and middle class in the city.

We moved to the Manor Park neighborhood in June 2008. In the 11 houses within a couple blocks that I know of that changed hands over the period from just before we moved in until today, one household is mixed white and black, all the others are white or white-hispanic. None are solely African-American. Most of the households, but not all, were African-American previously. There was no blockbusting or anything going on.

Mostly, it's a matter of older households turning over and new people interested in the area showing up and making an offer.

Getting back to my point about the city and the general loss of population, according to the latest statistics, Ward 4 has gone up 772 people in population since 2000. The population of African Americans dropped by about 9,000 residents, and was countered by an increase of about 4,000 whites and 6,000 Hispanics.

The issue is why aren't middle class African-Americans interested in moving into this neighborhood?, which is within easy biking and walking distance from the Takoma Metro, and while not replete with amenities, has decent housing stock and neighborhood amenities BUT ALSO HAS CRAPPY SCHOOLS.

On the other hand, is what's offered in Prince George's County really all that much better?

BUT IT IS (FOR THE MOST PART) NEW.

Most people in our neighborhood take the schools issue for granted, figuring that they can find a charter school or get an out-of-boundary placement in a quality DCPS school for their children, and being resigned to having to deal with the transportation requirements that not having quality walkable neighborhood schools imposes on them (we live within 5 blocks of Whittier Elementary and Coolidge High School).

But that isn't a good thing. It's why people are so hyped about the Michelle Rhee issue. I happened to be in favor of improving schools, but I believed and continue to believe that Michelle Rhee had no real system for school improvement other than hiring younger teachers and firing older teachers. And she was as arbitrary and capricious in her decision making, especially personnel decisions, as the worst of the various Barry Administrations. How I could I ever be supportive of someone like that?

Of course, the influx of new population in Wards 2 and 6 in new multiunit housing constructed in new buildings is mostly coming without displacement--mostly the buildings have been constructed where there wasn't housing previously extant, although this isn't entirely true, especially around the new baseball stadium and on the outskirts of downtown.

In Ward 1 some of the "new housing" that has been developed came at the expense of affordable housing, such as on Clifton Street. But even there most of the new housing on 14th Street NW has not come at the expense of existing residents--except in how it leads to an upgrading of housing and an increased demand for extant housing, especially buildings that are eligible for historic designation, and this can produce some displacement pressure.

But for the most part, the new residents added to the city in Wards 1, 2, and 6 are in new buildings that didn't displace previous residents. Is this "gentrification"? I guess it is, but it comes mostly without displacement, which is not part of classical definition. What we have here is a reproduction of space in the city, abetted by continued black outmigration.

In the meantime, Wards 7 and 8 are still pretty black, Ward 3 is pretty white, and Ward 5 is experiencing White and Hispanic influx.

-----

* The other question is why do people have so much difficulty moving up and out of being lower income. This has to do with educational attainment, readiness for employment, and other factors. And it's paired up with the fact that as the U.S. economy hollows out, more jobs require more and more education and training, especially of a technical nature, even for what are considered to be blue collar jobs...

Tolls and HOT Lanes and real usage

We went up to Philadelphia to do something (more about that later) and on the way back yesterday, we commented about all the freeway construction north of Baltimore, where HOT--high occupancy toll--lanes are being constructed up to about White Marsh.

Flickr photo by Gary Hymes.

I said something about Republican ideology, Bob Ehrlich (the former governor of Maryland, who approved the project), and lack of real demand (see this 2003 article from the Baltimore Sun, "Highway planners revisiting HOT lanes: Solo drivers could pay to avoid congestion"). Suzanne opined what will happen when the lanes are constructed and enough revenue isn't generated and the bills for construction have to be paid?"

The Takoma Park Patch (an AOL e-publication), reports in "Commuters Flee Intercounty Connector After Toll Charges Begin," that as the tolls have kicked in for the Inter County Connector in Upper Montgomery County, usage of the road has dropped as much as 62% during peak hours.

-- Photo tour of the open segment of the Intercounty Connector from BeyondDC

Granted usage will rise over time, and as the project is completed. But toll roads are a tough sell when most roads don't have tolls.

Ideology doesn't always pay the bills.

To get intelligent cities you have to be visionary and engaged

Lewis' article might have been more useful had it focused on intelligent and resilient cities, based on a historical understanding but in the context of the 21st century.

It happens that Time Magazine did a special package of stories on "Intelligent Cities" earlier in March. The piece covers a number of cities in the U.S. and overseas:

• Strategic Singapore
• Reigning in Sprawleigh
• In Tucson, Saving the Bath Water Too
• Taming Shanghai's Sprawl
• For Electricity 2.0, a Short Circuit in Boulder
• London: Turning Access into Apps
• Want to Improve Your City? There's an App for That
• What Torino Can Teach Cleveland
• Congestion Pricing: To Skip Traffic, Atlanta Says Pay Up
• City Centered

The article on Raleigh, NC, "Reigning in Sprawleigh," discusses their new approach to planning, which by the way is similar to what Montgomery County, Maryland is doing. It focuses on a more "thematic" understanding of the issues facing the community and it targets growth to particular areas.

