URBAN STUDIES IN SAVANNAH

Envisioning City without Cars

2009-05-18T14:23:00.004-05:00

Traffic congestion is one of the chronic problems in many American cities, including in Savannah. The traffic congestion is getting worse year by year. The growth of road developments is slower than the growth rate of vehicle ownership.

When a new highway was built or a road was widened, it will only solve the traffic congestion for a short period of time. After a few years, the new highway will fill with traffic that would not have existed if the highway had not been built. Similarly, the widened road fills with more traffic in a few months. Such phenomenon is called induced demand. Because of the induced demand, neither building new roads nor widening roads are the long-lasting solution to traffic congestion.

There are several possible solutions to eradicate traffic congestion problems and one of them is the reduction of private vehicle uses. I read an article in the New York Times (May 12, 2009) on a suburb town without cars in Germany with great interest. Streets in this upscale town are completely car-free except the main thoroughfare and a few streets on on edge of the town. The residents of this town are still allowed to own cars, but parking is relegated to two large garages at the edge of the development.

The Vauban town, is located on the outskirt of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders and home to 5,500 residents. The residents are heavily dependent on the tram to downtown Freiburg and many of them take to car-sharing when longer excursions are needed. Seventy percent of Vauban's families have no cars. They do a lot of walking and biking to shops, banks, restaurants, schools and other destinations that are interspersed among homes. The town is long and relatively narrow and provides an easy walking access to the tram for every home.

Creating places with more compact design, more accessible to public transportation and less driving is the envision of urban planners in the 21st century. The Vauban town is an exemplar of the 21st century urban design in response to the threats of greenhouse gas emission and global warming and the dwindling oil supply.

I could argue that the Vauban's urban design is the expansion of the New Urbanism. The New Urbanism is a school of urban design arose in the U.S. in the early 1980s. This school of urban design promotes several key principles including walkability and connectivity, mixed land uses, and high density. There have been many the New Urbanist towns in several countries, but cars still fill the streets of these towns.

The efforts of creating a car-free city in the U.S. has been initiated by the CarFree City USA since 2003, but there is no successful car-free suburban project in the U.S. In California, a town accessible without a car to the public transportation is being developed on the outskirt of Oakland. The town called Quarry Village is a masterpiece of the Hayward Area Planning Association. This town will allow the families to reduce the car ownership from two to one, and potentially to none.

The Vauban town provides an example of the possibility of creating city without cars. The walkable and mixed-land-uses urban design, difficult and expensive parking, easy access to public transportation and excellent public transportation system as demonstrated in the Vauban town are the components for creating city without cars. It makes sense to envision and is not all impossible to create a city without cars.

(An edited version of this article also appeared at The Jakarta Post on June 2, 2009)

Unbanked Population in Savannah

2009-04-30T21:25:00.005-05:00

On April 24 at Johnson Square, the Banking Taskforce of Step Up Savannah, Inc. and the City of Savannah launched a new banking program, Bank On Savannah, designed to appeal to those who are unbanked. This program aims to those currently not using mainstream financial products and services to become banked.

The unbanked populations rely upon nonmainstream financial services for their basic financial services. The high cost basic financial services certainly exacerbate poverty within unbanked families. Hundreds of dollars could be potentially saved every year by unbanked family by shifting from predatory financial services to mainstream financial services.

A financial services survey was conducted in August 2008 to provide data for the benchmarks of this new banking program. This survey investigates the financial services usage and attitudes of residents in poor neighborhoods in Savannah. A team of graduate students at Savannah State University who took my research methods class in Fall 2008 conducted face-to-face surveys to residents in six census tracts with the highest proportion of people living below the poverty line. A total of 201 surveys were completed from the 392 randomly selected addresses in these six Savannah’s high-poverty census tracts.

The random sample survey finds 38% of the respondents lived without any bank accounts. Eighty-six percent of the respondents earn less than $30,000 a year and the education attainment of 58% of the respondents are high school diploma or less. A statistical analysis reveals respondents with lower income and educational attainment are more likely to be unbanked.

The survey reveals the fringe financial services, such as check cashers, payday loan, pawn shop, title pawn shop, rent to own and money order are more often used by the unbanked residents than the banked residents. The differences of the uses of check cashers, money orders and pawn shop between the unbanked and the banked residents are statistically significant.

There is a significant difference between the unbanked and the banked residents in how they get paid for work. None of unbanked respondents had direct deposits to their checking accounts for the payment of their work. Most of the payments for the unbanked respondents were made in checks. On the contrary, one in every three banked respondents had direct deposit for the payment of their work. The unbanked respondents were more likely than the banked respondents to go to a check casher when they get paid by check for work.

