October 25, 2004
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
“This survey shows that most Americans prefer to live in walkable communities with a shorter commutes, sidewalks and amenities close by, a trend Realtors have seen first-hand. Smart growth communities are the wave of the future, especially since they're heavily favored by prospective buyers and minorities, who represent a growing share of the homebuying market.”
- National Association of Realtors President Walt McDonald, speaking about a survey from his organization and Smart Growth America. See story below in “Notes From Other Places.”
SMART GROWTH INITIATIVE
Next meeting: the (Property) Value of Parks, October 27
At the next Smart Growth meeting, John Crompton, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University, will discuss the catalytic effect that parks can have on property values in surrounding areas, and the way to use that increase to finance the park. The next meeting is Wednesday, October 27, noon-1:30 pm, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. Bring your lunch. For more information call 713-523-5755. 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
At a recent Smart Growth meeting, we looked at Regional Transportation Plans from Denver, San Diego, and Atlanta with a view toward finding models for the future. That presentation is available online along with the Gulf Coast Institute's draft of a document that begins to outline a basis for Houston's 2028 plan. http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org.
REGIONAL NOTES
Metro panel calls for assessing five technologies
People movers, mini-metro, maglev, monorail, light rail get the nod
A panel of technology advisors from different industry sectors brought together by Metro heard nearly two days of presentations about a broad array of global transit trends and technologies. Among other recommendations, the group concluded that Metro should consider assessment of five advanced transit technologies: automated people movers, “mini metro,” urban maglev (magnetic levitation), and monorail, and compare them to light rail as the base case. They also proposed consideration of a commuter rail application in a suburban to urban corridor, and a high-density suburb-to-suburb connector using Bus Rapid Transit. The most advanced suggestion was to consider a demonstration program for a smaller-scale circulator system, and include Personal Rapid Transit as one of the tested technologies. The conference, called “The Advanced Transportation Technology Forum,” was opened by US Rep. Tom DeLay, who challenged the group to innovate. Houston Mayor Bill White cautioned the group that there are only two characteristics that might make one technology superior to another: better customer service or the same service for less cost. The forum was held from October 20-22 at the Magnolia Hotel.
Metro forum paints future of transit
Automation, maglev, hot topics at advanced technology event
Several trends in transit emerged from Metro's “Advanced Transportation Technology Forum, but two major forces are emerging around the globe: automation and magnetic levitation. A growing number of recent and new automated transit lines need no driver, so the driver can go out into the train as a customer service agent. Even advanced bus technology is struggling to achieve a driverless service. Magnetic levitation (maglev) has caught the world's attention primarily because of the new maglev service from Shanghai to its airport. That train, which began service last January, runs at about 260 miles an hour and takes 7 minutes to cover 19 miles. Japan, too, has extensively tested a maglev train, which holds the world record of 346 miles per hour. Japan has also produced the production model “urban maglev,” which will begin service next spring, at more urban speeds of about 65 miles per hour.
Other transit trends:
Most new systems are grade-separated, usually elevated.
Growing emphasis on smaller vehicles, running more often.
Growing interest in rubber tire vehicles, rather than steel wheels on steel rails.
Growing use of hybrid power technologies, with internal combustion engines only charging batteries.
Growing deployment of Bus Rapid Transit, adapting the qualities of light rail to sleek, spacy buses that run in their own fixed guideways at less cost, enabling more miles of high-quality transit service faster.
Connected cities
Houston drops to 9th for online services, information; Denver is tops
Denver again took first place in Brown University's annual ranking of cities with the widest offerings of online municipal services and information, according to Governing Magazine. Houston came in 9th, down from 6th last year. The top 5 cities were Denver, San Diego, New York, Los Angeles, and Virginia Beach. The researchers analyzed an average of 26.8 sites per city, measuring them against such criteria as availability of government information and fully executable online services; means of communication between citizens and government; disability and foreign-language access; readability; and requirements for user fees. Brown found growing use of ads on municipal websites, and the occasional availability of unique services, such as San Francisco's online delivery of syphilis test results. http://www.governing.com/articles/9ciegov.htm
Blueprint Houston Leaders' conference
Community leaders will look at state of planning, make recommendations
Blueprint Houston is calling community leaders together to participate in a review of the state of planning in Houston and other cities, and to recommend planning approaches for Houston. The Leaders Conference will be Saturday, November 20 from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm in Exhibit Hall E of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Space is limited. Blueprint Houston is also seeking facilitators for groups of 8 for the event. Facilitator training will be provided at 3015 Richmond on November 8 from 5-6 p.m. and November 9 from 12-1 pm. For more information, or to register for the conference, contact Heidi Sweetnam at hsweetnam@blueprinthouston.org.
