August 4, 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 QUOTE
"We see [the Mckinney
Ôexperimental supercenterÕ] as a next step in evaluating the impact we leave on
the environment as we look toward smart growth and sustainability in the
building of our new stores."
- Mike Duke, executive vice president
and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores - USA. See story in ÒTEXAS
NOTES.Ó
"Our mantra was to build complete neighborhoods. They had to have
schools and day care, be safe and have things for kids to do. We wanted an
adult to be able to look around and say, 'Hey, I could raise a family here.'Ó
- Larry Beasley, director of
Vancouver BC central area planning. http://tinyurl.com/ahtjn
LIVABLE HOUSTON
INITIATIVE
Garden cities, green cities
Ebenezer Howard changed the way
planners think about cities more than 100 years ago when he described his ideas
for bringing city and country together in garden cities. Today, those ideas
look better and better. How could ÒgreenÓ planning work in the Houston region?
Presentation by David Crossley of the Gulf Coast Institute. The meeting is Wednesday,
August 24, 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
ENVISION HOUSTON REGION
Five regional meetings planned
First event set for September 17
at George R. Brown
The Houston-Galveston Area Council
(H-GAC) initiative designed to create a regional vision for the future growth
of our area will begin on September 17 with the first of five large public
workshops. In partnership with Blueprint Houston, Envision Houston Region
aims to involve citizens in the process of how future growth will affect land
use and transportation planning across our region. The workshops will be in
Houston, West Harris County, Baytown, Conroe, and Angleton. For dates and
places and to register, http://www.envisionhoustonregion.org.
REGIONAL NOTES
Holm calls for comprehensive transportation plan
City representative to
transportation council tells TxDOT plan is needed
Houston City Council member Pam Holm
told representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT recently
that ÒThere is absolutely no way our city can grow without a comprehensive
transportation plan.Ó Holm was speaking at a meeting of the Houston-Galveston
Area CouncilÕs (H-GAC) Transportation Policy Council, during a presentation of
TxDOTÕs preferred alternative for expansion of I-45. (More on the I-45 North plan
in stories below)
Metropolitan areas merging into Ôsuper citiesÕ
Houston linked with New Orleans in
ÒGulf CoastÓ region
Booming populations and sprawling
development are causing once distant towns and cities to merge into Òsuper
cities,Ó even across state lines. According to USA Today, Òthe world is no
longer about towns, cities, counties, metropolitan areas, or even states.Ó
Researchers have identified 10 Òmegapolises,Ó or regions that have populations
of over 10 million, or will have that many by 2040: the Gulf Coast, from
Houston to Mobile; the 1-35 Corridor, from San Antonio to Kansas City;
Piedmont, including Atlanta, the Carolinas, and Alabama; Cascadia, in the
Pacific Northwest; NorCal, in Northern California; Southland, in Southern
California and Las Vegas; the Valley of the Sun, in Arizona; and the Peninsula,
between Miami and Tampa. This phenomenon is only now beginning to be studied,
but it has profound implications for planning, especially in terms of transit
and land use. For example, Amtrak could reorganize by dropping service to areas
that attract few passengers and setting up lines that crisscross megapolitan
areas. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-10-megacities_x.htm
http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/pub-detail.asp?id=1039
I-45 plan sparks controversy
Houston City Council members,
citizens criticize TxDOT proposal
The preferred alternative for the
expansion of I-45 North was presented to the Houston-Galveston Area CouncilÕs
(H-GAC) Transportation Policy Council (TPC) on July 22, and it immediately drew
criticism or comments from two Houston City Council members and some citizens.
