The Chaotic, Fractal, and Complex City

New Post on Urbana: Urban Affaris and Public Policy

2013-10-22T05:44:00.000-04:00

Urban: Urban Affairs and Public Policy has just posted a new article entry, this one concerning the importance of urban space in urban conflicts. Click on link for the following new article: Jennifer L. De Maio, THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SPACE: SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY POLITICS in the Online First section.

Are the Suburbs Undergoing a Metamorphosis? (Reposted from the Progressive Press)

2013-05-11T15:36:00.005-04:00

The Global Economic Crash of 2008 was a watershed which is continuing to have effects in all aspects of the economy, politics and society. However, it was merely an exclamation mark within the developing trends in the U.S. that are pertinent to suburbanization in the country, such as:

-The national economy will not bounce back to pre-2008 in the foreseeable future with continued slow growth
-Demographics have changed (Baby Boomers retiring, smaller family sizes, more single adults, more ethnic diversity etc.)
-The smaller labor force in manufacturing requiring unskilled labor
-A decline in the middle class’s purchasing power due to declining wages
-Increasing individuals in poverty
-Unemployment/under-employment of young adults and those ‘near-retirement” group (55-70)
-Increasing energy costs
-Changing view of what cities should offer and lifestyle (i.e., ’24/7″ city)
-Oversupply and over valuing of housing with tighter credit
-Diminished hyper-consumerism

In suburban/exurban surroundings, one can see these elements having effects on the suburban landscape:
-Large houses are standing vacant
-Subdivision of single owner housing being converted into duplexes or multifamily dwelling units
-Partially built-out subdivisions
-Denser development, even for upper incomes
-More rental properties instead of single family ownership
-“Mini slum” development
-Vacant or partially occupied shopping malls; 1950s-1980s era
-Abandoned factories
-Neighborhoods composed largely of ‘empty nesters’

There are many who are convinced that once the American economy fully recovers things will return to ‘normal’, with more housing construction in the suburbs and subsequent additional growth in commercial development. However, the trends belie this and are pointing in a different direction.

The unraveling of traditional suburbs is not a transition related to the economic downturn, but a permanent transition due to structural changes.

A significant amount of young adults, older empty-nesters (‘baby boomers’) and new immigrants are being drawn to the central city in urbanized areas. Many former industrial and dilapidated areas are being transformed into mixed used developments. Older neighborhoods are being gentrified.Former downtowns are now being filled with small shops, restaurants, cafés, and individual offices. Although this is not new, it appears to be a rapidly increasing trend that was once encouraged by the government, but now it is driven by a developing market.

The vision of the suburb that was fueled by the American Dream is gone forever. There is no longer single family households with one member, usually male, working and the wife as the homemaker. No more gleaming shopping centers catering to a growing consumer market, and a neighborhood full of children of all ages who walk to school and recreation.

The trend of urban sprawl appears to be coming to an end after more that fifty years of constant expansion.

Alan Ehrenhalt (2012, p. 15) stated in reference to the demographic changes in the U.S. (smaller families, more people sharing housing, later marriages, ‘empty nest’ households etc.) that:

…it is hard to escape the notion that we have managed to combine virtually all of the significant elements that make a demographic inversion not only possible but likely. We are moving toward a society in which millions of people with substantial earning power or ample savings will have the option of living wherever they want, and many—we call only guess how many—will decide in favor of central cities and against distant suburbs. As they do this, others will find themselves forced to live in places less desirable—places farther from the center of the metropolis. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau in October 2011 revealed that in the first decade of the new century, poverty increased by 53 percent in the nation’s suburbs, compared to only 26 percent in the cities.

Are suburbs dying? No, but they are transforming from endless tract developments, strip malls, enclosed malls and multi-lane arterials and expressways into something different. The catharsis of the above mention factors could be the cause of alarm among many segments of society that always thought that suburbs would continue on forever in the same manner.

Local governments can flounder around while worrying about reductions in funding, the stagnant local economy and accept the current situation as temporary, one that will resolve by itself ‘when the market picks-up.’ However, ‘smart cities’ can anticipate and facilitate the new form of urbanization by:

-Encouraging temporary or pop-up developments in suburbs (McAdams, 2013)
-Conversion of vacant strip commercial development and malls into mixed use developments
-Revision of zoning to allow for mixed use development and abandon Euclidean zoning (separate areas for commercial, residential and industrial uses)
-Revision of subdivision regulations to allow for zero lot lines, narrow streets, etc. for more walkable communities
-Development of alternative suburban public transportation modes for low density areas (i.e. subsidized shared-ride taxi, fixed route flexible services etc.) and providing high quality traditional public transportation
-Creation of high density transit oriented development
-Conversion of former urbanized areas to agricultural areas or allowance of small farms
-Regional and inter-suburban cooperation (McAdams, 2012)
-Consolidation and merger of suburbs and services
-More freedom in annexation for cities
-Allowance for affordable housing
-Creation of commercial/industrial centers

As center cities are gaining population, the suburbs will be forced to transition. It will be considered traumatic to some who have become mired in the past. However, this transition can bring renewed vitality to suburbs.

Cities and regions must come together and cooperatively develop plans.These are issues that involve everyone in a metropolitan area more than merely selecting problem areas such as an abandoned shopping center and aiding in its redevelopment. Regions as a whole must determine how all segments of society, including governments, can enhance economic development, education, infrastructure, and social-economic justice to transform suburbs and central cities with an overall goal of creating a dynamic sustainable environment.

Sources citied:

Kaid Benfield. “How history killed the suburb.” The Atlantic, 25 April 2011. Web. 28 April 2013.

Duany, Andres, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. Suburban nation: The rise of sprawl and the decline of the American dream. North Point Press, 2001.

Dunham-Jones, Ellen. “Suburban Retrofits, Demographics, and Sustainability [Retrofitting Suburbia].” Places 17.2 (2005).Print/Web. 28 April 2013.

Ehrenhalt, Alan. The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City. Random House Digital, Inc., 2012.

Leinberger, Christopher B. “The Next Slum?” The Atlantic. 1 March 2008. Web. 28 April 2013.

Leinberger, Christopher B. “The Death of the Fringe Suburb.” The New York Times. 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.

Linn, Allison. “Sprawling and Struggling: Poverty Hits America’s Suburbs.” CNBC. 22 Mar 2013. Web. 28 April 2013.

McGirr, Lisa. “The new suburban poverty.” The New York Times. 19 March 2012. Web. 28 April 2013.

McAdams, Michael. “The Pop-up City: Making Something Out of Nothing.” The Progressive Press. 20
April 2013. Web. 1 May 2013.

McAdams, Michael . “Revitalizing the Suburbs through Cooperation: The Michigan Suburban Alliance Shows the Way.” The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City. 16 September 2012. Web. 1 May 2013.

Smith, Carissa Turner. “D. J. Waldie’s Holy Land: Redeeming The Spiritual Geography Of Suburbia.” Renascence 63.4 (2011): 307-324.

Link to Progressive Press article:

Image source: Pensions and Investments

Could 3-D Printing Change the Society and the City? (Reposted from the Progressive Press)

2013-05-06T17:02:00.002-04:00

(Reprinted from the Progressive Press article)

3-D printing combined with its increasing affordability could be an important element in accelerating the world away from the Post-Industrial to the Information Age.

3-D printing is the process of producing a physical object from a digital blue print or a scanned object. It is an additive process, not a subtractive process, as used in the machine tooling for a metal or plastic object. It relies on a mold that is inserted with a material (plastic, iron, copper etc.) to make a finished product.

Using a digital schematic, the 3-D printer builds a series of layers using material such as: plastic, glass, metal, ceramics or even cells to produce a single seamless product. One could think of this as similar to making a cake by putting down the different layers. This one machine might revolutionize manufacturing, the global economy and cities (Blua, 2013).

The cost may vary from as low as $1,000 to as high as $600,000 which is affordable to many businesses. What this realizes is that the companies and individuals can produce many parts with just a digital blueprint or scanned object, a 3-D machine and the appropriate material such as plastic, ceramics, steel and even cells. Produced objects could be as simple as making plastic figurines or mugs to even automobiles, houses or maybe a liver.

This sounds like the ‘replicator in Star Trek, doesn’t it?’ but it is not at this stage yet. It is not a Buck Rogers fantasy as presented in such magazines as Popular Science. 3-D printers are being manufactured and there are companies making objects with it. Surprisingly, 3-D printing was invented in the 1983 by Chuck Hall, but at this time, it was only in the experimental stage and CAD was in its infancy (Ziamou, 2013).

The first automobile to be made by a 3-D printer is now underway. This is being undertaken by RedEye. The process takes about 2,500 hours to make one car. The labor costs are limited to a few people. The cost for the prototype was $50,000. They can also make parts that are no longer available for vintage or older cars. There are claims that this new car because of its weight will travel from San Francisco to New York on 10 gallons of pure ethanol (George, 2013).

Based on geographic data or Computer Aided Design (CAD) data, 3 D printers can also create 3D models of entire cities or specific sites in the present or future, assisting city management/planning and improving public participation (Jaffee, 2013).

There are several trials underway to make houses from 3 D printers. Part of the house can be printed off-site in about a week and then assembled in one day. Various materials such as plastic bottles or even starch can be used to build the components of a house. (Dorrier, 2013).

The use of recycled materials and labor reduction costs could significantly reduce the price of housing. Also, it saves energy and wisely uses natural resources.

As illustrated in the above examples, the pace that 3 D printing is developing is phenomenal. The proliferation of 3 D printing as a major element of the manufacturing of all goods may not be a twenty or thirty year horizon, but ten years or less.

3-D printing itself will not bring about a new industrial revolution, but it will be one more block in the accelerating Information Age revolution; combined with a tremendously faster Internet which will fully realize the potential of cloud computing, and intelligent robots.

If I am ‘reading the tea leaves’ correctly manufacturing will soon be changed forever. The result will be incredible efficiency in the production of goods that are cheaper, less capital and labor intensive. Added to this will be lessened energy consumption of petroleum products because of decreased transportation costs, and decreased extraction of non-renewable material resources such as iron, copper etc. When combined with greater efficiency in alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal, which equipment could also be made with 3 D printers, the globe could be on its way to a sustainable future.

The reports of the speed and promise of the blinding light of 3-D printing combined with the development of technology which appears to be accelerating at a mind numbing pace, can send the mind reeling at its promise. But, the consequences are often being overlooked in this flurry of information ‘spun’ by numerous sources. Take a ‘journey down Google lane’ and you will see a plethora of articles on 3 D printing promoting its attributes, but with no substantial reflective comments.