Particulate pollution conference at Rice
November 9-11 at the Shell Center for Sustainability
Rice University and the Shell Center for Sustainability will present “Particulate Matters: Sources, Health Impacts and Regulatory Response” in Duncan Hall's McMurtry Auditorium on Rice Campus. The conference, part of the Shell Center's “Protecting Houston's Health and Environment” series, runs from 6-8 pm each day. Tuesday November 9: “Sources,” of particulates; Wednesday November 10 “Health Impacts,” and Thursday November 11 “regulatory response.” Each seminar will feature a number of experts, including Mayor Bill White on November 11. For more information, or to register (not required), go to http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~eesi/scs/.
I-45 north expansion results to be presented
The North Hardy corridor analysis at two public events
Two public forums will be held by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to show the results of the highway analysis of the North Hardy Corridor. The events are Tuesday, October 26, 6-8 pm at Davis High School Commons Area, 1101 Quitman, and Thursday, October 28, 6-8 pm, at Greenspoint Mall Community Room, 12300 North Freeway.
Ecology and cities to be discussed
League of Women Voters to present Rutherford Platt
“Toward Ecological Cities” is the title of a talk to be given at the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of Houston on November 11. The speaker is Rutherford H. Platt, a professor of geography and planning law at the Center for Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The event begins at 6:30 pm and will be held at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, 4501 Woodway.
NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES
URBANISM
New homebuyers looking for walkable communities
Realtors' survey shows growing desire for shorter commute
Among people planning to buy a home in the next three years, 87 percent place a high importance on a shorter commute as their top priority, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America. The sponsors say the survey shows that the prospect of lengthening commutes is leading more Americans to seek walkable neighborhoods in close-in suburbs and cities. Asked to choose between two communities, six in ten prospective homebuyers chose a neighborhood that offered a shorter commute, sidewalks, and amenities like shops, restaurants, libraries, schools, and public transportation within walking distance over a community with larger lots, limited options for walking, and a longer commute. Those who are in the market to buy a home are also more likely to say they want to be in or near a city as opposed to living in a farther-out suburb or rural area. Minorities are even more likely than other Americans to choose a walkable neighborhood that has a shorter commute, with 59 percent of women, 57 percent of Hispanics and 78 percent of African-Americans selecting those communities over communities with bigger lots and longer commutes. http://smartgrowthamerica.org/nrasgareport.html
Growing upward in Orange County
High-rise condo seen as wave of the future
Orange County has long been synonymous with sprawl. But as undeveloped land becomes scarce and expensive, the Los Angeles suburb may become more urban, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News. Irvine's 18-story condominium tower, Marquee Park Place, will be the tallest in the area. Residents include attorneys and empty-nesters. Observers say Marquee Place is only the first of many high-rises to come. But high-rises alone won't make Irvine truly urban so the shopping center in the ground floor of the Marquee will consist of chain stores and restaurants. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/9819876.htm
Urban seniors
Retirees, empty-nesters are moving in from the suburbs
More and more, older Americans are forsaking the suburbs and moving into the cities, according to an article in Newsweek. These empty-nesters find themselves bored by suburban life after their children leave home, and have decided “to exchange a regular weekly tee time for rich cultural offerings, young neighbors, and plenty of good restaurants.” Some see this move as a health issue-they're concerned that the loneliness of suburban life “can ravage older people as they gradually lose touch with friends and neighbors.” One retiree says that in the city, "I'm constantly running into people I know." As he ages, this retiree hopes the continual interaction will help keep him young. Some developers who once specialized in the suburban luxury market are now building senior-friendly downtown residential towers in cities such as Ft. Worth and Philadelphia. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6160422/site/newsweek/
Bringing density to Los Angeles suburb
Playa Vista development seen as 'nationally significant'
Despite protests from environmental groups and other activists, Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to complete the massive Playa Vista development. According to the Los Angeles Times, opponents charged the project would cost the city's west side too much open land, mar views of the Westchester Bluffs, and worsen traffic. But council members responded that the city “desperately needs the housing and jobs that Playa Vista would provide.” The project, which has already been partially completed, will include a mix of 2,600 housing units, 175,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail. Urban planners are interested in Playa Vista because the development's relatively high density, with condos, apartments, townhomes and underground parking could be a model for future development. "This is a nationally significant project," said Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. "When we look back in 20 years on the increasing density in Los Angeles, we'll say it started here in West Los Angeles." The decision does include a victory for opponents. The final deal cut the size of the development by more than half, and 70 percent of the land originally slated for development is being preserved as open space. As part of the deal, Playa Vista agreed to donate an additional 300 acres and to waive rights to buy and develop 64 other acres. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-playa23sep23,1,949665.story?coll=la-headlines-california