Council Member Adrian Garcia, whose district contains much of the
corridor, said ÒThereÕs a lot of concern about whether this is the way to go,
or should we embrace some more progressive ideas for the future?Ó Garcia also
asked that the report have an addendum that Òshows how much opposition there is
to this plan. City Council Member Pam Holm, who also sits on the TPC, asked for
a statement of mission and goals and noted that ÒWhenever we address
transportation it becomes explosive.Ó City Council Member Ron Green, who also
sits on the TPC, attended but did not comment. Citizens from concerned civic
organizations asked the TPC for more time, first to make some requested changes
in the plan and then to be able to analyze it and respond. H-GAC postponed approval
of the plan by the Technical Advisory Committee on August 10 to the September
14 meeting. It would then go on to the Transportation Policy Council for final
approval on September 23. The meetings are open to public, and are held at 3555
Timmons on the second floor. Information about the plan is available at http://tinyurl.com/dhg2z
Toll road plans draw citizen concerns
Commissioners agree to more
neighborhood meetings
Community leaders from Cottage Grove,
Westbury, Willowbend, and Meyerland appeared before Harris County Commissioners
Court recently to express concerns about traffic, noise, flooding, air quality,
and other impacts from proposed toll road construction. Speakers asked the
Commissioners to hold public meetings in every affected neighborhood, and also
to ensure toll road planning
addresses community concerns. In June, Harris County released the new Capital
Improvement Plan, which identifies 5-7 new priority toll roads to be developed.
Although Toll Road Authority Director
Mike Strech said there was no need to hold meetings until future plans are
ready, some Commissioners disagreed. Commissioner El Franco Lee said that
meetings are important, Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said they need to happen in
every affected neighborhood, and Infrastructure Director Art Storey pledged to
participate. In related news, civic club leaders in southwest Houston are
organizing a town hall meeting about the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and
related road widenings, according to the CitizensÕ Transportation Coalition. http://www.westuexaminer.com/print_this_story.asp?smenu=66&sdetail=16370
288 plan to be presented
ÒPreferred alternativeÓ will be
shown the H-GAC committee
Presentation of the preferred
alternative for reconstruction in the State Highway 288 corridor will be
presented to the Houston-Galveston Area CouncilÕs Technical Advisory Committee
on August 10. The study was done by Wilbur Smith Associates, and is not
available for public viewing at this time. The meeting, which is open to the
public, will be at 3555 Timmons on the second floor at 9:30 am.
H-GAC to explore Ôcenters and connectionsÕ
Presentation will expand on land
use/transportation coordination
A new look at land use and
transportation coordination will be presented by Jeff Taebel, Manager of
Environment and Community Planning at the Houston-Galveston Area Council
(H-GAC). Last year, H-GAC published a brochure called ÒCoordinating Land Use
and Transportation.Ó Now the agency will show the benefits of intensifying
development in centers, improving local street networks, and and
coordinating roadways with surrounding land uses. The presentation will be at
the Technical Advisory Committee meeting, at 9:30 am on August 10. 3555
Timmons, second floor.
Place Making Conference
National ULI event to be held in
The Woodlands
The 7th annual Urban Land Institute
conference, which will address the creation of town centers, transit villages,
and main streets, will be held this year in The Woodlands. Topics include
ÒMaking Real Places,Ó ÒPublic/Private Transit Villages,Ó ÒResidential
Over Retail vs. Residential Beside Retail,Ó and ÒMixed-Use Planning and
Design.Ó Tours will be offered of The Woodlands Town Center and of
Downtown/Midtown Houston. Sep 26-27. The Woodlands Waterway Marriot.
www.uli.org/conferences. 800-321-5011.
ÔEnd of SuburbiaÕ to be shown
Matthew Simmons to speak at Museum
of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the
Documentary Alliance, and the Sierra Club will sponsor a screening of the
documentary film ÒThe End of Suburbia,Ó which addresses the issues around Òpeak
oil.Ó Simmons is CEO of Simmons & Company International, the world's
largest energy investment bank, and is author of the new book ÒTwilight in the
Desert,Ó which challenges Saudi oil projections. Wednesday, September 14, 7 pm
at the MFAH Brown Auditorium. 713-666-2504, jmills@documentaryalliance.org.
WhatÕs happening to Galveston Bay?