Nearly forty percent of unbanked respondents asserted several issues about mainstream financial services including the fees are too high, they need instant access to their money and banks take too long to process, and the creditor could take money out of their account. The unbanked respondents are also less likely than the banked respondents to trust banks as the sources for financial information.

The misperceptions of mainstream financial services make the unbanked residents stay away from mainstream financial services. The perception of mainstream financial services of the unbanked residents can be restored by providing financial services that meet their financial needs and ability. The banks need to be a resourceful and truthful of financial source for the unbanked families.

The survey reveals the unbanked residents rely on fringe financial services for their basic financial services. Bringing unbanked residents to mainstream financial services will save their money from spending more fees on predatory financial services. It will also provide new opportunities for unbanked families to build their financial stability. That’s why the Bank On Savannah is essential in our efforts to alleviate poverty in Savannah.

Further information about Bank On Savannah can be found at this link. The completed report of the Financial Service Survey can be found at this link. The video of Bank On Savannah can be watched from this link.

This post also appeared at the Savannah Morning News on May 20, 2009.

Obama and Urban Development

2009-04-30T20:48:00.004-05:00

This post is my paper when I was one of the panelists at the Interactive Forum of Faculty and Students, “The Election of Barack Obama”, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Savannah State University in Savannah on April 28, 2009.

The election of Barack Obama as the forty forth president of the United States was also greeted enthusiastically by urbanists in the U.S. The changes to the previous government policies promised by Obama during his presidential campaign are also expected to take place in urban development.

The criticism frequently raised by urbanists is the lack of the federal government attention to inner city areas. Inner city areas are the highly concentrated areas of the minority and also the pockets of poverty in urban areas. Suburban areas have been the focus of urban development with the development of strip malls and residential areas. Not surprisingly, there is a growing gap between inner city areas and suburban areas in most American cities.

Commitment to Urban Development

Obama started his career as a community organizer in the poor areas in the Southside of Chicago. Obama succeeded in advocating residents in those areas in employment and investment in housing and infrastructure. From this experience, Obama understands the challenges faced by communities in low-income neighborhoods in urban areas.

In a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, in August 2008, one participant offered a book to Barack Obama and said that the book is very important on how to build an ideal city in the U.S. Before the participant mentioned the title of his book, Obama responded that the book is Jane Jacobs’s work titled "The Death and Life of Great American Cities." This book was first published in 1961 and regarded as one of the most influential publications in the field of urban planning because it emphasizes the importance of space on how the city can improve the interaction among residents. Obama's attention to this important publication in the field of urban planning is interpreted by urbanists as an important thing for a leader who knows and understands how a city works.

Obama has an understanding that city is an important driving force for national prosperity. Cities in the U.S. are the places for 80 percent of the American population and economic activities. American cities also generate more than 85 percent of the national wealth. Obama understands that downtown areas must be built in order to reduce the gaps with suburban areas. Prosperity that occurred in suburban areas will not be sustainable if inner city areas are still left behind.

The Changes of Urban Development Policy

One of the most important policies made by Obama in the urban development policy is the establishment of the Office of Urban Policy, which is placed directly under the President in the White House. This office is expected to coordinate all urban development programs and report to the President.

Urban development programs in several departments such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and Department of Energy have a weak coordination. Programs in various departments are considered inefficient and created local competitions that are unhealthy and expensive. The Office of Urban Policy is expected to ensure that any funds given to the development of cities can be used for programs that have the biggest positive impact for urban development.

The Obama administration also reactivates the Community Development Block Grant, which was reduced during the Bush administration. This program is specifically directed to poor areas by providing assistances in housing and employment.

The attention to the poor in urban areas will also be done by the Obama administration through a new strategy named Promise Neighborhoods. This strategy is based on the successful experience in the city of New York through the Harlem Children's Zone. This program will be implemented in the area that has a high crime and poverty and a very low achievement of high school students. This program will include the involvement of students and their parents in the area that will be selected to achieve several targets such as the creation of medical and mental health of children, parental involvement in the success of their children in schools and the availability of employment.

Another thing that brings change in the field of urban development includes the appointment of Shaun Donovan as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Donovan has an architecture background and has the experience of how to create programs and development plans for the house low-income homes and eliminate foreclosure. The last person with a background of architects and town planners who led the department of Housing and Urban Development is Henry Cisneros between 1993 and 1997 under the Clinton administration.

Historic Preservation and Gentrification in Savannah

2008-04-04T21:58:00.002-05:00

Savannah has long been renowned for its very unique city plan and its historic preservation movements that vehemently preserve individual historic structures in the Savannah historic district. Savannah’s city plan was designed by Gen. James E. Oglethorpe in 1733. Savannah’s city planning is very distinctive and differs from all previous American towns. Early city planning in Savannah divided the town into wards. Each ward was planned around a central square, which was flanked at its eastern and western sides by four trust lots. The trust lots were allocated for the sites of public building. Each square was flanked at its northern and southern by four tythings of ten lots each, which were reserved for houses.