All this hype has contributed to the utopian visioning of an information city or “informational city ” (Castells, 1996), (McAdams, 2008). But, due to this rapid development of technology, the ‘digital divide’ could become much more dramatic with this shift in the efficiency of automation and productivity. The need for labor could be only for a relatively few who have technological skills. The need for low-skilled labor would be exclusively in service jobs. There have been dramatic advances in creating sizable middle class populations in cities in high middle income countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, India and China; with still vast sectors of their population living in poverty. This progress could be undone by manufacturing needing less labor.

There could be a major disruption in the global economy with this new type of technology if the plutocracy continues to amass fortunes and drain the money from increases in productivity. The prosperity will only be limited to the very rich and corporations. Who will buy the goods if technology creates a disproportional amount of prosperity for one group and the remainder gets a small fraction or no portion of it.

Manuel Castells states that an information city is creating a dual city or :

“An urban system socially and spatially polarized between high value-making groups and functions on the one hand and devalued social groups and downgraded spaces on the other hand. This polarization induces increasing integration of the social and spatial core of the urban system, at the same time that it fragments devalued spaces and groups, and threatens them with social irrelevance (Castells, 1996).”

At the present moment, the world politics are dominated by international plutocrats who are by their business practices, and dominance in global financial and political institutions are significantly reducing the the middle class in developed world and creating a permanent worldwide population living at poverty level. There is no doubt that further improvements in technology without means to redistribute the prosperity will result in accelerating income disparities in both developed and developing countries.

Viewed from another angle, the 3-D printer is could be seen as the impetus of start-up companies or even individuals doing small scale manufacturing. This could be an affront for large multinational companies which are based on economy of scale, cheap labor and dependent upon an international supply chain. This also could open an alternative economy of worker-owned companies. There could be a major battle over patents, copyrights etc., as corporations struggle to maintain their ‘over-the top’ profits.

Emerging technologies, such as the 3-D printer is rapidly changing all aspects of culture, the economy, speed of globalization and politics. There is ample evidence that recently adopted technology has already made permanent changes to all aspects of how our present society functions (i.e., computers, jet airplanes, advanced telecommunications, including internet).

Major shifts in the history of mankind can be strongly related to changes in technology (i.e., use of refining of bronze, copper, iron, the plow, the gun; steam engine; electricity, the telephone, the automobile, etc.). The difference, between nations that have technology greater than other nations, has been the cause of those civilizations ceasing to exist (i.e., Aztecs, Incans etc.).

The ruins of those that misused technology to cause social turmoil at the hands of elitist governments and environmental degradation are also present (i.e. Mayans, Easter Island etc.). This is explained in detail by Jared Diamond in his books Guns, Germs and Steel (2005) and Collapse (2011 ).

However, the future does not have to continue to cause with environmental damage, burgeoning cities in the developed world with large areas of poverty, increased income inequality, and depletion of natural resources with the plutocracy fighting to drain the global economy. Technology, such as the 3 D printer can be used to increase the wealth of the entire global community.

Sources cited:

Blua, Antoine. “A New Industrial Revolution: The Brave New World of 3D Printing.” RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 6 Apr. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.

Castells, Manuel. The Informational City is a Dual City: Can It Be Reversed?, High Technology and Low-Income Communities: Prospects for the Positive Use of Advanced Information Technology.” MIT Press. 1996. Web. 9 April 2013.

Chacos, Brad. “Staples to Offer “Easy 3D” Printing in 2013.”LAPTOP. 30 November 2012. Web. 8 April 2013.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years. London: W.W. Norton and Company, 1995. Print.

Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

Dorrier, Jason.” First Fully 3D Printed Building May Take Shape This Year.” Singularity Hub. 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.

Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo. “Urbee 2 Is the 3D-Printed Car of the Future.”Mashable. 1 March 2013. Web. 8 April 2013.

George, Alexander. “3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as Steel, Half the Weight, and Nearing Production. Wired. 27 February 2013.Web. 8 April 2013.

Jaffe, Eric. “In Louisville, Urban Planning Goes 3D.” The Atlantic Cities. 24 September 2012. Web. 12 April 2013.

Johnston, Cat. “Why 3-D Printing Matters.”metroactive. 22 March 2012. Web. 12 March 2013.

McAdams, Michael A. “The Information Age City: A Bourgeois Utopian Dream.” Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy. Vol. 8 (Autumn 2008).Web. 8 April 2008.

Petronzio, Matt “How 3D Printing Actually Works.” Mashable.com. Web. Mar 28, 2013. 8 April 2013.

Rosenbach, Marcel and Schulz, Thomas. “3-D Printing: Technology May Bring New Industrial Revolution.”

Spiegel Online International. 4 January 2013. Web. 8 April 2013.
12

“A Third Industrial Revolution.” The Economist. 21 April 2012. Web. 8 April 2013.

Wollerton, Megan. “Wild 3D-printed House Can Be Assembled ‘in a Day’” DVICE. 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.

Ziamou, Lilia. “Interview: Avi Reichental on the 3D Printing Revolution (Part 1).” Huffington Post. 21 March 2013. Web. 12 April 2013.

“Road Diet”: Losing Width by Retrofitting (Re-post from the Progressive Press)

2013-04-07T17:50:00.003-04:00

(Re-posted from the Progressive Press.)

For most of the last century and continuing into this century, transportation planning in the United States has been mainly concerned with accommodating vehicular transportation. This automobile-oriented bias was embedded in travel demand forecasting models, transportation funding, zoning/subdivision regulations, street design ordinances, the general public and the general mindset of policy makers. The result in most cities has been a continual process of widening, and building new roads to alleviate traffic congestion due to increasing automobile ownership.

What was not accounted in this automobile bias oriented transportation system was the detrimental impact that it would have on neighborhoods; making them dangerous for pedestrians and bicycles. Neighborhood residents and local commercial establishments previously would have put up with the problems for a while but, eventually if they could afford it or their business failed, they would leave the area, creating vacant buildings, marginal commercial and residential areas which were once vibrant.

However, in the last couple of decades, particularly as people are moving back to the city, the public is becoming more vocal and advocating changes to make places more pedestrian, and bicycle friendly. Transportation planners that once were concerned mostly about street widening , new roads and perhaps fixed route public transportation were assisting neighborhoods in their battle against the intrusion of the automobile in their neighborhoods.

A “road diet”or “rightsizing” was one of the solutions created by planners to design roads that are more accommodating for other modes of transportation. A “road diet” usually consists of reducing the lanes generally from four travel lanes to: one turn lane, two travel lanes and bike lanes on both sides. However, by reducing the amount of lanes, the street may also accommodate traffic islands, berms separating pedestrian and bicycles from traffic. Further possible options could be placing light rail or Bus Rapid Transit in the center, with two travel lanes and bicycle lane accommodation.

The following is a highlight of the some examples that I found that illustrate ‘road diet:” I included links so that the reader can look at these projects in more detail.

In San Francisco, reduction of traffic lanes has been linked to making cities more livable. The city has been doing this since the 1970s. Before the “road diet” many of the streets were known as merely a route to go from one place to another. People raced from stop-light to stop-light, endangering pedestrians and bicyclists. Now, on San Jose Avenue, traffic lanes are taken out, bike lanes are designated and the green areas are created. This change has created more of a neighborhood atmosphere. The empty storefronts, now are occupied and an additional benefit is reduced accidents. One resident stated that before the “road diet” there were one collision a week, but now this is reduced to almost none.

On Edgewater Drive in Orlando Florida, a four lane street was reduced to two travel lanes, one turning lane and bike lanes. After these changes, there was a major reduction in speeding, on some segments up to thirty-four percent reduction was observed. There is also reduction in crashes per miles traveled, an increase in pedestrian traffic by twenty-three percent and increase in bicycle traffic by thirty percent. There was not a decrease in property value or increase in traffic on the parallel streets. Although there were some calls to revert it back to its previous state, but after realization of its benefits, these complaints died down.

In Philadelphia, a project termed “The Porch” was initiated which eliminated a parking area near outside the 30^th Street SEPTA transit, Amtrak and trolley station and replaced it with a large sidewalk, and an outdoor seating area with umbrellas. This caused no problems in parking or traffic congestion. It has since become a place for music performances, a farmers market, and other events. The station has some of the largest passenger traffic in the nation.

A more dramatic “road diet” would be to reduce a multi-lane street and put exclusive transit lanes in the middle (Light Rail or Bus Rapid Transit) with bike lanes on the side. This concept (minus the bike lanes) was used in Curitiba, Brazil, where there are two exclusive bus lanes in the center and ‘tube’ stations to protect passengers in inclement weather.

Istanbul, Turkey used the same concept in its Metrobus system on a major arterial (E-5). The lanes were reduced by two to allow for two exclusive lanes in the center with stations. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT ) route has significantly reduced traffic on the road (particularly bus traffic which was a major cause of congestion) and greatly decreased public transportation travel time.

The concept of using a ‘road diet’ on roads can be used in the smallest cities up to major metropolitan areas. It is demonstrated in the examples given that this technique reduces accidents, decreases congestion, increases pedestrians, increases bicycle riders, encourages pedestrian oriented business, and creates a sense of community. Reducing lanes to create exclusive transit lanes or BRT makes use of the street to create a more attractive public transportation system. It is expected that more cities will be using a “road diet” to confront the conflicts between automobiles, pedestrians and bicycles.

Video Credit: StreetFilms

A ‘Smart City’ or the ‘Matrix’? (re-post from the Progressive Press)

2013-04-07T17:35:00.001-04:00

(This article is re-posted from the Progressive Press.)

Cities are rapidly becoming engulfed in the technological revolution which is advancing at “warp speed”, rocketing the entire globe out of the post-industrial age into the emerging Information/Hyper-Global Age.
The ability for the complex networked structures of a city (government, services, institutions, residents etc.) to effectively utilize its human capital, connect with the global economy, collaborate and use its infrastructure is becoming essential for its future welfare. This is being facilitated by the burst of technological devices and the Internet.

In the Information Age, the most connected cities are becoming the most dominate, resting on their financial capability, their human capital and infrastructure (i.e., New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong). A city’s hinterland, its access to ports and manufacturing base, are becoming inconsequential to a city’s importance.

