Better community design makes happier citizens

Posted January 2, 2009 by Sharon
Categories: Local

Public spaces that bring people together in congenial activity produce happier citizens than those – like traffic jams – that spur animosity and aggression, says [University of British Columbia professor emeritus John Helliwell, who studies economics and human well-being.] . . .

That’s just one of many fascinating nuggets of info in an article about the transformation of Bogota, Columbia: From Living Hell to Living Well. The city’s former mayor realized that improving people’s economic standard of living was a difficult, long-term prospect. So, he looked at ways to improve other factors in their quality of life.

Bogota mayor Enrique Peñalosa

“increased gas taxes and prohibited car owners from driving during rush hour more than three times per week. He also handed over prime space on the city’s main arteries to the Transmilenio, a bus rapid-transit system based on that of Curitiba, Brazil.

“Bogotans almost impeached their new mayor. Business owners were outraged. Yet by the end of his three-year term, Mr. Peñalosa was immensely popular and his reforms were being lauded for making Bogota remarkably fairer, more tolerable and more efficient.”

The mayor’s overall results? Rush hour traffic moves three times faster than before. The murder rate plunged 40%. Traffic deaths are down. There are 1,200 new parks.

” ‘A city can be friendly to people or it can be friendly to cars, but it can’t be both,’ the new mayor announced. He shelved the highway plans and poured the billions saved into parks, schools, libraries, bike routes and the world’s longest “pedestrian freeway.” . . .

” ‘Before Peñalosa, mayors were terrified to take on the issue of auto-dominated public space, for fear that motorists would rebel politically,’ says Walter Hook of New York’s Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). ‘But he not only challenged auto dependency, he succeeded politically. He’s given other politicians the courage to follow. And other mayors have realized that they can’t build their way out of congestion.’ ‘

Despite economic challenges, Bogota’s mayor helped “to transform a city once infamous for narco-terrorism, pollution and chaos into a globally lauded model of livability and urban renewal.”

We may not be living in the Third World, but there are good lessons here about what local officials can do in an era of constrained finances. Here in Framingham, sadly, we’re heading the wrong direction, with an announcement that one of the first things to be cut back is sidewalk plowing.

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Financial meltdown silver lining: Boston City Hall to stay put

Posted December 31, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: Local
Tags: ,

I detest the appearance of Boston’s City Hall as much as the next person. It’s a hideous building that looks like a low-budget parking garage, in the midst of a plaza that seems ideally designed to be vacant with trash blowing through. That said, though, Mayor Menino’s plan to move City Hall to the South Boston waterfront was a bad one.

There are many ways to bring life to a new area of the city that officials believe is prime for (re)development. However, moving critical government services to a place that is less accessible to the citizenry is not one of them.

The waterfront is tougher to get to from many areas of the city, is served by fewer mass transit routes and is not really walkable from other neighborhoods. City Hall belongs in the heart of the city.

So, I was glad to read the news that Mayor Menino is dropping plans to relocate Boston City Hall, citing the financial situation. “I could not get value out of the City Hall property right now with the real estate market down,” he told the Boston Globe, denying the decision was due to criticism of the plan.

Separately, that’s why I think it’s too bad Framingham town services are clustered on one side of our community. While it may make sense from a population density standpoint to have town offices, the main library and the police station downtown, it makes the pulse of our community unnecessarily far removed from a number of neighborhoods and many residents.

Framingham is a physically large community (in square miles, half the size of Boston). Combine that with too many people who believe that investment and services should be centralized (such as those South Side Town Meeting members who voted against rebuilding the grossly inadequate branch library in Saxonville, believing all of us should drive downtown for our services), and you end up with a lot of Framingham residents who are significantly separated from  municipal services.

For example, I am closer to the public libraries in both Sudbury and Wayland than I am to Framingham’s main library; I’m closer to Sudbury’s and Wayland’s police headquarters than I am to Framingham’s.  If I want to take an adult education class, I’m closer to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School than I am to Keefe Tech (while Framingham High School is convenient, there are no programs for adults there that I know of beyond a fitness center open to the community 10 hours/week for a fee). And there are plenty of people who live farther from downtown Framingham than I do. When the heart of a community is off to one geographic side, it’s not a good recipe for making all neighborhoods feel like they have equal access, and thus an equal stake.