The streets are a grid of straight streets and each squares is entered by a single street in the middle of the north and south side. Three streets enter each square from the east to west side. The ward plan of squares and grid street systems qualify Savannah as a landmark in the American urban planning.

The historic preservation movement in Savannah was initiated by a group of concerned citizens in the 1950s. In the 1930s and 1940s, many of historical buildings in Savannah’s downtown were demolished to create parking lots. Several squares were also bisected by streets and fire lanes. The group of concerned citizens consisted of seven women and started historic preservation movement in Savannah by purchasing and saving the Davenport house in Savannah’s downtown from being torn down for a parking lot. Saving the Davenport house was the founding act of the leading historic preservation organization in Savannah –the Historic Savannah Foundation.

The Historic Savannah Foundation was a key player in the preservation of Savannah’s downtown. The Historic Savannah Foundation’s efforts resulted in the designation of Savannah’s downtown which comprises Oglethorpe’s unique city plan as a National Historic Landmark District in November 1966. Savannah’s historic district is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the nation.

The Historic Savannah Foundation along with the city of Savannah expanded its efforts to preserve Savannah’s historic district by convincing the State Legislature to pass enabling legislation for historic zoning in Savannah in 1968. The Savannah Historic District Board of Review was established in 1973 and exists to protect the values of property associated with history, unique architectural details, or related to a square, park or area within the Savannah Historic District.

In addition to the Savannah Historic District, the City of Savannah has designated other neighborhoods as local historic districts including Victorian Planned-Neighborhood-Conservation (PNC) District, the Cuyler-Brownsville PNC District, and the Mid-City PNC District. The Zoning Ordinance of each local historic district lists the permitted uses, development standards including lot area, setbacks, and heights, off-street parking requirements and visual compatibility requirements. No building permit will be issued in the local historic districts until proposed plans have been reviewed and approved as complying with the Visual Compatibility Guidelines and Standards by the Visual Compatibility Officer at the Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Today Savannah retains much of the Oglethorpe’s unique city plan and becomes evidence for the success of historic preservation movement in Savannah. On the other hand, the success of historic preservation movement in Savannah has also negative impacts on neighborhoods particularly low-income households. As stated by many urban scholars (Cohen 1998; Gale 1991; Werwath 1998), historic preservation has often been associated with gentrification and the displacement of lower-income households.

The historic preservation movement in Savannah has been encouraging people to return to the historic districts but also caused gentrification and displacement. Because of the rehabilitation efforts in the 1950s and 1960s, substantial number of African American and low-income people has been displaced from the historic areas. The success in restoring historic housing displaced residents, particularly African American and poor households, as their homes were sold or refurbished to be rented with higher rent. In 1972 City Manager Don Mendosa acknowledged the displacement of low-income residents from the historic areas and the lack of affordable housing in Savannah (Hodder 1996).

In an effort to mitigate the negative impact of historic preservation on lower-income households, the Savannah Landmark Rehabilitation Project (SLRP) was founded in 1975. SLRP aims to preserve the neighborhood’s racial and economic mix and provide the benefits of preservation for the rich and the poor (Hodder 1996). Using federal, state and local funds, SLRP created a model program to maintain a neighborhood mixed by class and race.

The SLRP program was criticized among preservationists and deplored as socialism since it was aimed to address the problems of equity (Hodder 1996). Leopold Adler, the leading advocate of SLRP program, asserted that African American people should not be displaced since they built and have lived in the historic areas for 30 years. Adler played an important role in securing $1.6 million loan from the city and the Ford Foundation in 1980 for buying 260 dilapidated apartment units in the Victorian District and renovated most of them for low-income households.

Led by the NAACP president, W.W. Law, historic buildings in Savannah’s historic areas that were relevant to African Americans history were started to be identified in 1973. Law also educated the public about African American contributions to the development in Savannah. He also played an instrumental role in relocating the King-Tisdell Cottage to the Beach Institute Historic neighborhood. The relocated King-Tisdell Cottage opened in 1981 as headquarters of the local branch of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASAALH). The preservation of the King-Tisdell Cottage also reflected the attention of preservationists to the African American community in the historic areas and marked the beginning of protecting and interpreting historic resources for Savannah’s African American heritage.

Currently the impact of historic preservation on gentrification in Savannah is still ongoing. Gentrification was the subject of a series of discussion organized by the Chatham County Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority (SDRA) that were held between July 2003 and March 2004.

