NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // February 9, 2010
Younger generations looking for smaller homes, urban lifestyles and sustainable communities are among the forces that will shape the future of real estate development.” Frampton continued: “Some of the shifts in demand are related to demographics and were emerging before the economy sank, the speakers said. Others are results of new, post-recession values.
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Showing posts with label Sprawl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sprawl. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Ffighting Words about Sprawl
NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // February 4, 2010
Kaid Benfield // February 4, 2010
“The biggest fight I think we’ll see in the next ten years is the fight between people in cities who are trying to transform them into ‘bright green’ cities and those economic interests in the [outer-ring] suburbs who see that as a threat to their livelihoods, and in some cases just despise it on ideological grounds.”
So says “bright green” advocate Alex Steffen, executive editor of WorldChanging, in an interview with Grist’s Jonathan Hiskes.
The War Against Suburbia
The American
Joel Kotkin // January 21, 2010
Joel Kotkin // January 21, 2010
A year into the Obama administration, America’s dominant geography, suburbia, is now in open revolt against an urban-centric regime that many perceive threatens their way of life, values, and economic future. Scott Brown’s huge upset victory by 5 percent in Massachusetts, which supported Obama by 26 percentage points in 2008, largely was propelled by a wave of support from middle-income suburbs all around Boston. The contrast with 2008 could not be plainer.
Browns’s triumph followed similar wins by Republican gubernatorial contenders last November in Virginia and New Jersey. In those races suburban voters in places like Middlesex County, New Jersey and Loudoun County, Virginia—which had support President Obama just a year earlier—deserted the Democats in droves. Also in November, voters in Nassau County, New York upset Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, an attractive Democrat who had carefully cultivated suburban voters.
The lesson here is that political movements ignore suburbanites at their peril. For the better part of a century, Americans have been voting with their feet, moving inexorably away from the central cities and towards the suburban periphery. Today a solid majority of Americans live in suburbs and exurbs, more than countryside residents and urbanites combined.
MORESuburbia vs. the Planet
Huffington Post
Seth Bauer // January 18, 2010
Seth Bauer // January 18, 2010
A really good rant takes a rare combination of passion, knowledge, wit, and intelligence. Recently, in a long phone conversation with Andres Duany, the architect and urban planner, I was privy to one of the best I've ever heard.
The origin of global warming. The cause of American cultural malaise. The inanity of our planning, zoning, transportation, political, and community processes. Duany has a lot to rant about. Ostensibly our conversation was about the carefully distilled, practical advice contained handbook-style in his new release, The Smart Growth Manual, published by McGraw Hill. But our conversation about the book showed why Duany and his coauthors, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon, had to pare down to core concepts: Otherwise, Duany was just going to explode with it all.
Duany began by identifying three concurrent crises that he traced directly to the American lifestyle: Peak oil (the likelihood that we've already consumed more than half the planet's petroleum in barely 100 years), the housing bubble, and global climate change. "It's where we live, the size of our houses, the distances we drive for work, commerce, play--everything."
MOREThursday, February 4, 2010
Urban Core as Regional Economic Indicator
DC.StreetsBlog.org
Sarah Goodyear / January 25, 2010
The importance of core urban areas to a region's economy is the subject of a post today from the always thoughtful Aaron Renn, who blogs at The Urbanophile. Renn examines data that suggest job growth (or decline) in a metro region's core counties is a good indicator for the overall health of those regions. Renn argues that it's important to keep a close eye on what's happening in the urban core in order to forestall the kind of catastrophic decline we've seen in places like Detroit and Cleveland.
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Sarah Goodyear / January 25, 2010
The importance of core urban areas to a region's economy is the subject of a post today from the always thoughtful Aaron Renn, who blogs at The Urbanophile. Renn examines data that suggest job growth (or decline) in a metro region's core counties is a good indicator for the overall health of those regions. Renn argues that it's important to keep a close eye on what's happening in the urban core in order to forestall the kind of catastrophic decline we've seen in places like Detroit and Cleveland.
