November 29, 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

≥There is no doubt in my mind that rail will change the city. That doesn't mean that you won't have tremendous growth in the suburbs, absolutely you will. But it will give people an alternative desirable lifestyle, which is what a metropolitan area has to have to compete with other metropolitan areas. And anybody who doubts that we aren't in competition just doesn't understand cities.≤

-David Wolff, Metro Chairman, quoted in the Houston Business Journal, "Transit harmony key for new Metro conductor."

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/11/15/story2.html <http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/11/15/story2.html>

REGIONAL NOTES

Neighbors fearful of inner city toll road

Harris County moves to acquire rail right of way

A recent unanimous vote by Harris County Commissioners Court to authorize the Toll Road Authority to begin negotiations to purchase a rail corridor inside the Loop has Heights residents up in arms, according to a story in the Houston Press. The toll road would run east along the former MKT railroad right-of-way from the West Loop. According to the story, the route parallels the backyards and front porches of scores of turn-of-the-century bungalows on Seventh Street before it crosses White Oak Bayou to connect with the University of Houston Downtown. The corridor served the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad through most of the 20th century. Union Pacific bought the line in 1989 and sold the Houston portion to the Texas Department of Transportation in 1996. http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2004-11-25/news/news.html?src=newsletter

Rice Design Alliance looks at Houstonπs future

The final forum in the Rice Design Alliance ≥Earth Fire & Wind≤ Civic Forum series will be at 7 pm, Wednesday, Dec 1, at the Brown Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This seasonπs topic, "Wind", will address the larger forces beginning to coalesce that will reconfigure our region, including economic, environmental, and social conditions. Panelists include James D. Calaway, CEO of Center for Houstonπs Future; David Crossley, president of the Gulf Coast Institute; and Nestor Rodriguez, professor and chair of the University of Houstonπs department of sociology and co-director of the Center for Immigration Research. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact (713) 348-4876.

TxDOT meeting on Elysian Viaduct reconstruction

The Texas Department of Transportation will hold an open house meeting on the reconstruction of the Elysian Viaduct, The event will be at Sherman Elementary School, 1909 McKee, from 6-8 pm on Tuesday Dec 7. TxDOT and the Harris County Toll Road Authority are going ahead with the project to rebuild a widened and extended Viaduct and construct flyovers connecting it with the Hardy Toll Road extension, even though the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan and the Houston Downtown Development Framework call for replacing the 1950s-era overpass with an at-grade boulevard. As planned, the project will result in the displacement of residents and the demolition of blocks of historic homes dating from the 1880s through 1920s, as well as the demolition of recently redeveloped properties such as the Houston Foundry Commercial Artists Studios. 713-216-5000 or www.ghpa.org.

NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES

TRANSPORTATION

Benefits of rail

Study dispels myths, touts advantages of mass transit

Cities with highly developed rail systems enjoy a wide range of benefits, according to a study issued by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in British Columbia. The study examined the public transportation options of 50 North American cities, then divided those cities into Large Rail (extensive rail), Small Rail, and Bus Only. The Large Rail cities have high per capita transit ridership, less congestion, fewer traffic deaths, and 14 percent lower per capita transit costs, among other benefits, according to the study. The study also found that many criticisms that have been leveled against rail are inaccurate.   http://www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf

New York transit affordability threatened

Government must pitch in to keep NY subway affordable, efficient

New Yorkπs mass transit is absolutely vital to the cityπs workings, but all levels of government - federal, state, and even local - are failing to pay their fair share to keep it affordable, says a New York Times editorial. The editorial imagines a time when mass transit will be too expensive for many of its users, and warns about the effects of having the cityπs 8 million train-and bus-commuters getting in their own cars and driving into the city. ≥Drivers will suffer as well, as the competition for parking and highway space increases.≤  Both fares and the Metropolitan Transit Authorityπs (MTA) indebtedness have risen in recent years. The editorial points to MTAπs borrowing practices, including a ≥monster≤ $17 billion bond issue in 2000. But the Times says that government has forced the MTA into debt. The federal and state governments have been unresponsive to mass transit needs, while Homeland Security provisions have caused MTA to spend $500 million on unfunded protective initiatives. The city began cutting its payments under the Dinkins administration. The city now only provides one-third as much of MTAπs budget as it did 20 years ago. The editorial closes by urging all levels of government to do more. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/31/opinion/opinionspecial/31LIMTA.html?ex=1101445200&en=7acd796418f2ede5&ei=5070