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When David Brooks and I agree…

Posted December 12, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: General
Tags: , ,

…the issue probably has some merit :) Since that occurs rather rarely. But he’s correct (not just “right”) when he says in “This Old House”:

“If you asked people in that age of go-go suburbia what they wanted in their new housing developments, they often said they wanted a golf course. But the culture has changed. If you ask people today what they want, they’re more likely to say coffee shops, hiking trails and community centers.

People overshot the mark. They moved to the exurbs because they wanted space and order. But once there, they found that they were missing community and social bonds.”

Of course, Brooks being Brooks, he couches this in a criticism of Democrat Barack Obama, who has yet to even take office. I disagree on that part (geez, Obama’s inheriting multiple crises from the Bush administration, let the guy take office for a few days before you start complaining); but I do back Brooks’ call that Obama’s stimulus plan should

“… create new transportation patterns. The old metro design was based on a hub-and-spoke system — a series of highways that converged on an urban core. But in an age of multiple downtown nodes and complicated travel routes, it’s better to have a complex web of roads and rail systems.”

One of the great things about New York City’s mass transit system is that it’s not just set up to get you to the core of Manhattan, but also move within multiple destinations throughout the five boroughs. And it’s not accident that New York is the sole city in America where a majority of people use public transportation to get to work.

“Second, the Obama stimulus plan could help localities create suburban town squares.”

Faux town squares without attractive corridors in and out of them won’t do as much as backers hope. Still, I agree with the premise that suburbs need  anchor districts where you can walk to multiple destinations instead of having to drive from strip mall to strip mall.

It’s way too early for Brooks to declare that “Before the recession hit, we were enjoying a period of urban and suburban innovation. We could have been on the verge of a transportation revolution. It looks as if the Obama infrastructure plan may freeze that change, not fuel it.” But the issue is worth pointing out, in hopes that Congress and the Obama administration will help fuel a change toward more community-centered planning — which would be totally consistent with Obama’s campaign themes.

Several letters published in response to Brooks’ column  agree with his aim funding community-centered planning, although not necessarily with crticizing Obama.

“Mr. Obama has called for a refocus on urban issues like public transit, rebuilding inner-city schools, and revitalizing public parks and common ground in his public works package. He recognizes that cities are the nerve centers of our modern economy and must be restored to create a durable economic base,” notes Jack Luft, former Miami planning director.

“Mr. Obama would get the long-term ‘bang for the buck’ he seeks by heeding Mr. Brooks’s advice and supporting the shovel-ready plans that metropolitan area mayors are offering,” he advises.

Adds architect and urban designerJohn A. Dutton notes that the federal government encouraged a lot of suburban and exurban sprawl via “highway construction, building codes and mortgage tax credits. …  We should retrofit our suburbs to make them livable communities with true civic centers, walkable neighborhoods, alternative transportation options and preserved open space, while using innovative sustainable development practices that could be a model for the world.”

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Walking isn’t some kind of optional hobby

Posted December 10, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: Local
Tags: , ,

You’d never know it by the way suburban communities treat sidewalk and crosswalk maintenance, but there are actually a lot of people who need to walk places. Why don’t our local governments understand this?

Kids walk to school - not everyone has bus service or an available parent to chauffeur them. People walk to nearby stores, or homes of family & friends. People walk between nearby office buildings during the workday (I do almost every day, and so do many of my colleagues, since my company rents space in multiple buildings that are not all on a private campus). People walk to bus stops and train stations and, yes, even neighborhood auto repair shops when their cars break down. People walk their dogs.

So why do our governments operate as if people do not need (or want) to walk during the winter months? Why is it understood that communities must keep roads clear of snow so that drivers can get where they need to go, but nobody seems to care about doing the same for sidewalks? Are pedestrians really just out in fair weather? Does nobody need to be out walking from December to March?