All cities are aspiring to be “smart cities”—connected, innovative, prosperous, globally footloose and riding the wave of technological innovation. The reality is that only a handful is approaching being a true “smart city”. It is not a ‘flat world’, but an uneven one with disparities within cities and among cities.
But, what exactly are the attributes of a “smart city”?

The following are two definitions:
Maggie Comstock (Comstock, 2012) of the World Banks states,

“At its most basic level, a city is comprised of a government (in some form), people, industry, infrastructure, education and social services. A smart city thoughtfully and sustainably pursues development with all of these components in mind with the additional foresight of the future needs of the city. This approach allows cities to provide for its citizens through services and infrastructure that address both the current needs of the population as well as for projected growth.”

Another definition of a “smart city” would be one that successfully uses technology to efficiently handle the complexity of many issues (housing, mobility, economy, culture, governance, and environment), and accomplish a level of sustainability (“In focus: Smart Cities”, N.d.)
This definition is more fully explained on the webpage of The State of Green (a website focusing on sustainability in Denmark):
‘The smart city is based upon the visions for the sustainable city and visualizes the city as an inclusive system and not consisting of separate parts, but the smart part is how you use smart technologies to collect data, how you choose to work and with which resources. It is a city which is designed to optimize the interaction and integration of existing technical and digital solutions, so the smart city does not necessarily provide the solutions, but it presents a way of accelerating innovation and creating new possibilities and partnerships. The practical use of the concept rests on two pillars’:
1- Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
2- Optimization of technological infrastructure (“In Focus: Smart Cities”, N.d.)

One of the foundations of the smart city is the development of digital geographic databases, spatial technologies (Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Global Positioning Systems etc.) coupled with a robust globalized cadre of spatial technology professionals. This is a billion dollar industry which was in its infancy just twenty years ago.

Not so long ago, GPS was only known only to professionals. Now, it has become a household word with many cars and trucks equipped with GPS units.

This digital spatial grid, and associated spatial technologies, realizes efficient dispatching of fire and police vehicles for emergencies, public transit buses to be better coordinated; better knowledge of motorists concerning congestion and accidents, and better locations of problems on electrical grids.

Now an app is being developed by Honda that would be able to sense potential traffic jams and direct drivers on an alternative route (Vijayenthiran, 2013).

Systems have been theoretically tested so that all vehicles in a city can be monitored and guided in the street network via an integrated system of sensors and guidance systems to avoid accidents and congestion (Tang, 2012), (Khekare, 2012).

Remote Sensing (satellite imaging and interpretation) is becoming so powerful that small changes in the urban landscape can be detected (Blaschke, 2011.)

However, not all aspects of ‘smart cities’ are benign. The use of drones, also using geographic databases and spatial technologies to monitor criminal activity and for security is already being considered for domestic use, but under considerable controversy (Stanley, 2013). There is also a discussion on the use of drones for small package delivery, agricultural uses, search and rescue and emergency disaster assistance.

Another aspect of the ‘smart city’ is the increasing communications among individuals. Most everyone in a city is now almost constantly connected to those in the city, and outside including internationally if they own a cell phone, tablet (i.e. IPad), lap top or other devices.

Many in cities are self-organizing to become a powerful force in government with the assistance of communication technology such as mobile devices. The Arab Spring revolutions occurring in Tunisia and Egypt in their urban areas were greatly facilitated by mobile phones and social media. The international Pirate Party, which uses social media to get issue petitions and consensus-based decision-making, presents a possible revolutionary way for direct democracy.

The software that is the backbone of communication among the worldwide Pirate Party is LiquidFeedback, an open-source software package. The most active Pirate Party was in Germany, but currently it appears to be in a state of confusion and undergoing a state of self-destruction, ironically through the platform that brought its members together, the Internet (Becker, 2013).

In many cities around the world technology is opening up new avenues of social engagement that were not possible before, creating a greater sense of community and encouraging local government to be more transparent and integrated with its citizens (Sánchez-Chillón, 2011.)

It would seem obvious, but a “smart city” must be inhabited by “smart people.” This requires an excellent system of free public education, including university level. It takes educated people in a city and nation to be able to design, maintain and coordinate/plan for intelligent technology. It also takes a population which has equal access to this technology.

In the present system, with the middle class decreasing and those in the upper income brackets gaining more income and control, a “smart city” would be greatly hampered to reach its full potential. There would be a continuing gap between those that have the technology and those that do not. There also continue to be a gap between the technological advantages of cities in developed countries as opposed to those in developed countries.

Regardless of the present economic stagnation, income inequality and “Luddite” governments that controlled by an economic elite and corporations, it is still a marvelous and complex world that we now live. Cities are being caught up in the technological revolution that is dynamic and often confusing. It is determining how individuals operate within it, aiding in the delivery of public services, determining the planning of infrastructure and challenging local governments to be more transparent, more responsive, and shifting the power away from the plutocracy that controls cities. The “gauntlet” put before cities is how well they can use this technology to make cities more livable, accepting, just (economically and politically) and sustainable.

Works Citied:
Becker, Sven. “German Pirate Party Sinks amid Chaos and Bickering.” Spiegel Online. N.p., 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

Blaschke, Thomas, et al. “Collective sensing: integrating geospatial technologies to understand urban systems—an overview.” Remote Sensing 3.8 (2011): 1743-1776. Web. 26 March 2013.

Comstock, Maggie. “What Is a Smart City and How Can a City Boost Its IQ?” Sustainable Cities Blog, World Bank, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

“In Focus: Smart Cities.” N.p. State of Green. N.d.. Web. 24 March 2013.
Khekare, Ganesh S., and Apeksha V. Sakhare. “Intelligent Traffic System for VANET: A Survey.” International Journal 2.4 (2012). Web. 27 March 2013.

LiquidFeedback. N.p. N.d., Web. 24 March 2013.

Sánchez-Chillón, Pablo.”Sentient city: From Living Labs to hackathons and city hackers.” URBAN 360 by Pablo Snchez Chilln Pabloschillon. N.p., 22 November 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

Schaffers, Hans, et al. “Smart cities and the future internet: Towards cooperation frameworks for open innovation.” The future internet (2011),: 431-446. (Available via Open Access)

Smart City Expo World Conference (13-15 November 2013.) Web. 24 March 2013

Stanley, Jay. “Eight Factors That Will Shape How America Adapts to Drones.” American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013 .

Tang, Xiaolan. “Integrated Extensible Simulation Platform for Vehicular Sensor Networks in Smart Cities.” International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks (2012). Web. 27 March 2013.

Vijayenthiran, Viknesh. “An App to End Traffic Jams?” The Christian Science Monitor. 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013
Image source: picstopin.com

A Quiet Green Revolution: Urban Agriculture (repost from the Progressive Press)

2013-03-09T14:27:00.001-05:00

This article is a re-post of an article that appeared 8 March 2013 in the Progressive Press:
http://www.progressivepress.net/a-quite-green-revolution-urban-agriculture/

The mainstream media concentrates on the sensational and current news – obsessed with celebrity scandals, the daily fluctuations of the stock market, the deficit, and international conflicts – but under the radar is an alternative to industrial agriculture: the urban agricultural movement.

The individuals and groups opposing industrial agriculture are not picketing, organizing rallies, destroying property, suing corporations; they are putting their hands in the dirt, straining their backs, enjoying quality organic food, and creating social capital by organizing diverse informal groups or non-profit organizations to forge a new future.

In modern developed countries, we have left the growing of vegetables to industry. We go to our local mainline grocery store and buy produce (tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, etc.) transported perhaps thousands of miles, using plastic wrapping, grown from genetically engineered seeds with extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides and excessive use of water. Crops are harvested using mechanized equipment adding additional costs and using non-renewable energy. Some of the food is further processed into ‘junk food’ such as potato chips and into fructose which is found in many processed foods and soft drinks. Fructose has been indirectly linked with obesity, heart problems and type 2 diabetes.

Industrial agriculture has much more impact beyond the scope of this article. A documentary that is highly recommended is Food Incorporated, readily available on Netflix. I would make it a requirement for any course on introduction to environmental studies/science at the university level. It might also be suitable for high school students in social studies or geography classes. Noteworthy is an interview with the documentary’s director, Robert Kenner, on PBS.

There are numerous non-profit organization (NGO), websites, informal groups and individual in in the U.S. and around the world becoming aware of the problems with industrialized agriculture and forming the base for the urban agricultural revolution.

One such NGO is Urban Farming, which encourages the proliferation of urban farming.
The mission of Urban Farming, as stated on their website, is:

…to create an abundance of food for people in need by supporting and encouraging the establishment of gardens on unused land and space while increasing diversity, raising awareness for health and wellness, and inspiring and educating youth, adults and seniors to create an economically sustainable system to uplift communities around the globe.

The organization conducts workshops in various places around the U.S. to help people get involved in their own private efforts or come together for communal gardening.
In areas where there is not enough space for large urban farms, New York is the model, with some neighborhoods buying small lots, turning them into gardens, others growing plants on rooftops or creating greenhouses in old industrial buildings. A book (of which some portion is online), Five Borough Farm: Seeding the Future of Urban Agriculture in NYC, documents urban agriculture in New York City, its impact and speculates on its future. The online material is fascinating and certainly worth a visit.

Another example of urban farming is found in Boise, Idaho, at the Peaceful Belly Farm. It has been in operation for over ten years and grows over 100 types of certified organic vegetables. It was established by husband and wife farmers, Clay and Josie Erskine, in 2002. About a dozen volunteers assist on the farm. They have over 150 subscribers, or, ‘shareholders’, who receive a weekly amount of the food after harvesting. The cost of membership is $450. Of course, it means much more than just food for their subscribers. The membership supports a farm that: serves the community, not a large corporation; does not use genetically engineered seeds or pesticides, and, assists those that need food. Peaceful Belly food is sold at local markets and online. At the markets, they accept food stamps. They also donate over 1,000 pounds of food to a local food pantry and allow gleaming (allowing people to pick up what is left after harvesting) for low-income individuals. The farm is part of the growing movement of those involved in an informal network of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) .

Many cities in the Rust Belt have deserted neighborhoods with abandoned homes and empty lots, and decrepit former industrial cities are finding that urban agriculture can be transformative. Cities such as Detroit (as this story’s featured image depicts), the most cited example of a declining Rust Belt city, are turning some of these sites into urban farms. Spearheading the creation of urban agriculture in Detroit is the non-profit, The Greening of Detroit. It is supported by local, state and federal agencies, corporations and foundations to assist local citizens, churches and social organization in the planting of trees, urban farming and reclaiming open space. These activities are recreating communities and creating jobs.