In April 2004, the MPC established the Gentrification Task Force and asked 34 participants in the earlier discussion to serve as members of the Task Force. The Task Force produced a report on October 2004 and identified three stages of gentrification in many of Savannah’s neighborhoods. The first stage is the movement of higher-income residents to an area because of lower housing prices and the demographic diversity, historical and architectural characters of an area. The second stage is the renovation and the flow of money into the community made by higher-income residents. The third stage is the attraction of more affluent people who see the area as an investment. Another important factor in this gentrification process is that higher-income people are often moving to the area for getting closer to their places of work and the central business districts of Savannah.

As a result of the property improvement, the city of Savannah raises property taxes, which causes the increasing housing cost and the displacement of lower-income residents. The Task Force identifies that gentrification in Savannah occurs in cycles of disinvestment and reinvestment and Downtown Savannah has gone through at least two of these cycles.

The Task Force identified five neighborhoods that are currently experiencing gentrification: Baldwin Park, Beach Institute, East Victorian, West Victorian, and Thomas Square. Five indicators were used in identifying gentrifying neighborhoods including lack of affordable housing, shift in housing tenure, increase in household income, increase in home values and increase in redevelopment activities.

In addition, nine other neighborhoods are identified to be likely to experience gentrification in the future: Benjamin Van Clark, Dixon Park, Metropolitan, Eastside, West Savannah, Cuyler-Brownville, Live Oak, Midtown and Hudson Hill. The Task Force used five leading indicators as predictors of neighborhoods most likely to experience gentrification in the future: high rate of renters, ease of access to downtown, significant decline in population, historic architecture and comparatively low housing cost.

The Task Force has acknowledged that gentrification will harm the city and disrupt the economic and social fabric of the vulnerable neighborhoods. The displacement of lower-income households will result in disruption of lives, loss of community identify and diversity and lack of ability to build wealth. The Task Force recommends five areas of concern for mitigating the negative effects of gentrification and also for stimulating residential revitalization in Savannah’s vulnerable neighborhoods. The five areas of concern include land use and zoning, affordable housing, economic development, education and training and redevelopment programs.

Reference:

Chatham County Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. (2004). One Savannah: Report of the Gentrification Task Force. Savannah
Cohen, James R. (1998). Combining Historic Preservation and Income Class Integration: A Case Study of the Butchers Hill Neighborhood of Baltimore. Housing Policy Debate 9(3): 663-697
Gale, Dennis E. (1991). The Impacts of Historic District Designation: Planning and Policy Implications. Journal of the American Planning Association 57(3): 325-340
Hodder, Robert. (1996). Savannah’s Changing Past: Historic Preservation Planning and the Social Construction of a Historic Landscape, 1955 to 1985. In Mary Corbin Sies and Christopher Silver, (Eds.), Planning the Twentieth-Century American City, pp. 361-382. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Werwath, Peter. (1998). Comment on David Listokin, Barbara Listokin, and Michael Lahr’s “The Contributions of Historic Preservation to Housing and Economic Development”. Housing Policy Debate 9(3): 487-495

Poverty in Savannah: A further exploration of the 2000 U.S. Census data”

2008-04-04T21:41:00.005-05:00

This post provides a link to my article that is published in the Website of StepUp, a collaborative effort of various organizations in Chatham County to alleviate poverty in Savannah.

The data for this article were retrieved from the US Census Bureau by my students as parts of their assignments in the classes of Methods of Urban Research and Research Methods for Public Administration in the Fall of 2007.

http://stepupsavannah.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/2-08DedenRevisedOnlineArticle.doc

New Plan for Broughton Street

2008-03-29T21:06:00.001-05:00

The main street is the welcoming entrance to the city. The face of the city is much represented by the main street. That's why the main street has an important role in representing the city to visitors. Historically Broughton Street had been the main street of Savannah. For Savannah to maintain its tourism attractiveness, the appearance of Broughton Street is quite important and needs to be attractive.

The new plan for the future face of Broughton Street was unveiled to the public on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. New elm trees, kioks for tourists and better bike parkings are parts of the new face of Broughton Street. These new elements of Broughton Street are expected to beautify the main street of Savannah and makes Savannah more livable and attractive city.

The following link provided the related news from Savannah Morning News.

New face for Broughton unveiled | SavannahNow.com

Collaborative Effort to Save Dilapidated Historic Buildings

2008-03-22T19:27:00.004-05:00

This post is to applaud the collaborative effort between the City of Savannah and the Historic Savannah Foundation to rescue dilapidated historic buildings in Savannah. The effort is a good way of neighborhood improvement.

Following are the links to the related news and an Editorial from Savannah Morning News on the new collaborative effort between the City of Savannah and the Historic Savannah Foundation:

New partnership for city, Historic Savannah | SavannahNow.com

City blight: Stick to goal | SavannahNow.com

Digital tourism in Savannah

2008-02-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt that tourism is an important sector in Savannah. The beauty and charm of the Savannah's historic district is the key component of Savannah's tourism. A strong and solid historic preservation society in Savannah also significantly contributes in enhancing the quality of Savannah's tourism. In addition, the role of Savannah Area Convention and Visitors Bureau in promoting the Savannah's tourism is remarkable.