William Hanson, chair of the Framingham Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, picked up on this agenda item from yesterday’s Selectmen’s meeting: “Town Manager’s Report: Reduction in Sidewalk Snow Plowing Routes.”

Sigh.

Sidewalk clearing is already grossly inadequate in Framingham, given that at work we are advised to take our cars less than a quarter of a mile between buildings in winter, because there is no safe walking corridor between two buildings that should be less than a five-minute walk. Now even fewer sidewalks will be cleared?

Hanson said he spoke to Framingham Town Manager Julian Suso, and told him, “Hopefully the revisions you have proposed will only have minimal impact.” Hanson also noted:

“Some local governments have established permanent “Snow Committees” so that all stakeholders in the community can work collectively in open sessions to formulate policy. Perhaps this is an opportune time for Framingham to form such a committee. . . .

I will pass on the information about the Town’s new snow complaint line, (508) 872-1212 extension 3999. I will also ask FBPAC members to venture out after snowstorms this winter to evaluate and report on sidewalk conditions. “

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Downtown Crossing Reconsidered

Posted December 7, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: Local
Tags: ,

Interesting piece in the Boston Globe magazine today on whether Downtown Crossing will finally achieve its promise. I agree with the premise that attracting pepole to live in the district

“may just be the best hope to revive Downtown Crossing and transform it from merely a place where shoppers shop and workers work into a place where shoppers linger over lunch with their day’s purchases, workers meet for dinner, and residents call out greetings to one another as they make a morning coffee run. No longer a business district but a neighborhood.”

However, I see a few additional issues along with adding residences, filling empty storefronts and adding signage and clearer pedestrian areas — all of which are important.

* Serious attention needs to be paid to the pedestrian corridors into the Downtown Crossing district, in order to attract tourists and suburbanites in from nearby attractions like Boston Common. They walking routes need to be compelling, not just possible.

* What’s the reason for someone who doesn’t live and work there to come to Downtown Crossing as opposed to other neighborhoods? There has to be a good reason to choose to eat or shop there, as opposed to Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End and so on. Stores you can’t find elsewhere? A special sense of place? It’s got to offer something different/better that the city’s other great neighborhoods.

* Why would someone want to linger there instead of go to one or two places and leave. What makes it a multiple destination neighborhood? I completely agree with the premise that the area does not need “more cellphone stores, fast-food places, or pawnshops.” Filling storefronts is important, but not enough; the right kinds of businesses are important in creating a compelling destination.

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Saxonville Riverview Plaza update

Posted December 4, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: Local
Tags: , ,

Sorry for the lengthy time between posts, but the demise of my home computer has put a lot of my blogging time into setting up my replacement computer! However, I would like to belatedly report on the first Planning Board public hearing on this project last month. All the audience members who spoke, said they were in favor. In fact, several urged the Board to approve the project quickly, since it’s very much a benefit to the town to have that long-vacant town parcel finally developed.

I, too, am in favor, although asked for a couple of small plan modifications.

One issue raised by several people, including Planning Board Members, was to make sure the sidewalk continues into the parcel to the shops so there’s an obvious walkway into the site and not just driveway for cars. Another is making sure the intersection by A Street is a safe crossing for pedestrians, considering how many area residents and high school students walk in the neighborhood.

The other issue I’m most concerned about is the driveway out of the parcel, which is three lanes wide — one lane too wide for creating an appealing and safe-feeling walking environment. I urged there be some separation between the incoming and outgoing lanes to create a better walking environment. However, the last time I walked by the parcel, there were drawings on the pavement showing the three-lane-wide driveway. I suggest someone try walking on Rte. 30 across the cars pouring in and out between Target and Lowe’s to get a sense of what a wide and busy driveway does to your walking environment.

The Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee is going to discuss the project at its meeting this Tuesday, December 9, in the Memorial Building (Town Hall) Conference Room 2 (that’s on the agenda starting at 8:10, the overall meeting begins at 7:30). You can see the initial letter they sent to the Planning Board about the project here.