It happens that the growth plan is polycentric, while I am a fan of monocentricity. Be that as it may, their focus on building narrative themes so that people can grapple with broader issues than their block and think more broadly about the city as a whole is quite important. The themes are:

• Economic prosperity and equity
• Expanding housing choices
• Managing growth
• Coordinating land use and transportation
• Greenprint Raleigh-sustainable development
• Growing successful neighborhoods and communities.

Note that while DC's own Comprehensive Planning revision process from 2003-2006 was decent, producing a relatively decent document and the elements read well, the planning process started at a more grand position with a theme -- Growing an Inclusive City -- and a set of "issue papers" covering for the most part creatively some of the key issues faced by the city, this kind of narrative, creative, and transformational understanding of the issues wasn't carried through in terms of how the plan was developed.

Furthermore, the Government--both the executive branch and the legislative branch--took for granted that "the people" understood the plan after it was adopted, without entering into a promotion-marketing-engagement phase to build a broader understanding of what the plan was supposed to accomplish.

It is telling that none of the "Growing an Inclusive City" information, including the issue papers, are online anymore.

Of course, without a thematic approach to the plan to begin with, maybe such a level of understanding ends up being unattainable.

Raleigh did it a bit differently. From the Time article:

As for the new plan, perhaps the smartest thing the Raleigh team did was to instill ownership of the process among all constituencies from the beginning. "When I travel the country and hear the pushback in many circles to smart growth and sustainability and planning in general I don't think they see the competitive advantage you can have by embracing planning as a true partnership with all of the sectors."

The city brought in some of the biggest names in the planning business for a lecture series with topics that included: design of a 21st century city, the hidden costs of free parking, transit-oriented development, creation of a pedestrian friendly city, and traditional codes versus form-based codes. The planners did attractive presentations with grandiose but sometimes logically problematic themes such as "We are making new history", Great Streets, Great Spaces, Great Places", and discussions of iconic architecture and a vibrant downtown center.

Montgomery County, Maryland's planning department has a regular speaker series and an aggressive outreach program. In April, they are sponsoring a conference on "rethinking suburban development." DC's Office of Planning does not do anything like this...

I realize that my somewhat academic and participatory democracy focus may make me somewhat of a dreamer in terms of what people are willing and unwilling to support.

But I think it's absolutely true that when you don't try to educate people about the issues, they will remain uneducated about the issues, and it becomes difficult to move forward.

Suzanne suggests that one of DC's "problems" is that people here tend to be pretty hermetic. They don't go to other places, they don't learn that there are other ways to do things.

OTOH, I joke that in DC "big government trickles down and shapes little government--the local municipality--in its image" and that's why local governance, civic engagement, and civil society processes are bollixed up.

We need a philosophy more like Home Depot's slogan:

"You can do it. We can help. That's the power of the Home Depot."

We need more involvement, more self-help, more flexibility, more creativity, more innovation.

I think it's telling that both Seattle and DC started streetcar planning processes about the same time, but Seattle has had an operational streetcar route since December 2007, while we should have an operational streetcar route sometime in 2012...

The tension between planning a community's future and the present is much more complicated

Photo and map images from the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation website.

than Roger Lewis makes it out to be in yesterday's Post article, "Distrust of development often unfounded." From the article:

Concerns about change and the impact of long-range planning are natural. There is comfort in what we know. Yet change over time is also natural and, indeed, unstoppable as technological, demographic, economic and environmental conditions evolve. The challenge is not to stop change but to manage it wisely. Thus, the goals of planning are, first, to anticipate and predict the nature of likely changes and then to guide change to make it desirable, optimizing its benefits for all.

Visionary, long-term planning entails risks. It requires making forecasts about the distant future based on currently observable circumstances and trends. This is the hardest sell for many residents, since most of their concerns — traffic, schools, jobs, income, taxes, environment, quality of life — are immediate and pressing. They find it difficult to relate today’s needs to what planners tell them will be needed decades from now. Yet planning, by definition, must transcend solving today’s problems. And because plans frequently show future communities whose form and function look different from today’s communities, such plans invariably provoke opposition.

One of the most important textbooks I ever read, Social Psychology of Organizations, has an extensive section on "boundary spanners," people who by the dint of their position as responsible for dealing with the external environment of the organization, have to satisfy multiple stakeholders.

Just who does a planner work for?

The executive branch of government (the Mayor or County Executive or City Manager)? The citizens? The property owners? The legislative branch of government? Of course, who does the legislative branch of government work for?--citizens, themselves, the economic and political elite?

In the case of planners, there are multiple competing external environments that they must maneuver.

Note that I learned it's different in Canada, that planning ethics codes mean that planners are more independent, however, planners' independence and planning and development approvals are two very different issues.

And some jurisdictions let plans be visionary even while there is tight control over the development process. On the other hand, in other jurisdictions, executive branch leaders run tight control over planning processes and final documents reflect this, and can be pretty dull and ordinary, meaning that the community won't be able to be resilient in the face of significant change.

As far as residents are concerned, in my opinion, people forget that places do change over time. Because for the most part we live in our moment, we don't know much about the past, and because we don't know about the past, it's difficult to understand how places can and do change, and how communities need to change as conditions change.