TRANSPORTATION
Study of US vs Canadian sprawl finds 'It's the highways, stupid'
Canadians own nearly as many cars as Americans, drive half as much
A comparison of American and Canadian cities suggests that sprawl has less to do with the American Dream than with the influence of the highway, oil, and auto lobby on development policy in the US. “Canadian Cities American Cities: Our Differences Are The Same,” by Patrick Condon, associate professor at the University of British Columbia, finds that Canadians own nearly as many cars per capita as Americans, but only drive them half as much, perhaps because Canadian cities are on average twice as densely populated as American cities. An online summary at Planetizen also reports that “if you really want to move asset value from center cites to the suburbs, build highways.” It notes that homeowners in St. Louis appear to have been on the wrong end of a capital value flight to the suburbs, which “seems to us to have been induced by overbuilding highways.” Parcels in inner city areas of St. Louis have declined by 30% in inflation-adjusted dollars over the 40-year period of intense highway building, the analysis says. In Vancouver, a city with no freeway lanes at all, the study notes that “pre-WWII neighborhoods have seen an average increase of 300% in inflation-adjusted dollars.” http://www.planetizen.com/oped/item.php?id=135. The full study: http://www.fundersnetwork.org/usr_doc/Patrick_Condon_Primer.pdf
Carfree day in Montreal suggests large opportunity
Writer says many might be willing to get out of their cars
Residents of Montreal were skeptical that the city's first Day Without a Car in 2003 would be a success, according to acolumnist Christopher DeWolf in Maisonneuve. Merchants on the street selected for the event said business would be hurt; others worried that emergency vehicles might not be able to respond during the event. But St. Catharine Street was packed, downtown traffic was light, and downtown air pollution was almost cut in half. This year's event was an even bigger success, leading the writer to ponder both the damage that heavy auto use causes the city, and ways that Montrealers could be persuaded to get out of their cars. DeWolf describes a vicious cycle in which car traffic makes the city less livable, leading people to move to the suburbs, where they buy a car for their trips into the city. The answer to reducing auto traffic and enhancing quality of life lies in mass transit, says DeWitt, who compares Montreal's mass transit system to Munich's. Germans love their cars as much as Canadians, he says, but Munich has still found a way to build twice as many kilometers of rail as Montreal, despite occupying half as much land. He closes by saying “We've spent half a century dismantling streetcars, widening roads and underfunding transit. It's time to reverse the trend. Let's tax those parking lots, hike up gas prices, and invest in sustainable development. Our cities can't afford anything else.” http://maisonneuve.org/blog/index.php?itemid=508
SUVs raise hackles, taxes in Europe
As sales increase, so does backlash
European SUV sales have risen by forty percent in the last three years, but that doesn't mean the light trucks have become a US-style status symbol, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. London mayor Ken Livingstone has called SUV drivers “complete idiots,” and threatens to double the congestion fee that the city charges on all inner-city drivers. Paris city government has threatened to ban SUVs from the city center, and the national government tried to raise taxes on the vehicles by up to $3,683, while cutting taxes for smaller cars. This backlash, combined with sluggish SUV sales in the US, has European carmakers worried. When sales of Porsche's luxury sports cars waned in the 1990s, the company began producing its own SUV, the Cayenne. Its sales have been reasonably strong, but Porsche is concerned that growth will be crippled by public sentiment. “We're watching it very closely," a Porsche spokesman said. "You can only get away with a luxury-car buy if your neighbors let you get away with it. We'd rather have a thumbs up from another driver than another finger." Carmakers are especially worried that anti-SUV sentiment may lead governments to restrict sales. The Swedish government has proposed taxes of up to $20,000 per vehicle on Volvo's SUVs by 2006. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002056383_suv07.html
PLANNING
60 million reasons for smart growth
Editorial says population explosion makes cluster development essential
California's population is expected to double to 60 million within 35 years. An editorial in the San Jose Mercury News says that the challenges such growth poses can only be solved by adopting smart growth principles. The writer, Rod Diridon, asks, “Will those new Californians be clustered in affordable housing near employment and adjacent to transit stations, as in most other nations, or will a new wave of sprawl consume our last farms and natural areas?” Diridon warns of cities losing badly needed tax base to the exurbs, and increased pollution created by longer commutes. But “In-fill development, on the other hand, can revitalize our older neighborhoods, and it adds tax base to upgrade schools, parks, police, fire and other services.” http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/9778921.htm?1c
