January 11, 2005
G U L F C O A
S T G R O W T H N E W S
A publication of the Gulf
Coast Institute
NOTABLE QUOTES
"If we start developing a new suburban highway now, it will be completed about the time that most Baby Boomers retire, fuel prices start to rise, and consumers increasingly prefer more walkable communities with urban amenities."
– Tod Littman, in the report "The Future Isn't What It Used To Be: Changing Trends And Their Implications For Transport Planning." See "The future of transportation," below, and http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf
''If you get public money, you should be doing things for the public good.''
– Rocky Marcoux, Milwaukee commissioner of the Department of City Development, speaking about incentives for developers using "green roof" techniques. See "Green roofs in Milwaukee," below, and http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov04/279426.asp
LIVABLE HOUSTON INITIATIVE
The scheduled January 26 Livable Houston Initiative meeting about
nanotechnology has been cancelled. The next meeting is Wednesday, February 23,
noon-1:30 pm, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. Topic
to be announced. Bring your lunch. For more information call
713-523-5757. The Gulf Coast Institute and the Houston-Galveston Area Council
host Livable Houston/Smart Growth bring-your-own-lunch meetings that are open
to the public on the fourth Wednesday of every month. http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org
REGIONAL NOTES
2025 Regional Transportation Plan: another look
Revised draft to go out for public
review in February
The Draft 2025 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) approved by the Transportation Policy Council in June, 2004, will be back on the public table in February. The "Draft Final 2025 RTP with the Transportation Conformity Determination" will be released then for a 30-day public review and comment period. The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), which is responsible for producing the RTP, has refined its contents, including revised project descriptions, implementation schedules, and cost estimates. H-GAC says related documents and appendices were also revised to incorporate many of the suggestions for improvements that were made during the public review and comment period before last June. In addition, refinements have been made to clarify and condense the information to make it more readable. Final approval of the RTP is subject to the completion of a Transportation Conformity Determination. That conformity determination must be approved by federal agencies before June 5 to avoid a Conformity lapse. http://h-gac.com/HGAC/Departments/Transportation/Regional_Transportation_Plan/documents.htm
2030 Regional Transportation Plan: work plan emerging
H-GAC calls for "transportation vision" with citizen input
Efforts are starting to develop the work plan for the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan that will be due in June, 2008, based on the current metropolitan planning guidelines, according to a Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) memo to its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). H-GAC says development of the 2030 RTP will include a visioning process, more proactive public outreach and several new directions for planning activities. The agency hopes to gain opportunities for greater levels of public participation by developing a "transportation vision" for the new RTP by working with project sponsors, stakeholders, transportation agencies, and regional citizens. H-GAC has proposed a preliminary 3-year timeline for the development of those activities. The staff proposal will be presented to the TAC at its meeting Wednesday, July 12, at 9:30 am. The meeting is at 3555 Timmons, just north of Richmond, on the second floor, and is open to the public. For more information, http://www.h-gac.com.
Harris County wilderness said to be threatened
New study says development patterns
could use all non-federal habitat
A new study called "Endangered by Sprawl: How Runaway Development Threatens America's Wildlife" shows that Harris County is among 18 US counties that are on track to use up all their non-federal farmland and habitat to accommodate projected growth by or before 2025, under existing patterns of development. According to the report, produced by the National Wildlife Federation, Smart Growth America, and NatureServe, the rapid conversion of once-natural areas and farmland into subdivisions, shopping centers, roads, and parking lots has become a leading threat to America's native plants and animals. The study will be released on Wednesday, January 12, and will be available at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org.
3rd, 5th Ward redevelopment plans to be shown
Two open houses will be held for
community comment
On Saturday, January 22 & 29, the Land Assemblage Redevelopment
Authority (LARA) in conjunction with the City of Houston Planning and
Development Department will host two Open House events for the community to
review the completed Third Ward & Fifth Ward Urban Redevelopment Plans. The
Third Ward Urban Redevelopment Plan Open House will take place at the Judson
Robinson Jr. Multi-Service Center, 2020 Herman Dr., January 22, 2005, 10
– 1pm. The Fifth Ward Urban Redevelopment Plan Open House will take place
at the Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center, 4014 Market, January 29, from
10 am – 1 pm. lynn.henson@cityofhouston.net
Coolgreen Park & Golf Course
Mayor to announce another new City park
Another new park will be announced, this one with a golf course, by Mayor Bill White, the Houston Parks Board, and ChevronTexaco, on January 24 at City Hall's Hermann Square. The facility is called Coolgreen Park & Golf Course. The 130-acre park, which was privately owned by ChevronTexaco, is just across Maxey from Hermann Brown Park, on the east side. ChevronTexaco has gifted the park to the City. The announcement will be at 11 am.
