January 16, 2006
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 QUOTE
"The city grows where developers buy land and they buy land where new transportation corridors get developed."
- Mike Inselmann, president of housing consulting firm Metrostudy, quoted in a Chronicle story. http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/3571455.html

"Smart growth will not occur without substantial changes in local land-use policy, which involves primarily changes to housing densities. If the Bay Area can get more housing in the right places, it will have a more effective transportation system, healthier communities, and can start to save agricultural land and open space."
- Ted Droettboom, director of the joint policy committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments in the San Francisco Bay area. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/13273636.htm

LIVABLE HOUSTON INITIATIVE
Uptown/Galleria: A master plan for the future
Vision calls for more walkable area, more streets, and transit
John Breeding, president of the Uptown Houston District, will give a presentation about the master plan for the Uptown/Galleria area. The meeting is Wednesday, January 25, noon-1:30 pm, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. 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 <http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org/>

REGIONAL NOTES
H-GAC posts new data for 2035 forecasts
Public comment to end February 20
The Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC) draft 2035 Regional Growth Forecast is now available online for public review and comment. The comment period ends February 20. These forecasts update the prelimary ones that have been available for several weeks. The final version will be used to support, among other things, the travel modelling for the Regional Transportation Plan. http://h-gac.com/HGAC/Programs/Regional+Forecast/. To see maps produced by the Gulf Coast Institute from the same data, go to http://www.gulfcoastideas.org.

Trees for toll roads
$1 million allocated for plantings in 2005-06
The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) has undertaken a tree planting program, according to the Quality of Life Coalition December newsletter.  HCTRA allocated $500K for 2005 and expects to spend an additional $500K during the 2006 planting season.  As part of a pilot program, nearly 350 native tree species and about 200 shrubs have been planted in two locations on the Hardy Toll Road.

Low Impact Development Conference
Speakers will focus on bayou development
The Bayou Preservation Association (BPA) will host a symposium entitled "Low Impact Development in the Houston-Galveston Area: Opportunities and Challenges." Speakers will address such topics as “Saving Money with Native Plants and Bioretention.”  The conference begins with registration at 7:45 am, and ends with a beer and wine reception at 3:30 pm. January 30 at the University of St. Thomas - Jerabeck Center, 3800 Montrose Blvd. 713-529-6443.  http://www.bayoupreservation.org

Metro rail has sparked development, City says
Main Street Corridor project also wins planning awards
The Main Street Corridor Revitalization Project has produced density increases and higher sales tax receipts, according to an article in the City of Houston Planning & Development Department’s recent Planning News. Development density (square feet of development per acre) increased by 11 percent corridor-wide between 2000 and 2004. Among the five corridor Districts, the Medical Center and Midtown saw the largest increases in density, 67 percent and 12 percent respectively. Also, sales tax receipts in the corridor increased by 70.4 percent between 1999 and 2004, from more than $3 million to approximately $5.5 million. This compares to a 15.3 percent increase in sales tax receipts for the city as a whole during the same period. The project received the Transportation Planning Excellence Award for Planning Leadership from the Federal Highway Administration and American Planning Association. http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Publications/pnews1/pn_pg4.htm

Houston tax burden relatively low
City ranks 46th in percentage of family income spent on local, state taxes
The District of Columbia has released a ranking of the tax burdens facing families living in the US’s leading cities.  The study was based on 2003 information, and it looked at the major state and local taxes that a family of 4 with an annual income of $75,000 would pay in each state’s largest city and Washington DC. Bridgeport, Connecticut had the number 1 burden, at 17.70 percent. Houston was number 46, at 6.1 percent. http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/taxesbycity2005/index.html

Workshop set to explore Houston future
TEDA event will be January 19
“Three Views of Houston’s Future” is the title of a workshop to be presented on January 19 by the Houston Chapter of the Texas Economic & Demographic Association. The speakers will be Steve Murdock, Ph.D., Chief Demographer, State of Texas; Dmitry Messen, Ph.D., Forecasting Group Manager, Houston-Galveston Area Council; and Ann Lents, President and CEO, Center for Houston's Future.  The event is from 8:30 am – 11:45 am at the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 1801 Allen Parkway. Registration with refreshments begins at 8 am. To register, call Edith Chambers at 713-844-3618 or go to http://www.teda.org.

