Planning to the People

Smart City Radio

2011-08-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Let me preface myself-- currently, I work full-time (I must specify full-time because I also intern part-of-my-time or part-time, in a local City's Planning Department) for a non-planning related company. I sit and push buttons, move papers, yakkity yak on the phone, all...day....long. As I am mindlessly going through my work, I try to infuse my day with a hint of planning. I'll read a few planning articles this hour, look at a few City websites here, work on my Internship work there...and so forth and so on. Well, in my jaunt of reading my daily planning articles, I came across this gem today. Go ahead and put this on as you're working away, cooking at home, sipping some wine and I think you may just enjoy your time thinking about planning just a bit more!

Smart City Radio

Modern Day Revival: Howard or Le Corbusier?

2011-08-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

This interesting article looks at Howard's Garden City concept but infuses it with a modern take based on high city densities. Urban Garden Cities on steroids. Take a looksy. The concepts portrayed in this article are more of a hybrid based on the traditional minds of Howard and Le Corbusier. Enjoy!

Read the full Article Here- Planetizen

Biking? Fun? Could it be true?!

2011-08-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

If only our bike rides to work, to restaurants, to friend's houses, to the beach could be accompanied by DJ Sets, snack tables flanking bike paths, costumes and glow sticks. This is the day that I one day will plan for... but in the mean time, here are two fun events for those that love biking (and the causes it may support) and/or events that showcase alternative transportation. I have lived in San Diego for the majority of my life and have never heard of these events. Publicize, publicize, publicize these events, friends!!

In August, you're not alone -- if you sign up for these group rides

Bicycling can be a lone, solitary experience if you want it to be. The individual testing his or her right stuff against traffic, landscape and even your own abilities.
Or it can be just a kick ass good time with a thousand or more of your two-wheeler friends enjoying the camaraderie of the road, some in-motion socializing and maybe a nice t-shirt which finds its way to the back of a dresser drawer after a week or so.
Well, two of the latter events are coming up in the second half of this month.
The first, on Aug. 20 is the 38th annual Midnight Madness Ride.
Not kidding: 38th. That’s a tradition.
Midnight madness is a late-night 16-mile group bike ride for 1,500 registered entrants. It is also a costume party and a light-up-the-bike contest, according to event planner Tiffany Olson. (Alaska Airlines sponsors the costume contest and REI backs the bike light show.)
“People get very creative with Glow Sticks,” offered Olson. Although, there are some who harness the wheelpower and create some pretty impressive mobile light displays.

And they’re pretty inventive with the costumes, too, considering you need to be pedaling a bicycle – an arena in which mobility and creativity can sometimes be at odds.
Never the less, clever cyclists transcend. One of Olson’s recent favorites was a couple in wedding attire who managed to transform their adjacent cycles into a honeymoon bed.
Let’s face it, with all that oxygen and blood rushing to the head as they pedal, cyclists are pretty creative people.
The Midnight Madness ride is also the main fund-raiser for youth-outreach efforts of San Diego International Hostelling, which operates two hostels in San Diego and hosts as many as 15,000 guests a year. It has been a part of the San Diego landscape for 70 years.
The ride starts from the south parking lot of the San Diego County Administration building at 1600 Pacific Highway and travels along the shore to Harbor Island and Shelter Island before returning by way of Rosecrans, Old Town and Kettner Avenue to the county lot.
A bit of the course that reached to Seaport Village was lopped off this year at the recommendation of the police department which ensures the safety of the riders along the route, said Olson.
The whole show begins at 8 p.m. with food, coffee and vendor booths, a DJ and on-site registration. Olson says costume and bike decoration contest judging is around 10:30 to 11 p.m., depending on the energy of the crowd.
Registration on the night of the ride is $37 but you can save five bucks by going online up until the day before the ride, said Olson. “You’ll need a helmet, bike lights and a bib number to participate in the ride,” she said.
After 38 years, participants in this family-oriented ride know the drill. “It is just a great time with a wide array of costumes, good energy and a really good mix of people,” said Olson.

Over the bridge

Only one week later, in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 28, some 3,000 cyclists depart from Embarcadero Park for a ride around San Diego Bay that includes a breath-taking pedal over the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
Bike the Bay has been around in its present form for only four years now and celebrates the first-class Bayside Bikeway which is being built at what can seem like an agonizingly slow pace around the bay. The loop is around 25 miles with the iconic bridge being its steepest portion.
Cyclists in this non-competitive ride who return to Embarcadero Marine Park South can enjoy a nice festival with food, beverages and entertainment.
The ride is limited to those 12 years and older and nobody gets on the bridge without a helmet and bib number.
Online registration will close Aug. 27 and there is even walk-up registration starting at 5:30 a.m. on the day of the event -- if the ride is not already sold out. That’s a big “if.” Bike the Bay, like bicycling in general, has grown very popular in a short time.
Staging of riders begins at 6:30 a.m. and the first riders start out from the park in waves at 7 a.m. There will be several rest stations with water and refreshments along the 25-mile route.
Bike the Bay is fundraiser for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, the largest bicycle advocacy and education group in the county. Registration for members of the bicycle coalition is $52 and for non-member individuals it is $57 through Active.com. (A coalition membership is $25 and well worth the cost.) You can also sign up as a team if there are 10 of you.
Tandem bicycles get a slight price break.
There’s also a pre-race pasta party in Pacific Beach (say it fast – three times!) which you can sign up for at registration for a mere $10. Or pay at the door at Lotsa Pasta, 1762 Garnet Avenue.