There is much more that could be discussed relating to urban agriculture from the practical to the fantastic, such as urban agriculture in multi-storied buildings, termed “vertical farming.” However, the most extraordinary phenomena in the urban agriculture movement is the power of ordinary people putting their ideas into motion and slowly transforming unsustainable industrial agriculture into agriculture that is sustainable.
[featured image credit: inhabitat.com]

this article edited by KL Johnson

Port cities viewed through fractal analysis (with special focus on land use formation around airports) Draft-Updated 30 December 2012

2012-12-28T23:33:00.000-05:00

(This image is the harbor road leading from the port to other land uses in the ancient Greek/Roman city of Ephesus , located near Selçuk, Turkey. . It was lined with shops which were selling goods that would be interested to those going to and from the port. It is not by accident that Ephesus became a major center key in the spread of Christianity as it was a major cultural center in the Roman Empire. When the port filled in with silt, the city declined rapidly. This underscores the importance of key transportation nodes to the very survival of an urban areas.The image is located at: http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/arcadianstreet.htm. This site also has a further description of the street and Ephesus.)

I am still in the process of reading two books: Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next (Kasarda and Lindsay) and Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis (Binelli.) Both speak of an evolving metropolis where there is no end state, nor an entirely new phenomena. Both books blend some of the topics that I first explored in my dissertation almost twenty years ago (The Land Use Impact of an Airport and Urban Structure: A Case Study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin *) which I looked at the land use impact of General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee and compared it to a declining port and suburban area. It was also at this time that I started my exploration of fractals and complexity theory as they apply to urbanization. Therefore, when I look at the importance and impact of airports and the accession and decline of cities or areas of cities, I view them with a different perspective than other urbanists.

“Things change to remain the same” is an adage that applies to airports. An airport is a place of transportation interchange between passengers and freight. This type of node has existed since mankind started to trade by sea, rivers and lakes which make interchange nodes at least three thousand years old. The interchange node was the reason for the existence of major cities such as London, Paris, Rome (Ostia), Istanbul/Constantinople, New York, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, San Francisco etc. The next major transportation mode—railroads, caused the impetus of new cities and the decline of others. Airplanes could be seen as the latest ‘public’ and cargo transportation mode to appear which has over a period of fifty years eclipsed the importance of railroads and waterborne transportation for passengers and non-bulk cargo. Waterborne transportation and railroads are the most efficient to ship large shipments (Passenger railroads still play an important role in most countries (with the exception of the U.S.), although diminished by the automobile). The airport emerging at the same time as automobiles and trucks has been shaped nature of this particular node and the associated landscape.

Within the context of fractal analysis and complex theory: one could see the port as an initiating fractal started with certain rules constrained or assisted by its environmental influences on various scales. On another level, a port could be seen as an attractor in a dynamic environment drawing land uses that benefit from being near it. Sea/River ports, airports and railroad stations/freight yards. have attracted warehouses, hotels, housing, financial businesses, industries, shipping companies, restaurants/bars, illicit business, etc. The difference why areas around arose and declined was related to the speed of the transportation mode. The airplane is presently the fastest global transportation mode and its interchange nodes (airports) are presently the impetus for dynamic land use change in many urban areas. The impact of the airport node is related to its importance in the global airport network and the characteristics of the metropolitan area.

The airport exists, as other previous ports related to older technologies, exist within the chaotic, fractal and complex nature of the city. However, there are some distinct characteristic of airports that differ from other types of ports/interchange points (sea, river, railroads.) The airport is related to moving people and goods fast. The airport land uses are becoming destinations in themselves, such as office and conference hotels. Some hotels are on the airport property itself (i.e. the Hilton Hotel in Chicago O’Hare airport.) This attraction is not directly related to the metro area itself, but the importance of the node. Negative impacts are the amount of land needed the noise impacts, and pollution (air and ground). Urban planners and other public officials must operate in this dynamic and chaotic atmosphere and be adept at viewing the process in its theoretical and local context.

*You have to be a member of academia.org to download this document.

A tale of two cities: a city without guns versus a ‘gun toting’ city

2012-12-25T22:35:00.004-05:00

(This image is located at: http://locationreservoir.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/when-hollywood-takes-over-a-small-new-england-village-pt-2/ . I selected this image to represent a small village or city as referred in the narrative below.)

As a trickster and provocateur, I am proposing the juxtaposition of two hypothetical cities: one which prohibits guns and another that requires guns to be carried by all people. In light of the current gun control debate brought about by the tragedy of Newtown, Connecticut, a discussion as the one below is warranted. The metaphors of utopia (or dis-utopia) is useful when discussing issues. The most concrete way to discuss utopias is within the context of a city, which has been used by urbanists for centuries (i.e., Plato, Sir Thomas Moore. ) I will discuss this within a fictional situation of the two hypothetical cities.

At the beginning of 2013, the city council of one city in the U.S. decided that the ultimate solution to violence was the arming of all people above the age of eighteen in its jurisdiction. Even visitors would be required to carry a gun. Those opposing it had no choice, but to either abide by the ordinance or to leave the city. This seemed like the perfect solution. Later, they determined that there must be mandatory gun training. What about people who were elderly? Should they be allowed to carry guns when their vision and some had mental stability was questionable? Also, what about people with some form of mental illness? In turn, they enacted a regulation to screen those who were mentally incapable of owning a firearm. Then, one day a person came into town with a machine gun and killed about fifty people. The council decided maybe everyone should now have machine guns so that they would be equal. What about those who could not afford machine guns? It was concluded that that this was their problem. The premise was that things could be resolved with guns; no matter the level of conflict. This resulted in more gun tragedies related to domestic violence. When one man was fired from a job, he shot his boss before he could reach for his gun. Of course, he was killed by other workers. It was resolved that even though there was increased violence that everyone was safer.

Another city, not too far away from the ‘gun toting city’ passed an ordinance to ban all guns from their city. The city council resolved that no one could have a gun, even law enforcement. This required gathering all guns and disposing of them. Anyone caught entering the city with a firearm would be jailed, fined and sent out of the city. Those that opposed to this ordinance would be required to leave the city. This was not a problem as a nearby city allowed guns for everyone. There were organizations formed on counseling people how to resolve issues without violence. Everyone was happy with the situation. Police were able to solve problems of burglary, domestic abuse, and accidents without using firearms. A sense of community based on a culture of non-violent resolution of conflicts. Then, one day a person with a gun was able to come into the city and managed to rob a store, killing the manager and some of the customers. Citizens were shaken as they thought that they had done everything to prevent violence. They began to reconsider their banning of all guns. Would they have to go back to the armed security guards, gun ownership etc.? Ultimately, they resolved that there would have to be walls with barbed wires around the city; and restricted and guarded entry gates with armed police, even at their small airport.

This hypothetical situation is symbolic of the division that our country is enduring. No one could dispute that the ever reoccurring mass killings is a tragedy. Yet, it also goes on in smaller cases almost daily. We have on one hand a radical segment that would ban handguns, automatic weapons, and assault weapons and make stringent regulations on buying a gun to those who want greater freedom to purchase guns. Both sides interpret the Second Amendment in two diametrically different manners.

Urban areas are where the majority of gun violence occurs. It is the responsibility of the Federal, State or city/county government to curtail gun violence at the local level? What is the right mix of regulations that curtain gun violence and be acceptable to most people? What is apparent is that we as a nation are polarized on this issue to the point of paralysis. Differing opinions vary by households, neighborhoods and cities within different parts of the U.S. But, we have to develop a dialog and not one of bullying one opinion over another. “Shouting matches” never resolve in good solutions.

2012 Volume of Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy Now Published

2012-12-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

2012 Volume XIII

(Click on above image for commentary)

2012
Volume XIII
(on-line first)*

Richard Hartwig and John Bailey
JOURNALISM & ORGANIZED CRIME IN COLOMBIA AND MEXICO

Regina Laisner
THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL CITY NETWORKS IN THE SUPPORT OF LOCAL PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE IN LATIN AMERICA

Ivani Vassoler-Froelich
CITY GIFTS: A BOOK REVIEW OF TRIUMPH OF THE CITY: HOW OUR GREATEST INVENTION MAKES US RICHER, SMARTER, GREENER, HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER. EDWARD GLEASER, PENGUIN PRESS, 2011

Michael A. McAdams
IS JUSTICE IN THE CITY A QUIXOTIC DREAM?: A BOOK REVIEW OF PLANNING AS IF PEOPLE MATTER : GOVERNING FOR SOCIAL EQUITY. MARC BRENMAN,AND THOMAS W. SANCHEZ, . ISLAND PRESS, 2012.

*Articles will be published first on-line and later selected articles will be published in printed form.

**If using Mozilla Foxfire as a browser, it may be easier to download documents by pointing on the link for the article and right clicking on ‘Save link as'.

It’s the infrastructure…Stupid!

2012-12-10T16:38:00.001-05:00

(Pot hole in New Orleans: found at : http://librarychronicles.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html .)

At the present moment, in Washington all talk is focused on the “fiscal cliff. “ However, something bigger is looming; our crumbling infrastructure and insufficient Federal funding. Well-maintained infrastructure is essential for the economic health of the nation and particularly for urban areas. Bridges, roads, transit systems, airports, water/sewer systems, and electrical grids are in grave need of repair and expansion. The problem with our highways and bridges has been known for a significant amount of time, perhaps more than 30 years. This is not a complicated issue. When you build things, you must maintain them or eventually see their deterioration. This is very evident in the aging Interstate and Defense Highway System, of which many miles are located in urbanized areas, leaking sanitary and water systems; numerous deteriorating bridges in all states and cities, and worn rapid transit tracks.

Recently, hurricane/tropical storm Sandy proved the vulnerability our urban infrastructure. It will take months to rebuild all that was damaged in just a few hours. However, some of the infrastructure was in grave need of repair before this natural disaster. Although denied by some, Sandy was a wakeup call to many that global warming is a reality and not some ‘leftist’ propaganda. The rebuilding of infrastructure along coastal areas due to Sandy is merely to return to status quo. What should be in process is rebuilding of infrastructure in accordance with possible erosion, sea water rise and the possibility of possible future storms of the same or greater magnitude.