Last week, the New York Times had an article on the "Grandmont Rosedale" area of Detroit, "Detroit neighborhood fights to save its city." From the article:

Pockets of prosperity remain throughout the city, but they are increasingly the exception. The Grandmont Rosedale area, about 15 minutes northwest of downtown, does not have the highest incomes or biggest homes, though both are well above average. But it has used a fierce sense of community to market itself as a safe and stable alternative to the suburbs.

The population here, unlike that of most of the city, actually grew in the 1990s. At the start of the decade, the vacancy rates for homes was less than 3 percent, a fraction of the citywide average. James Tate, a City Council member and lifelong resident, said that commitment to the community — about a third of people here pay voluntary dues — protected the neighborhood. “The lesson we learned,” he said, “is that it’s important that a neighborhood doesn’t slide into a blighted situation in the first place.” ...

But there are troubling signs that have many inside and outside the community worried about just such a slide.

The population dropped over the past decade by 2,122, or 14 percent, to 12,617, said Dale Thomson, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The vacancy rate has reached 10 percent. One of those empty houses, sold for $14,000 to a local redevelopment nonprofit group, once belonged to a former president of General Motors.

“If that neighborhood goes, the city goes,” said Kurt Metzger, an urban affairs expert and demographer who studies census data for the city.

Marja Winters, deputy planning director for the city, said that in the past Detroit put a priority on funneling money into the most distressed communities, believing — or hoping — that healthier communities could take care of themselves.

But even strong participation among residents is not enough to overcome the escalating pressures facing these neighborhoods, she said. “We can no longer sit by and expect Grandmont Rosedale to take care of itself.”

I lived in this neighborhood in the mid-1960s--2.5 blocks from McNichols/6 Mile Road, 2 blocks from Outer Drive.

One block towards McNichols lived our Congresswoman. (Because she lived on our street, I figured that's why we had sidewalk snow removal but it might have been paid for by a neighborhood association.)

In my cub scout troop was the son of a judge who became Mayor in 1970. I was in his car with a group of cub scouts for some outing--afterwards we went to a doughnut shop...

This was an important, stable neighborhood in the city. At the time, it was merely one of dozens of such areas of the city, although "nicer" than many. This was before and even after the 1967 riots. But, while White flight had been ongoing, it was massively accelerated after the riots.

But in 1967 before the riots, no one could have imagined that over the next 10 years, and then the decades beyond that, that the confidence about living in that city and in that neighborhood would change completely, and that different kinds of steps would have to be taken in the future, in order to stabilize the neighborhood and the city.

The reality is that communities, especially center cities, can't take their current status--especially if it is "good"--for granted.

I guess I see that not only because of my Detroit experience, but because of my experiences living in Washington, DC, where for the most part, I couldn't afford to live in the "nicer" areas, and because it was affordable and relatively cheap, for almost 17 years I lived in the H Street neighborhood in northeast DC.

H Street then was nothing like it is today, a hot neighborhood with problems and issues sure (see "H Street Revitalization Hits a Snag" from the Washington Informer) but on an upward trajectory. In the 1980s especially it was bleak, the site of a notorious rape muder in the mid-1980s (see "A Case of Conviction" from the Post--this is a lousy article by the way) and closer to Florida Avenue but just a few blocks away, a leading crack cocaine distribution ring operated with few limitations (see "Running Low on Rayful: Has D.C.'s most famous crack dealer become just another has-been?" from the Washington City Paper). In the late 1980s, a few dozen people were murdered in just a small section of the neighborhood.

Into 2003, those of us working for neighborhood improvement didn't see the neighborhood significantly changing any time soon.

Yet today, 8 years later, a month doesn't go by where you don't hear of a new restaurant opening, and developments that had been cancelled because of the downturn are back on track, and the streetcar is supposed to be running next year.

But it's so easy for DC to fall backwards, not just because of weak and inept political leadership (see "Can Mayor Gray make a case for trusting D.C. government?" from the Post).

It also has to do with real estate development and the suburban jurisdictions and economic competition. Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, now Loudoun County is expecting heavy rail service, plus Montgomery and Prince George's Counties--they are all working to best DC as a place to live and to locate business and commerce.

And transit. Because DC is so well served by transit, commuting times for DC residents are at about the national average, while for most jurisdictions within the region, commuting times are much longer. Similarly, DC is a good environment for walking and bicycling, and close to 40% of households don't own cars--and for many of those households, this is a choice. You don't have to be stuck in traffic all the time when you are a DC resident.

On the other hand, that comes with a cost--housing prices are high. And not all of the city shares in its relative prosperity, plus many parts of the city don't enjoy high quality transit access, as the transit system was built to focus on getting suburban commuters to and from their jobs in the central business district.

As the NYT article about Detroit says, you can't take good fortune for granted, healthy neighborhoods have to be managed too.

That's the kind of environment that the planning profession works within, having to consider what could happen, and working to ward off the possibilities of decline, by working to maintain healthy neighborhoods and a healthy environment for commerce. If you aren't successful, decline can happen, and righting the decline takes decades.

But it's also the kind of environment that residents have to consider, that the requirements for success in the 21st century, in the context of a metropolitan region, may be and are in fact different from what they were in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when most DC neighborhoods were constructed.