Bay Conference to address
economic, environmental challenges
The Galveston Bay Conservation and
Preservation Association (GBCPA), along with the Houston Audubon Society and
the Sierra ClubÕs Houston Regional Group, is organizing a day-long Citizens'
State of the Bay symposium. According to a GBCPA press release, presentations
will emphasize how the economic success of ecotourism is threatened by regional
development plans. Bay-related nonprofit organizations, nature tourism
operators, authors, and other interested parties are invited to exhibit at the
conference at no charge. Speakers include national toxics expert Dr. Jerry Poje
of Washington DC, and local figures such as ecotourism advocate Ted Eubanks,
oyster specialist Dr. Sammy Ray, and environmental lawyer Jim Blackburn. The
conference is intended for the general public. Registration costs $20, which
includes a sack lunch. Advance registrants will also receive a detailed profile
of Galveston Bay on CD. Sep 10 at the University of Houston Clear Lake. 281-326-3343
or www.gbcpa.net.
Columbia Tap trail approved by Houston City Council
Will be only direct bike route
from downtown and north side to the south
Houston City Council has approved the
construction of the Columbia Tap Hike and Bike Trail, with all members present
voting in favor, according to a Greater Houston Partnership press release.
Construction should be begin in early 2006 and take 18 months. The trail will
add 60 acres of green space to the city, and will serve multiple organizations
and businesses, including the Texas Medical Center, the University of Houston,
Texas Southern University, Hermann Park, a YMCA Child Care Center, and an
estimated 100 or more churches.
TEXAS NOTES
ÔExperimentalÕ Wal-Mart
supercenter opens
New McKinney facility said to be
environmentally friendly
Wal-Mart recently announced the
opening of an ÒexperimentalÓ new supercenter in McKinney, TX. The store will
offer groceries, a vision center, and a Tire Lube and Express, among other
services, but it is most noteworthy for being the chainÕs first
Òenvironmentally friendlyÓ store. The McKinney supercenter will experiment with
methods of reducing the energy and natural resources required to operate the
stores, and with reducing the raw materials needed to construct the facility.
"We see it as a next step in evaluating the impact we leave on the
environment as we look toward smart growth and sustainability in the building
of our new stores," said Mike Duke, executive vice president and chief
executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores - USA. The store will supplement its power
needs by using wind and solar energy, and by using used cooking and automotive
oil to heat the building. Wal-Mart may share the results of their
experiments with the rest of the retail and development industry to turn
low-volume, seldom-used technologies into industry standards. Duke said,
"We will share our experiences with the industry, the general public, and
government agencies, and will apply best environmental practices to future
Wal-Mart facilities." http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050719/datu026.html?.v=18
NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES
PLANNING
Babbitt to call for national
land use policy
Former Interior Secretary to speak
at community planning convention
Former Interior Secretary and
Governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt will speak about how cities and regions can
work together to craft significant and long-lasting planning and land-use
initiatives. He will address the annual Community Planning Collaborative
convention in Orlando. Babbitt helped put together some of the most significant
conservation projects in recent decades, including the Florida Everglades
restoration, the reintroduction of the wolf into Yellowstone National Park, the
California Desert Protection Act, and the creation of the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. Overall, the conference will
address a wide range of tools for land use planning, urban design, economic
development, infrastructure analysis, and environmental analysis. Oct 27
– 30. http://www.planningcollaborative.org/
Planning for urban families
Vancouver has created an urban
center both hip & family friendly
Vancouver has Òled North America's
urban renaissance, doubling its downtown population to 80,000 in just 15
years,Ó according to The Oregonian. But, unlike other ÒcoolÓ cities such
as Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, VancouverÕs downtown is attracting
families. Portland school district demographers say only 25 school-age children
live in 6,400 units of new housing in that cityÕs burgeoning Pearl District.
But since 1990 downtown Vancouver has tripled its child population to more than
4,000. Vancouver officials have forced developers to build with children and
families in mind. The city created mandates for new parks, community centers,
and day-care facilities, along with minimum requirements for the number of
two-bedroom units in every new building. A current example of family-friendly
planning is the Roundhouse Community Centre. The developer was required to
renovate a railway building and fill it with a theater, art gallery,
classrooms, and a day-care center. This facility sits in the center of a new
166-acre neighborhood of 7,800 condos, town houses, and apartments, 1,380 of
them "social housing" -- for lower-income residents -- all located on
42 acres of waterfront parks. A developer complains of the cityÕs
Ògun-to-the-headÓ negotiating style. "But in hindsight,Ó he says, Òwhat
they demanded was instrumental in creating the family-oriented neighborhoods.