TEXAS NOTES
The green neighborhoods of the future
Neighborhood-wide LEEDS standards on the horizon
Writing in the San Antonio Business Journal, landscape architect Brian Ott reflects on the current state of American neighborhoods, and on the promise of the “green” neighborhoods to come. He writes, “I can't help but feel that we are about to see an exciting transformation in the way we approach the design of our communities…Communities that will offer more than just a roof over our head, but which are economically viable and sustainable at the same time. Healthy communities with healthy families.” He’s referring to the forthcoming LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) program that the US Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council are collaborating on. Ott says, “For the first time, LEED will go beyond just applying green rating tools to a single building. Although in its infancy, this program serves as a launching pad for the creation of standards that will transform the way we assemble our neighborhoods and how they will affect the natural environment around us.” Ott adds, “[these concepts] mark a shift in the market place where a different type of lifestyle is in demand - an integrated lifestyle that cares about how we interact and socialize with each other; one that cares about our environmental wellness; and one that cares about what we leave behind for our future generations to come.”  http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2005/12/19/focus5.html?hbx=e_sw. For more on LEED ND, http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16929

NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES
URBANISM
Mass transit, urban density lead to more exercise
Study finds transit riders have leg up in hitting exercise target
Nearly one-half of Americans don’t get the Surgeon General’s recommended 30 minutes of physical activity daily.  But, according to a report by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, many transit users do meet the goal, either partially or fully, simply by walking to and from their transit stops.  The study looked at 3,312 transit users, and the responses that over 100,000 transit users gave to a survey, in formulating its conclusions. Transit users spend a median of 19 minutes walking to and from their stops, with 29 percent achieving the 30-minute goal. People living in high density areas were more likely to walk over 30 minutes.  http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/articles/besser_dannenberg.pdf

Cutting down on cars
Proposed law intends to limit number of cars in new SF development
High-rise condos are being built for the first time in San Francisco, which has always resisted “Manhattanization.” But, according to the San Francisco Examiner, if some lawmakers have their way, San Franciscans living there will be “more like New Yorkers—city dwellers without cars.” The Planning Commission recommended allowing 3 parking spaces for every 4 new housing units. Other recommendations call for 1 space per 2 units. Hotels, restaurants, and retailers oppose the legislation, arguing it would hurt tourism and housing production. A member of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition called the legislation “a pretty draconian jump” that “makes lenders nervous and risks jeopardizing building housing in this area.” But a member of the group Transportation for a Livable City said that by making the streets more lively and safe, San Francisco would lure more visitors.  A member of the carpenters union told the commission that it was naïve to think San Franciscans would give up their cars. “We believe people in San Francisco love their cars,” he said. http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/11/18/news/20051118_ne02_planners.txt

Atlanta’s Beltline project a “go”
City ready to embark on biggest urban renewal project in its history
The Fulton County Commission recently voted 5-1 to begin the landmark Beltline project, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Described by a Yale urban planner as an “emerald necklace,” Beltline is expected to create nearly 1,300 acres of green space, improve 700 acres of existing parks, and build 26 miles of trails and a 22-mile transit loop. The entire region should benefit from the 30,000 new jobs and 50,000 residents the project will bring to the region, and the recreation and entertainment destinations it will create for suburbanites.  "This will truly transform the capital city and Fulton County," a Fulton County chairman said. The promise of the Beltline project places Atlanta in the forefront of retooling cities. "I don't think there's anything like it in any American city,” one urban designer said. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/1205/22metbelt.html

