November 2009
15 posts
“Woman was struck and killed” by a driver, not a car. Vehicles don’t drive themselves. One human killed another, sadly. http://bit.ly/7EeJGo
Hometown Congressional District 12 and Jackie Speier on the Colbert Report! http://bit.ly/41lpjr Great comedy.
Eric Morris of UCLA has a great Freakonomics post on Shovel-Ready Stimulus. He suggests a rename: bureaucracy ready. http://bit.ly/2RHjhK
The O.C. and L.A. Co at loggerheads on freeway expansion v. transit improvements http://bit.ly/4xj5qu
Gosh I hope this gets built. Near an old home of mine, I loved the walkability of the neighborhood. Fingers crossed. http://bit.ly/V8uea
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Leasebacks to foreclosed homeowners →
The SF Chronicle presents an interesting story today about bank negotiated leases with homeowners before they foreclose on their property. In return for rent, the policy keeps them in their home, keeps vacancy rates down and in general, is a pretty humane and smart approach to the current housing crisis.
Homeowners don’t see their credit score hit quite as hard (not sure that’s too...
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State Growth Strategy in CA →
The official action is modest, a $2.5 million contract to devise a set of detailed growth scenarios for California, from classic suburban sprawl to compact development focused on older cities. The goal is to produce a single “preferred scenario” - one that conceivably could be used to prod local governments to accept or reject new construction.
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Infographic of the Day: The Jobless rate for People like You: http://bit.ly/2SmBdO
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Stormwater Reuse →
Something like this only makes sense in rainy locations but still, pretty neat.
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Some real estate news →
This isn’t all that surprising. The healthiest real estate markets in the U.S. remain D.C., Boston, S.F. and New York.
The fun takeway from this ULI posting is that, in line with the organization’s latest push towards dense in-fill and sustainable transit orientated development, they comment that the top four markets are:
gateway, 24-hour cities heavy on brain power with significant...
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America's Most Toxic Cities →
Off Planetizen today, Forbes lists the crappiest cities to breath in:
Top spots for toxicity are distributed throughout the country, with Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Los Angeles right behind it.
Every time I get on the freeway, I’m reminded of LA’s air stink, despite the massive improvements made since the 70’s.
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Unemployment over 10%... →
Probably the best mathematical mind in statistics, Nate Silver of 538.com briefs on the newest unemployment numbers.
Big takeaway: This stuff ought to be much more of a reason for Democrats to worry than whatever happened on Tuesday. Even if the jobs come back a little faster than expected once the employment picture in fact turns the corner, which I think is possible, voters are liable to be...
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A tough search for talent - Public Service... →
I’m always half a week late on my Economist stories (the latest issue arrived late, compounding my tardiness) but this story popped out to me.
In simple numerical terms, the personnel gap opening up is vast. A report by the OECD, a rich-countries’ club, found that in 13 of the member countries surveyed, at least 30% of central-government workers were 50 years of age or older. Generous...
October 2009
34 posts
Shuttered Tower Records has been revamped into a huge Trader Joe’s in San Mateo, CA. Nice improvement. http://twitpic.com/nksjz
Y Drive LA →
So simple and so smart. For $38, Y Drive will pick you and your car up, drive you back to your home, and motor scooter their way off afterwards.
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Food Waste and new SF Composting Law
Interesting book on Food Waste is profiled by GOOD:
There’s probably enough wasted food in the United States and Europe to feed the world’s hungry three times over. And in just one year the United States may even produce enough food waste to feed all of Europe.
On the heels of SF’s new composting law, with mandates and fines, are we seeing a local level solution with legs?
Noted by...
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Feds, Judges Say: Decriminalize It... Don't... →
Great commentary from CaliforniaCityNews.org on the flurry of medical marijuana activity in local and federal government this week. This was a smart comment, particularly for local city planners:
Whether you support pot for medicinal (or recreational) use, there’s really not a dispute that the legal gray area for cities is a nightmare. Cities are fighting expensive legal battles to get...
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WatchReal City Council meeting provokes a fight.
“It’s all part of the legislative process…”
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Bike Boxes that cost pennies →
GGW has another great post about law changes to essentially turn every crosswalk into a legal bicycle box for cyclists. Sure, Portland OR has the real thing and they are beauties, but in a cash-strapped city that strives for sustainability, this is an easy way to make bike riding LEGALLY safer in cheap fashion. Consider that in Los Angeles, riding your bicycle in a crosswalk is illegal!
This...
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CA Cities move to protect local revenue →
Given the state’s pillaging of local city redevelopment funds, this move comes as no surprise.