Did it work out for us? I have to say, it worked fantastically." http://tinyurl.com/dhprg
Planning and design can save small towns
NEA project helps towns recognize
and build on their strengths
In the early 1990s, the NEA and the
National Trust for Historic Preservation launched Your Town: CitizensÕ
Institute on Rural Design, with the intention using design and planning to
increase small-town economic development and viability. According to Community
Arts Network, Your Town workshops teach rural community leaders how to assess
their townÕs physical assets and make the best of them. In the case of one
small Alabama town, Your Town showed them how to take advantage of their cityÕs
proximity to a river. ÒThey had 14 miles of the Chattahoochee River running
through their town,Ó recalls a facilitator, Òbut no place to make a physical
connection to it that they could really leverage.Ó One observer says heÕd like
to see Your TownÕs $120,000 budget increase, so the organization could put on
more than the handful of workshops it currently offers. http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2005/07/small_town_amer.php
Former governors initiate New Institute on Community Design
Institute to help governors
address community planning and design
Three former governors long
associated with Smart Growth -- Christie
Whitman of New Jersey, Parris Glendening of Maryland, and Angus King of Maine
-- announced the creation of the new GovernorsÕ Institute on Community
Design, which is intended to support governors in calling for high quality
design and planning. According to an EPA press release, the Institute will be
funded by the EPA and the National Endowment for the Arts, and administered by
the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and the National Center for Smart Growth
Research and Education. ÒMany governors want to address housing,
transportation, health or other issues related to land use and development, but
need the tools to do so,Ó said Governor Glendening. Through the GovernorsÕ
Institute, the NEA hopes to inspire state leaders to capitalize on their roles
as statesÕ chief Òdesigners,Ó and improve the way people live in cities,
suburbs, and the countryside. http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/gov
institute.htm
The eco-city of the future
One architectÕs version is being
built in China now
Internationally renowned designer and
sustainability architect William McDonough is building his version of Òthe Next
CityÓ in China, where his company has been charged with building seven entirely
new cities. According to the BBC, McDonoughÕs book on building eco-cities,
Cradle to Cradle, has been adopted as government policy in China
McDonough sees Next Cities as being as ecologically sound as forests.
They can use energy, dispose of waste, and reproduce in ways that nature intended.
McDonough says, "In biology, growth is good. If we could do
something where growth is good, that would be a way of thinking of a good
operating system for design.Ó The cities heÕs planning Òlook like gardens of
Eden.Ó The buildings work like biological, growing beings, producing and
re-using their own energy. Soil will be moved onto roofs, and the top of the
city will be green. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4682011.stm
URBANISM
Downtown LA coming to life
Population to double by 2008
After decades of sprawl, Los Angeles
is developing a vibrant downtown, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Officials predict that the downtown population will double by 2008, to 24,000.
"Downtown LA has finally reached critical mass," says Ken Bernstein,
the director of preservation issues at the Los Angeles Conservancy. "This
is not an isolated project here, a mega project there. It's the real creation
of a true downtown community." Hundreds of millions of dollars have been
poured into cultural projects such as Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall
and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Downtown's first supermarket chain
in 50 years is being built. Another $1.8-billion project will feature a park,
gourmet store, entertainment, and 2,000 units of housing. For many, the
development is bringing back the old charm of the early 20th century, when a
dozen movie palaces and old department stores like The Broadway and May Company
thrived, patronized by residents who lived in nearby Victorian homes.
