Thursday, July 30, 2009

Discretionary Authority of Local Governments

5:14 PM | Posted by David Boston
Since most urban planners work for cities or regional planning authorities, it is important to understand how much discretionary authority a municipality has in relation to their state legislature. You can figure out roughly how much discretionary authority your municipality has by paying attention to four different factors, courtesy of Joseph Zimmerman and weighed by importance by David Miller. Keep in mind that these factors usually vary more from state to state, not from municipality to municipality within the same state.

The following factors are listed in order of importance when determining discretionary authority of a local government:

  • Finance: the degree to which a local government can raise revenues necessary to support the functions it has decided to undertake.
  • Function: the ability of a local government to choose activities or functions it wishes to undertake.
  • Personnel: the ability of a local government to regulate and determine the makeup and responsibilities of its workforce.
  • Structure: the degree to which a local government can define its own organizational structure.
Keep in mind that a high level of discretionary authority held by local governments is not necessarily good or bad by itself. It is simply a way of measuring where the power lies. The things that can be viewed as either good or bad are the actions which either the state or municipal government decide to take with that previously mentioned power.

Thanks for reading.

- David
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Planning Today: NYC Offers Homeless Families a Way Out

9:59 PM | Posted by David Boston
Though I have been critical of some of Mayor Bloomberg's other methods of reducing homelessness, it looks like this program is quite helpful, albeit small. Though the program is just recently enjoying attention from the media, homeless families in New York have been able to use this program as a way of leaving the city since 2007.

The way that it works is the city employs a local travel agency to book one-way domestic tickets (the Department of Homeless Services handles international tickets) for homeless people in the city to go wherever they have family willing to support them, if they want to, and the city pays for the tickets.

Local social workers help to let people know about this program and their option to move if they so desire. If a social worker confirms that the homeless individual or family has family willing to support them elsewhere, they can then go and have their one-way travel expenses paid for by the city.

This plan would work nicely in many areas, because many people who are homeless while living in a metropolitan poverty pocket may not stay that way for long in an environment with more opportunities for self-improvement or for work. But this plan is especially effective in a city like New York.

New York is a city that many people think of when trying to decide on a destination to start a new life. That's the city that people go to when they want to move out of their small town and make it big. But, life in New York City turns out to be a lot different from this glamorous version of the city that people normally think of. And many people end up finding out the hard way without having enough money set aside to make the return trip home.

Also, did I mention that the city ends up saving a lot of money by paying for one-way tickets to a family member as opposed to the upkeep cost per family in a NYC shelter?

Thanks for reading.

- David
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Planning Today: Atlanta Jumps the Gun on Demolition

4:14 PM | Posted by David Boston
Atlanta is expected to finish tearing down the last of its large-scale public housing projects by June of next year. These plans are meant to help poor residents by deconcentrating poverty, and Section 8 vouchers are given to most of the evicted residents so that they may find subsidized housing through a private landlord who accepts Section 8.

A little less than half of the public housing units that are torn down are being replaced by traditional public housing, while some of the rest is being replaced by subsidized houses and apartments that require higher income and by market-rate homes.

This mixed-income development is good for the reduction of poverty on a large scale because it aids the creation of social capital, particularly through high-yield weak ties (casual relationships with people from completely different social circles), it stems the formation of concentrated metropolitan poverty pockets, and it brings cost-saving businesses and jobs to the area.

However, if this is truly going to be a project that helps those living in poverty, the Atlanta Housing Authority has to make sure that enough affordable housing is available to keep people off the streets after they are evicted. According to a Georgia Tech 2007 study, only about one-third of evicted residents of demolished Atlanta public housing are able to resettle into the new developments. That leaves two-thirds of the residents to rely on Section 8 vouchers. A Section 8 voucher doesn't do you any good if there aren't enough affordable privately owned housing developments that accept Section 8 nearby for you to move to.

Apparently, the Atlanta Housing Authority has been and is in the process of offering incentives to coax more privately owned housing developments to accept Section 8 vouchers, but making sure that there were enough establishments accepting Section 8 should have been something that happened before peoples' homes were demolished, not after.