If CA really wants a balanced, sustainable budget, maybe a constitutional convention is in order. I’m not familiar with the Bay Area Council but an early search doesn’t connect them to Dick Armey or other astro-turfers (this is a GOOD thing).
WatchAfter admiring Dr. Parkinson’s approach to health care, I read through some of his blog postings. This is a nice finale to the Cory Booker v. Conan feud. Mayor Booker is a city administrator to look up to - very impressive. The documentary Street Fight is a must watch.
jayparkinsonmd:
Cory Booker on The Tonight Show.
He’s going places…firing back on a joke Conan makes about Newark via...
Unemployment stays above 12% in CA. Yuck. http://bit.ly/1OaERO
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Tragedy of the Commons & the Environment →
Mike and I went to graduate school together and his latest Huffpo post on the recent nobel prize in economics to Elinor Ostrom is a great read. I’ve read Ostrom’s Governing the Commons and Mike is right: her research could facilitate a workable deal in Copenhagen.
As planners, our domain is usually private property while a public works department typically manages the streets. But...
More speed bumps! This time, no DIY - sensors lower the bumps if you’re going the limit. If not, you WILL slow down: http://bit.ly/1ehmgb
Good environmental news for CA - LED streetlights are embraced as a greening strategy: http://bit.ly/3NqY2u
Developers in Bay Area may get permit extension due to recession: http://bit.ly/Ai0Mx
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Bike parking where you expect it?
Streetsblog has a nice post on the lack of bike parking at the new LAPD headquarters. I wondered the same thing today while trying to park my bike in front of an REI store (sporting equipment and what not) today. Nothing to lock up to except stair railings, which aren’t much good for a business (aesthetics) or a cyclist.
Just a reminder to planners out there: Once you’ve checked the...
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Marijuana Proponents may have to wait in San... →
More zoning to be debated. In the meantime, what does a proponent do while they wait?
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Advanced Speciality Planning Certificates →
This came in a recent email. Looks like the American Planning Association is pursuing “advanced” specializations, beyond its AICP accreditation.
Following the well-established model of the medical profession, these certificates will increase credibility in those fields of planning practice that warrant higher levels of specialized knowledge and skills.
For now, only Advanced...
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Interesting Zoning problem... →
Main street business owners in Santa Monica, CA complain about the inflexibility of current zoning standards. The Planning Commission seems interested in solutions too…
Attending ULI LA sponsored TOD event today. A great reminder how important collaborative thinking on big dev issues is. How do we build it?
Speaking of traffic calming earlier this wk: DIY neighborhood speed bumps http://bit.ly/1WXlLF (via Vanderbilt, http://www.howwedrive.com/)
54% of companies ban Facebook, Twitter at Work. Getting rid of Fbk is probably a good idea - any use to Twitter though? http://bit.ly/VMAHG
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The politics of "traffic calming" →
Thought this story might shed some light on how unbelievably contentious local street issues can become.
- via Greater Greater WA
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“The Daniel Rose Fellowship is the flagship program of the ULI Daniel Rose...”
– Sixteen community employees/leaders named as fellows for the 2009-2010 year. This is a great example of public/private motivation. I hope it works, for the planet’s sake.
- via ULI’s blog, The Ground Floor
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The problem with former city employees becoming... →
I’ve been following this story for a week now and here is the main problem: when someone resigns from a position because of negligence, and then is retained as a consultant for the same salary, what is the city gaining? The argument is institutional knowledge but given this GM’s replacement has done the job before, the case for keeping the aforementioned is weak.
Cities are on hiring...
Still an unemployed urban planner? Here is information for CA on extended benefits: http://bit.ly/hTqsq
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“Yet as blogs, YouTube videos, and text blasts reshape how America communicates,...”
– via Rick Cole, City Manager of Ventura
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Free bus passes to students in Oregon →
While the program has its detractors, it appears that free bus passes have inundated Oregon public transit with student riders. All public students are eligible. WOW.
Although the crowding led one parent to state, “This is not how you build confidence in the next generation of transit riders,” I disagree. Certainly there are some kinks to work out with the new program (more buses or no more free...
September 2009
19 posts
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Economic Development or glorified Happy Hour?
“The truth is if you leave Santa Monica at 5 (p.m.), you might as well leave at 7,” said Justin Yoffe, the cultural affairs supervisor with City Hall’s Cultural Affairs Division. “You might as well come and enjoy some great discounts.”
So the big economic development idea in a city of 100,000 people is to push for a citywide happy hour? Eh…