Contact: bob.hawkins@uniontrib.com * Twitter: sdutTransport * (619) 718-5253

Community Garden Reform in San Diego

2011-07-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

My first post brings exciting news! After battling for many years to streamline the process for starting community gardens in San Diego, local food advocacy group "1 in 10 Coalition" won a great victory for their fellow residents. Community gardens can now be started on any commercial or residential zoned land, with sale of produce allowed onsite in commercial areas. Previously the permitting process was expensive, lengthy and confusing.

This is great news, and it strikes close to home for me, as I've been working closely with Project New Village to prepare for the opening of the Mt. Hope Community Garden. With this new ordinance in place we can finally begin to break ground on the garden - a much-needed addition to a neighborhood in dire need of increased access to healthy fresh produce. It will also be the closest community garden to my own home in Encanto. I imagine the Mt. Hope Community Garden becoming a vibrant urban sanctuary as well as a place where neighbors can explore alternatives to the energy-dependent industrial food system. We'll also be helping the gardeners explore certification options so that they can then sell their extra produce at the local farmers market. All in all, this ordinance will have great benefits for both the health and economic development of the community!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Parke Troutman, 1 in 10 Coalition
Friday, July 8, 2011 619.297.0295

SAN DIEGO CITY ENDORSES PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO GROW THEIR OWN FOOD

Community Gardeners Applaud the City’s Streamlined Regulations

San Diego, CA — Yesterday, Mayor Jerry Sanders signed into law new city rules that will help residents create much needed community gardens. The City Council unanimously approved the new regulations on June 7 in response to costly bureaucratic problems community groups encountered when trying to grow food in vacant lots. Momentum for change came after the International Rescue Committee spent $46,000 to get a permit for the New Roots Community Farm in City Heights.

The 1 in 10 Coalition, a local group promoting access to healthy foods, has been working for several years with Councilmember Todd Gloria to simplify the regulations. “the turning point came at the beginning of the year,” explained Diane Moss, the executive director of the non- profit Project New Village. “Council President Tony Young had allocated $50,000 to help us start a garden in Mt. Hope, but the best site SEDC could find was in a commercial zone where community gardens were not allowed. That gave the issue new urgency.” Sherri Lightner, replacing Councilmember Gloria as the chair of the Land Use and Housing Committee, pressed for a quick overhaul of the regulations, which will no longer require the expensive permitting process in residential and commercial zones.

“For the last several years, enthusiasm for community gardens has been building, and I expect that a number of the proposed gardens waiting in the wings will begin to materialize,” said Judy Jacoby, director of the San Diego Community Garden Network (SDCGN). “While we’ve been working on the code change, we’ve been creating resources to help people who want to start community gardens. Starting and running a successful community garden can be challenging and we want to help people do it right so that their garden is not only a source of fresh fruits and vegetables but is also welcomed as a positive addition in their community.” SDCGN has created a website dedicated to providing the public with information and resources on gardening.

The 1 in 10 Coalition is a network of local food activists dedicated to encouraging access to healthy food for all San Diegans. Its ten-point platform is devoted to reforming regulations concerning poultry, bees, farmers' markets, composting and, of course, community gardens. Its supporters include Victory Gardens, Healthy WorksSM School and Community Garden Program, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Food Not Lawns, Roots Sustainable Food Project, the International Rescue Committee, Project New Village, and the San Diego Community Garden Network (sandiegocommunitygardennetwork.org).

Think globally. Bike Locally

2011-05-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Since the Brundtland Report of 1987, sustainable development has often been referred to as one that affects the 3 basic E's-- Environment, (Social) Equity, and Economy (and some choose to include Ecology, as a forth prong). The stepchild, in my opinion, of the aforementioned equation is that of Economy. While development must be financed in some way, shape, or form (public; private; public-private partnerships...alot of alliteration going on, so far!), establishing a stable local economy is often left at the wayside in favor of compromised design, regulatory policies, and unwavering public opinion. Even more so, as discussed in the previous post, our urban fabric is supported by a road system that caters to the crossing of economies. How easy is it to drive to the other county's IKEA, rather than purchase furniture from a local-craft consignment store? Too easy. Convenience paves the way for auto-dominance... and vice versa. What planners and city officials have noticed, as of late, is that encouraging and promoting bicycle use within a city, is one way to keep money in the local economy.