A friend of mine retired and decided to get a graduate degree in architectural history at University of Virginia. We talk from time to time about how most students in planning programs don't really understand decline on the nature of a city like Detroit, that it's completely outside their experience.

If this is true for future leaders of the profession, how hard is it for residents, especially for those residents of a city or region who are afraid of the inner city, and don't deal with it at all--e.g., last month we attended a play at the Shakespeare Theater in the Landsburgh Building on 7th Street NW and I was eavesdropping on a man in his 60s probably, referring to that particular area as particularly distressed and dangerous--this theater is two blocks away from a set of office buildings which just sold for $900/s.f.!

By not discussing in more depth alternative scenarios, scenarios of real decline, I didn't find Roger Lewis' article to be that helpful in terms of contributing very much to our understanding of the current land use and transportation planning environment that planners, elected officials, developers, and residents are working within.

Crazy idea for improving town-gown relations

According to the Baltimore Sun, in "Towson looks for solutions to town-gown relations," Baltimore County Councilman David Marks of District 5, the location of Towson University and Goucher College, has organized the Greater Towson Residential Task Force, which includes county officials, university leaders, students and neighbors.

From the article:

Marks asked the task force Wednesday to explore creating a special overlay zone for Towson University, that would require additional rules and penalties for residential areas near the school, and take a look at the code enforcement process and whether property owners have sufficient tools to evict problem tenants.

He also wants them to look at ways to enhance neighborhood stability and accommodate student renters. "I'd like you to be imaginative," he said. Some residents on the task force complained that some consider Towson a college town.

"We're losing people to other parts of the county, and they're never coming back," said Mike Ertel, a past president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations. He said Towson is losing starter homes in neighborhoods such as Burkleigh Square to college renters.

Local landlord Randy Cooper said being a college town has its benefits.

"Instead of us against them, we should be celebrating," said Cooper, who is not related to the university spokeswoman. He spoke of student spending on local businesses.

Towson University senior Scott Rappaport, one of the school's community ambassadors, said students and neighbors need to work together.

"I feel like residents have a preconceived notion that students are going to come in and cause havoc. So, students feel like they're being attacked because they're not being given a chance," said Rappaport, 21. "We need residents and students to really trust each other."

When I worked in Towson (Sept 2009-June 2010) there was no question that the pedestrian activity in the retail district was mostly generated by Towson University students. At the same time, this shapes the retail offer in particular ways, towards fast food and other types of convenience retail, not unlike how the commercial strip on Rte. 1 in College Park, Maryland is very much oriented to the kind of retail that appeals to people 18-25 years old.

On the other hand, most communities lack the kind of energy that a college campus can generate, and this energy is key to retail revitalization in those communities.

Greater Greater Washington has had a number of pieces about the updating of the Georgetown University campus plan and neighborhood opposition, which can be pretty virulent. The Northwest Current community newspaper recently had an article (March 9th edition) about American University's desire to build a dormitory on a parking lot on Nebraska Avenue and local opposition, because of a perception that this is too close to the abutting neighborhood.

In College Park, Maryland, there is a University student liason to the City Council, appointed by the college student government (see "College Park finalizes guidelines for UM liaison attendance: Student representative could be removed for missing too many council meetings" from the Gazette).

I can't claim that these kinds of University-neighborhood task forces will all of these kinds of problems, but they have to help.

Planning your community's night time attractions in terms of music

I have written before about Seattle's initiatives around music. The vision is organized into three categories: City of Musicians, City of Live Music, and City of Music Business.

A Music Commission was created to oversee the development and implementation of the plan and program.

-- Seattle City of Music: A vision for the future of music in Seattle (planning document)
-- Current Commission Workplan

The Baltimore Sun has an interesting piece, "Getting Baltimore in tune with Austin," concerning lessons that the city can take from Austin, Texas, where for the past week, the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference has been going full blast, attracting more than 100,000 people to the city.

Kelly West: Austin American-Statesman. Sixth Street in downtown Austin is filled with pedestrians during the SXSW music festival.

I am also intrigued by New York City's Make Music New York festival, which takes place every June 21st, the longest day of the year.

Getting around to the main point about unethical behavior in government

The report earlier in the week by Robert Trout, his investigation of alleged wrong doing by the Fenty Admistration, was touted in the local press as finding that Mayor Fenty didn't have direct involvement in the goings on. See "Report clears Fenty of contract steering charges, raises concerns about allies."

Just because you can't find direct orders doesn't mean people didn't know how to interpret the Mayor's desires and act accordingly.

Eventually, on Saturday, the Post got around to running an article about the findings of substance in the report, "Fenty ally charged $540k in markups, probe finds," that the Fenty friend's company marked up work up to as much as 400% and provided little value to the contracts, merely serving as an intermediary.

Somehow this kind of behavior was moving the city forward, at least according to the Post, because it was Mayor Fenty pushing it, rather than someone else.

Taking this coverage to further levels of incredulity, the Post ran a laughable op-ed in the Sunday paper, "Why Mayor Gray Should Resign," by Sinclair Skinner, the race baiter and recipient of the aforementioned contracts, about how Mayor Gray and Council Chairman Brown are so bad and so corrupt that they should resign.