Thanks for reading.

- David
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Monday, July 27, 2009

Planning Today: Public Spaces in the City

9:55 PM | Posted by David Boston
The ideal layout of cities is an important topic that has spawned much debate. One side argues that cars should be the main method of transportation in a densely populated urban area, and that the car should be reinforced by planning departments through the development of more highways and parking spaces. The other side argues that mass transportation should become the new main method of transportation in a densely populated area, and that planning departments should invest in a mix of public transportation and pedestrian-friendly areas in order to achieve this.

I'm personally on the side of investing in public transportation and pedestrian-friendly areas for several reasons. Public transportation is an option for many people who cannot afford to buy, maintain, and purchase gas for their own car, especially in a densely populated area with a lot of traffic congestion. Plus, less cars running idle in downtown traffic is always better for the environment and for public health in the city. I'm not saying let's get rid of our cars. I'm just saying that cars are, quite frankly, a stupid way to move through the most densely populated and congested areas in the world - our inner cities.

Pedestrian-friendly areas have their perks as well. They create social capital in communities that are starving for friendly social interaction. They make moving from place to place much easier for people living in the city, which improves the economic vitality of the area. Not every small business has to pay for space to separately cater to the parking needs of their customers. And when these areas replace congested roads, they are a big improvement to both the environment and the public health.

I've included two short clips below that really touch on this subject. The first is about an organization called Rebar that brings public spaces to urban areas in San Francisco by turning parking spaces into temporary parks to be used by passing pedestrians. The second is an even shorter video about a public space created in Brooklyn by the NYC Department of Transportation and the Metro Tech Business Improvement District.



Thanks for reading.

- David
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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Thank You for Your Contributions

12:18 AM | Posted by David Boston
I wanted to take the time today to thank all of the professors who have corresponded with me through e-mail in order to share their knowledge and improve this website.

Dr. Asha Agrawal from San José State University
Dr. Victoria Basolo from the University of California, Irvine
Dr. Arthur Blaustein from the University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Marlon Boarnet from the University of California, Irvine
Dr. Karen Chapple from the University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Stephen Commins from the University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Christopher Coutts from Florida State University
Dr. Julianna Delgado from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Dr. Harley Etienne from the Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Fred Etzel from the University of California, Berkeley
Dr. David Feldman from the University of California, Irvine
Dr. Peter Gordan from the University of Southern California
Dr. Richard Green from the University of Southern California
Dr. Al Guttenberg from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Gilda Haas from the University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Andrew Isserman from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Martin Jaffe from the University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Joochul Kim from Arizona State University
Dr. Martin Krieger from the University of Southern California
Dr. Kristin Larsen from the University of Florida
Dr. Yanmei Li from Florida Atlantic University
Dr. Jeremy Németh from the University of Colorado, Denver
Dr. Rob Olshansky from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Asli Oner from Florida Atlantic University
Dr. John Pittari Jr. from Auburn University
Dr. Harry Richardson from the University of Southern California
Dr. Gerardo Sandoval from Iowa State University
Dr. David Sawicki from the Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Lisa Schweitzer from the University of Southern California
Dr. Bruce Stiftel from the Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Dan Stokels from the University of California, Irvine
Dr. Brian Taylor from the University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Willem van Vliet from the University of Colorado at Boulder
Dr. Pamela Wridt from the University of Colorado, Denver

Thank you all very much for your knowledge and insight. I will continue to rely on the generous amount of information that you have shared with me in future posts.

- David
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Friday, July 24, 2009

People in Planning: Daniel Burnham

11:39 PM | Posted by David Boston
Daniel Burnham was and remains a very influential figure in the planning fields. An architect and urban planner, Daniel Burnham was the first American planner to take the control of future growth into account by drafting and publishing a comprehensive plan in 1909.

This comprehensive plan was "The Plan of Chicago," and within this plan Daniel Burnham stated that every citizen should be within walking distance of a park. He also included many French-inspired elements within the plan to make Chicago more of a "Paris on the Prairie."