A recent GRIST article points out the benefits of switching from 4 wheels to 2 wheels and its impact on not only your pocketbook, but also that of the local economy. The article demonstrates that if a city were to convert 15,000 car-users to cyclists $127,275,000 would be able to stay in the local economy. Beefing up bicycle lanes, routes, and overall cyclist-pampering infrastructure (bike parking, paved and separated lanes, etc) would thus encourage people from jumping in the car and heading over to the next city for whatever needs they may have, and rather, jump on their bike and pedal 5 miles to fulfill that same need. Other benefits of converting to being a bike-buddy (back at it with that alliterative flare!) is a potential decrease in health care costs, incentives for small businesses to incorporate (wouldn't have to pay the hefty fees for providing pavement for parking), as well as an increase in happiness levels! fun!

What the article doesn't mention, but is of marked interest is that the money you save in commuting and riding a bike to work and personal use, will also save money that can potentially be filtered into the local economy. This personal savings holds as a potential win for the local-business economy.

Complete Streets. Completely Realized?

2011-05-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

In my humble opinion, it’s a bit of a shame that we have to be reminded, as planners and engineers alike, to create streets that accommodate all types of travelers: cyclists, walkers, busriders, disabled, motorist, etc etc. This, to me, is common sense. However, since the housing crisis and boom of Post World War II, yesterday’s cities of today (even newer Planned Urban Developments (PUDs)), have been designed specifically to accommodate the automobile…and the auto only. Street classification systems of today have routinely strayed from the traditional grid pattern system that disperses traffic more efficiently. "Streets are classified into a system of increasing volume and speed: residential, collector, minor , and major arterial. This classification philosophy… purposely de-emphasizes accommodations for users other than private vehicles on the highest volume streets" (StreetsWiki). Today’s streets are congested arterials and roads—a significant difference demonstrated in the later portion of this write-up.

With current legislation supporting a reduction in greenhouse gases and other auto-related pollution (AB 32 and SB 375, specifically), city officials and politicians are turning to planners to seek the change they wish to see (hats off to Gandhi on that one- had to put that in!)—healthier, more livable streets for all. In response, a grassroots-turned-nationally-supported initiative came to the streets (pun intended) in 2007 to support a push to fully provide for what the movement deems as Complete Streets. Through policy and local initiative, the movement seeks to provide access to all types of travelers equally…without overemphasizing the presence of the automobile.

A number of cities have adopted policies to support such a movement, such as Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, as well as, yours truly, San Diego. And that’s just in California. Boulder, CO, Bloomington, IN, Madison, WI—are just three examples of the national effort.

Yet, while the idea of better connectivity is fresh to legislation, carrying out such a vision in an efficient manner that actually accomplishes the goal, is of concern to some planning critics. Charles Marohn, writing for the New Urban Network (The New Urban Network) , speaks to the effect that it is not enough to do the Complete Streets concept lip-service by contracting engineers to manicure existing roads into more drive-able avenues for the motorists. In other words, by embarking on development under the misnomer of Complete Streets, engineers are only realizing their plans for a complete street, not the community's need for more accomodating infrastructure. The idea of complete streets is not to make the street more pleasant for the automobile (which is what Marhon is suggesting the engineers are currently doing), but to rather share the attention with all forms of transport. He argues that, post WWII, the discrepancy between streets and roads was blurred insofar as roads and streets were treated as equal parts. Let it be known: roads move high volumes of traffic at high speeds; Streets move cars at slow speeds. Marohn suggests that in plan realization, engineers are creating roads, rather than multi-purpose roads for all. Using the Complete Streets concept (and public monies, as well) to support the car culture of today is not the intention of the movement.

Complete Streets is making tremendous headway in General and Community-Specific plans today and will continue to do so in the future. Complete Streets is common sense. In the more forward thinking communities, implementation is a no-brainer. Yet, for those communities wishing to make broader strides (pun intended...again) in the walkability and livability components of their General plans, when push comes to shove, it seems that traditional modes of governance are revisited and change is deferred yet again. Look at San Diego as an example--our City, Community and Site Specific plans tout eleborate plans for better connectivity (Ex. the Inland Rail Trail, the Regional Bicycle Plan, etc) yet perhaps the largest change that has gained support is a plan to widen our local Interstate to become a mega-arterial of 14 plus lanes of shiny, new cars. Street versus Road. Automobile versus Transit. David versus Goliath. Fun!

Blogging with an Intention

2011-05-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

We are a group of young, professional Urban Planners studying in the Master's program at San Diego State University. Encouraged to learn, share, and grow from our experiences in the urban planning realm, we have created this blog to share our distinct and blossoming interests with our peers, colleagues, and mentors, alike. This blog will feature article reviews, project summaries, and opinions and critiques regarding the planning profession and trends of today.