MORE
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Year's Top Smart Growth Stories
NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // December 29, 2009
(10) Despite robust ridership, transit service and quality continued to decline.
(9) Smart growth and sustainable communities were largely missing from the federal stimulus.
(8) Exciting developments in GIS- and web-based technology advanced walkability and smart communities
(7) Local agriculture emerged as a component of green development.
(6) Congress, nonprofits and other parties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(5) Land use solutions continued to get short shrift in climate discussions that matter. ties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(4) The Obama administration stepped up for sustainable communities.
(3) Street design became a major smart-growth issue.
(2) LEED-ND was completed and approved for implementation.
(1) The recession hurt smart development somewhat, but sent sprawl into a virtual coma.
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Kaid Benfield // December 29, 2009
(10) Despite robust ridership, transit service and quality continued to decline.
(9) Smart growth and sustainable communities were largely missing from the federal stimulus.
(8) Exciting developments in GIS- and web-based technology advanced walkability and smart communities
(7) Local agriculture emerged as a component of green development.
(6) Congress, nonprofits and other parties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(5) Land use solutions continued to get short shrift in climate discussions that matter. ties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(4) The Obama administration stepped up for sustainable communities.
(3) Street design became a major smart-growth issue.
(2) LEED-ND was completed and approved for implementation.
(1) The recession hurt smart development somewhat, but sent sprawl into a virtual coma.
MORE
Effect of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments on Residential Property Values
Mineta Transporation Institute Report
The development of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) is increasingly being used to increase transit ridership. TOD, apart from providing the transit ridership, has also gained popularity as a “smart growth” tool that addresses the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and other ills of auto-oriented sprawl-like development. TOD’s increasing popularity is evidenced in efforts at all levels of government to promote the coordination of transportation and land use.
MORE OF THIS REPORT
The development of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) is increasingly being used to increase transit ridership. TOD, apart from providing the transit ridership, has also gained popularity as a “smart growth” tool that addresses the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and other ills of auto-oriented sprawl-like development. TOD’s increasing popularity is evidenced in efforts at all levels of government to promote the coordination of transportation and land use.
MORE OF THIS REPORT
Friday, December 25, 2009
Consultant argues for density near Austin's center to offset sprawl
From: The Austin-American Statesman
By: Asher Price // October 22, 2009
By: Asher Price // October 22, 2009
Recommendations by a consultant for the redevelopment of the Brackenridge tract, the 350-acre University of Texas-owned land west of downtown, call for denser construction than City of Austin rules would generally allow.
The difference draws a line of control between the city and the university over the land and reopens a broader discussion of how to encourage growth in West Austin.
The two plans by the New York-based consulting firm, hired by the UT SystemBoard of Regents, imagine the Brackenridge tract — now home to a municipal golf course, a university field lab, stores, offices, restaurantsand two-story apartment complexes along Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake — redeveloped as a densely built, walkable, close-in alternative to suburban sprawl.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Houston: Texas Sized Sprawl
From: NPR
By: Steve Inskeep // September 17, 2009
Listen to the Story
By: Steve Inskeep // September 17, 2009
Listen to the Story
Houston is the latest stop on the Urban Frontier, Morning Edition's occasional look at how cities change and grow.
Houston is a swiftly growing city; it has added a million residents this decade. No doubt, some of those newcomers drive on Interstate 10, which roars in front of Houston's own version of Mount Rushmore — giant white busts of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and two founders of modern Texas, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin.
Since it overlooks the freeway, the spot is known as Mount Rush Hour. And it reminds visitors of a couple of things about Houston: one, that it's a little quirkier than you might realize; and two, that it is huge.
The highways radiate out to a giant seaport, oil companies, skyscrapers, and miles and miles and miles of suburban neighborhoods.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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