Mixed-use development

Smart growth news – December 21

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Morning Read: Smart Growth, or “War on Rural Maryland”?
Baltimore Sun, December 19, 2011
Glendening, 69, praised Plan Maryland as a “major movement ahead.” The plan spells out criteria for judging which types of development projects are viewed as desirable — and worthy of state infrastructure spending. “Land use planning is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for people who are anxious to get things done quickly,” said Glendening.

Maryland To Offer Preferential Funding For Smart Growth
WAMU (DC), December 21, 2011
The rate of land consumption in Maryland is three times the rate of population growth, according to the state’s department of planning. That’s a lot of urban sprawl for a small state. Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order for a strategy called PlanMaryland, which is designed to limit sprawl, but it’s set up tensions around the state.

The Future of Retail
BusinessWeek, December 20, 2011
Modernize our nation’s aging infrastructure: It is critical that the US transportation infrastructure — including our ports, airports, rail lines and roads — can meet future demands. We need a national freight policy that will support US competitiveness, economic growth and job creation.

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LOCUS developer project will turn strip mall into transit-oriented development

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It’s an all too common sight throughout the U.S.: a big-box retailer surrounded by a sea of parking lots, with a gas station near the entrance, the whole area spotted with a handful of token trees.

LOCUS Steering Committee member Ed Lipkin and his firm EBL & S Development had other ideas for a generic lot just like this in San Mateo, Calif.

His project, Station Park Green, is a transit-oriented, mixed-use development that will be located on a site once home to a Kmart, Michaels and a gas station. The 12-acre project will include 599 residential units, 10,000 square feet of office facilities, over 60,000 square feet of retail.

LOCUS

Smart growth news – December 19

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New Study: Millennials Prefer Car “Access Over Ownership”
The City Fix, December 16, 2011
The “Millennial” generation is quickly adopting car sharing as a mainstream transportation solution, according to results from Zipcar’s second annual study of the personal transportation and car ownership behavior of 18- to 34-year-olds. The study found that 55 percent of this influential generation have made an effort to drive less, which is a 10 percent rise from 2010.

GAO report details local cost of vacant properties
American City & County, December 15, 2011
In 10 years, vacant properties in the U.S. have increased almost 50 percent, and local governments have spent millions of dollars maintaining them. A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) looks at how much those properties are costing local governments, and how cities and counties are responding to the issue.

Report: Big roads projects, big cities, big impact
Omaha World-Herald (Neb.), December 17, 2011
Building new roads doesn’t always boost economic development, a new study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln concludes, but large projects in larger communities have helped increase wages.

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Smart growth news – December 15

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Study: Single-Family Homes May Be History
KPBS (Calif.), December 14, 2011
A new study from the Urban Land Institute suggests single-family homes, the largest contributor to urban sprawl, may be a thing of the past. The study looked at California’s major metropolitan areas — including San Diego — and found that by 2035 the supply of homes in conventional subdivisions will far exceed demand.

How the Tea Party Is Upending Urban Planning
Atlantic Cities, December 14, 2011
Across the country, Tea Party activists have been storming planning meetings of all kinds, opposing various plans by local and regional government having anything to do with density, smart growth, sustainability or urbanism. In California, Tea Party activists gained enough signatures for a ballot measure repealing the state’s baseline environmental regulations, while also targeting the Senate Bill 375, the 2008 law that seeks to combat climate change by promoting density and regional planning.

Beyond Sprawl: Rethinking Development in Tucson
Arizona Public Media, December 15, 2011
Tucson and the city’s outskirts were riding high on growth several years ago, with developments seeming to pop up everywhere there was empty land. But that all changed when the housing bust and recession took hold. The Tucson area continues to suffer from the downturn, but does that mean we did something wrong?

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Smart growth news – December 12

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Forget Stadiums, Cities Should Fight For Apple Stores
Forbes, December 9, 2011
The computer stores have become ‘anchors’ for affluent downtown areas, says Robert Gibbs, an urban economic and planning consultant and author of of “Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development.” “Sports stadiums do not generate much cross shopping: they’re nice to have but greatly overrated,” Gibbs says. “If you have an Apple store on your Main Street, though, that gives you a kind of ‘good housekeeping seal of approval,’ that’s going to attract others.”