Raising barriers for SUVs

Standard highway guardrails inadequate for taller vehicles

The concrete highway barriers known as ≥Jersey barriers,≤ in honor of the state where they first appeared, are getting taller along the New Jersey Turnpike. According to The Times Union, the new barriers are 42≤ high, as opposed to old (and still federally mandated) 32≤ design. Ever increasing numbers of SUVs, with their high centers of gravity and propensity for rolling over, forced the change. The higher barricade is expected to keep SUVs from flipping over into oncoming traffic. "A higher level barrier might contain a vehicle at a faster speed and a sharper angle," says a traffic engineer. The higher barriers also shield motorists from the sometimes blinding lights of the taller vehicles. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=298601&category=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=10/26/2004&tacodalogin=no

Shanghai to get maglev link to Hangzhou

China to expand its system by 170 kilometers

China, which put the world's first magnetic levitation (maglev) rail line into commercial service last year, now plans to build a second, much longer line using the cutting-edge technology, according to The Standard, a Chinese newspaper. The new line will link Shanghai to Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, former mayor of Shanghai Xu Kuangdi said. Xu, who is also president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said maglev trains on the new line will cover the 170 kilometers (106 miles) between Shanghai Pudong Airport and Hangzhou in 26 minutes. The original maglev line is 19km long and connects Pudong Airport with other points in Shanghai. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/news_detail_frame.cfm?articleid=52556&intcatid=2

URBANISM

Portland curtails sprawl

Land use controls save farm land

Portland, ORπs much discussed land use policies have been effective in curtailing sprawl, according to a Northwest Environmental Watch (NEW) study. Using digital mapping of US Census data, the study analyzed growth in 15 US cities, including Austin, to measure how much farm land each has consumed in recent growth. Portland was found to have lost only 10 acres of farmland for every 100 newcomers between 1990-2000. By contrast, the most sprawling city studied, Charlotte, NC, lost 49 acres per 100 newcomers. If Portland had expanded at Charlotteπs rate, it would have lost an additional 279 acres. Portland ranked first at saving open space among the eight cities in the study that have ample rainfall, which tends to facilitate sprawl. More arid Salt Lake City and Sacramento each lost less farmland than Portland. The study was part of a regional monitoring project called the Cascadia Scorecard.  http://www.northwestwatch.org/scorecard/Portland04.asp

No åsilver bulletπ for cities

Father of New Urbanism calls åtheme parksπ bad urban design

Andres Duany, one of the founder of the New Urbanist movement, offered some pointed criticisms of a new Syracuse, NY urban development to The Post-Standard. The large project, a redevelopment of Syracuseπs Inner Harbor called ≥Destiny≤, is a ≥suburban theme park,≤ according to Duany. He added, ≥It bears very little relationship to the urban fabric of Syracuse, to the point of being contemptuous of it. It is obvious that Destiny has little intention of sharing much with the City of Syracuse, beyond the highways.≤  Duany also said that the Destiny development is the kind of ≥simplistic idea [such as åspace needles, aquaria, and convention centersπ] that, from time to time, has bamboozled elected officials.≤ Instead, he said, cities should rely on the slow, patient work, done by government and small investors, to create an urban fabric.  Duany doesnπt argue that Syracuse should try to pull out of the Destiny project, but that the city should push the developers to integrate their design with existing neighborhoods, and to make sure that the project benefits the greater city, and not just the developers.  http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-0/109411686331530.xml

Emerging supercities

Population growth will require serious planning, investment; report includes Houston

The US population is about to boom like never before, according to a report by the Michigan Land Institute (MLI). In 50 years, population will increase by 50 percent, from 280 million in 2000 to 420 million in 2050. According to researchers at Penn University, this growth will be highly concentrated, and will center on eight emerging ≥supercities.≤ 307 million people, or 71 percent of Americans, will live in these regional cities, some of which will stretch across state lines, such as Boston-Washington, DC. Other supercities will result from the merging of Pacific Northwest cites, the ongoing boom in the San Francisco Bay area, and Midwestern merging of cities from Milwaukee to Cleveland. Texasπ major cities; Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin, will essentially become one. These supercities will require tremendous infrastructure investments, beginning with transit, to keep them livable, the report says. According to MLI, this means ≥America must wake up≤ and reverse current anti-tax, anti-government attitudes. http://mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16761

Portland homebuyers can choose åSmart Commuteπ

Plan rewards living near transit stations

Under the new Smart Commute program, homebuyers in Portland, OR will be rewarded for living near mass transit. According to The Business Journal of Portland, the plan will allow homebuyers to count their projected transportation savings as income when applying for a mortgage. Single homebuyers will get a credit of $200 monthly, and couples $250, which will help them qualify for the higher mortgages typically found near transit. "Smart Commute is the perfect example of how innovative public-private partnerships can help to create livable communities," said Democratic US Congressman Earl Blumenauer. "By providing incentives for people to purchase homes served by transit, this program will increase families' personal wealth and decrease their transportation costs while it increases home ownership rates, revitalizes our neighborhoods and lessens the burdens on our roads." Smart Commute participants will also receive a free month of transit use. http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/10/11/daily9.html <http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/10/11/daily9.html>