However, such things do not guarantee that tourism in Savannah will prevail in the 21st century. The characters of tourists in the 21st century differ from those in previous centuries. The rapid technology changes transform the characters of tourists and subsequently change the demand of tourism.

This post is to applaud the services that will be offered to tourists in Savannah to take advantage of digital technology. The services will offer audio tours that can be downloaded to devices that can read MP3 files, included iPod; and used on portable GPS devices. The detailed story about this services can be found in the following link from the Savannah Morning News:

Digital tourism moving forward

Such a service is vital to keep Savannah's tourism prevail and grow in the 21st century.

Savannah River Landing Enhances Savannah's Vitality

2008-01-12T20:10:00.000-05:00

On January 10, 2008, local and state politicians, dignitaries and business leaders attended the groundbreaking of the Savannah River Landing development that marked the 2,150-foot eastward extension of the Savannah River riverwalk and the plan of upward construction at the Savannah River Landing.

The Savannah River Landing development is initiated by the Ambling Companies that envisions to expand Savannah's downtown including two hotels, retail space, restaurants, Class A office space, 17 "waterfront estates," 110 houses, 600 condominiums, and six new squares that emulate the squares designed by General James Oglethorpe. Eighty hundred million dollars will be needed to implement the fifty-four acre Savannah River Landing development plan.

Source: Savannah Morning News

The development also creates a tax allocation district that approved by a referendum on November 2006. The Savannah City Council has agreed to provide $57.5 million in bonds for fueling the tax allocation district. Most bonds will be issued when the Ambling constructs a building and the tax money is coming in. The bonds will provide funds for several public projects, as follows:

New parking garage: $13 million
Improvements to Spencer and East Broad elementaries: $10 million
Improvements to the Bilbo canal drainage system: $10 million
Elevate and landscape East President Street: $9.5 million
Extend River Street rail line east: $3.6 million
Eliminate General McIntosh Boulevard and improve Congress and Randolph streets: $3.5 million
Funding to help developer build park and squares in Savannah River Landing: $600,000
Design and contingency: $582,850
Extend riverwalk eastward: $800,000 (to complement $8 million state budget)
Improvements to Broughton Street: $500,000
Improvements to Bay Street and signals: $500,000

Not only will the Savannah River Landing development expand the Savannah's downtown but enhance the vitality of Savannah, particularly as the tourist destination in the nation. With regard to tourism in Savannah, let me cite an Op-Ed by Joe Marinelli, president of the Savannah Area Convention and Visitors Bureau published in the Savannah Morning News on May 17, 2007:

A diverse and vibrant local economy is imperative to our community and tourism is an economic driver that is vital to Savannah's prosperity.

Tourism compliments the three other large industries that are considered major economic drivers locally: manufacturing, ports and military. Acknowledging tourism means recognizing its importance to Savannah's image and its role and impact as the second largest industry in our city for economic development.

In terms of direct, indirect and induced expenditures, travel in America is a $1.3 trillion industry. Bringing that home to Savannah, in 2005 more than 6.82 million people traveled to our beautiful city, generating $1.47 billion in visitor spending. These visitors produced $12 million in city and county bed tax.

Travel-related taxes benefit our community in some very important ways, including reducing taxes paid by residents, encouraging entrepreneurial opportunities, generating pride and enthusiasm among locals and helping to provide for urban and neighborhood revitalization.

The tourism industry is diverse and wide-ranging, from obvious segments such as airlines, airports, rental cars, taxis, tour buses and hotels to countless small businesses found within our community, such as restaurants, museums, retail shops and even the beaches of Tybee Island.

In a 2005 study done by D.K. Shifflet, it was concluded that more than 22,000 jobs can directly be attributed to tourism. From entry-level employees to top-level executives, tourism-related jobs in Savannah and throughout the United States can be found in numerous fields that provide continual income growth and endless career opportunities.

At the CVB, we see huge opportunities as our tourism product continues to change

From the Savannah River Landing project on East President Street to all that is currently being discussed with Chatham County officials for parcel 7, slip 3, near the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center (including The Reserve at Savannah Harbor), major changes to our riverfront's landscape means visitors will continue to come back for return visits.

In fact, the research recently done by Shifflet show that 60 percent of visitors to Savannah visit again and 50 percent of those who return will do so for an average of five times or more. Except for cities like Las Vegas, New York, Washington D.C. and Orlando, few other destinations can make such a claim.

We are very enthusiastic about the revitalization of Broughton Street, the long-awaited resurgence of Ellis Square and the development along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. In fact, we are now working with the City of Savannah on its master plan, revamping the existing Visitor Information Centers, with the possibility of adding more, and participating in an upcoming study of River Street and how it this wonderful attraction could evolve in the future.