$3.7 million in HUD money to help five Central Texas communities with city planning, design
American-Statesman (Texas), December 10, 2011
A $3.7 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant awarded to the Capital Area Council of Governments will provide five Central Texas cities with planning and design consulting services through February 2014. The money, through HUD’s Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants program, will go to Austin, Dripping Springs, Elgin, Hutto and Lockhart.

Debunking public transportation myths
Detroit Free Press, December 11, 2011
The American Public Transportation Association says the long-term trend is clear: Ridership on the nation’s buses, subways, commuter rail lines and other transit systems grew 34% in 1995-2009, outpacing 23% growth in the number of vehicle miles driven on highways in that period. The number of workers who rely on transit regularly grew by a million, to nearly 7 million nationwide, in 2005-09.

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Smart growth news – December 9

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As U.S. road deaths drop, more pedestrians getting struck
USA Today, December 8, 2011
The USA is getting riskier for people on foot, and experts aren’t sure why. New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that pedestrian fatalities rose 4.2% in 2010 over the previous year. The number of pedestrians injured in motor vehicle crashes soared 19%, to 70,000.

Smart Growth conference to focus on sustainability
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 9, 2011
Pittsburgh’s rise from the ashes of a decimated steel industry and collapsed job market has caused some planning experts to refer to its story as a road map for post-industrial recovery. But organizers of the upcoming Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference say sustainable business strategies designed to revitalize existing resources are the models that ultimately will determine the future of the region and nation.

Governor Cuomo Announces $785 Million in Economic Development Funding Through Regional Councils
NBC 34 (N.Y.), December 9, 2011
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $785 million has been awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative, continuing the Governor’s efforts to redesign the way state government works in order to drive economic growth and create jobs. … In its plan, “A Strategy for Prosperity in Western New York,” the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council focused on preparing the region’s workforce for employment in key industry sectors, driving innovation and commercialization, investing in smart growth infrastructure, and attracting more visitors.

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Smart growth news – November 18

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Grant to fund parking audit for Newark
The Newark Advocate (Ohio), November 17, 2011
A Smart Growth America grant will allow Newark to review downtown parking for effectiveness and safety. The grant will fund a parking audit with a nationwide expert to review the amount, location and safety of downtown parking, Assistant Development Director Aaron Schill said.

Pima County wins Smart Growth planning grant from Washington, D.C. agency
Tuscon Citizen (Ariz.), November 17, 2011
Pima County’s Development Services Department is the winner of one of 15 smart-growth technical assistance planning grants awarded by Smart Growth America, in Washington, D.C.

Obama administration officials visit Brevard, tout rural initiatives
The Asheville Citizen-Times (N.C.), November 17, 2011
This county seat in one of Western North Carolina’s more rural counties served as the perfect backdrop Thursday for three federal agencies to release their latest report: “Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities.” … “The report is just a physical manifestation of what you’re going to hear from the agencies: The deep commitment that we all have and the importance of small communities and rural communities in the U.S., and their role in jobs and economic development,” Perciasepe said.

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Voters come out in favor of smart growth measures

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In last night’s elections, voters across the country proved once again that measures like transit, infrastructure, and downtown redevelopment have strong support across the board.

This was certainly true in Durham County, N.C. which approved a half-cent sale tax increase to improve bus services and support future commuter and light rail projects. Gov. Parris Glendening, President of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute, recently spoke in Durham in support of the measure, which passed 60%-40%.

Durham’s not alone – dozens of towns and cities also voted to support smart growth strategies. Here’s a look at how other measures fared in last night’s elections.

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Smart growth news – November 9

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Trending: Voters approve smart growth projects

Mixed-use draws strong following in Cocoa Beach
Florida Today, November 9, 2011
Reacting to shuttered storefronts and abandoned buildings, city voters hope that adding apartments or condos will economically rejuvenate their flagging downtown. By a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent (1,774 votes to 1,133 votes), residents approved future mixed-use development — blending residential units with today’s commercial properties — across 24 square blocks in the downtown area.

City voters give thumbs up to renewed downtown
Beaverton Valley Times (Ore.), November 8, 2011
Beaverton voters appeared to be comfortable with a measure to create an urban renewal plan to help revitalize Beaverton’s core business and commercial district.

Streetcar, rail get go-ahead
Cincinnati.com, November 9, 2011
Cincinnati voters narrowly gave a green light Tuesday to the long-debated streetcar project, clearing the way for construction of the Downtown-to-Over-the-Rhine line to begin by early next year.

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