Public Meeting on Amendments to
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
January 18 at Houston-Galveston Area Council
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) will host a public meeting
on proposed amendments to the 2004-2006 Transportation Improvement Program. The
meeting is from 6-7 pm, January 18, at 3555 Timmons Lane, 2nd Floor Conference
Room. The public may provide comments at the meeting, or send written comments
to Lynn Spencer, Houston-Galveston Area Council, P.O. Box 22777, Houston, Texas
77227, emailed to lynn.spencer@h-gac.com,
or faxed to (713) 993-4508. All comments must be received by H-GAC no later
than 5 p.m., Monday, January 31.
State of Galveston Bay Conference
Jan 25 at Downtown Aquarium
The 7th Biennial State of the Bay Symposium, January 25 at the
downtown Aquarium, will feature presentations and panel discussions on topics
such as habitat protection, Galveston Bay Plan implementation, and the
Galveston Bay watershed. Speakers include Harris County Judge Robert
Eckels. For more information, or to register, go to http://www.gbep.state.tx.us/news-events/registration.html.
UK-US climate change conference
Feb 9 at Rice University
Rice University's Environmental and Energy Systems Institute, the Shell Center for Sustainability, and University College London will co-sponsoring a conference on the impact of climate change for the more than one-third of the world's population that lives within 100 kilometers of a shoreline. Speakers, including Houston mayor Bill White; Lord Julian Hunt of University College London; David Leebron, President of Rice University; and Dr. Tim Killeen, Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, will address the causes of climate change and its impact on coastal cities, specifically Houston and London, and identify possible collaborative projects between the UK and the US. Registration is free. For more information contact Gary Marfin, Program Director, Shell Center for Sustainability, Rice University at 713-348-4133, gcmarfin@rice.edu. Also
May Akrawi, Science & Technology Vice Consul, British Consulate-General,
Houston at 713-659-6270 x2134, may.akrawi@fco.gov.uk.
CORRECTION
In the December 13, 2004, edition of this
newsletter, a digit was inadvertently dropped from the number of US pedestrians
killed by auto accidents in 2003. The number should be 4,827, not 827.
TEXAS NOTES
Work on Trans-Texas Corridor to begin
Spanish company wins concession
Madrid-based developer Cintra's offer to invest $6 billion in the first phase of the Trans Texas Corridor from Oklahoma to Mexico was accepted by the Texas Transportation Commission. Cintra's team, which includes Texas and California companies, plans to finance right-of-way acquisition, as well as design and construction of 400 miles of toll road by 2010. In return, it will receive a 50-year concession to operate the highway from Dallas to San Antonio. The Trans Texas Corridor, as proposed by Governor Rick Perry, would be a 1,200-ft-wide statewide corridor with separated passenger and freight roadways, commuter and freight rail lines and a utility lane. The full plan calls for several thousand miles of corridor. The first phase will parallel Interstate 35. Under Cintra's master development plan, the original four lanes will be only for trucks. Each dedicated roadway will be separated by a 270-ft median, in which new passenger lanes can later be added. Ultimately there will be four freight lanes and six passenger lanes. http://www.enr.com/news/transportation/archives/041227.asp
Austin city council to study homeless remedies
Opponents say 10th Meanest City ranking
would be secure
Opponents of the proposed measures for dealing with the homeless recently presented to city council say that these proposals can only be applied in a way that discriminates against the homeless, thus cementing Austin's standing as the 10th "Meanest City" for the homeless. According to the Austin Chronicle, homeless activists say that selling Girl Scout cookies would be criminalized by the proposed anti-solicitation law. But the law would really only be applied to the homeless, activists charge. They also say that other homeless activities, such as the roadside selling of the homeless newspaper, would be singled out by these proposals, which were put forth by downtown business interests. Council member Betty Dunkerley says that city council is "very supportive of all the homeless issues, but it seems to me we've gotten a bit out of balance, and we need to move back toward the center. What we're struggling with right now is how to do that, in a way that's humane and in keeping with the character of Austin." Dunkerley also points out the shortage of resources for the homeless, including mental health services. http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-11-26/pols_feature3.html
Transit-oriented development off and running in Austin
City council wants to take quick
advantage of pro-transit vote
Following the voters' approval of a transit line from downtown Austin to Leander, a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) ordinance is about to come before Austin City Council, according to the Austin Chronicle. The ordinance would dictate TOD norms for the 7 rail stations expected to be built as part of the line. New buildings will have to be between 6-10 stories high, and pedestrian-unfriendly practices will be prohibited. But some fear that Jan 27, the day city council is supposed to vote on the ordinance, is too soon. Even some members of the Urban Transportation Commission feel like they're being rushed. After a recent meeting, commission members complained that they didn't have
enough information to make an educated recommendation to the council.