Praise for Atlanta’s Atlantic Station
Development said to be model for the rest of the nation
US Environmental Administration administrator Stephen Johnson attended the Atlantic Station steel-cutting ceremony recently, and praised the project for “helping us hand down both health and a brighter future,” according to the Atlanta Constitution-Journal. Atlantic Station is a 138-acre former steel mill that is becoming a place where people live, work, and shop. Johnson attended the ceremony to highlight the growing national trend of converting former factories, mills, and other industrial sites with contaminants into offices, shopping centers, and homes. Before the $2 billion Atlanta project could break ground in 2000, the site had to be cleared of contaminated soil.  Bill Campbell, who was Atlanta's mayor when Atlantic Station started, said the project "exceeded my expectations. I said at the time it would be the most important project in Atlanta in 50 years. It's done all we hoped for."  Rising property values may drive up Atlantic Station's worth to $4 billion, and the site, which accounted for about $300,000 annually in taxes as a steel mill, will pay some $8 million this year and $25 million in 2010, even before adding new sales taxes from the upcoming retail and entertainment district. http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=5043&state=11

The New Suburbanism
Suburbs are ‘good places for most people’
Suburbs and exurbs are the places where most people want to live, writes planner Joel Kotkin in a Planning Center report. They are also the places where the built environment is going to grow fastest in coming years.  In order to accommodate that growth, planners and developers should adopt the principles of “the New Suburbanism.” That is, they should build “not by rejecting the suburban ideal,” but by adapting it to make that ideal “work in a better, more efficient and humane way.”  Slotkin writes that many suburbs have already passed through the least attractive stage of their development, and are embracing “values of community, family and nature.”  These trends can be nurtured by adapting some aspects of New Urbanism, such as the town center. This “new” vision of the suburbs actually looks back to the “Garden City” development of late-19th-Century England. http://tinyurl.com/bcxsx

Fake is fine
Crowds flock to San Jose’s faux European village
Santana Row, the mixed-use development in suburban west San Jose, has been called a “phony, elitist, Disneyland North” for its ersatz Mediterranean atmosphere and for the exorbitantly high prices of some of its shops.  But, according to the San Jose Mercury News, the development “has arguably turned into the city's favorite hangout for folks of all stripes. Most surprisingly, it's become a real neighborhood.”  Locals fill the dozens of sidewalk cafes at sundown, and on weekends the farmers markets are packed. The street-side benches fill with people working on their laptops, or listening to live jazz. One family talked about taking their nightly after-dinner walks there.  “We didn't think we'd be walking here almost every night, but we are,'' the wife said. “Santana Row has become our neighborhood.'' http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/attractions/12910458.htm

PLANNING
Louisiana reconstruction to be based on smart growth principles
3 nationally recognized firms selected to help plan rebuilding
The Louisiana Reconstruction Authority, appointed by Governor Kathleen Blanco, has selected three nationally recognized, smart growth-oriented planning firms to help plan for the rebuilding of Southern Louisiana. Calthorpe and Associates will work to develop a regional plan for south Louisiana, while DPZ, New Urbanist Andres Duany’s firm, will conduct neighborhood and town-level design workshops and develop model plans and codes for redevelopment. Urban Design Associates, developers of architectural pattern books for Celebration, FL and coastal Mississippi, will work with Calthorpe and DPZ to create a “Toolkit for Rebuilding Louisiana Towns and Cities.” http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=5626

Mississippi Renewal Forum presents reconstruction plans
New Urbanists make gift of their work
The Mississippi Renewal Forum, a series of charettes and design initiatives featuring the work of 200 architects, planners, and city officials, led by Congress for the New Urbanism co-founder Andres Duany, recently presented its Gulf Coast reconstruction plans to local and regional developers, according to the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.  The Forum didn’t charge for its work, which would have cost $300,000 at market rates, the paper says. Duany urged the developers to work together and with officials so that rebuilding projects along the Coast would have a pleasing and unified aesthetic effect. "Everybody working together dictates what's going to happen," Duany said. "If we work together, everything rises." Duany also recommended that the permitting process be simplified so small builders can participate.  Developers were only brought in at the end of the planning process because so many have financial interests in the area that Duany was afraid they might control the process. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051019/BIZ/510190355/1005

