May 6, 2000
________________________________________________________________________
GULF COAST GROWTH NEWS
Regional News
Transportation plan posted online
The final Houston 2000 Strategic Transportation Plan is now available at http://www.ci.houston.tx.us/citygovt/mayor/stp/
Green building guidelines to be explored
The City of Houston is working on new green building guidelines to help reduce air pollution, it was learned at the Regional Air Quality Planning Committee's Multipollutant and Long-term Strategies Subcommittee meeting this week. Apparently, city committees are exploring ways that building and development codes can promote energy efficiency and low-pollution development. The committee also learned that an inventory of city emissions show more than 50 percent come from city contractors and construction. George Bandy, Sustainability Officer for the UT-Houston Health Science Center, gave a presentation about UT's sustainability systems, noting that among other things, UT's complex in the Medical Center now saves more than $4 million per year in electrical bills than it spent when the program started, in spite of having added significant square feet of space.
Train station proposed
An "ultra modern train station" is being proposed to mesh with the Main Street light rail line. CDS Market Research Senior Associate Ray Lawrence suggested the idea in a letter to Ed Wulfe of the Main Street Coalition, and word is the architects for the Main Street redevelopment project are putting the station in the plans. Lawrence sees the downtown station as a central air terminal serving both major airports. It would be located near the UH Downtown facility where there are already AMTRAK lines.
I-45 action
Major coalition-building is proceeding along the north I-45 corridor, as TxDOT talks with METRO about transit and expansion plans for the area. The Greenspoint business area is currently organizing a coalition, apparently to encourage new transit options, and a fast-growing group of neighborhood associations is in talks with the business interests. Pressure is growing for extensions to the light rail system on Main Street with elected officials now weighing in with their desires. Core issue: will the next phase of the new transit system be used to encourage increased development in far suburbs, or will it be aimed at existing transit needs and increasing density in already developed areas?
Smart Growth Initiative news
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 24, at 11:30 at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmins, second floor.
Notes From Other Places
Georgia Air Pollution
Atlanta's fears of becoming "the next Los Angeles" may be coming true, according to the SprawlWatch Clearinghouse. Researchers from Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences say the region's smog now may be as bad as in L.A., long regarded as having the nation's dirtiest air. Houston took the title in 1999 for the first time. The SprawlWatch report was based on a May 5 story in the Atlanta Journal Consitution, which did not note that Houston is the current smog leader, not Los Angeles.
Brownfields initiative announced
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has launched a brownfields advocacy campaign. The NAR's immediate focus is to ensure the passage of favorable brownfields legislation in the 106th Congress. To raise the visibility of this issue with Members of Congress, NAR has developed a newspaper advertisement campaign on the brownfields issue that will run during the current congressional recess. http://nar.realtor.com/
Transportation equity newsletter published
The Environmental Justice Resource Center launched the inaugural Spring 2000 issue of its "Transportation Equity" newsletter. The newsletter is part of the center's Atlanta Transportation Equity Project (ATEP). It covers a range of issues including environmental justice, transportation
investments and civil rights, air quality and public health, the Los Angeles-Atlanta transit connection, shortcomings of Atlanta regional planning, and news on suburban sprawl, new films, videos, and books. http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/
Exhibit recognizes Smart Growth achievements
The National Building Museum recently opened "Reinvigorating Cities: Smart Growth and Choices for Change," the third exhibit in a four-part series on alternatives to sprawl. The new display presents a dozen case studies that look at how cities such as Dallas, Denver, and St. Louis are becoming better places to live, work, and play. The exhibition series is co-sponsored by the Urban Land Institute. http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/Reinvigorating_Cities.html
Ridge pushes Smart Growth
Pushing his Grower Smarter agenda, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge has called on state government to lead by example. The administration is trying to stop a development trend that has seen large chunks of the state's landscape gobbled up in sprawling, haphazard patterns. Ridge is chairman of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority's (Pennvest) board of directors. As such, he has forced the issue of sprawl onto the agency's agenda. In 1999, Ridge commissioned a review of state government to determine how Pennsylvania's laws, regulations, and policies might be contributing to unchecked development. The report is due later this summer. Ridge is often mentioned as a leading candidate to be Gov. George W. Bush's running mate. Bush has taken no position on smart growth. (Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.home.phillynews.com-05/01/00-P.B1)
Big box battles increasing
Anti-sprawl advocates are teaming with labor organizations in several key markets to fight new "big box" plans, particularly by Wal-Mart. For instance, the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) union joined with urban-sprawl opponents and unionized supermarket competitors to persuade officials in Tucson, Ariz., and in Clark County, Nev., to pass "anti-big-box" laws aimed at banning "supercenter" stores. The allies were also successful getting such legislation passed in California. Now, the UFCW is strengthening its ties with anti-sprawl groups to put similar legislation into action nationwide. ("Up Against Wal-Mart" Business Week - 03/13/00 - No. 3672; P. 76;)
New Books
(Note: The Gulf Coast Institute has a new Books section with links to books listed in the newsletter. The Books page contains links to Amazon.com. If you buy the book through the link, part of the purchase price will be returned to the Institute to help support the Houston Gulf Coast Smart Growth Inititiative. http://www.gulfcoastideas.org.)
"Reflections on Regionalism" is a new book from the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. The web site offers a copy of a chapter called "Coalition Building for Regionalism," by Margaret Weir. http://www.brook.edu/es/urban/reflections.htm
"The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century" by William A. Shutkin. In this book environmentalist and lawyer William Shutkin describes a new kind of environmental and social activism spreading across the nation, one that joins the pursuit of environmental quality with that of civic health and sustainable local economies.
Events
Next Houston Gulf Coast Smart Growth Initiative meeting: May 24, 11:30 am, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmins, 2nd Floor. http://www.gulfcoastideas.org
Advancing Community Sustainability: June 1-3, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs. For more info, urban@vt.edu or 540-231-6078.
CNU 200 - The Politics of Place: Jun 15-18, Portland, Oregon. Congress for the New Urbanism. http://www.cnu.org
The Practice of Environmentally Sensitive Development: June 22-23, San Francisco. An Urban Land Institute workshop on balancing environmental protection with economic return. 800-321-5011.
Rail~Volution 2000 - The Livable Metropolis: Prospects and Profits: Oct 4-8, Denver Colorado. http.railvolution.com
Partners for Smart Growth Conference: Dec 4-6, Atlanta, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Urban Land Institute. http://www.uli.org.
Note to readers: If you have news to share or have reports from events, please let us know at issues@gulfcoastideas.org
BACK to Newsletters Archive