"Everything I know about this, I've learned in the last 35 minutes,"
said Commissioner Greg Sapire. http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-12-24/pols_naked3.html
NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES
URBANISM
Smart Growth a bipartisan issue
'Red,' 'Blue' states agree on transit, growth management
The 2004 presidential election showed
Americans were bitterly divided on war and tax cuts—but not on Smart Growth. According to the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service, many of the fastest growing counties in the country, such as those in Florida, Texas, and Colorado, that together gave President Bush half of his popular vote majority, handily approved measures to secure farmland, establish new planning measures, and for increases in public transit. "Voter reaction to the pressures of uncontrolled growth and sprawl is bipartisan," said Ernest Cook, of The Trust for Public Land. http://www.mlui.org/growthman
agement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16773 <http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16773>
Denver to mix affordable housing, transit-oriented development
Mixed-income urban villages is the goal
In the aftermath of metropolitan Denver's successful FasTracks initiative, in which voters approved tax increases to pay for six new rail lines over the next 12 years, city housing officials announced $53 million in financing assistance for developers of low- and moderate-income rental housing near transit stations, according to the Denver Post. At least 51 of the 57 proposed rapid-transit stations will lend themselves to mixed-use development that should include affordable housing. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper called FasTracks "the single most ambitious integrated transit solution in the history of the United States," and predicted it will lead to the formation of "small villages" around transit stations where people can live, work, and shop with minimal dependence on automobiles. Developers who want to take advantage of the government assistance will be required to offer at least 75 percent of their rental units to individuals or families whose income is at or below the area's median income. http://www.denverpost.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,36%257E33%257E2585143,00.html
<http://www.denverpost.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,36%7E33%7E2585143,00.html>
Seattle to replace waterfront viaduct with tunnel
Project would enhance city's waterfront
City, state, and federal government transportation authorities have agreed that the best way to fix the Alaskan Way Viaduct, damaged in a 2001 earthquake, is to tear it down and replace it with a tunnel. Because the tunnel option is the most expensive solution, authorities will have to find $4 billion to pay for the project. But Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels describes this chance to reshape the city's waterfront as "making history." Not everyone agrees with the mayor. Union workers favor rebuilding the viaduct; one waterfront activist group wants the viaduct removed without any replacement, and some commuters say they will miss the view from the top deck of the old viaduct, and want the structure renovated. The tunnel project will begin in 2006, with a projected 2016 completion. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/202647_viaduct07.html
The high price of parking
Requiring too much off-street parking can kill a downtown
Despite Los Angeles' image as sprawl-city, it is actually denser than San Francisco or New York, if you measure the entire metropolitan areas of each city, according to a report by the University of California Transportation Center. But, unlike the central business districts of San Francisco and New York, downtown Los Angeles doesn't cohere into a whole because it requires too much off-street parking, the report says. LA's minimum parking requirements exceed the maximum allowed by San Francisco. The report compares urbanism and parking at the two California cities' music halls, the Disney in Los Angeles and the Louise Davis Hall in San Francisco. The Disney's 6-story underground parking lot was so costly that paying the service on its debt dictates heavy use of the hall, so that the Los Angeles Symphony's performance schedule is set according to the needs of its parking garage. Moreover, by using the parking garage, Los Angeles Symphony-goers can attend concerts without ever setting foot in downtown. San Francisco, on the other hand, didn't require or allow a parking garage for its hall, with the result that attendees have to walk through the city's streets, creating the basis for an urban scene. This one example among many bolsters the authors' claims that downtown Los Angeles is "little more than a group of buildings, each a destination in its own rightÉnot part of some larger whole." The report concludes that "perhaps the Émost productive reform of zoning would be to declare that all existing off-street parking requirements are maximums rather than minimums." http://www.uctc.net/access/25/Access%2025%20-%2002%20-%20People,%20Parking,%20and%20Cities.pdf
The Greening of Atlanta
Proposal would 'reshape face' of city
A report released by the Institute for Public Land (IPL) calls for a massive park- and transit-building project for Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The proposal forsees the building of a 22-mile transit loop, the Beltline; a 23-mile bicycle path; over 1,400 acres of increased park land, and a large lake, all in the inner city. The loop would create an "emerald necklace" for the city, according to IPL. The report acknowledges the economic and planning challenges inherent in such a project, but says "the challenges encountered are overshadowed by the single, grand opportunity," and adds, "The Beltline will reorient Atlanta from a city framed by highways to a city framed by a magnificent public realm." Advocates said the Beltline can give Atlanta both a unifying identity and measurable economic benefits. http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/metro_145cc1c0569ce1bb00df.html