And though Burnham was raised in Chicago, he didn't limit his planning talent to the confines of his hometown. Daniel Burnham also later created comprehensive plans for Cleveland, Washington DC, San Francisco and two cities in the Philippines: Manila and Baguio.

One particular quote from Daniel Burnham has been adopted by many urban planners across the United States and beyond:

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized."

This quote is a great one for reminding ourselves not to become complacent with the way things are. If we truly want to make a difference in this world, especially from the position of urban planners, we have to remember to spend the time to prepare and put forward big plans. If there is something wrong with the system, don't tweak it. Change it.

Thanks for reading.

- David
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Thursday, July 23, 2009

President Obama Talks About Urban Policy

12:52 AM | Posted by David Boston

I have to say I like what I heard. A lot of people might not enjoy our President's speech as much since it is addressed to a room full of urban policy heads instead of one of his speeches to the public, but to someone interested in urban planning this speech was refreshing. He touches on several very major issues in urban planning such as addressing problems on a metropolitan level instead of a segmented municipal level, investing in public transit to curb sprawl and revitalize inner city areas, tweaking public housing and spreading it to more areas to avoid public housing becoming a trap that the impoverished cannot escape from.

But the federal government can only assist so much. It's up to urban planning and policy nerds to work out the details. Anyone care to post suggestions as a comment?

- David
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Great Books for Planners: List #6

5:59 PM | Posted by David Boston
So I've returned to Jacksonville after a very relaxing trip with the love of my life, and I had a wonderful time. Now that I'm back, the blog will be updated regularly once again. To start off, I'll post a short list of recommended urban planning books from the American Planning Association (APA) that I received quite a few days ago. People with an interest in urban design will find these recommendations particularly helpful.

  • True Urbanism: Living In and Near the Center by Mark Hinshaw (2007): this is a great book that argues in favor of people living in densely populated areas based on the positive effects that it can potentially have on social capital, care for the elderly, raising children in a culturally exposed and tolerant environment, and many other factors. This book was also chosen as the APA's Book of the Month in April of 2007.
  • Redesigning Cities by Jonathan Barnett (2008): another great book that focuses on reshaping suburban growth patterns, revitalizing older inner cities, and correcting planning mistakes of the past by utilizing many materials, methods and technologies that many planners currently overlook.
  • Fundamentals of Urban Design by Richard Hedman (1985): a very helpful introductory book to the basics of urban design which uses illustrations to aid the learning process for students new to urban design.
  • Urban Planning and Politics by William Johnson (1997): this book highlights the roles of several different groups of people, such as private citizens, public officials, business people, and not-for-profit institutions in the planning process. An excellent introduction to urban planning with a focus on the design of the urban environment as well as the influence of local politics.
  • Planning and Urban Design Standards, edited by the American Planning Association (2006): this is basically the Bible for planners and urban designers. It does not take sides in any controversial topics of the day, it merely serves as a very comprehensive reference guide for almost all aspects of urban planning and design. Definitely a good one to have.
  • Making Places Special by Gene Bunnell (2002): an inspiring book for aspiring planners that points out the long-term effects of successful urban plans and puts up an argument against critics who base the value of a plan on immediate results. This book describes how planning helped to weave local geography, history, economy and society into a distinctive community fabric.
- David
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Saturday, July 18, 2009

International Planning: Second US-Arab Cities Forum

3:58 AM | Posted by David Boston
There was a post a while ago about how this forum between American mayors and mayors from Arab nations was coming up. Well, I just found an article detailing information on the forum and I thought I would do a follow-up post on the subject.

Like I mentioned in the previous post, the forum took place in Amman, Jordan this year, and this is the second such forum to have ever been held. The first US-Arab Cities Forum took place in Chicago and was organized by Mayor Richard Daley. The forum took place from June 22 - 24.

A general overview of the topics discussed during the forum would include city management, urban development and planning, public transport, youth and city programs, and economic development/investment.