Some longtime downtown dwellers, many of them artists and musicians,
express alarm at rising rents. The median price of a home downtown is $625,000,
up from $280,000 in 1999. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0718/p01s04-ussc.html
Atlanta redevelopment project attracting criticism
Some say a single developer and
his family have too much influence
The Beltline, a $20 billion
redevelopment project in inner Atlanta, is the biggest urban redevelopment
proposal in Atlanta in decades, bigger even than the 1996 Olympics, according
to the Atlanta Constitution-Journal. The Beltline has an estimated cost of up
to $3 billion, funds that city leaders intend to raise through the proceeds of
the special Beltline tax district, which is steered by a political and business
network closely connected to one of the city's premier developers, Tom Cousins,
the founder of Cousins Properties Inc. Cousins' son-in-law is president of the
Atlanta Development Authority, the agency that Mayor Shirley Franklin put in
the driver's seat of the campaign for the proposed Beltline, and the creation
of a special tax district to pay for it. Just last month, Cousins Properties acquired
a condominium development company, Gellerstedt Development, which has long held
an undeveloped tract of property on the Beltline site. There's no indication
that Cousins' relationship with Atlanta's leadership has influenced planning or
the outcome for the Beltline. But lots of people are talking. "It just
begs the question of whether or not the business community is the power behind
the throne for the Beltline," said one state senator. A councilman said,
"It's not the developers who are running the show, it's one developer
— and it seems to be Cousins.Ó http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/horizon/0705/18cousins.html
TRANSPORTATION
PHEV your engines
Plug-in hybrids may be more
promising than hydrogen cars
Proponents of PHEVs, or plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles, say that this technology, rather than hydrogen, is
the way of the future. According to the Los Angeles Times auto writer, the
informal pro-PHEV lobby points that out such cars are already capable of
100-mpg fuel efficiencies. Many challenges exist in bringing such a car
to the mass market. Battery technology, in particular, is not yet ready. But
Òall sides agree that advances in battery technology are much closer than
fuel-cell cars. It is against a backdrop of thwarted hydrogen hopes that PHEVs
emerge as a more likely savior.Ó "We are willing to spend billions of
dollars on hydrogen, something that it's not clear will ever materialize,"
says Gal Luft, head of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a
think tank focusing on energy. "It's mind-boggling that a solution far
more promising [PHEV] does not get any more government support than a solution
that is so iffy." The PHEV promise goes far beyond 100-mpg. Former
Secretary of State George Shultz and former CIA director R. James Woolsey wrote
in a policy paper last year, "A plug-in hybrid averaging 125 mpg, if its
fuel tank contains 85 per cent cellulosic ethanol, would be obtaining about 500
mpg [of gasoline]. If it were constructed from carbon composites the mileage
could double. What are we waiting for?" http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-500mpg29jul17,1,7773745.story?coll=la-headlines-magazine
HOUSING
HOPE VI public housing should
be saved
Bush administration wants to kill
program
David Gest, writing in a Hartford
Courant editorial, argues that the HOPE VI public housing program should be
preserved and improved, rather than shut down. Through the program, the federal
program demolishes failed housing projects and replaces them with mixed-income
communities that are better integrated into the surrounding neighborhoods. The
Bush administration wants Òto end the program because of its cost and allegedly
slow results.Ó Gest points to AtlantaÕs Centennial Place as a successful
example of HOPE VI. Coca-Cola, SunTrust bank, and Georgia Tech University
teamed up with the city and a private developer to revitalize the 60-year-old,
crime-infested Techwood Homes projects. Now a new elementary school, a
community center, and a YMCA support the vibrant neighborhood, with a shopping
center in the works. A private management company keeps the housing in good
condition and helps monitor security. As to the charge that the federal
government should not be in the business of housing, Gest argues that private
developers are not meeting the nation's affordable housing needs, especially
during the current real estate bubble. Additionally, numerous recent studies
have shown that ÒHOPE VI spurs community revitalization in neighborhoods
private developers won't touch.Ó http://tinyurl.com/crl9t
EVENTS
LOCAL
Urban Marketplace, August 23, noon – 6:30. Hilton-Americas
Houston. Sponsored by the Urban Land Institute. Henry Cisneros, keynote
speaker. http://www.uli-houston.org.
NATIONAL
Rail~Volution 11, Salt Lake City, Sept 8-11 http://www.railvolution.com
<http://www.railvolution.com/>
National Preservation Conference Portland
Sep 27–Oct 2. https://www.nthpconference.org
or call 800-944-6847. Register by July 31 for discounts.
Smart Code workshops Miami Oct 5
– 8. http://www.placemakers.com/info/workshop.html
New Partners for Smart Growth 5th annual conference, Denver, Jan 26-28, 2006, at the Adam's Mark Denver
Hotel. http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/
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