Those in Washington and in the media are in a panic if we “fall off the fiscal cliff. There will be tax increases, and program reduction across the board. The Republicans seem to be obsessed with not letting the tax rates rise to that during Clinton era. Obama is pushing increases to taxes above $250,000 and keeping the social net intact. Republicans want to cut social programs. All these issues are ignoring the obvious that major infrastructure improvements such as the Trans-Continental Railroad and the Interstate and Defense Highway System were far more important that gaining more revenue or cutting expenditures. They created jobs, brought about additional development and led the U.S. to be the largest economy in the world. Other major infrastructure improvements also occurred during the1930s related to the Works Project Administration. These were not ‘make work projects’ but damns, bridges, public park improvement and other physical structures that are still among us. With infrastructure failure and the needs of new infrastructure not being met, reducing the deficit will be least of the concerns of the U.S. Urban areas will be gravely hurt by failing infrastructure. Job creation, social welfare and revenue generation all pend upon maintaining and expanding infrastructure.

The prescription for prosperity will not be found in financial manipulations such as raising debt ceiling, taxing the top 2% more, or cutting programs; although the failure to address them will stifle our economy in the short term; but, creating the necessary support or infrastructure for job creation, economic prosperity, security, health and better quality of life for all the citizens of the U.S. In the short term, the U.S. will experience higher debts as major building programs are initiated. But, in the long term, it will lead to an era of greater prosperity. However, these programs should be tempered with sound knowledge and in the context of sustainability, energy resources and a highly interconnected world.

Rivers, canals and harbors: a resource for cities

2012-11-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

(This bleak image of a woman washing her clothes in a polluted river in China with a pile of garbage in the background was found at : http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=391&catid=10&subcatid=66 This site is also an interesting one on the state of rivers in China.)

In a recent entry of The Urban Flâneur Guidebook, I featured some intriguing photographs by Hamish Stewart, the blog author of Le flâneur: the random urban photographer, of the Regents Canal in London. His photographs portrayed how a canal or any water body can be a delight to urban residents. However, many waters bodies in urban areas are not places of beauty, but often resemble a vision of hell, as seen in the picture above.

In the Industrial Era, lakes, rivers, bays and canals were perceived not for their intrinsic natural value, but for their economic use and waste disposal. In this present transition era, this situation can be found in numerous cities around the world, particularly those in developing nations. Many rivers, harbors and canals are lined by industry, derelict buildings and receive a significant amount of pollution from various sources. One does not have to look far to see the destruction that humans have caused to these valuable resources.

Water is the actual lifeblood of all living things right down to the microscopic level. Our bodies can not survive without water. Plants and animals rely on it for their existence. Other human related processes are intrinsically dependent on water (i.e., manufacturing, hydroelectric generating, agriculture, etc.) Yet the present global economy and their associated actors are humming along, treating water resources as relatively inconsequential.

Presently, the focus is on the worldwide economic crisis with myriad discussions on fiscal policies, reducing debt and reviving sluggish, erratic, unsustainable economic growth. Our political leaders and other key decision-makers seem to have put environmental concerns far down the list of important agenda items. They drive around in limousines, sit around tables, arrange numerous conferences, fill up resorts and hotels discussing financial markets which have been made extremely complicated by their own design, and expect the ‘magic market’ to take care of things. ( The World Economic Conference (although a private conference) held annually in Davos, Switzerland is probably the pinnacle of such elitist conferences.) Despite present decision-makers apparent lack of attention on these issue, there has been major national and supranational legislation and the creation of environmental organizations whose responsibility lies in monitoring and improving the environment, including water bodies. A growing amount of NGOs are also involved in environmental actions.

Substantial improvement of the environment, including water resources.is not going to happen unless the focus of discussion starts to change through being forced by the grassroots/bottom-up and informal networks, such as emerging city networks. Cities must lead the way and not wait upon our lethargic national and supranational organizations to take action. Cities have at their disposal untapped resources, particularly their citizens and local industries/businesses, that can improve water resources. They can also leverage a vast amount of public and private and network with other cities and NGO’s (as referenced below.) It all starts with a vision of how water resources can be improved; forming formal and informal groups who are committed to this vision and making it happen. (An example of how city networking is developing can be found in Regina Laisner's article, "The role of international city networks in the support of local participatory govenance in Latin America in the online journal: Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy.)

Water bodies can be the ‘jewel’ of cities in many aspects. They are of value in many aspects: clean drinking water, recreation, aesthetics and quality of life. Some cities have started to recognize the value of water, but not enough. However, we wait around for the right time, we will find that this resource will be in extreme danger. It has been said that the next wars will be fought over water. This could occur if sufficient action is not taken to correct this problem on numerous scales.

There are numerous resources that give further substance to this discussion. Here are a list of just a few:
UN Water

A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources

U.S Environmental Protection Agency Water Home

International Rivers Organization

American Rivers Organization

The implosion of cities

2012-10-25T14:09:00.001-04:00

(image located at: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/03/the-next-slum/306653/?single_page=true )

In some of the past blog entries, I have discussed the decline of cities in the Rust Belts of both North America and Europe. Some of the entries were directly related to Detroit, the ‘poster child’ of the Rust Belt and its implications for other Industrial Era cities. The decline of these cities can be directly attributed to the globalizing economy and the restructuring of most developed nations. This has left behind vacant buildings and derelict vacant land. At the same time, there are examples of redevelopment of some of these areas into mixed used areas.

The global economic crash of 2008, is a watershed. The economies of developed nations will not bounce back to the level that they were before. There are underlying socioeconomic changes that are also occurring that affect this situation. There is increasing number of people retiring, smaller families, more people living alone, struggling young adults, increase of the number of the underemployed and a shrinking middle class. This is compounded by the increasing number of foreclosures, stagnant wages, and sputtering economy. All these factors are having far reaching urban consequences.

The suburbs are in slow decline, although looking at them superficially you would not know it. In my suburban/exurban surrounding one can see the elements of this: large houses standing vacant; properties that were once single owners subdivided and mobile homes put on the parcels; subdivision that were begun and now have large number of vacant lots; smaller pockets of more dense development composed of smaller lots and condominiums; for sale signs on larger older properties, vacant or partially occupied shopping malls and 1960s-1980s era suburban neighborhoods composed largely of ‘empty nesters.’ The unraveling of the traditional suburbs is happening right in my backdoor and probably of many readers that live in the suburbs.

At the same time, there is a slow redevelopment of the central city area of many urbanized areas. Many former industrial and dilapidated areas are being transformed into mixed used development. Older neighborhoods are being gentrified. Former downtowns are now being filled with small shops, restaurants, cafés, and individual offices. Although, this is not new, it appears to be an rapidly increasing trend that was once encouraged by government, but now is one driven by a developing market.

What should be construed by these trends?
1. The traditional suburbs have changed and the pre-2008 level of growth is gone and will not rebound. 2. Central cities will continue to become the focus of growth.
3. Surburban areas will start to have financial problems with subsequent reduction in services with some suburban cities and other regional intituions (i.e., schools, water/sewer districts)having to declare bankruptcy.
4. Increase in poverty
5. Transformation of suburban/exurban areas with greater density, more mixed used development,

What should be the actions that local/regional goverments take?
1. Begin a dialog among all stakeholders on the present and future condition of suburbs.

2. Consider consolation of smaller cities and regional services.
3. Develop alternative suburban public transportation modes for low density areas (i.e. subsidized shared-ride taxi, fixed route flexible services etc.)
4. Development transit-oriented nodes in suburban areas.
5. Comprehensive change in subdivision and zoning codes
6. Conversion of former urbanized areas to agricultural areas or allowance of small farms
7. Redevelopment of suburbs to mixed used and walkable neighborhoods.

Further References:
Kaid Benfield. “How history killed the suburb.” The Atlantic, 25 April 2011.

Christopher B. Leinberger. “The Next Slum?:The subprime crisis is just the tip of the iceberg. Fundamental changes in American life may turn today’s McMansions into tomorrow’s tenements.” The Atlantic, March 2008.

Lisa McGirr. “The new suburban poverty.” The New York Times, 19 March 2012.

The Ambiguous Urban Policies of Obama and Romney: A focus on the Biden/Ryan debates and urban issues

2012-10-14T19:05:00.000-04:00

(Image of Curtiba, Brazil, considered a model of sustainbility found at :" What are Cities Doing to Go "Green? " found in Scientific America )

During the recent Vice-Presidential debate (11 October 2012), the references to cities were sketchy and mixed with national/international issues. Biden mentioned Detroit, and the assistance given General Motors as a measure to save jobs and Detroit. Then, he touched on mortgage relief, a de facto urban topic, in reference also to Detroit. Biden stated: “Romney said, no, let Detroit go bankrupt. We moved in and helped people refinance their homes. Governor Romney said, no, let foreclosures hit the bottom.” Ryan, avoided the issue of governmental intervention in Detroit by a deflecting dialog with Biden about the increase of unemployment rate in Scranton, Pennsylvania (Biden’s hometown) during Obama’s first four years. “He continued to state that: “He talks about Detroit. Mitt Romney's a car guy.” Then, Ryan switched to Romney’s character with an antidotal story about Romney giving money to a family that had a tragic car accident. Ryan’s argument completely avoided the issues of the creating or retaining industries in American’s urban areas. It should be noted that the candidates’ home cities of Janesville, Wisconsin (Ryan) and Scranton, Pennsylvania (Biden) are on the fringes of the Rust Belt and have seen dramatic changes in their economic base due to the structural changes that have been in process, for at least 30 years. Yet, these issues were not discussed, even in passing.