Youth programs and planning for youth in the urban environment took up a goodly amount of time at the forum. Many speakers such as the President of the Child Protection Initiative, an Executive Director of Social Services and the Head of the Adolescence Project of UNICEF-Jordan discussed the importance of planning for youth in our cities around the world.

A representative from the World Bank also joined in for a discussion on financing loans for the sustainable development of cities. Economic development and investment was discussed in other segments of the forum as well.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Dubai Municipality and the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) was signed at the end of this year's US-Arab Cities Forum. Hopefully, a greater level of understanding was reached between mayors managing cities on opposite sides of the oceans as well.

Thanks for reading.

- David
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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Glenn Beck and His Contribution to Broadcasting

7:14 PM | Posted by David Boston
Hello again everyone, I'm still out of state and I will be until the 21st now, but I had to share this wonderful segment from Glenn Beck's radio show. The topic is health care in America, what with the new health care bill going through Congress. I think you'll find it quite amusing.


- David
Categories: | 2 comments
Thursday, July 9, 2009

Planning Today: Transportation Stimulus Spent on Highway Repairs

1:25 AM | Posted by David Boston
According to a study of state reports conducted by a city planning coalition, Smart Growth America, state governments are spending the majority of federal stimulus money designated for transportation purposes on highway repairs.

About 62.9 percent has gone toward highway repairs. However, about 31.3 percent (roughly $6.69 billion) is being put toward building new highways. The coalition's president, Geoff Anderson, said the following about the 31.3 percent of stimulus money being spent on new highways:

"Given our huge road and bridge repair backlog and inadequate public transportation system, $6.6 billion for new highway capacity just doesn't make sense. It's like adding a new wing to your house when the roof is falling in."

Some states, such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Connecticut share Anderson's opinion on highway repair versus new construction and are spending 100 percent of their transportation stimulus money on highway repairs. Other states, such as Kentucky, seem to be the states that Anderson is talking about. The Kentucky state government is spending 86 percent of their transportation stimulus money on building new roads.

According to a study by the University of Utah's Metropolitan Research Center, road repairs also create 16 percent more jobs than road construction. However, another finding in this same study is that public transportation projects create 31 percent more jobs than road construction, which is especially helpful during an economic crisis like the one we are currently experiencing.

Despite this, state governments have been spending very few of their transportation stimulus dollars on public transportation projects. The state that is spending the greatest portion of its transportation stimulus money on public transportation projects is Delaware, and that portion is still only 16 percent.

If states ever had a chance to cut back on suburban sprawl and revitalize their economies by investing in innovative public transportation solutions, it would have been now. But it looks like that chance is being thrown away.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. - I will be returning to Jacksonville by the evening of July 16th (about a week), and by then posting will become regular again.

- David
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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Vacation Time

11:35 PM | Posted by David Boston
I'm going to be out of the state for a couple weeks, so I won't have constant access to the internet and posting may become slightly irregular until I return to Jacksonville.

Until I write again, everyone interested in transportation planning can take a moment to consider the recent monorail accident at Disney.

- David
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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th!

1:34 PM | Posted by David Boston
Sorry I wasn't able to post at all yesterday. I spent the day in several different airports and am too cheap to pay for internet.

I hope that everyone has an enjoyable 4th of July, and we can all celebrate Sarah Palin's resignation! Hopefully she doesn't use the time to try and become a celebrity for the Presidential election in 2012. We will see.

Happy 4th!

- David
0 comments
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Transportation Planning

10:47 AM | Posted by David Boston
Transportation planning is one of several important specializations in the planning field. A transportation planner deals specifically with how to best move people and goods from one place to another.

This is a very interesting focus because it cuts across many other aspects of urban planning as well. Decisions in transportation planning can have an impact on poverty rates in the area, environmental aspects such as levels of pollution, and the microeconomy of the city or region.

Transportation planners also usually have the privilege and the responsibility of constructing the skeleton of a city before other planners come in and flesh it out. Think about how the construction of a new highway stimulates development nearby. Also, if you wanted to go way back and look at this on a macro level, think about how the newly implemented highway system stimulated suburban sprawl.