Remember walking to school?
Study looks at ‘barriers’ to ‘active modes of transportation’
In 1969, nearly half of all schoolchildren walked or bicycled to or from school and 87 percent of those living within 1 mile of school walked or bicycled, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But now fewer than 15 percent of children and adolescents do so. The report describes what parents consider as barriers to their children walking to school. Distance was the most commonly reported barrier, followed by traffic-related danger.  Efforts to overcome these barriers include the nationwide Safe Routes to School (SR2S) initiative, which has received federal and state funding. SR2S programs address these barriers through a number of proposed initiatives. To address the distance and fear barriers, schools can arrange for children to meet within a mile of school and proceed in "walking school buses," in which an adult "driver" and an adult "caboose" escort several children. Programs might also use engineering and enforcement approaches, such as crossing signals and better enforcement of speed limits. One comprehensive SR2S program in Marin County, CA experienced a 64 percent increase in walking and a 114 percent increase in bicycling by the second year of their program.  http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/294/17/2160

Sprawl not a product of a free market?
Only regulation makes sprawl possible, writer says
The free market, left to its own devices, produces dense development, not sprawl, writes Jay Bookman in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He argues that, in order to maximize their profits, developers will naturally want to put as many units as possible on their property. Sprawl is possible "only through intense government regulation. It is an artificial growth pattern achieved by laws that frustrate the free market's tendency toward density." In fact, "The free market, left to its own devices, would produce growth patterns more like ‘smart-growth’ policies," Bookman says. http://tinyurl.com/bgrp4

TRANSPORTATION
New York City orders 500 hybrid buses, will allow hybrid taxis
Largest order ever for hybrid buses
DaimlerChrysler has received a contract for 500 hybrid-electric buses from New York City Transit, according to a DaimlerChrysler press release.  The order includes 216 Orion VII hybrid-electric buses and 284 hybrid buses. The order is the largest ever for hybrid buses, and follows previous orders for 325 hybrid buses by the city. The company also sold 56 hybrid buses to the San Francisco Municipal Railway in August. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has also authorized the use of hybrid vehicles for taxicabs. All hybrid cars except the 2-door Honda Insight were approved to serve as taxis. http://tinyurl.com/9c5pw

Seniors concerned about “mobility security”
Most fear being stranded without a car
82 percent of Americans aged 65 or older worry they will be unable to get around when they can no longer drive, according to a survey by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). "This is a wake-up call for the nation and an issue that must be addressed by the White House Conference on Aging," said APTA President William Millar. The survey found that when public transportation is available, many seniors do not regularly use it, primarily because they drive. However, if transit services were more readily available in their neighborhoods, three in five seniors would use them more often. The majority of older adults want more public transportation that specifically addresses their needs, such as easy access buses and senior citizen mini-van services. However, a study last year found that the United States isn’t prepared to provide adequate transportation choices for an aging population. More than half of all non-drivers age 65 or older stay home largely because transportation options are limited, particularly in rural and smaller communities. http://www.apta.com/media/releases/051206seniors_worry.cfm

Travel by pod
Heathrow Airport to test new method of getting passengers from car to terminal
London’s Heathrow Airport will begin testing “driverless capsules” as a way of getting passengers from their cars to the terminal in 2008, according to The Telegraph. The pods will run on a 2-mile track and will take about 4 minutes to make their journey, about as long as buses currently take to make the same trip. But the wait for the pod should be much shorter than for the bus—4 minutes as opposed to 20—and the system will create less pollution. The pod is capable of automatically taking the passenger to the correct terminal after reading his or her frequent flyer card. If the test goes well, by 2012 the airport will have 30 miles of tracks and up to 500 capsules. The Dubai Financial Center is also testing this transportation system.  http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/20/npods20.xml

