Urban Planner Sandy James on the transformative power of urban walkability

Vancouver City Planner, Sandra James gives examples of how making a community more walkable, can change the social fabric of a neighborhood or a community.

#comingsoon #walkability #walkyeg #walkableyeg #walkableedmonton #yeg pic.twitter.com/PLAqdqvnh2

— Walkable Edmonton (@walkableYEG) September 2, 2016

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From Congress for the New Urbanism — The morbid and mortal toll of sprawl

A federal report revealed that US traffic deaths have risen 9 percent over the last year and have totaled 19,100 in the first six months of 2016. More than 2.2 million people have been seriously injured in that time. The economic cost is estimated annually at $410 billion, or 2.3 percent of gross domestic product. The human cost is harder to calculate. They are the most frequent reason for fatality of children 5 and up and young adults. Much of the blame has been placed, predictably, on distracted and drunk driving and rising vehicle miles traveled. The “elephant in the living room,” the factor that nobody wants to talk about, is sprawl and the infrastructure of sprawl. The roads built to support sprawl, designed to modern safety standards, are contributors to the majority of US traffic deaths and injuries.

From @NewUrbanism — Roads built to support sprawl designed to modern standards are contributors to the majority... https://t.co/u9f9M0QWTc

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) August 29, 2016

Read more: The morbid and mortal toll of sprawl | CNU

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From transportblog.co.nz — "Downtown development is the golden goose of urban economics"

When it comes to the debate about housing and development, there’s been plenty of discussion about the physical impacts of decisions we make, for example the height and bulk of buildings. There’s even been to a lesser extent a discussion on the capital costs of development, the costs of building or upgrading roads, pipes and other infrastructure. Some of this is quite evident now with the Transport for Future Growth consultations currently underway.

One area that hasn’t really been discussed at any level – other than probably some obscure high level planning papers – is the impact our development choices have on rates and operational costs. In many ways this is odd given how loudly many sections of our society protest every time rates are increased. But there is a clear link between rates and the types of development we allow. More at: The Value of Well-Designed Cities.

"Downtown development is the golden goose of urban economics" @TransportBlog #yycplan #yyccc https://t.co/ctLRDXtP5A pic.twitter.com/8quQrBwMYt

— Dale Calkins (@DaleCalkins) April 25, 2016

From Business in Vancouver — Traditional infrastructure funding throws money down the sewer

PETER LADNER Amid all the excitement about the Christmas bounty of infrastructure spending coming at us from our deficit-happy new federal government, it’s a good time to ask how we got ourselves into this infrastructure hole. 

Charles Marohn, the Republican civil engineer behind the U.S. Strong Towns movement, has an answer. He likens traditional suburban development to a Ponzi scheme. Tax revenues from low-density development don’t come near paying for maintenance and depreciation on costly infrastructure. He estimates suburban property taxes bring in only $0.04 to $0.65 for every dollar of liability. So cities embrace new developments to keep their cash flowing, or they go into debt, or both. At every stage, they pile on future liabilities.

“When people say we’re living beyond our means, they’re usually talking about a 40-inch TV instead of a 20-inch TV,” Marohn told Time magazine. “This is like pennies compared to the dollars we’ve spent on the way we’ve arranged ourselves across the landscape.” Municipal servicing costs in low-density sprawl can be 2.5 times those in compact, high-density neighbourhoods. Read more: Traditional infrastructure funding throws money down the sewer | Economy | Business in Vancouver

LIVING/WORKING - Traditional infrastructure spending throws money down the sewer https://t.co/mb6V2wzFbn pic.twitter.com/OeDgHPiruV

— BusinessInVancouver (@bizinvancouver) December 6, 2015

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We approach the 1st anniversary of #Nanaimo City Council, a Council more broadly representative of our community…

Submitted to @NanaimoBulletin as a guest column — (declined).

We approach the first anniversary of our new City Council, a Council more broadly representative of our community than previous ones. Our aboriginal community, the non-profit sector, a small business entrepreneur, a neighbourhood and anti-poverty activist. There’s been tensions, there’s been missteps. Interesting times, and you know what they say about interesting times.

It’s reminding me of the inner city high school where nothing much ever happened. It had been a stable, even boring place. Students attended, played on sports teams, graduated much as their parents had before them. It took pride in its uniformity and conformity. But then the neighbourhood changed. The high school found itself attended by students from different backgrounds, with different attitudes and styles. It was dynamic, anything but boring. To the school’s Principal and administrators it was also dangerous. It was unruly and rebellion was in the air.

The Principal, who previously had only to somewhat regally walk the well-behaved halls, appear at ceremonies and to cheer on the football team, found it suddenly hard to cope. In a panic a crisis meeting was called in a kind of war room. It was decided that order must be restored. Dress and behaviour codes were quickly put in place with warnings of harsh punishments for non-compliance. All student creativity and any excess of youthful energy were to defer without question to the authority of the classroom teachers..

And as you can imagine things quickly got much worse. The poor Principal and most of the administrative staff went into a kind of bunker mentality, many left for work in less challenging environments.