All of us here in Savannah should be proud of the top-notch festivals and events that draw visitors into town who are willing to spend money. Celebrations such as the world-class St. Patrick's Day festivities, the Savannah Music Festival, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, the Black Heritage Festival, the Savannah Film Festival and the Enmark Bridge Run all add to the charm and personality of our beloved city.

Savannah can thank many people for the success of the tourism industry in our local economy, from General James Edward Oglethorpe, for laying out such a beautiful and interesting city, to Paula Deen for being such a great ambassador, making Savannah a place where people choose to visit.

The CVB also appreciates the support of all businesses, large and small, which have played an important role ensuring that Savannah continues to be a must-see tourist destination with visitors from all 50 states, Canada, Europe, and even as distant as the Far East and South America.

Controversy over the Height Map in the Historic District

2007-10-27T21:09:00.000-05:00

This post provides several links from the Savannah Morning News to document the progress of the controversy over the height map in the Savannah's historic district.

This controversy started with the proposal of development of a five-story condominium project on West Liberty Street by developer Julius Bennett which was approved by the city. The approval was decried by the preservationists; and triggered the Beehive Foundation, the Historic Savannah Foundation, and the Downtown Neighborhood Association to sue the city.

Sidewalks in Savannah Historic District, originally uploaded by Deden Rukmana.

Following links provide the further stories about the case:

Judge rebukes city, stops condo development

City moves to fix Historic District law

City manager: City needs height map ordinance that is clear and predictable

MPC endorses Historic District height map amendment

Savannah City Council delays action on building height amendment

City Council fixes height map

Homelessness in Savannah

2007-07-30T20:13:00.000-05:00

River Street, originally uploaded by Deden Rukmana.

The case of six women evicted from the homeless shelter of the House of Hope a few days ago has brought our attention back to homelessness problem in Savannah. Savannah is not alone dealing with the problem of homelessness. Homelessness has been a significant social problem in American cities since the early 1980s. It has proven to be an intractable and highly visible social problem. Over two decades, many scholars and policymakers argued over the ways of eradicating the homelessness problem. In the late 1980s, policymakers had expected that they could end the homelessness problem quickly. The programs and services to eradicate homelessness problems were expanded considerably, but the number of homeless has yet to decrease.

From the January 2007 homeless census, Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless reported 659 people lived beneath overpasses, in the woods and in abandoned cars. In addition, Savannah's about 400 homeless shelters beds were at capacity. They also reported that over 4,000 people seek homeless services in Savannah in a year.

Homeless people are not a homogenous population. In the early 1980s, homeless people typically were pictured as single men on skid row. Such stereotypes of homelessness have changed in the past two decades. The homeless population now includes more women and families with young children. According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC), homeless families account for 34 percent of homeless population. Most of the homeless families are single women with children.

There are many studies indicating the differences among subpopulations of homeless people. The NSHAPC study reveals that the reasons for becoming homeless for homeless families differ from those for homeless singles. The most frequently given reason for becoming homeless for homeless families and for homeless single women is “couldn’t pay rent;” while the top reason for homeless single men was “lost job or job ended.” Other important reasons indicated by homeless families are “landlord made client leave” and “problem with residence or area where residence is located.” These reasons are not among the top four reasons for homeless singles. On the other hand, two of the top four reasons for homeless singles (“was drinking” and “was doing drugs”) are not among the top four reasons for homeless families.

Homelessness studies found that homeless families were more likely than homeless individuals to be in a first homeless spell lasting less than six months. Homeless families are more likely to use shelters or transitional housing and less likely to have spent any time in places not meant for habitation than homeless individuals. Homeless families were also reported to have higher median income than homeless individuals. Homeless women with children received significantly more public assistance funds during their lifetime than did homeless single women.

Other studies also reveal that homeless singles are more likely to have alcohol and substance abuse problems than homeless families. Homeless families are also less likely to have mental illness than single adults. Approximately a quarter of homeless singles have experienced mental hospitalization. On the other hand, adult family members had rates of prior mental hospitalization of less than ten percent.

There is also a relationship between domestic violence and homelessness. The 2000 U.S. Conference of Mayors reported that domestic violence as one of the primary causes of homeless families. The NSHAPC study reveals that two of the top four reasons for becoming homeless for women are “I or my children were abused, beaten, and/or I was afraid of the violence in the household.” These reasons are not among the top four reasons for both homeless men with children and homeless single men.

Other than history of domestic violence, gender perspective on homelessness presents considerable differences between homeless men and homeless women in many respects. Dozens of studies on homeless women and homeless men show that the two homeless types differ in reasons of becoming homeless, perceived needs, the length of homelessness period, the occurrence of alcohol, drug and mental health problem, family and social relationship, health risk and physical symptom, legal involvement and work history.