Laugable.

They all suck. But Skinner is hardly qualified to lecture Washingtonians or elected officials in ethical behavior and good government.

Basically this op-ed is the rough equivalent of an op-ed piece by Bernie Madoff exonerating his behavior because of economic failures elsewhere, ignoring his own complicity and unethical, illegal, or corrupt behavior.

Again, I wrote in January 2010 about the real issue being the system of, if not corruption, unethical behavior, that runs rampant through the city's politics, and the reality that people like Fenty, Brown, and Gray are all part of the same system, and have the same standards of behavior and the same kinds of expectations of what government is supposed to do, if not for them (Council Chairman Brown's Lincoln Navigator), their friends and family (the various people that Vincent Gray has hired at high salaries, the various friends and acquaintances of Adrian Fenty who got city contracts or appointments to city boards and commissions and subsequent participation in business groupings with government business).

Gil Peñalosa, speaking in Baltimore (TONIGHT) and Columbia (TOMORROW)

I have never heard Jan Gehl speak (other than from videos). I have heard Gil Peñalosa speak, and I have heard his brother, Enrique Peñalosa, the former Mayor of Bogota, speak (in fact, I went up to New York City on a special trip, just to do so). Before I heard Gil speak at last year's Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference in Chattanooga, I thought Enrique was amazing. Gil blows him out of the water...

Putting up Jan Gehl vs. Gil Peñalosa on April 7th really sucks...

Dynamic presentations by Gil Peñalosa.
April 6 (Baltimore, MD)
April 7 (Columbia, MD).

Mr. Peñalosa is an internationally renowned livable city adviser who is passionate about vibrant and healthy communities. He has delivered presentations at events across North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

As Executive Director of the non-profit organization 8-80 Cities and former Commissioner of Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogota, Colombia, Gil’s tireless commitment to fostering healthy communities remains front and center.

He also works as Senior Consultant for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects. Furthermore, he serves on the Boards of Directors of American Trails, Ciclovias of the Americas, and City Parks Alliance. Gil holds an MBA from UCLA and advises municipal, corporate and community leaders around the world. Centered on the promotion of creating interconnected networks of pedestrian, cycling and public transportation infrastructure and building vibrant parks and public spaces, Gil’s presentations are an inspirational method to build capacity in government, business and community settings. These free events are sponsored by the Columbia Association and Bike Maryland.

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011, 7-9PM at the First English Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3807 N. Charles Street, Baltimore.

Presentation - Moving from Talking to Doing!This presentation will inspire and instruct the audience on the creation of vibrant cities and healthy communities. 880 Cities promotes walking and bicycling as activities and urban parks, trails and other public spaces as great places for all. These activities and public spaces improve our environment, advance economic development, boost and complement our transportation systems, make better recreation for all, and enhance our personal and public health. We invite you to join us in experiencing a presentation by Gil Peñalosa! RSVPs Preferred: carol@bikemd.org

Thursday, April 7th 2011, 7-9 PM at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way Columbia, MD 21044.
Presentation - Walking, Cycling, & Public Places for All!

As part of Columbia Association’s on-going Community Building Speaker’s Series, the Columbia Association is excited to co-host this keynote presentation by Gil Peñalosa, Executive Director 8-80 Cities. As the Commissioner of Parks, Sport and Recreation for the City of Bogotá, Colombia, Gil’s team initiated the “new Ciclovia” - car-free Sundays - today an internationally recognized program that sees over 1.3 million people walk, run skate and bike along 75 miles of Bogotá’s city roads. RSVPs Preferred: Event.Rsvp@ColumbiaAssociation.com

What’s an 8-80 City?
Step 1. Think of a Child
Step 2. Think of an Older Adult
Step 3. Ask yourself, would you send a child to bike to the store? Would you have her grandmother cross that intersection? What if, everything we did in our cities was great for the 8 year olds and 80 year olds? We’d end up with cities that are good for all — 8-80 Cities.

2011 Charles Atherton Memorial Lecture: Jan Gehl, April 7, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

At the National Building Museum in Washington, DC

Danish architect, planner, and author Jan Gehl discusses his work making cities across the U.S. more walkable, bikeable, and sustainable and shares his thoughts on how to make a greener capital city. The Charles H. Atherton Memorial Lecture program commemorates the life and legacy of Charles Atherton, who served for almost four decades as secretary of the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts.

H.E. Ambassador Peter Taksoe-Jensen, The Ambassador of Denmark, will provide the program introduction.

Gehl is probably one of the best people in world in terms of placemaking and sustainable transportation.

See for example:

-- Close Encounters With Buildings, paper from Urban Design International
-- Extract from Life Between Buildings
-- Cities for People, published by Island Press

The Examiner can never resist taking a cheap shot against local government

Yesterday's Examiner's editorial, "BRAC exposes failure of local government 'planning'" is the cheapest of cheap shots. From the article:

The academy study blames "fundamental flaws" in the BRAC decision-making process and "poor communication" between military installations and local transportation authorities. All true, but well-paid city, county and state officials have known about the BRAC relocation for five years -- well before the 2008 economic downturn. They were also told well in advance that the Defense Department generally does not pay for local road improvements. Their collective failure to make critical transportation improvements well in advance of the long-awaited BRAC move is simply inexcusable. Local voters should remember those responsible when the next election rolls around.