Many transportation planners are employed at the regional or county level. Many regional councils and metropolitan planning authorities handle transportation due to the benefits that come with a widened scope. Knowledge pertaining to sources of traffic and commuter routes often requires looking beyond a single municipality.

Plus, if transportation planning was handled on the municipal level, there would be room for a lot of inefficiencies and wasteful spending. Imagine two municipalities adjacent to one another connected by a common road. Now imagine that road starts to become congested for one reason or another. The planning department from each municipality is going to put alleviating traffic congestion on this road near the top of their list of priorities. The result? Two newly constructed competing expressways that end in different places on their common border. To avoid this result, either one of the municipalities would have to cover the cost alone, or the cities could work together. And if they're going to have to work together to make cost-efficient decisions anyway, why not cut some bureaucracy and start the process off at a regional level?

Due to the high cost associated with most transportation infrastructure projects, good transportation planning is dependent upon an ability to effectively set priorities. Though a new highway cutting across the urban fringe might get you some barbecue invitations from suburban developers, this is probably not the most fiscally responsible option if you still have areas with high poverty rates being underserved by mass transit systems.

Don't forget that every planning decision has social implications. Think ahead about the people hurt and helped by any plan before you act.

- David
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

International Planning: Ambition in India to Lower Poverty

12:50 PM | Posted by David Boston
Kumari Selja, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, just released her Ministry's 100-day plan, and it's an ambitious one. Selja aims to take the first steps towards creating a slum-free India in as little as five years.

The plan has several very good components to it, but one of the most important components is that this plan recognizes the poor urban population's need for property rights. In the next 100 days, the Ministry plans to develop a legal framework to give property rights to the urban poor. States that then implement this legal framework will be financially supported by the Indian federal government for their efforts. Along with property rights, these states will also provide federally-supported amenities such as water supply, sewage systems, drainage, roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities.

Another major component is that a model bill is going to be formulated within the first 100 days regarding the regulation of the real estate industry in order to ensure that affordable housing efforts are not able to be destroyed by powerful companies in the private sector. The plan also vaguely mentions that the Ministry will promote a housing micro finance company, which would be great. It will be interesting to see just how much they promote such a company, and in what ways.

The plan also says that the Ministry will create a skill development program for the urban poor in order to give them better access to wage labor and a greater chance for success in self-employment. The goal of the program would be 2 lakhs (a lakh is 100,000 people) every year for the next five years.

The Ministry also plans to support State and City Resource Centres in any city with a population of 1 lakh or more. These centres will provide resources such as employment-related information, market assessment, skill development, training, placement, etc. in order to help reduce urban poverty in India.

One last component to the 100-day plan that I will mention is the implementation of an independent social audit system to ensure that the beneficiaries of these poverty alleviation programs are indeed the urban poor, and that money isn't finding its way elsewhere thanks to corruption. A manual on these social audits will also be created and circulated to the states so that they may keep an extra eye on each other as well.

This plan is a very big step forward for India not only for recognizing the relationship between urban planning and poverty, but for doing something about it. I've extracted two quotes from the 100-day plan that I think best represent this movement.

"Master plans have led to exclusion of the poor from the city development process and driven them to precarious and illegal settlements. The Ministry will support an Inclusive City Campaign involving all stakeholders to alter the existing city planning model and prepare 'inclusive' Master Plans/City Development Plans that adequately address the concerns of the urban poor for affordable housing and informal sector activities which engage most of the urban poor."

"[This model] will cover the provision of security of tenure to the urban poor and also make land available for affordable housing, basic amenities and informal sector activities of the poor through the process of urban planning."

Hopefully implementation of this new plan goes smoothly.

Thanks for reading.

- David
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I graduated from the University of North Florida with a BA in Political Science, double-minoring in Public Administration and Urban & Metropolitan Studies. Starting in the Fall of 2010, I'll be pursuing a Master's degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of Maryland - College Park.

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