Both candidates did not adequately discuss the issues of restructuring of the economy and education (both primarily urban topics) making statements that had a hollow ring to them from both sides. We have heard both side’s statements about energy development—no surprise here. Ryan attacked the Green program of Obama as a failure and stressed energy independence, presumably related to the exploitation of natural gas and petroleum in North America. Infrastructure and the environment were not addressed. Some of the lack of emphasis in urban affairs is due to the brief time of the debate, but there also seemed to be extraordinary focus on Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and defense. It is difficult to cover these diverse topics in the time allotted in the debate. Overall, urban policy or problems is cities were inadequately addressed by both Vice Presidential candidates (The entire transcript of the Ryan/Biden debate can be found on the Public Broadcasting System webpage. )

The debate between Biden and Ryan reflected the loose urban policy of Romney and Obama. On Romney’s web site within the topic of issues there is no direct mention of cities (http://www.mittromney.com/issues .) or in Obama’s (http://www.barackobama.com/issues?source=primary-nav .) There may be a bright spot in Romney’s urban policy, although not directly stated, in his hiring of Rick Baker as his urban policy advisor. Baker, the former Republican mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a supporter of livable cities, including investment in the city center and apparently is an adherent of The New Urbanism Movement, although to him this might translate to controlled urban sprawl ( see Mark Bergen’s article in Forbes, “Romney's Urban Adviser Loves Livable Downtowns, Infrastructure.” ) Obama is pro-urban, but his urban policies appear to be a continuation of those initiated during the Johnston years, expended during Catrter administration and revised during the Neo-Liberal Clinton Administration. A positive move by Obama was the establishment of the Office of Urban Policy in the Executive Branch. When inspecting the website of the Office, it is minimal, lackluster and shows minimal activity in updating (i.e., the last blog entry was in June 2012.) Although campaigning on the issues of income disparity, housing and unemployment, Obama’s policy have been largely ineffective to address these issues in urbanized areas (For another opinion on Obama’s urban policy, see “Obama's Destructive Urban Policy Alienates Low-Income Communities.” From Truthout—a Progressive blog.)

No one involved in urban policy or planning can be particularly enthusiastic about the urban policy stances by neither candidate nor their running mates. Neither side has a concrete urban policy addressing education, infrastructure, energy, pollution, restructuring, sustainability, public transportation, economic disparities in cities? Most people now live in metropolitan areas, yet the candidates do not speak directly to current urban issues According to my assessment , Obama get a C plus and Romney gets a D minus for this urban policy. Many of the platforms of third parties particularly that of the Green Party ,Progressive Democrats of America (issues, not policy statement) and Justice Party better address the problems in cities than the two major parties.

Opportunistic capitalism and local government: EuroVegas coming to Madrid

2012-10-10T11:32:00.004-04:00

(This image was found at: http://www.socialphy.com/posts/news-politics/15023/Eurovegas.html .)

With stagnant local economies in the Europe and the United States and related declining local revenues, many local governments are vulnerable to ‘opportunistic capitalism.’ ‘Opportunistic capitalism’ defined here is where an industry/business , seeing an opportunity to exploit depressed local economies, offers employment and potential revenue to local/regional government in exchange for tax breaks and perhaps additional infrastructure; but the city realizes low-paying jobs, a fraction of the benefits going to local government and other negative impacts such as environmental damage, crime etc. The investors come away with tremendous profits. This can also come in the form of ‘blackmail’ by existing industries desiring additional tax breaks, union concessions etc.; or sport teams demanding a new stadium; with the entity threating they will leave if their demands are not made. In this environment, cities, states and even nations compete to gain the benefits of these industries.

In Europe, many regional economies are sputtering, stagnant, desperate for job creation and needing additional tax revenue. This is particularly true in Spain with almost twenty percent unemployment. This makes Spain ripe for opportunistic capitalism as in the case with EuroVegas being offered Madrid. Sheldon Adelson, a multi-billion casino owner, saw another chance to make some more profits and is taking advantage of the struggling economy in Spain. The cost of the facility to be located in the suburbs of Madrid, he named ‘EuroVegas’, will cost an estimated $35 billion and will consist of twelve resorts, nine theaters, six casinos, three golf courses, and a stadium. This is a large undertaking by anyone’s measure. The Mayor of Madrid has pushed this project as well as other officials. The locals ‘wined and dined’ Adelelson, competing against Barcelona who also wanted Adelson’s EuroVegas. It doesn’t take much imagination to see a cartoon where Madrid and Barcelona are portrayed as prostitutes with Adelson as their potential client. In the end Madrid was selected to be the site of EuroVegas.

The immediate effect will be construction jobs for Madrid. The total employment for EuroVegas is estimated to be about 250,000 . While the local officials may be pleased with the deal many Madrileños are not. They see it as a raw deal where there will be an opportunity for low-paying jobs, inviting possible mobsters into the area and more prostitution.

Unfortunately, this is not the type of development that Madrid needs or any city/region in the stagnant economies in U.S. and Europe. In better economic times, Spain would have rejected this deal. Yes, jobs are being created, and there may be some benefit directly to the immediate area surrounding the casino complex, but this will not alter Madrid's overall economic base and rate of unemployment.. What is just important is what is not being said. There is no mention of the projected tax revenues or the type of concessions that were made by government officials to gain this project. How much will this cost the tax payers? In addition, the inherent nature of casinos and gambling has related negative impacts. While other industries spin off other ventures and enhance the economic base. The only related business here which will be spun off are other services, additional low-income housing and prostitution, illegal drugs, corruption and crime. The whole deal is tawdry for those public officials who have to ‘prostitute themselves’ for a deal which may also flop, given the present political climate in Spain.

This is not the direction that local areas should be developing in the developed or developing countries. In desperation, local officials are making deals with industries and other entities which are detrimental to a regions long-term economic development. There is a danger that all these efforts could collapse upon itself in the form of an economic situation similar to a pyramid scheme, where there is speculation on construction projects, financial loans being made on risky investments and distinct possibility that the projects will be caught up in labor unrest, corruption and additional controversy. Instead of catering to ‘semi-shady’ characters such as Adleson, local decision-makes should be putting efforts to facilitate the development of sustainable industries such as development of Green Energy (solar, wind, geothermal etc.) and gearing up for a high technology economy. There is an under-current of increasing energy prices driven by the expanding industries in China and India, increasing global warming and environmental damage , populations in developing countries desiring to see direct benefits from their countries’ economic development, and the emerging use of Spatially Aware Autonomous Robots (SAARs) (see my blog entry, “Personal Robots: a new development in Spatially-Aware Autonomous Mobile Robots (SAAMRs)” in Geographic Information Science blog The latter will completely change the global economy and place those countries which have highly skilled labor at the forefront.

For more information:
Jonathan Blitzer, “Can EuroVegas Save Spain?--Sheldon Adelson goes scavenging in the euro zone,”The Atlantic, September 2012: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/can-eurovegas-save-spain/309053/

Christopher Caldwell, “EuroVegas is a gamble not worth taking”, The Financial Times, 14 September 2012, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5f7891e0-fd93-11e1-8fc3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz28rQnTesr

Lauren Frayer, “Not Everyone In Spain Eager To Wager On EuroVegas”, National Public Radio (U.S.A.),5 October 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/10/05/162297447/not-everyone-in-spain-ready-to-roll-dice-on-eurovegas (also broadcast on the Morning Edition 5 October 2012.)

‘Islands of sustainability’ created from former industrial areas

2012-10-04T16:43:00.001-04:00

(The above image was selected from “Masterplans and Sustainable Cities” from the webpage of Sustainable Cities. This is an interesting website worthy of exploration. )

It is a tragedy when cities have been left behind by the structural global economic changes and not able to transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age resulting in large areas of derelict urban landscapes, such as found in Detroit and other cities in the Rust Belts of North American and Europe. The only solution away from further decline is the transformation of these areas in congruence with the emerging sustainability paradigm, which is scaleless.

Stakeholders (including the general public) in these stressed cities have to think large. This is not the first time, that tragedy has struck an American city. Like organisms, cities sometimes have loss of sustenance/raison d’être.(industries leaving, dwindling hinterland, technological changes such as ship to railroads ), have an illness (crime, fiscal mismanagement, corruption, racism), grow old (lack of adaptability) or an accident (eathquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, etc.) which cause immediate deaths or slow deaths (i.e., ghost towns in the Western U.S. when collapsing when the gold ore was depleted or many cities in the Classical period that did not rebuild after a series of earthquakes. Hurricane Katharina's effect on New Orleans , decline of American automobile industry etc.) Sometimes cities have natural attributes, leadership etd. giving them the ability to adapt and sometimes become greater than before the tragedy (i.e., Chicago after its Great Fire), San Francisco after the major earthquake in the 1900s , Istanbul, Turkey who has experienced numerous earthquakes, rebuilt and resumed its progress, or London which ceased to be the center of the British Empire.

Often the ability for a city to think large, perhaps in the past inspired by such individuals such as Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Jane Jacobs, Robert Moses, and Jaime Lerner. They all were modern-day shamans who saw visions and inspired others to envision different futures. Now we have not one person leading the future of cities, but a self-organized, chaotic and complex ‘collective intelligence’ focused on bringing into reality a sustainable world at all scales, including urban areas. One cans see a glimmer of this in the global Occupy Movement and the Arab Spring. The global malaise is that a significantand influential portion of the elites cannot go beyond a mindset that is built on 19^th Century concepts of economics and politics.

In redevelopment of derelict areas, the local government acting as the engine and land assembler can not think in terms of normal redevelopment as initiated in the 1980s, but go beyond this to creating ‘islands of sustainability.’ These would be derelict areas that would be regenerated to contain urban farming, mixed used (commercial including offices, residential, industrial, schools, and government institutions) , transit-bicycle-and pedestrian- oriented, environmentally sensitive, parks/green spaces and clean energy adaptions (i.e. solar, wind and geo-thermal-if available.) The area should not be thought of as an a architectural design effort, but one also creating a community whose purpose is to promote sustainability. These 'islands of sustainability would also be ones where there is housing for lower income along side middle and high income residences, technology equipped (i.e. free high-speed Internet, special cables etc), direct democracy opportunities, community centers (for meetings, adult education etc.)

These ideas which might seem utopian, but within our grasp sustainable islands can be created with available technology. Examples of places in the U.S. that have reclaimed delinquent industrial areas and incorporated some of these sustainability concepts are the Monomonee Valley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and The High Line in New York City. (I would like to express thanks to a colleague for alerting me of the latter redevelopment/regeneration project.) In Europe, there has also efforts to transform old industrial areas such as in Bilbao, Liverpool, Manchester and the Ruhr Valley. As with any planning projects, there are problems. This bog entry can not go the details of these projects. If possible, other blog entries will evaluate efforts of large scale regeneration of delinquent industrial areas.

If you have comments or want to mention places where there has been significant efforts to address sustainability of former industrial areas,, please post them on the comments section, with a link or other reference document these efforts. I also welcome guest bloggers.

Dr. Michael A McAdams, is an activist, consultant, academic, blogger and writer specializing in urban issues, transportation planning, sustainabilty, and Geographic Information Science/spatial technologies. He is the author of numerous articles, monographs and books. His most recent project was an edited book with Ivani Vassoler-Froelich ,and Jesus Treviño-Cantú, The Geography, Politics, and Architecture of Cities: Studies in the Creation and Complexification of Culture. He can be contacted by e-mail at michaelamcadams@yahoo.com

Regeneration: a new life for abandoned buildings in economically depressed cities

2012-10-01T10:44:00.002-04:00

(Image located on “Lessons from Germany's Rust Belt” article in the GreenCityBlueLake blog.)