New ‘road use tax’ could be the future
Wisconsin city considers measure
Oconomowoc will become the first city in Wisconsin to pay for road repairs by charging property owners fees based on estimates of their use of city streets, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The city council proposed this transportation utility as a way of raising money for street work without increasing property taxes. But the proposal already has been criticized as just another tax on property owners. One downtown business owner called it a "stupid idea." The fees charged would be based on the average number of vehicle trips generated each day by various properties, as estimated by the Institute of Engineers' Trip Generation Manual, which is commonly used for traffic engineering studies. Properties are classified by how many vehicles could be expected to go to and from them in a typical day. "[The fee is] considered to be a more equitable way to generate these additional dollars," said the city’s Finance Director. http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/oct05/360924.asp

ENVIRONMENT
Rubber sidewalks
Good for trees, good for walking
A Seattle neighborhood is experimenting with rubber sidewalks, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The rubberized sidewalks are tree and pedestrian friendly, because they are more elastic. Instead of cracking, they stretch as the roots expand. They also have to be replaced less often and are cheaper to fix, according to an arborist with the city’s transportation department. Because they are made from used tires, they allow tires to be recycled and kept out of landfills. At $8.70 a square foot, the rubber sidewalks cost about $2 more a square foot to install than a regular sidewalk. But cracked sidewalks won't have to be replaced as often, possibly offsetting the extra cost. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/243444_ncenter05.html

ENERGY
‘Peak oil’ theory debated
Increased investments called for by both skeptics and believers
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst who stirred oil markets in March by saying crude may reach $105 a barrel now says that number may be low if the peak oil theory is right and world supplies are running out, according to Bloomberg.com. Analyst James Hubbard said that, without long-term investment increases, the decline will start sooner and be worse than expected. “There will be a peak in production earlier than expected, and that post-peak decline will be more dramatic than currently assumed unless there is a sustained increase in investment in oil and gas production, greater consumer efficiency and alternative energy sources.”  The International Energy Agency dismisses the peak oil theory. They said in September that technological improvements will help increase world oil supplies. “Most commentators, putting aside the depletion argument, do take the view that at least over that period through 2010, supplies will be made available,” said an analyst at Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. in Edinburgh. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aSMZqxhSYk54&refer=germany

CONSERVATION
Toyota hybrids have saved 100 million gallons of gas
Fuel-efficient cars have also cut back on emissions
Toyota estimates that the hybrid versions of its Toyota and Lexus vehicles have saved over 100 million gallons of gasoline since 2000.  The company keeps track of the savings with a running tally on a billboard in El Segundo, CA. The billboard hit the 100 million mark on Nov. 25, according to Toyota. The company claimed that the hybrids have also avoided creating about 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 3 million pounds of smog-forming gases.  http://www.h-gac.com/HGAC/Departments/Community+and+Environmental/Janruary+2006.htm#Hybrids

EVENTS
LOCAL
RDA civic forum - Sustainability in Houston. Brown Auditorium, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. December 7, 7 pm http://rda.rice.edu/index2.php? <http://rda.rice.edu/index2.php?>

NATIONAL
Smart Code workshop Biloxi Oct 2 – 4.  Placemakers annual SmartCode Workshop, featuring New Urbanist Andres Duany, will use Mississippi’s hurricane-devastated coastal region as a background for training in the implementation of form-based, or SmartCode, building codes. Topics include “Translating Vision into Regulation” and “SmartCode Customization and Implementation.” Attendees will tour disaster zones, and learn how Mississippi plans to use smart growth practices to rebuild. http://www.placemakers.org. 866-268-8696.

New Partners for Smart Growth 5th annual conference, Denver, Jan 26-28, 2006. http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/