Whitman, Glendening to head National Smart Growth Council
Group hopes bipartisan approach will lead to widespread acceptance of principles
The National Smart Growth Council (NSGC) announced that Republican former New Jersey governor and former US EPA head Christine Todd Whitman has agreed to join Democratic former Maryland governor Parris N. Glendening in leading the organization. Whitmire said, "You see the impact every day of bad planning. As head of the EPA, I would see as I flew into every city the layer of smog, the traffic backup. It's an issue we need to deal with." The group hopes that the high profiles of both Whitman and Glendening, who was an early proponent of smart growth, will give their issues higher visibility. "This is an opportunity to engage some prominent people, an opportunity for them to get together and advocate for smarter growth," said Don Chen, executive director and CEO of Smart Growth America, which will provide staff support to the Council. The 17-member council includes other high-profile political figures such as Henry Cisneros, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, and William Hudnut, a former congressman and mayor of Indianapolis with respected urban redevelopment credentials. Whitman says she hopes the council “will be able to create new partnerships between business and forward-thinking government.” http://smartgrowthamerica.org/
Michigan opponents collaborate on land use plan
“Citizen power” suspends bridge and highway project, groups decide to collaborate
After authorities indefinitely suspended a controversial plan to build a bridge and highway in Michigan's scenic Lower Peninsula, the project's leading supporters and opponents set aside their differences to work together on a comprehensive land use plan that will allow the region to “look out 50 years and define what we want to be,” said Lee Grant, chairman of the Traverse City Area Transportation and Land Use Study. The Michigan Land Use Institute reports that the plan's suspension represents a warning to not ignore community input into such intrusive projects. Ken Smith, a leader of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, says “Many people have learned some important lessons about citizen participation along the way. I think we are seeing an appreciation of citizen power among the more thoughtful leaders in our region.” The former antagonists who are now participating in the new planning process will look beyond the highway and bridge dispute to develop what could be an unconventional solution to traffic congestion in this region, the fastest growing in the Midwest. Jay Hooper, chairman of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, which had proposed the original $55 million highway and bridge project, said, “Frankly, most of the groups, especially the environmental groups, were insistent on this process, and I agree with them. I think we need to do a better job of getting the citizen input so that we can come up with a plan that's more readily accepted by the entire community.” http://www.mlui.org/transportation/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16753
'Smart growth' called misunderstood
Writer says opponents oversimplify its principles
Talk about smart growth has suffered the same fate as other forms of political discourse, says Washington Post real estate writer Robert K. Lewis. Critics oversimplify the philosophy, making it easy to reject, he says. Lewis says
“Sharp division into factions inevitably occurs when people resist dealing with complexity. Unwilling or unable to analyze the multiple, substantive aspects of a complex issue, some people are naturally drawn to boiled-down versions.” He cites the common, incorrect refrain that smart growth is anti-growth and anti-car, and that it ignores people's wishes to live in the suburbs. But Lewis finds the principles fo smart growth to be commonsensical. He says his own DC neighborhood could be a Smart Growth model. “There are single-family houses, duplexes, row houses and apartment buildings. I can comfortably walk or bike to the grocery store and drugstore, several restaurants, numerous convenience stores, a full-service gas station, two banks, three dry cleaners, a Starbuck's, a travel agency, a public elementary school, a federal park and a D.C. park.” He adds that because his neighborhood offers a broad range of desirable amenities within walking distance, “we make somewhat fewer daily automobile trips -- perhaps four or five instead of six or eight -- than if we lived in a more remote subdivision where driving everywhere would be a necessity.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35871-2004Oct15?language=printer
New Mexico Governor pushes smart growth to center stage
Task force told to find new approaches to community growth
New Mexico became the nation's 28th state to move toward smart growth, according to a story from the Smart Growth Network, with Democratic Governor Bill Richardson setting up the Governor's Task Force on Our Communities, Our Future. The group is charged with working on new approaches ''regarding urban and rural community development and describing opportunities for high-quality investment and development in New Mexico's communities, from our largest cities to our smallest villages.'' Richardson called for “new approaches to community growth that will contribute to the creation of high-quality jobs, mixed-use and mixed-income development, and successful new transportation systems." http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=4324&state=32