Florida speaks

åCreative Classπ author defends his ideas against both left and right

Richard Florida, speaking at the University of Akron, recently defended his ideas about economic growth, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Florida has argued that creativity has replaced manufacturing as the chief motor of growth, and that only cities that can attract and keep creative types—those who work with ideas—will prosper. Because Florida found that both tolerance, especially toward gays, and promotion of the arts are major parts of the ≥creative class≤ formula, he has been accused by conservatives of promoting homosexuality, and by progressives of favoring an artistic elite over blue-collar workers. In his talk, Florida, a professor of economic development at George Mason University, pointed out that he was neither ≥gay nor an artist.≤ But he argued that his findings are based on the new American reality. "Like it or not, we are living through a demographic earthquake," he said, in which only 8 percent of Americans grow up in a "Leave It to Beaver"-style family. Because norms of upbringing and behavior no longer exist, we must learn to be radically tolerant of others.  Creative individuals wonπt want to live and work in an area that favors conformity over individuality. Florida also noted that universities play a key role in fostering tolerance, and that visionary mayors transform their cities into havens of creativity. http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1099128893156500.xml

Wal-Mart goes vernacular

Some cities requiring big-box retailers to adapt to local design standards

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/moneystoryB1031FACADES2.htm

PEAK OIL

What will replace oil?

A Caltech physicist warns that fossil fuels - and time - are running out.

Caltech vice provost and professor of physics and applied physics David Goodstein, speaking about the seriousness of the peak oil issue, says ≥What we really need is leadership with the courage and vision to talk to us as John F. Kennedy did in 1960, when he pledged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Itπs the same kind of problem. We understand the basic underlying scientific principles, but we have huge technical problems to overcome.≤ Goldstein goes through the alternatives to oil and gas and finds a need for enormous research, with no clear path to sustainability at the moment. ≥If our leaders were to say to the scientific and technical community, åWe will give you the resources, and you—right now, even before it becomes imperative—will find a way to kick the fossil-fuel habit,π I think that it could be done. http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/v38/oil.html

ENVIRONMENT

Water, water everywhere?

Future availability of clean water considered worldπs ≥biggest sustainability problem≤

In a recent survey conducted by Canadaπs Globescan, 90 percent of international sustainability experts pointed to ≥fresh water planning and supply≤ as sustainability problem number one, followed by renewable energy and poverty, according to a report in WorldChanging.com. These views might be dismissed by some as being ≥leftist,≤ but the Copenhagen Consensus, a gathering of right-leaning economists, made similar findings in a conference sponsored by The Economist magazine. Regarding global problems from a strict cost-analysis perspective, these economists put ≥water≤ at the top of their environmental concerns. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/001409.html

Big recycling

Newspapers, bottles, cans, – and buildings?

A 7-story building in downtown Pittsburgh is being demolished—very carefully. According to the Associated Press, PNC Financial Services, owner of the building, plans to recycle more than 70 percent of the building.  The concrete will be ground up and used to fill the site, steel will be melted to create rebar, and the aluminum will be reused in cans and other products.  ≥Rather than knocking it down and carting it off to a landfill, if you deconstruct a building and reuse its parts elsewhere, youπre saving labor, materials,≤ said Alan Traugott, a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council. ≥You are trying to avoid going for new virgin materials and all the embodied energy and associated environmental impact that reflects.≤ The process is obviously more painstaking than the traditional demolition, and the Pittsburgh building will take two months to come down. Still, this type of ≥deconstruction≤ follows a nationwide trend. Some municipalities have passed ordinances requiring recovery of construction and renovation debris. In Atherton, CA, 50 percent of waste from demolition projects must be recycled or diverted from landfills.  Deconstruction also makes fiscal sense for PNC, says Gary Saulson, PNCπs director of corporate real estate. ≥Weπre going to save over $200,000 in dump fees alone.≤  PNC also built the worldπs largest certified green corporate building at a nearby site. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6335700/

Drinking black, thinking green

Retiring Starbucks CEO turns to the environment

Orin Smith, the soon-to-retire CEO of Starbucks, is excited about the next phase of his life. According to The Seattle Times, Smith, 62, will become the chief fundraiser for Conservation International (CI), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that ≥works to preserve the world's ecosystems through economics, policy, and community participation.≤ Starbucks was already a longtime supporter of CI, which monitors an agreement between the coffee giant and coffee farmers. The company pays farmers "the highest prices in world," in exchange for their agreement to preserve habitat.  Smith says heπs not an outdoorsman by nature. "That's not where the passion comes from,≤ Smith said. ≥But [rather] from the recognition that what we're doing in the world today is not sustainable." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002077827_brodeur31m1.html