What I think is inexcusable is that the BRAC process fails to consider transportation impacts and fails to provide funding to mitigate the transportation impacts and needs it creates. Where's the editorial about that?

First, the BRAC military base consolidation process specifically ignored transportation impacts of changes in the location of military installations.

In fact, I wrote about this as a major problem back in August 2005 ("Military Base Relocation").

Even this Baltimore Examiner (no longer published) article from 2007, "Army informs county of effects of BRAC's population influx," illustrates the problem, as the presentation indicated that as a result of the base consolidations affecting the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, 52,000 more people were expected to relocate to Maryland as a result. This over a 4 year period.

And the Examiner expects the local governments to react immediately and with unlimited funding I suppose? Just because the Examiner wasn't around in 2005 (then it was still the Suburban Journal Newspaper Group) doesn't excuse them from failing to acknowledge the nature and extent of the problems foisted on local governments.

Second, the BRAC legislation limits Department of Defense "responsibility" for paying for any necessary improvements to transportation infrastructure, although funds can be obtained in separate appropriations processes.

Third, this is the classic definition of a kind of unfunded mandate, because changes in job location to more distant and disconnected places increases the demand for new transportation infrastructure.

These evident problems with the BRAC process have nothing to do with the ability or lack thereof on the part of local planners, and everything to do with how the process was structured, both by the Department of Defense and by Congress.

Fourth, even in a well-funded and planned situation, transportation infrastructure, especially of any significance, takes upwards of 8-10 years to be constructed, after the various planning, design, engineering, impact studies, appropriations, contracting, and construction steps are taken into consideration.

E.g., the H Street reconstruction in NE DC is a fast tracked project. Planning for that started in 2003. It's now 2011, and it should be finished next year (if you include other streetcar electrification requirements). That's very good. It's quite rare for transportation projects to go immediately into design and engineering after the planning phase (although the relatively simple improvements in Brookland on 12th Street NE have occurred even faster).

Add 10 years to the 2005 promulgation of changes as a result of BRAC decisions made in August 2005, and you get 2015.

Montgomery County: Mobility Planning Beyond the Purple Line presentation

This is an old presentation, from October 2006, before the November election. Effective with the November election, new relatively pro-transit Governor O'Malley put light rail back into the consideration equation for planning for the Purple Line transit line in Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland.

I did update the presentation a little bit in terms of images and cut some stuff, but I didn't update it significantly in terms of content. That means that the current status of Purple Line planning isn't fully reflected here, that the various bus rapid transit concepts promoted by Councilman Marc Elrich aren't included, and CaBi bicycle sharing, and Montgomery County's likely participation is not discussed either.

Nor is there any discussion of the new planning initiatives within Montgomery County in terms of intensified land development and transit, in terms of the general plan and growth policy as well as individual initiatives such as that spearheaded for the White Flint area ... or the new $60+ million parking garage at Glenmont Station, BRAC, etc.

In any case, this kind of presentation, with an extended discussion of land use planning in the context of transit and mobility planning is long overdue for Prince George's County.

One point especially would be what we might call initiating Purple Line II Planning, or extending the Purple Line from New Carrollton to Alexandria, thereby connecting the light rail to the blue line and green line southern leg within Prince George's County, as well as to Alexandria and connections to the yellow line/blue line there.

Sierra Club image of the Purple Line concept.

Between what we might call the first leg and the second leg of the Purple Line, Prince George's County has an opportunity to reposition its land use paradigm around transit in a manner that is almost unprecedented within the region, with the exception of DC, and amongst most suburban counties in the United States (with the exception of Montgomery County).
Montgomery County, Maryland: Mobility Planning Beyond the Purple Line

A recommended new planning direction for Prince George's County

Having only intermittent access to a computer at home means that I am "crippled" in my ability to write an entry that I have been meaning to write about Prince George's County. I was waiting on this because I need to do a GIS mapping of the current subway stations plus the coming light rail stations for the Purple Line.

Washcycle reports, in "PG County wants to remove bike/ped planners from road review process," that PG County also has a poorly written political transition document, which states that the bicycle and pedestrian planning unit of the planning department shouldn't weigh in on road reconstruction programs. Wow! Pretty f***** up.

This is from a county that claims it wants to do transit oriented development. And that it has money to support business development. See "Rushern Baker eyes $50M development fund" from the Washington Business Journal. From Rushern Baker's inaugural speech:

We will work with the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and the state to let them know we will be the region leader in transit oriented development and yes, we must find ways to be fair, but fast. The opportunity is now.

But it doesn't surprise me, because really TOD isn't about "transit oriented development" as much as it is about sustainable transportation and changing the way of planning towards compact development, which includes promoting walking and bicycling, not just transit.

About four years ago, I did a presentation to Montgomery County's Action Coalition on Transit that I called "Montgomery County Transit Planning Beyond the Purple Line."

(Embarassingly, I never put this document up on scribd. I thought I did. I will rectify this.)

Prince George's County needs to undertake the same kind of process.