RACE
'African Town' proposed, protested
Detroit plan to single out African Americans for aid stirs controversy
Detroit City Council voted to implement an economic development plan designed to help only African-Americans, who comprise 83 percent of the population. The plan, known as 'Powernomics,' and designed by entrepreneur Claud Anderson, would use city funds to create a Black-only economic zone known as African Town. The plan's creators charge that immigrants from Mexico, Asia, and the Middle East are stealing resources, jobs, and other opportunities from blacks, and argue that city leaders should stop the economic shift. Mayor Kilpatrick's veto of the proposal was overridden by city council. Representatives of the Arab, Asian, and Latino communities responded with a protest march. "The language in the report is divisive," said Angela Reyes, one of the protest organizers and head of the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. http://www.planetizen.com/news/item.php?id=14414 and http://www.freep.com/news/locway/detplan29e_20040929.htm
POLITICS
The election and the cities
Presidential candidates said to have very different approaches
Columnist Neal Peirce writes that “it's clear this election can spell huge differences for states and local governments and their constituents. While some say that, because of “Recession, deep tax cuts, the Iraq War, [and] a succession of multihundred-billion deficits,” it may appear that it won't matter to cities and states who gets elected president. But Pearce disagrees, and says the candidates have very different approaches to cities, particularly about investment critical “to create healthy communities and regions that are able to attract talent and compete globally.” http://www.postwritersgroup.com/archives/peir0920.htm
TECHNOLOGY
Building the Wi-Fi city isn't as easy as it looks
Startup isn't so expensive, but who will pay for yearly maintenance?
When cities such as Philadelphia announce that they're becoming a city-wide Wi-Fi hot zone, they enjoy quite an “image bounce,” according to MIT Enterprise Technology Magazine. But maintaining that service over the long haul will be another matter. Among the factors luring municipalities to consider citywide Wi-Fi networks are the low start-up costs. When St. Cloud, FL, a suburb of Orlando, expands its wireless network next year to cover 30 square kilometers, the tab for deploying 300 access points and eight to 10 wireless links to the network backbone will come to a little more than $1 million. That's "unbelievably cheap in the scheme of municipal projects, far less than the cost to build a mile of road," says Jonathan Baltuch, president of MRI-the consulting firm that is managing St. Cloud's economic development programs. “The bigger question is how to pay for the ongoing costs," says Baltuch, who estimates that the city's yearly expense for the wireless service will be $150,000 to $200,000. Municipalities are debating whether to charge user fees, allocate from the general fund, or charge a “tourist tax” much like the current rental car and hotel taxes. According to William Frezza, a general partner with Adams Capital Management in Cambridge, MA, the current situation is similar to the late 1980s, when municipalities found that cable television couldn't survive as a low-cost public service. No revenue model can succeed for a private company offering citywide wireless service because the annual maintenance costs are likely to be exorbitant, and performance will degrade as more users log on, Frezza argues. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/09/wo_asbrand092104.asp?p=1
ENVIRONMENT
Cooling the desert heat
Phoenix needs more trees
The Phoenix area is naturally hot enough without adding the “heat-island effect” into the equation, according to an Arizona Republic editorial. The paper says the Phoenix area's average summer low is ten degrees higher than it was in the 1950s, partly because of the amount of pavement and roofing that have been added, and partly because the area is so lacking in trees. “We're seriously bald,” writes Kathleen Ingley. Comparing parking lots to “charcoal briquettes, cooking the Valley,” she says that owners should be forced to plant more trees than the 5-10 percent currently required. She also writes that individual houses would consume substantially less energy if the owners would plant a single large tree on their western exposure. Ingley stresses that a call for more trees is not a beautification project. “It's cold, hard economic sense, in energy savings alone.” She urges that the right trees be planted in the right places. “We don't need water-guzzling varieties of trees like elm, oak, or maple. Mesquite, paloverdes, and other trees adapted to arid climates can create an amazingly cool umbrella.” http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special09/articles/0917wed1-17.html
EVENTS
NATIONAL
New Partners for Smart growth, Jan. 27-29, 2005, Miami Beach. The 4th annual conference sponsored by the Local Government Commission and Penn State. http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/
Note to readers: If you have news to share, have reports from events, or would like to add subscriber names, please let us know at issues@gulfcoastideas.org.
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
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David Crossley
Gulf Coast Institute
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