The understanding of these differences is quite important to better address the complexity of homelessness problem. Each subpopulation of homeless people has distinctive characteristics that distinguish it from others. Homelessness policy should not lump different homeless subpopulations together. Homelessness policy should take into account the heterogeneity of the homeless population to effectively prevent and address different homeless subpopulations.

(This post also appeared at The Savannah Tribune on August 22, 2007)

Metropolitan Planning Commission's Planning Academy

2007-05-21T15:42:00.000-05:00

The Mercer House, originally uploaded by Deden Rukmana.

The following article was firstly published in the Business Report & Journal -a weekly business publication covering Savannah, The Lowcountry, Coastal Empire, Bruncwick and the Golden Isles- on Volume 10, Issue 1, May 21-27, 2007.

Metropolitan Planning Commission’s Planning Academy

Deden Rukmana

The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission provides a good opportunity for all citizens to learn more about planning through the MPC Planning Academy consisting of eight two-hour sessions over four months. The program started on April 10, 2007 and will end on July 10, 2007. I applaud this initiative since the citizen’s knowledge about the principle of planning and the local planning processes is quite important to better shaping the future of our community.

Planning as a systematic attempt and actions in the public domain to shape the future is best implemented when all stakeholders including community are involved. The planning practice in the 21st century is facing greater challenges than that in the 20th century. Some of the challenges are the complexity of the problems and the elusiveness of solutions to those problems. A better way of shaping the future of the community is no longer primarily based on the sense of order, comprehensibility, predictability and rationality that prevailed in the modernist era. The postmodernist era in the 21st century requires more communicative aspects of planning practice.

Recent planning practice requires planners to more actively communicate information and ideas to the many people and stakeholders with whom they interact and receive information and ideas in return. The Planning Academy is indeed one way of communicating information and ideas about the local planning practice and processes from the planners at the MPC to the community. It also should be a way of interaction between the planners and the participants that will allow the planners to receive the information and ideas from the participants. The knowledge about the principle of planning and the local planning processes from the Planning Academy will allow the participants to engage in a better communication with the planners in shaping the future of the community.

There are 63 participants including presidents of neighborhood associations, elected officials and concerned citizens who are enrolled in the MPC Planning Academy. The number of participants is more than what was expected by the MPC. The strong responses indicate high demand from the community for the communication in the local planning practice. The eight sessions of the MPC Planning Academy should be good venues for communication between the planners and the participants. Both parties should learn from each other for better planning practice in Savannah and Chatham County.

Bird and Savannah's port, originally uploaded by Deden Rukmana.

The MPC also needs to do research concerning the demographic profiles of the respondents. They need to identify which neighborhoods and subpopulations are still not represented in the Planning Academy. The local planning is not only for a particular neighborhood or subpopulation but for everyone in Chatham County. The unrepresented neighborhoods or subpopulation should be involved in the next planning education for the citizens.

The current MPC Planning Academy should be the beginning of the continuing planning education for the citizens. Planning education programs with more specified purpose also need to be considered for example planning education program on the provision of affordable housing. Planning is also a way to correct market failure including the lack of affordable housing. There have been always conflicts between affordable housing developers and the neighborhoods when the developer plans to develop affordable housing units in the neighborhoods. A planning education program on the provision of affordable housing will provide a venue for communication between the developers, the residents and the planners. The communication is to build consensus among divergent interests to better provide affordable housing for the community.

There are many other planning issues that need to be communicated with divergent stakeholders including transportation planning, economic development, historic preservation and environmental planning. The MPC Planning Academy should be a good venue to initiate the communication among divergent interest for better shaping the future of our community.

Deden Rukmana, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of urban studies at Savannah State University. He can be reached at rukmanad@savstate.edu

Origins of Savannah's Urban Design

2007-02-12T22:24:00.000-05:00

Savannah's historic district has been very well known and it has a very distinctive urban design that differs from all previous American towns. The grid street systems along with squares qualify Savannah as a landmark in American urban planning. What are the origins of Savannah's urban design? Are they originated from Italian, British or Chinesse roots? How many scholars or urban historians have attempted to investigate the origins of Savannah's urban design? The answers of above questions can be found in the following link:

Did Savannah spring from Italian roots? SavannahNow.com

The link shows my article appeared at Savannah Morning News on September 29, 2006. In this article I argued that various theories on origins of Savannah's urban design indicate that Savannah stands as a landmark in the history of urban planning in the nation and Savannahians should be proud.