It needs to focus not on "transit oriented development" per se--because most of their stations aren't located in areas with spatial patterns supportive of compact development--but on repositioning their development patterns of land use and transportation towards compact development.

PG County should use the coming of the Purple Line as a way to begin this process, which they should be starting now, just as Reston has created a new land use plan that is responding to the development of the Silver Line heavy rail line which will provide new transit access. See Reston Vision Committee Completes its Report: This arm of Special Study Master Plan Task Force sees "A Complete Community Along the Metro Silver Line."

Somewhere I saw a mention of how Upper Marlboro, the Prince George's County seat, is not well connected by transit.

One of the things I would recommend in a presentation that I might create called "Prince George's County: Transportation and Land Use Planning Beyond the Purple Line" would recommend relocating the County Seat to one of the transit station districts, maybe at a place like New Carrollton, which will have heavy rail, railroad (MARC and Amtrak), and light rail service.

This is not unlike what Gresham, Oregon did over time. My understanding is that they were originally skeptical about the location of a light rail station in their downtown as part of the Portland MAX service. But over time, the community changed its attitude and through the creation and execution of a neighborhood plan, they built a new city hall, conference center, and plaza adjacent to the transit station, which opened in 1996. From the website:

The 130-acre district arose from an ambitious plan to create a new model of an urban, civic neighborhood in the heart of the city. Built around the MAX light rail line, Gresham City Hall, trendy, high density housing and a contemporary shopping center, the neighborhood has flourished beyond expectations.

The neighborhood, which sprouted in 2000, is now home to hundreds of housing units — town homes, condominiums, high-end apartments — the Center for Advanced Learning, Mt. Hood Community College’s Bruning Center for Allied Health and the Gresham Station shopping center. The 300,000-square-foot Gresham Station is an open air shopping center that boasts more than 50 well-known shops and restaurants in a unique village setting complete with wide, tree-lined sidewalks, attractive buildings and characteristic accents.

A second phase of development, known as Gresham Station North, includes an 18,500 square-foot state-of-the-art surgery center, a 45,000 square-foot LA Fitness facility and 80,000 square feet of medical, commercial office and retail space.

MAX at the Gresham City Hall Station. Tri-Met image. Note that the development overall isn't perfect, and includes a car parking fronted shopping center.

IF PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY WANTS TO CHANGE ITS DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM, IN NEEDS TO DO THIS IN A TRANSFORMATIONAL FASHION.

Relocating the County Seat to a location with high quality transit service is only one of the steps they should undertake.

Reorganizing bus services to focus on transit stations, upon the opening of the Purple Line light rail system is another.

Acknowledging complete streets and sustainable transportation policies is essential.

Changing the land use spatial development paradigm towards compact development is another.

Etc.

March free access to Palgrave Journals

Just found out about this today. It includes journals such as the no longer published Journal of Retail and Leisure Property, as well as Social Theory and Health, Urban Design International, Tourism and Hospitality Research AND Place Branding and Public Diplomacy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Palgrave Free for All

For example, check out from Urban Design International's most current issue:

Using GIS to analyze the role of barriers and facilitators to walking in children's travel to school FREE

Ilir Bejleri, Ruth L Steiner, Allison Fischman and Jeffrey M Schmucker

Urban Des Int 16: 51-62; advance online publication, August 18, 2010; doi:10.1057/udi.2010.18

Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Request Permission

Using GIS to develop a performance-based framework for evaluating urban design and crash incidence FREE

Eric Dumbaugh, Robert Rae and Douglas Wunneberger

Urban Des Int 16: 63-71; advance online publication, September 22, 2010; doi:10.1057/udi.2010.16

Abstract | Full Text | PDF | Request Permission

Or this special issue, very much relevant to commercial district revitalization planning in DC, even a community discussion in Columbia Heights about the potential impact of a 24 hour diner to be located on 11th Street, in what would be considered a neighborhood commercial district that isn't intended to draw upon a regional customer base, from Crime Prevention and Community Safety:

Jul 2009; 11 (3) Special Issue: Violence and the night-time economy: A multi-professional perspective: 147 - 241

Is commercial district revitalization racist?

Maybe.

According to H Street Main Street and various African-American business owners on H Street it is, based on an article, "H Street Revitalization Hits a Snag," in the Washington Informer.

From the article:

A group of African-American vendors who operate small businesses along the busy H Street corridor in Northeast, have expressed dismay over a revitalization project, four years in the making, that has not only derailed sales, but resulted in the closing of some 30 shops and the tax sale of several others. ...

“We had instituted a deal with the city for a tax delay for merchants but they were not afforded that relief,” said Anwar Saleem 56, executive director of H Street Main Street, the nonprofit which was created in 2002 as a voice for businesses and residents along the corridor. Saleem lives in Northeast and owns a beauty parlor on H Street. ...

Saleem further noted that construction along the 13-block area that stretches from Benning Road onto H Street – and which has included installation of new utility lines, median strips and tracks for a new trolley service – was supposed to have paved the way for new businesses while helping to strengthen existing establishments.

He said that instead, the project has appeared to be a form of “forced urban gentrification,” the result of “unsophisticated city leaders” who have failed to understand economic revitalization.