If we view places like Detroit, Gary (Indiana), areas of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, we might see a a dystopia of crumbling abandoned factories, vacant houses, shopping areas etc.; cities left behind as the global economy restructures itself. Although many of these buildings will have to be demolished and some cities downsized, there is an opportunity for the reuse of these buildings to provide opportunities in redevelopment, employment and orientation toward the ‘new economy’. Overriding the reuse of buildings should be an ongoing regional planning process where there is a commitment by all segments to change that does not dwell on the past, but sees new opportunities; particularly in the Green Economy and the developing global technological sector.

Beginning on the process of reuse does not have to be belabored, but can be as simple as selecting one building for rehabilitation, as a model, then building up the number for rehabilitation. Many of these buildings are historically significant, structurally sound and can be adequately rebuilt and renovated for other uses.

In two articles “Lessons from Germany's Rust Belt” and “Europe finds industrial reuse drives tourism” in the GreenCityBlueLake blog, Marc Lefkowitz examines the rehabilitation of megalithic factories as found both in the Rust Belt of the U.S. and that of the Ruhr Valley in Germany. In the first article, the example of an abandonded factory area that was reused in the Essen in the Ruhr Valley as multi-use center (an ice skating area, museum, recreation center), as pictured above, is touted as a possible means for these iconic structures from the Industrial Era to be reused. The key in the revitalization was public funding from the German government and the inclusion of the art and design community. In the second article, the author mentions the aspect of linking the historic industrial sites together and also creating green areas where there was once stark industrial buildings. There are several areas in the U.S. that are attempting to do the same. One such example is the greening of the Menomonee Valley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a former industrial/port area. I personally am aware of this area and used this in my dissertation on urban morphology. Although at the study period, the area was full of derelict building and desolate vacant space.

The key in these projects is the redirection of public funds, inclusion of the art community, architects, urban planners, the private sector and citizens to create the right atmosphere for redevelopment. A vision has to be established and strong leadership from all sectors to accomplish this. Simply, the success of these projects was inclusion, creativity, a vision (plan), and a positive ‘can do attitude.’ The redevelopment of these areas create more jobs, more recreational spaces, cultural opportunities and more vibrancy to an area that formerly was a decrepit area. There is a need to have grand ideas and visions and at the same time to think incrementally and pragmatically.

The blog which Mr. Lefkowitz writes is sponsored by GreenCityBlueLake Institute, part of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which promotes sustainability in the Cleveland area. These articles are a sample of some very well written blog entries. I would advise further examining the blog, as it only focuses on Cleveland, but larger issues.

Dr. Michael A McAdams, is an activist, consultant, academic, blogger and writer specializing in urban issues, transportation planning, sustainabilty, and Geographic Information Science/spatial technologies. He is , author of numberous articles, monographs and books. His most recent project was an edited book with Ivani Vassoler-Froelich ,and Jesus Treviño-Cantú, The Geography, Politics, and Architecture of Cities: Studies in the Creation and Complexification of Culture. He can be contacted by e-mail at michaelamcadams@yahoo.com

Detropia: Documentary about Detroit now in selected theaters

2012-09-28T08:10:00.001-04:00

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Detropia, an award winning documentary is now touring selected theaters. If you are a person interested in urban issues , this should be a film you should see. (By clicking on the linked name, you will be sent to the documentary's official site.)

Other documentaries about Detroit that might be of interest are:

Deforce and Requiem for Detroit. The latter can be seen online.

For those teaching urban planning, urban geography, urban policy, urbanism etc. these documentaries would be excellent for facilitating discussion about urban decay, urban morphology, urban revitalization etc..

Is Detroit the harbinger for things to come in American and European cities? (draft)

2012-09-23T17:37:00.000-04:00

The above video is one in a four part series. It was shot by an amateur videographer documenting the personal tragedies and physical decay in Detroit. It has the gritty feel of Michael Moore’s film about Flint, Michigan (a city undergoing the same decline as Detroit)- Roger and Me. However it doesn’t have the ‘charm’ of Moore a modern day trickster. The video series’ appeal is the roughness of the video, having elements of cinéma vérité , and its first person view. The entire video series can be found at Detroit Ground Zero for Economic Collapse on SuviveAndThriveTV. This is an interesting group that posts a wide and eclectic collection of videos relating to their vision of the future. They state on their site: Survive and Thrive TV is dedicated to sharing this information from our panel of experts and our members to help others cope with the lifestyle changes we will face in the future. There are also some other videos that might be of interest

This blog entry is part of a ‘thread’ contemplating the fate and implications of the decline of Detroit. It had its start in a blog entry on The Urban Flâneur Guidebook, “The urban flâneur view of urban decay: Detroit”, where I presented a sample of websites that feature the ‘haunting’ photographs of Detroit. They are haunting because they are a reminder of a city that was once dynamic, growing and prosperous—a pinnacle and symbol of Modernism; now is in ruins.

This is not the first time that major cities have been abandonded (i.e., Ephesus, Babylon, Miletus, Ani etc.) Others have not been abandoned, but have lost their relative importance as a global economic/political centers (i.e., Istanbul (Constantinopolis), Vienna, Rome, St. Petersburg, etc.) While, some have adapted to economic/political changes (i.e., London, New York, Paris, etc.) All these cities have been associated with global economic and political shifts or globalization. However, in some cases, ther demise was hastened by losing their raison d'être as in the silting of harbors as in Ephesus and Miletus. However, globalization and its
effect on the rise/decline of cities did not arise in the 20^th century. It has been here for thousand of years.

There are many who have studied globalization and have made their prognosis. Thomas Friedman ,a Neo-Liberal ‘junkie’, believes he (almost) coined the word globalization and has unraveled for his readers its transformative secret which will result in a better future. We all just have to get onboard. However, It sells books for Mr. Friedman and gives him a lucrative lecture circuit. The premises of his books appear to be mostly antidotal interlaced with seleted facts. In his defense, he is a journalist, not a scientist. Of course, his ‘shadow nemesis’, Noam Chomsky views globalization as an imperialist struggle for control of resources with the ‘puppet masters' being corporations and major world players, particularly the United States in modern times. Here we have two views of globalization, one which presented by Friedman approaches the subject of globalization with a certain Polyanish flair; while Chomsky presents as a drama filled with demons seeking control of the world. Both Freidman and Chomsky pay little attention to the role of cities as important actors in globlaization. On another side of the spectrum is Saskia Sassen who views major world cities as linchpins in the global economy. And how can we forget Richard Florida, who conjectures that cities full of the ‘creative class’ is the new future for the worlds cities in this era of increasing globalization. (That’s what is wrong with Detroit, it just didn’t have enough of the ‘creative class.’)

Regardless of these author's slant (or of my opinion), these authors present interesting views on globalization and some actually address the role of cities (Sassen, Florida.) All are all worthy of reading further,as they do introduce some interesting concepts. As intelligent and crtical thinkers, we must interpret these concepts and derive our own view of cities in the rapidly globalizing world There is a large literature in these areas, in this blog entry, I only mentioned a few.

“Popping out” of the vortex of globalization and cities—it is evident that presently, we are experiencing phenomenal structural change in the political/economic climate which are affecting cities worldwide which is complex, fractal, chaotic and It is apparent that some politicians and workers yearn in the U.S. for the return of these days, but as the American Dream is gone, so is this era of booming factories, high wages for unskilled labor and dramatic changes in standards of living, at least in the developed countries. The era which spawned U.S. cities in the Industrial Era such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Birmingham etc. and European cites such as Birmingham , Liverpool , Manchester, Leeds, the Ruhr Valley urban complex, Bilbao, etc. has passed forever. It is delusional that Detroit or other stagnant former Industrial cities will ever regain their former status.

In future blog entries, I will present suggested means Detroit and similar cities can transform themselves.

Michael Batty's Lecture on modeling the city

2012-09-22T15:03:00.003-04:00

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Urban planning is being changed by technology. As indicated in Dr. Batty’s lecture, spatial technologies, particularly GPS tracking, is changing the nature of viewing cities. The aspect of stakeholders interacting with models is very interesting. Dr. Batty also mention a emerging trend that of linkage of simulation and models via ‘the cloud.

A “road diet” for urban areas: an opportunity for Bus Rapid Transportation, and pedestrian/transit oriented development (draft)

2012-09-21T09:05:00.001-04:00

(This image was found as part of a wonderful collection of artwork on Curitiba, Curitiba Ilustrada. The site is worth visiting to see the other works by the artist, Cesar Lobo. The webpage contains illustrations for a book, Curitiba Ilustrada Unfortunately, I could not find a good link for those interested in purchasing it.)

I recently saw an intriguing question about “road diet” on the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Linkedin discussion group. For those not accustomed to transportation planning lingo, a ‘road diet’ is the reduction of lanes on an arterial , the substitution of turn lanes at intersections and other transportation engineering improvements. Intersections are usually where congestion is often caused, so 'road diet' in some cases does not reduce the capacity of the corridor. This is interesting for the transportation planners and traffic engineers, but probably of little interest to others outside these professions. But, it more.. keep reading.....

The concept of reducing road construction instead of building more, has been around in various forms
for at least 30 years. The concept of Transportation System Management is essentially the anti-thesis or ‘antidote’ to the vicious cycle-which is the endless construction of roads to alleviate traffic congestion. A road diet is new concept in the ‘grab bag’ of techniques to better manage vehicular traffic. However, as with all transportation ‘fixes’ they must be considered in combination with other strategies and if they are appropriate for particular corridors. However, coupled with other concepts, it becomes much more than it would seem seem on the surface.

Instead of mere reduction of lanes, the additional lanes could be used for an exclusive transit lanez for a Bus Rapid Transit route. This again is not a new concept, but should be ‘put on the table’ when considering reduction of lanes on arterials. The exclusive bus lanes could be in the inside or outside of the road way. If they, the are inside lanes, one could retrofit roads for Bus Rapid Transit mimicking BRT found in Curitiba, Brazil. As in Curitiba, this could also be the opportunity to consider increasing of housing density along corridors to ‘create’ the demand for the BRT line.