The story ends happily though. Wise replacements at the highest levels understood that the new dynamic presented great opportunity. Rules that benefited all were established with general buy-in by the students. Old rules that mostly existed to bolster the institution itself were loosened or jettisoned. The school became a place students looked forward to going to and staff were proud to work at.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if Nanaimo’s current upheaval had a similar outcome.

Frank Murphy

#Nanaimo: a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. https://t.co/nCw0VREsm0

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) October 28, 2015

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From CityLab — Getting smaller cities walking

After counting pedestrians on hundreds of blocks (sampled for different densities, districts, and Walk Scores), a group of researchers found that active uses (i.e., well-trafficked buildings or busy parks, schools, and cafes), street furniture or items (from benches to fire hydrants to ATM machines), and first-floor windows (measured by window-to-facade ratio) all had statistically positive relationships to the number of pedestrians. 

But are these findings applicable elsewhere? There’s so much that sets New York apart from other American cities: its density, its walkability, its spread of urban versus suburban development, among others. What about smaller towns? What are the design traits that most encourage pedestrian activity on these streets? Read more: New Study Shows Urban Design Matters When It Comes to Pedestrian Activity in Salt Lake City - CityLab

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From Better! Cities and Towns — Form-based codes: What's the deal?

Form-based codes: What's the deal? The community gets walkable neighborhoods with affordable housing—developers get a streamlined approval process.

Posted by Better! Cities & Towns on Wednesday, June 17, 2015

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New West Mayor Cote uses SFU urban studies degree to solve real-world problems

Jonathan Cote wasn’t even dreaming of becoming a mayor when he enrolled in SFU’s master of arts program in urban studies in 2011. He was looking for solutions to New Westminster’s rental housing and transit issues.

Yet today, at age 35, he is Metro Vancouver’s youngest mayor, and his rental housing innovations are capturing the attention of mayors across the region. More at: New Westminster's Mayor Cote uses degree to solve real-world problems - SFU News - Simon Fraser University

Nanaimo Downtown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines: Parks and open spaces

#Nanaimo Downtown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines: Parks and open spaces. https://t.co/aMJTzNmzgw @andrewtrevjones @katemac22 @Rearrang3d

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) May 31, 2015

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From @metroEdmonton — Edmonton proposes to let residents play urban planner with new CITYlab project

Senior Planner Jeff Chase

Got a bright idea for a park near your house, an empty parking space or a roadway? The city is ready to hear about it. The city will launch a new project called CITYLab Friday, which will allow residents to submit their own ideas for how to better use public spaces. “We want to be a portal to help residents and groups connect with the city to advance ideas,” said Jeff Chase, the senior planner overseeing the project. Read more: Edmonton proposes to let residents play urban planner with new CITYlab project | Metro

How are women changing our cities? @guardiancities

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

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From The Guardian — Are we seeing the erosion of public space and access in our cities?

Are we seeing the erosion of public space and access in our cities? Share your pictures and experiences with GuardianWitness of how cities around the world are becoming increasingly exclusive. From “public” spaces owned and regulated by corporations to gated communities and riverside spaces only accessible to a select few, our cities are becoming increasingly privatised. We’d love to hear your experiences and see your examples of how cities around the world are becoming more private, exclusive and even hostile.  More at: Privatised cities: share your experiences | Cities | The Guardian

Huntsville Alabama $70m downtown mixed use development calls for "road diet"

The project will include 230 apartments, a 150-room hotel, multiple restaurants and stores, professional office space and a six-level parking deck. Huntsville Chief Planner said the city needs to put Williams Street on a "road diet" so people who live, work and shop at CityCentre won't have to walk across four lanes of traffic to get to the park. CityCentre will initially cover more than six acres. More at Huntsville OKs $70M downtown mixed-use development next to Big Spring Park

Another public hearing declared a "sham" by neighbourhood residents @lower_lonsdale

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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60% of families would choose a smaller home in #walkable, transit-friendly neighbourhood

60% of families would choose a smaller home if it was in #walkable, transit-friendly neighbourhood pic.twitter.com/M4eW3HvFlv v/@BrentToderian
— Canadian Urbanism (@CanUrbanism) January 18, 2015

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@guardiancities 'mayors for a day' demand more #publicspaces in their cities

For the past year, Guardian Cities has been getting the lowdown on cities all over the world from its network of urbanist bloggers. Here’s what they most want to change … More at: Guardian 'mayors for a day' demand more public spaces in their cities | Cities | The Guardian

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From CityLab — The Tragic Comedy of Small Business Permitting

It’s as if as soon as there is activity in an urban setting, local government springs into action to regulate it. Cities and towns are well-known for imposing all kinds of of rules and codes, a great maze to be navigated both in the creation of buildings and their occupation and operation. On a proportional basis, the tight control exceeds anything decreed at the state or federal level. So it was with great interest to learn of an initiative in one of the regulatory regime’s most guilty parties, San Francisco, to loosen up a little bit. And the rebellion, to its great credit, began in the Planning Department. More: CityLab — The Tragic Comedy of Small Business Permitting