Urban Planning in Savannah: Past and Present

2007-02-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

(This post was initially prepared for an invited lecture of the class visit of IDS 3535 of the Appalachian State University on October 14, 2006)

Gen. James E. Oglethorpe founded Savannah in 1733 and created a very unique city plan. Savannah’s city planning is very distinctive and differs from all previous American towns. Early city planning in Savannah divided the town into wards. Each ward was planned around a central square, which was flanked at its eastern and western sides by four trust lots. The trust lots were allocated for the sites of public building. Each square was flanked at its northern and southern by four tythings of ten lots each, which were reserved for houses.

When the town was laid out, the first ward of Savannah with its four tythings and forty homesites had been designed to accommodate the first forty families who came to Savannah, the oldest city in Georgia. The ward system was also conceived for a defense purpose. Oglethorpe was a great soldier and familiar with the classical principles of fortress construction and campsite planning. He created Savannah’s city plan to face emergencies. Each ward of the town was run by a Constable to whom four tythingmen reported for the activities of the families of each tything. Ten men in each tything were ready to bear arms at all times. The squares served as assembly points and drilling spaces for those militiamen. In case of attack, farm animals and colonists could take refuge in the squares.

The streets are a grid of straight streets and each squares is entered by a single street in the middle of the north and south side. Three streets enter each square from the east to west side. The ward plan of squares and grid street systems qualify Savannah as a landmark in the American urban planning.

A variety of theories has been devised by many scholars to investigate the origins of Savannah’s urban plan. John Reps, an urban planning professor at Cornell University, in September 2006 presented the similarity between the patterns of urban design of the Piazza Carlina and Turin and that of Savannah. He asserted the absence of written record that makes the connection but he argued that the Piazza Carlina-Savannah connection is the best one of any Savannah’s urban design theory so far.

Previously, Reps devised theory of the origins of Savannah’s urban design that connects St. James’ square in London with Savannah’s squares. London’s St. James’ square is a self-contained neighborhood that provided site for a church, shops and houses of several sizes and types. The church, shops and houses faced the square or straight streets intersecting at right-angles. Reps also offers the possibility of multiple squares appeared on a plan for Peking in a book travels in 1705, on a plan for an ideal army camp by Robert Barret in 1598, and on fortification books authored by Pietro Cataneo in 1567 as the origins of Savannah’s unique plan.

Savannah historian William Harden argued that principles of the Roman architect Vitruvius were also found in Savannah’s city plan. Other scholars such as Laura Bell Palmer and her grandson Malcolm Bell III asserted that the grids and squares in 17th century Beijing and in Sicily’s old fortified towns respectively were found in Oglethorpe’s design in Savannah.

Today Savannah retains much of the Oglethorpe’s unique city plan and attracts millions visitors each year. In 2003, nearly six millions visitors came to Savannah spending more than $1.5 billion and supported nearly 16,000 jobs locally. Tourism industry in Savannah boomed dramatically since the mid-1990s. The city's popularity as a tourist destination was solidified by the 1994 non-fiction novel of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which was set in Savannah.

The present existence of the Oglethorpe’s city plan is also result of the Section 8-3030 of the Zoning Code of the City of Savannah and the establishment of the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. Section 8-3030 of the Zoning Code of the City of Savannah is adopted in 1973 and revised in 1997 to protect the Savannah Historic District. The Savannah Historic District Board of Review was established in 1973 and exists to protect the values of property associated with history, unique architectural details, or related to a square, park or area within the Savannah Historic District. In addition,

Any exterior work within the Savannah Historic District is required to go through the design review process by the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for any of the following action in the Savannah Historic District: demolition of a historic structure, moving a structure, alteration to the exterior appearance of any structure by additions, renovation, or material change; new construction; awning; walls, fences, and sidewalks, signs; and in some areas paint color.

In addition to the Savannah Historic District, the City of Savannah has designated other neighborhoods as local historic districts including Victorian Planned-Neighborhood-Conservation (PNC) District, the Cuyler-Brownsville PNC District, and the Mid-City PNC District. The Zoning Ordinance of each local historic district lists the permitted uses, development standards including lot area, setbacks, and heights, off-street parking requirements and visual compatibility requirements. No building permit will be issued in the local historic districts until proposed plans have been reviewed and approved as complying with the Visual Compatibility Guidelines and Standards by the Visual Compatibility Officer at the Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Introductory Post

2007-01-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog of "Urban Studies in Savannah".

We are now embracing the Information Age and the power of Web is so strong in building and shaping our society. The new world of digital democracy has been created and it's now our turn to lead the world.

As part of my job as assistant professor of Urban Studies at Savannah State University, I would like to share my thought about any urban issue in Savannah with other citizens of the new world of digital democracy. This blog is primarily intented to help my students keep updated with the urban issues in Savannah. I will be trying to follow urban issues in Savannah from various sources particularly from the most respected local newspaper, Savannah Morning News.

My intention is also to document the changes of Savannah from the perspective of urban planning. I hope that the documented changes will provide us knowledge of how we should plan our city to be livable places for everyone!