In addition, the reduction in lanes could be used to create more walkable neighborhoods. The additional lanes could be used for bike lanes, sidewalks, bus turn-outs, and landscaping (trees, scrubs, berms etc.)

In conclusion, from the mundane aspect of reduction in lanes and substitution with additional turn lanes and signaling at intersection, this issue can be transformed to one supporting public transportation, transit- and pedestrian oriented development and sustainability. This is another opportunity for the urban planner to act as a shaman/trickster (see an earlier blog entry, The role of urban planner as a metaphorical shaman (draft))

Here are several links related to this topic:
Road Diet" (Roadway Reconfiguration)
Informative web page from the FHWA with a good selection of other links about this subject

Road diets used as tool for reclaiming neighborhoods in San Francisco
An article from the San Francisco Examiner about ‘road diet’ in San Francisco as means to creat
more walkable or pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods.

Curitiba's Bus System is a Model for Rapid Transit
If you don’t know about Curitiba, Brazil, this will be an introduction to not only its
unique BRT System, but other aspects about its quest for sustainability.

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2012-09-17T01:25:00.001-04:00

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Revitalizing the suburbs through cooperation: The Michigan Suburban Alliance shows the way (draft 16 September 2012)

2012-09-16T15:04:00.000-04:00

(This image found in the online article, "Declining suburbs: Twin-Cities area project focuses on how to revitalize communities" in MinnPost. An article related to this blog topic.)

In several previous blog entries in The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City, I focused on the coming decline of the big box stores (see “The coming collapse of 'Big Box' and department stores and their urban impact” and follow-up entries), and a criticism of the concepts of Dr. Richard Florida, who proposes that the urban young professional creative class will be the primary vehicle for the revitalization of cities (see "It's alive.. It's alive" or another resurrection of the central city. A review of "The Next Major Real Estate Cycle: Walkable Urbanism" in Atlantic Cities .) Although seemingly disparate topics, they have one commonality that links them together, the reorienting of urban areas due to emerging structural forces (such as the growth of Internet shopping, increasing petroleum costs, the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs, growing service sector, the global economy, decline of the purchasing power of the middle class and changing demographics.) Some of these structural forces have been prevalent for a considerable time period, others such as the growth of Internet shopping, have recently emerged. The suburbs as their core cities are confronting the same issues, but from a different perspective. However, suburbs cannot bemoan their fate and rely on the ‘usual suspects’-local, state and Federal funding for their ‘salvation.’ They must innovate, adapt and form cooperative endeavors to transform themselves. Although the stagnating economy in the U.S can be attributed to some of their problems, the structural changes confronting suburbs will remain to be a factor after the economy begins to improve and unresolved will lead to their transformation through market forces, which may not bode well for them or the overall metropolitan area.

One such effort to transform suburbs has been undertaken by the Michigan Suburban Alliance . In 2002, a group of leaders in the Detroit metropolitan areas realized that they were diverse, but had some common interests. Their webpage states:
…a light bulb clicked on in metro Detroit. These leaders realized that as diverse as their cities were, they shared important characteristics. They were older, located in close proximity to a major city and had little to no undeveloped land. Many of these cities identified as "inner-ring" or "built-out" suburbs. More importantly, these leaders saw they were all struggling with losing residents to newer subdivisions in younger suburbs, developers that were passing them over because they did not want to deal with the complications of "redeveloping" already existing infrastructure and a deficient state finance system that was disproportionately hurting their aging communities. Working together - to share resources when providing services, to voice their collective concerns and to craft a survival strategy - was the answer to overcoming their challenges.

The suburban characteristics described above are similar to many suburban areas around the U.S. Many ‘inner ring’ suburbs cannot expand, being completely developed or “built-out” Affecting their stability is the competition from ‘outer-ring’ suburbs who have undeveloped land and have newer housing units. Developers do not want to redevelop existing subdivisions in these suburban cities. It is much easier to take undeveloped land and construct roads, drainage and subdivision of land than to redevelop existing areas in aging suburbs. In addition, they have to be concerned with other issues such as mobility and sustainability-although not often addressed directly.

The Michigan Suburban Alliance is a good example of an organization that is tackling these complex issues in a cooperative manner. One of the premier strategies by the Michigan Suburban Alliance is to facilitate redevelopment by means of their Development Ready Community Program. This is a process by which suburbs in the Alliance proceed through a series of steps to gain a Development Ready Certificate. The criteria for obtaining the Certificate is based on Best Practices guidelines. (This is a large document and may be useful to save on your computer by using the ‘save as’ function available in most Internet browsers.) This is a rigorous, transparent and inclusive process which results in a master plan for redevelopment and an implementation schedule for improvements by each participating community. The communities must be members of the Michigan Suburban Alliance. This allows for funding of staff to aid them to go through the process. According to their webpage, eight communities have been awarded the Certificate, and eleven are in the process of becoming Certificate holders. Disappointingly, I could find no evidence on their site if this program had actually started to revitalize these communities in terms of more people moving into the area or job creation.

Two other programs which are highlighted are Golden Spike which encourages transit-oriented development and climate action planning. These are interesting efforts, but not as well developed as the Development Ready Communities programs.

I find the efforts of the Michigan Suburban Alliance encouraging as a means to go ‘outside of the box’ by forming cooperative ventures to restructure communities, not waiting for market forces to correct the situation, for instituting progressive programs to address the problems and opening up of new opportunities. The only item lacking, as previously mentioned, which would aid their case and other similar organizations is the documentation of the economic effect of their efforts. Other suburban areas which are facing the same stresses could take this model to form their own cooperative organizations.

This process is an example of planning within complexity and the relational planning approach of Professor Emeritus Patsy Healy ( see Complexity Theory and Urban Planning in Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy; also found in an edited book compiled of selected articles from the online journal in The Geography, Politics, and Architecture of Cities: Studies in the Creation and Complexification of Culture (McAdams, Michael A. , Ivani Vassoler-Froelich , and Jesus Treviño-Cantú , editors) published by The Edwin Mellen Press and Patsy Healy’s book Urban Complexity and Spatial Strategies: Towards a Relational Planning for Our Times (2007).)

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2012-09-07T02:28:00.000-04:00

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"It's alive.. It's alive" or another resurrection of the central city. A review of "The Next Major Real Estate Cycle: Walkable Urbanism" in Atlantic Cities

2012-09-06T15:16:00.005-04:00

According to a recent article in The Atlantic Cities, “The Next Major Real Estate Cycle: Walkable Urbanism” based on the newly gentrifying neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. is that the American population is moving back into the urban core.

While I was intrigued with the title of the article, as I read further, it started to sound familiar being a mixture of warmed over ‘back to cities’ propaganda and Dr. Richard Florida’s ‘mantras’ about the cultural economy of cities. However, I did personally enjoy the dig against real estate brokers, which has the ‘ring of truth’, but has little sound basis in empirical evidence.

Plus, when did Washington, D.C. become the model for trends for the rest of the nation? The article tries to ‘spin’ it to make the readers believe that ‘as goes Washington then so goes the rest of the nation,’ but somehow it an argument you would like to believe, but just can’t.

Overall, the article was insipid, because the manner that the juxtaposition of anecdotal evidence, cursory references to a studies by the Brookings Institute and others, lack of understanding suburban and central city development and most of all due the introduction or the 'snake oil' ideas of Dr. Florida. This was not just only because of the author's lack of knowledge of urban geography, but also due to Dr. Leinberger's murky views of these issues. .His expertise is real estate, not urban geography or urban studies.

Here are some selected quotes from the article that sets its tone:

Not too long ago in Washington, D.C. – and still today in plenty of other cities – "walkable urbanism" was a niche real estate market. Developers weren’t all that interested in mixed-use, compact projects, of the kind where carless urbanites might live, work and grocery shop in strolling distance. And people didn’t seem to want to live in them anyway. But things have been changing in the capital. Now, argues real estate developer and George Washington University professor Christopher Leinberger, walkable urbanism is becoming the real estate market.

"Quite honestly, one of the major reasons that we’re not seeing the real estate industry read these market signals is that it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks," he says. "They know the answer to everything. They’re very strong-headed, and opinionated, and particularly those who have been successful for many decades in building regional malls or subdivisions, they know what the market wants. And dammit, you can’t tell me anything different." (quote from Professor Leinberger)

"We’ve got this rising tide of college-educated people, which is the key component to the knowledge economy, which is what’s driving our economy," Leinberger says. "And as [Richard] Florida and a lot of other folks have pointed out, the college educated want the option of urbanism." (quote from Professor Leinberger)

And, the last quote is the caveat! It was this quote that made me realize that Professor Leinberger has been taken away by the gospel of Richard Florida, the ‘feel good evangelist’ for the urban cultural economy. He conveys in his quotes all the fuzziness, ‘spun’ statistics, anecdotal stories, Neo-Liberalness and superficiality a la Dr. Florida about one of the emerging trends in urban development. (I have ‘pulled some punches’ related to my opinion of Dr. Florida’s view of the cultural economy and will save them for a later blog entry.)

Of course, the savior of cities according to Dr. Leinberger via Dr. Florida will be
wait for the drum roll…envelope please…the winner is:

the young middle class affluent creative class.

The issue of the movement of people into the urban core and the subsequent fate of subusbs is much deeper and complex than Dr. Leinberger discusses in this article, according to ‘gospel of Richard Florida’ or framed by this article’s author.

Urban areas are transforming/transitioning due a complex mix of demographics, cost of energy, the stagnant U.S. and global economy, the effects of increasing globalization and structural changes much beyond such simplistic and antedoal explanations based on the Washington, D.C area. Likewise The same forces are changing other urban land use as mentioned in my blog entries on the emerging decline of ‘big box’ stores in urban areas, The coming collapse of 'Big Box' and department stores and their urban impact (draft).

In future blog entries, I would like to discuss about the transformation of suburbs (briefly) and my suggestions on retrofitting the suburbs in light of emerging trends, particularly sustainability.

Note:
In a earlier article, I discussed the quasi-utopian ideas of Dr. Florida in reference to the present utopian concept of the Information/Technology City. This article, The Information Age City: A Bourgeois Utopian Dream was published in Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Affairs.

Another of my articles which also made reference to the cultural economy of cities with a focus on Istanbul,Global Cities as Centers of Cultural Influence: A Focus on Istanbul, Turkey, published in trantext(es) transcultures: Journal of Global Cultural Studies may also be of interest to the reader of this blog entry.

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2012-09-04T15:36:00.001-04:00

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