TRANSPORTATION
High cost of a high-end car
Annual operating expenses of elite cars more than double others
Everyone knows that BMWs cost more to buy
than Hondas or Fords. But they also cost much more to maintain. A recent
report by Runzheimer International find that the annual operating expenses of a
2005 BMW 545 or Cadillac DeVille average over $17,000, while the same expenses
for a Honda Civic total $7,427. These costs include insurance,
depreciation, finance, taxes, and fuel, among other factors. They do not
include the actual purchase cost. http://www.runzheimer.com/corpc/news/scripts/121004.asp
Psychological traffic calming
Dutch engineer's ideas are catching on
Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman takes a "less is more" approach to traffic calming, and his counter-intuitive ideas appear to work, according to Wired. Monderman fixes "broken" intersections by taking out the traffic signals and forcing motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to interact. His approach has been working throughout Europe and the US, where many communities are beginning to rethink the "traffic sewer" approach to street building. Now many engineers and communities are improving traffic - shortening trips and increasing safety - by narrowing streets and increasing contact between pedestrians and drivers. When West Palm Beach converted several wide thoroughfares to narrow two-way streets, people felt it was safe to walk there. The increased pedestrian traffic attracted new shops and apartments buildings, and property values have more than doubled since the street was reconfigured. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html?pg=1&topic=traffic&topic_set
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html?pg=1&topic=traffic&topic_set>
=
The future of transportation
Car use on decline in US; diverse options needed
Real-life transportation options have fallen far short of those imagined in previous decades, when publications predicted jet-pack travel by 2000. Instead, according to a report by Canada's Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 20th Century transportation was completely dominated by automobiles and roads. But that trend appears to have reached its peak. By century's end, per capita auto use had leveled off in the US, and after 2000, use has actually declined. "If we start developing a new suburban highway now, it will be completed about the time that most Baby Boomers retire, fuel prices start to rise, and consumers increasingly prefer more walkable communities with urban amenities," the report says. This new trend is likely to continue, with significant implications for transportation planners. "An increasing portion of the population will want or need to rely on non-auto modes such as walking, cycling, ridesharing, public transit," according to the author, who states, "It will no longer to appropriate for policy and planning decisions to favor automobile transport over other modes." The report contains detailed representations of auto and transit use in a variety of countries. http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf
Zipping around town
Cambridge car co-op allows for occasional auto use
Cambridge, MA-based ZipCar also operates in Boston, New York, and Washington, DC, but it's a particular hit in its home town. 3.5 percent of Cambridge residents take part in the car-sharing plan. They pay a $25 application fee; a $100 deposit; sign up for one of the plans, starting at $50; and then pay $8.5 an hour to rent one of ZipCar's 400 vehicles. Residents of Cambridge tend to be highly urban walkers and transit users, but they appreciate being able to use a car for shopping trips or to go out of town. ZipCar gives individual names to each vehicle, and people often request them by name. "People call up and say, 'I want to reserve Mia' (a yellow MINI Cooper). It's a term of endearment," says the ZipCar CEO. http://www2.townonline.com/cambridge/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=142315
SUBURBS
Making a 'home town' out of suburbia
Suburban communities around Atlanta build their downtowns
Smart growth buzzwords are echoing across Atlanta's suburban sprawl, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Small towns that have grown into suburbs, such as Snellville, Norcross, Duluth, Lilburn, and Sugar Hill, are all developing city centers that officials and residents hope will create a sense of place for their communities. "People feel that there is something missing. There's a need for social contact," says Duluth City Administrator Phil McLemore. Some towns, such as Norcross, have the remnants of their historic downtowns to build on, while others, such as Snellville, are starting from scratch. But even in Snellville, people are looking to the past for inspiration. The town was originally named New London, and it has adapted an "English village" look for its new city center. http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/arts_144cd931569c0256005a.html
COMMERCE
A different kind of 'shrinkage'
Grocery stores are getting smaller
Driven by a trend toward target-audience
stores, such as ethnic, gourmet, and natural/organic, grocery stores decreased
in size to an average of 34,000 square feet in 2003, according to a report by