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Livable communities in the Obama era

Posted November 9, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: General, politics
Tags: , ,
The Obama/Biden campaign's phonebanking center in Boston, the day before Election Day.

Obama campaign's Boston phonebanking office, day before Election Day

This isn’t a “political” blog, but now that the election is history — congratulations to President-elect Obama, and to all of us who worked so hard to make it happen! — it’s time to take a look at what an Obama administration might mean for the goals of more walkable, livable communities.

President-elect Obama will have a full plate of crises when he takes office in January, what with the economic woes and two wars. So I’m under no illusions that community planning issues will be atop his agenda. However, he has strong opinions about transportation and community development, ones that see our urban centers not as “unreal America,” but as centers of vibrancy and innovation. He has pledged to create a White House Office on Urban Policy and to financially support “innovation clusters” defined as “regional centers of innovation and next-generation industries.”

Happily, he is also on record favoring “more livable and sustainable communities.” Says his policy Web site: “Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars, to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives. As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. . . .

How a community is designed – including the layout of its roads, buildings and parks – has a huge impact on the health of its residents. For instance, nearly one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less than half of our country’s children have a playground within walking distance of their homes. Barack Obama introduced the Healthy Places Act to help local governments assess the health impact of new policies and projects, like highways or shopping centers.

His campaign’s 4-page transportation plan includes funding for Amtrak, development of high-speed passenger and freight rail service, invest in public transportation and create more incentives for mass transit use (such as ending the tax code inequities that allow employers to provide more tax-free parking benefits to workers than for carpooling or mass transit).

As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks. As president, Obama will work to provide states and local governments with the resources they need to address sprawl and create more livable communities.

At the highest of levels, the election of our first African-American president running on a platform of change, inclusiveness and personal responsibility sends a powerful signal that we’re all part of this great nation. We’re all equal partners, and we’re all partners — no one is going to make positive change happen for us, not unless we’re all willing to do the work to make it happen. And we’re likely to see more citizen involvement in trying to bring about the change people seek.

I never quite understood the reasoning behind Republicans disparaging community organizing. Seriously, it’s a bad thing for people to band together to try to improve their communities?

(Sorry for the long delay since the last post. My home computer gave up the ghost, it’s taken awhile to get a new computer set up.)

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Sprawl and quality of life

Posted October 13, 2008 by Sharon
Categories: Local
Tags: , ,

When post-World War II suburbs were designed, the idea was to improve quality of life — give people more space to breathe at affordable prices, compared to cities (viewed as too congested and noisy), while still giving them reasonably easy access to things like shopping.

But half a century later, we discovering that suburban sprawl isn’t all it was cracked up to be. Post-1970s development took the original idea and expanded on it, giving people so much “room” that development patterns often made it difficult to do anything without a car or even walk around the neighborhood and get to know your neighbors.

When there’s no care given to shared public space, when what greets the streetscape is a huge garage door and not a home’s windows and entryways, when front yards are never for living or being in but 100% of activity occurs in private spaces where no neighbor-to-neighbor interaction is possible, well, your sense of community changes. And when you can’t do anything — anything — without getting in your car, when your kids can’t even go visit a friend without being chauffered, well, even those who love automobiles can start growing weary of how many hours they need to spend in their vehicles.

Add an increase in traffic jams and ever longer commutes, and older patterns of development start looking more appealing. Imagine being able to walk to the store to pick up a few things for dinner on a nice early autumn afternoon. I grew up going out for milk and bread for my mom, and she still often walks to the grocery store, hair salon, or to pick up a morning paper.

It immeasurably adds to your community to have lots of your neighbors out and about. I saw it on primary day, when I walked to my polling place and ran into several neighbors who were doing the same; we stopped and chatted about this and that. Those are the kinds of interactions that help stitch together a community, that don’t happen unless people are out in shared public space. But we can’t be out and about that way unless such space exists; and we can’t and won’t be out walking unless there’s an appealing streetscape to draw us out. Useful destinations we not only can walk to but want to because of an attractive pedestrian environment truly add to our quality of life.

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