In making his point, Saleem referred to a growing influx of white entrepreneurs armed with grant money, tax abatements and other perks, who have set up shop in the predominantly black community.

I don't know the breakdown of tax breaks and other assistance on H Street. Heretofore, not much money has gone to individual businesses at all, more to property owners, except for a few rounds of facade improvements.

Interestingly, night time shuttle bus service (which I was against for other reasons, believing that the focus should have been on enhancing the extant bus service on H Street, which is amongst the most frequent in the city), is called racist in the article:

Pam Johnson, 49, a real estate broker who also owns property along the corridor, lives in Northwest. She said her main contention has been with shuttle buses. “I pay taxes just like all these other businesses on H Street but the city, under Fenty decided to subsidize the shuttle bus” Johnson said, referencing the $500,000 the District is expected to shell out for the project over a two-year period. ...

However, Johnson said the shuttle would only serve businesses along the corridor that operate from 5 p.m. until 3 a.m. Since most of the black businesses that still exist there are closed those hours, Johnson said they would be further pushed out of the loop.

“It’s not equitable nor is it fair for us,” Johnson said. “We’ve been working on this for the last six months – and maybe even longer, begging the city for assistance.” She added that with property taxes having escalated, she wondered why minority businesses would have to pay as much in taxes as the new white-owned bars and clubs.

“So I see it as discrimination with the city providing selective assistance to certain types of businesses,” Johnson said.

Youch. The point of the shuttle bus was to make it easier for nonresidents to come to the corridor at night and patronize businesses there.

This is one of the perception problems that comes from creating what I call "political bus services." Shuttle buses for the most part are a political response to business people claiming that they need more people to patronize their businesses, without a deeper look into other issues impacting their business, such as the quality of the business, marketing, etc.

The problem with the H Street corridor as a _retail_ destination is that there isn't a lot of retail business there, except for convenience goods (foods, basic pharmacy, hardware) and services, especially hair care.

I do agree that during periods of road reconstruction, that extra steps need to be taken to support extant businesses. Raising tax assessments during this period seems to be a big mistake. And somehow, the city could reduce tax assessments during such reconstruction periods. Although DC is not the only city in the U.S. that mishandles this.

But the deeper issue is the quality of business district as a whole as well as the quality of each individual business. As far as the business district goes, this is what I call "The soft side of commercial district competition," because people know what your place offers and they compare it to their other options. It doesn't pay to not be direct about your offer, because your customers make their choices based on reality.

One thing that the Main Street program doesn't do, and no commercial district revitalization program really does is an individual analysis of each business, something like these:

- Restaurant Business Check up survey
- Retail Business Check up survey

combined with a kind of complementary business analysis for each business focused on making connections between merchants and their customer bases. Basically an application of the Project for Public Spaces Place Game but focused on businesses, not places per se. But of course, the Place Game as it is can be a good way for a neighborhood and/or commercial district to begin a process of self-evaluation.

There is no question that the business district is being reproduced into a night-time destination attractive to hipsters etc. See the 2005 Washington Post article "Plans to Set The Bar High On H Street NE."

But this is but a point in the process of strengthening the commercial district overall.
Developments on the 300, 690, and 800-900 blocks will significantly upgrade the quality of the retail, providing anchors, and therefore more reasons for people to patronize the district during more traditional "shopping hours" (during the day, every day of the week).

Is that racist? I don't think so. But it is change.

Also see these series of blog entries from 2006:

- Commerz in the 'hood... (aka Commerce is the Engine of Urbanism)
- Commerz in the 'hood, part two
- Commerz in the 'hood, part three
- Commerce dans de quartier de la ville, partie quatre

The Informer article ends with this:

Nevertheless, Bachir said many of the now-defunct businesses had been doing well until the revitalization project. He said for that matter, the project was flawed in its design, implementation and approach – mainly because it has not been inclusive of stakeholders.

“It should have been designed in a way that’s inclusive to businesses and beneficial to the community with positive impacts,” Bachir said.

“We don’t doubt the benefits this revitalization could bring for small minority businesses, but the way in which it is being implemented has been really harmful to existing businesses.

I don't think this is true, at least about the businesses being successful before the street reconstruction. The reason that the Main Street program was created was to build business for a seen to be declining business district. Many businesses, long before the commencement of the street reconstruction program a couple years ago, had been complaining about an ongoing decline in business.

I opined in 2004 that this was a result of the business district being focused on the lower income consumer, how similar districts in the region (such as the former shopping center in Landover where Walmart is now and Iverson Mall) were declining, and that was likely an indicator that the number of low income consumers is decreasing and that the commercial district and individual stores need to reposition.

Probably the reconstruction and loss of business was the kicker that put many already marginal businesses under.

A lot of this was predicted.


Was this kind of advertising (and ads in the Hill Rag) really going to get people to come out and patronize marginal retail businesses on H Street or at Hechinger Mall? (I also saw an inside the bus placard ad similar in design to that used on the H Street Shuttle, but I didn't have my camera with me at the time...)

I think that the problems resulted because of a focus on things like marketing--trying to get more people to come to a commercial district that was already uncompetitive--rather than assisting businesses in changing for new consumer segments, while providing financial assistance (lower taxes especially) during the reconstruction period.