the Food Marketing Institute. This is the first time in ten years that the
average size has been below 40,000 square feet. The target-audience trend is expected
to continue. Among stores expected to open this year, 45 percent will be
natural/organic, 36 percent Hispanic, and 18 percent gourmet. http://www.fmi.org/media/mediatext.cfm?id=701
ENVIRONMENT
Green roofs in Milwaukee
City encourages (and requires) storm water management tool
At Mayor Tom Barrett's insistence, the Milwaukee Initiative for Sustainable Development will require builders who want tax increment financing and other subsidies to contain storm water runoff by using "green" roofing techniques, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal. One official stated, ''If you get public money, you should be doing things for the public good.'' The city itself is setting an example for green roof building at a mid-rise public housing project. It has fitted out the project's 20,000-sq. ft. roof with vegetation planted in plastic containers. The system will absorb 85 percent of a 2-inch rain, which would otherwise go into the city's over-strained sewer system, and from there into Lake Michigan. The grasses will also protect the roof from ultraviolet sun rays, increasing its longevity by 50 percent and reducing the building's cooling and heating costs by 20 percent. Mayor Barrett says, ''If we're going to sell the idea to others, we believe the city has to walk the walk.'' The mayor envisions another 3,000 ''green roof'' public housing units throughout the city. http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov04/279426.asp
HOUSING
Housing prices in DC outstripping
wages
Businesses urged to move closer to workers
The high cost of housing in metropolitan
Washington DC is worsening the housing crunch there, according to a joint
report of the Urban Institute and the Fannie Mae Foundation, which was covered
in the Washington Post. Since 2000, area wages are up 9 percent, but housing
has risen 37 percent. Workers such as firefighters and teachers in more
expensive areas are increasingly forced to find housing in the cheaper suburbs,
causing long commutes, which themselves affect traffic congestion and pollution.
The report calls for dense development in high cost areas, and urges businesses
to locate high-paying jobs closer to affordable housing. A local realtor
warned that it will take work to persuade business leaders, who prefer to
locate where other businesses already are, to put employment centers in new
markets. "It is going to take a lot of courage for the business community
to explore markets they haven't explored before." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49496-2004Dec8.html
ENERGY
Peak oil discussion moving into
mainstream
Conference explores coming energy issues
Talk of peak oil is moving from obscure
energy workshops and technical journals into the social consciousness via
books, National Geographic and other magazines and college curriculum,
according to an article in the Ohio Beacon Journal. "It's beginning to
move more to the mainstream of public discussions," said Frank Laird,
associate professor of technology and public policy at the University of
Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. "There is a lot of
unease about oil and energy." About 200 people in November attended what
was billed as the first national conference for laymen on peak oil. According
to the Beacon Journal, the peak oil notion began in the 1950s when geophysicist
M. King Hubbert predicted that global oil production would peak around the year
2000. The prediction was largely confined to scientific circles. How soon production
will begin to decline is dividing oil experts. Some believe it is imminent.
They say discoveries of oil have slowed and that there is little left to be
found. Others believe oil will be abundant for at least several decades and
that new technologies to extract oil will help ensure plentiful supplies for a
long time. The conference keynote speaker, Richard Heinberg, told the Beacon
Journal that once production begins to decline, transportation, power, and
other oil-dependent products and services will become much more expensive. Pat
Murphy, executive director of the conference host, Community Service, Inc, sees
the suburbs being replaced by small, self-sufficient communities that use
alternate energy sources and grow their own food. "We can't ship Caesar salads
from California to Canada any longer," he said. http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/10595051.htm?1c
Community Service Inc.: http://www.smallcommunity.org
EVENTS
NATIONAL
New Partners for Smart Growth, Jan. 27-29, Miami Beach. The 4th
annual conference sponsored by the Local Government Commission and Penn State.
http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/
<http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/>
Advancing Regional Equity: The Second National Summit on Equitable Development,
Social Justice, and Smart Growth, May 23-25, Philadelphia. Sponsored by Policy Link and the Funder's Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. http://policylink.org/Summit2005/
<http://policylink.org/Summit2005/>
Prepared by David Theis
Gulf Coast Growth News is a publication of the Gulf Coast Institute. The Gulf
Coast Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality
of life in Houston. To support the Institute, go to http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org.
To join the Institute's 1000 Friends of Houston, go to http://www.1000friendsofhouston.org
______________________________________
David Crossley
Gulf Coast Institute
3015 Richmond Suite 250
Houston TX 77098
713-523-5757 (tel)
713-523-3057 (fax)
crossley@gulfcoastideas.org
http://gulfcoastinstitute.org