ECONOMICS

Benefits of independent businesses

Locally owned stores generate more revenue for city

Independently owned stores in Chicago generated 70 percent more local economic impact per square foot than chain stores, according to a study by Civic Economics. The study analyzed ten locally owned businesses, including retail, restaurants, and service providers, on bustling Clark Street in the Andersonville neighborhood, then compared them to 10 chain stores.  $100 spent at the locally owned businesses generated $73 in additional local economic activity, compared to $43 at the chains.  The difference came in labor, as much of the chainπs managerial work takes place at corporate headquarters, and in procurement. Locally owned businesses spend twice as much locally as do the chains. Ultimately, for every square foot of space occupied by a chain, the local economic impact is $105, compared to $179 for every square foot occupied by an independent. Surprisingly, the locally owned businesses were found to generate just as much overall economic activity per square foot as the chains. ≥The study provides hard economic data to support our feeling that these businesses are a vital resource," said the president of the Andersonville Development Corporation. http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=269

Outsourcing the pillow cases

Textile workers in NC lose jobs, ship tools of trade to Pakistan

Textile workers in Kannapolis, NC made headlines in 2003 when the Pillowtex Mill gave some 4,800 of them two hours to clear out for good.  According to The Christian Science Monitor, the workers that remained were charged with packing up the millπs equipment and shipping it to its new users—in Pakistan. This abandonment of workers is a far cry from the way the mill started. Mill founder Charles Cannon, a ≥benevolent corporate oligarch,≤ provided housing, schooling, and even free electricity for his first employees.  But the Monitor says the mill was undone by a combination of corporate incompetence on the part of its new owners, Pillowtex, and globalized competition from Pakistan. Former workers remain in a state of shock, sometimes driving by the old plant as if hoping to see that itπs come back to life.  But Kannapolis isnπt dead - itπs rather in the middle of making a profound change from manufacturing town to bedroom community. Newcomers are snapping up expensive homes as fast as they're built, eager to live in what is becoming an exurb of Charlotte.  The town is now building a new train depot and amphitheater to attract these new residents. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1103/p01s01-usec.html?s=hns

Size doesnπt matter

Cities of varying populations report deteriorating financial conditions

Financial directors from 288 US cities with populations of 10,000 or more are feeling pessimistic about the fiscal health of their cities, according to an annual National League of Cities report. Due to the lingering effects of recession, two-thirds of financial directors feel less able to meet their citiesπ financial needs than in 2003. This is the first time in ten years that over half of financial directors made such gloomy predictions. The officials cite declining state aid, along with soaring pension and health costs, as culprits. Cities that rely exclusively on income tax are in worse shape than property-tax-based cities. Most cities have attempted to make up for shortfalls by raising taxes and fees. Cities in the West and Midwest report the highest percentage of difficulty, with 75 percent of cities noting deteriorating finance situations, as opposed to 59 percent in the Northeast and 43 percent in the South. http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/files/pdf/fiscal_conditions_04.pdf

Poverty on the rise

Suburbs now affected as well

US poverty levels rose for the first time in 5 years in 2001, and have risen every year since, according to a report by the National League of Cities. The numbers of the uninsured have gone up as well. By 2003, 35.8 million, or 12.5 percent of the population, were living below the poverty level, and 45 million, or 15.6 percent, were uninsured. Since 2002, the number living in poverty rose by 1.3 million, and the numbers of uninsured rose by 1.4 million. The report finds that poverty, which had been considered a problem of the inner-city, has spread to suburbia. The report also identifies the causes of these rising numbers. http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/files/pdf/TPECond.pdf

GOVERNMENT

Whoπs minding the store?

Los Alamos has vacancies in key city, county posts

Los Alamos, NM is experiencing a disturbing lack of leadership, according to The Los Alamos Monitor. The following positions are currently not filled: county administrator, transportation department director, police chief, human resources manager, community development director, and public information specialist. There is particular concern regarding the community development director, since this person is responsible for overseeing urban development, ensuring codes and regulations are abided by, and working closely with the Planning and Zoning Commission. This is particularly sensitive because the cityπs Comprehensive Plan is currently being drafted, and downtown is being rezoned. No reason is given as to why so many vital positions are vacant at the same time. http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2004/11/02/headline_news/news02.txt /headline_news/news02.txt>

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 crossley@gulfcoastideas.org.

 Prepared by David Theis