Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

A quasi-Ph.D who is unclear on the concept of "profit," or, "Bow and give alms to our benevolent corporate overlords!"

Barbara Fischer, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "community columnist," has become a personal favorite of mine for her can't-believe-it's-not-a-parody, Ayn Rand-ian, compassion-free world view (see previous related blog entry here).

Her latest, pasted below, is another jewel. 

Ms. Fischer says in her bio "I am chair of a business and economics department at a private liberal arts university in the metropolitan area. I have been a professor for 15 years." As for the cryptic alphabet soup appended to her name,  Jim Bouman at Waterlogged in Waukesha enlightens us:

Ph.D. A.B.D., for the untutored, describes an utterly laughable reification. Someone who lists "Ph.D., A.B.D." as a credential will try to persuade you to buy a "Semi-boneless Ham" or a pint of "Fat-Free Half and Half".

A.B.D., it turns out, means "all but dissertation." Or, in other words, NOT a Ph.D. To read her interaction with her "class," by the way, leads one to think she's teaching elementary school rather than a college level course.

Something has to be behind her fairly breathtaking error regarding what "profit" is. She begins:

Being a conservative economics teacher at a liberal arts college is not easy. Oftentimes when I am teaching market structures (bear with me here), the inevitable comments and questions arise: Why are businesses so greedy? Why do businesses earn excessive profits? We should boycott Wal-Mart. The oil companies are gouging us.

I decide to use this as a "teaching moment."

The lesson begins this way:

"Let's take a few minutes to answer some questions. Who pays for your tuition?"

Several hands go up. One student retorts, "I pay my own way." I ask how. "From my own paycheck, of course." I ask, "Who pays your paycheck?" The student responds, "The company."

"And how does the company have the means with which to pay you?" The student replies, "I guess from their profits." I respond, "That is correct."

Not correct - and may make for some interesting tax audits (Pundit Nation spotted the goof as well). Profit is what you have after  subtracting costs of doing business - - and, as much as free market warriors would like to forget them, paying the employees has to be considered a cost of doing business, not something you do if you get into the black.

I see the error as revelatory. The days when employees were treated as partners in the quest for profit are fading from memory, and Barbara Fischer's "teaching moment" unwittingly - though starkly - illuminates the ideological underpinnings to that slide. Being a self-described conservative academic has evidently sheltered her from reality to the extent that she exposes a bit of wishful thinking: "We (the saintly 'Corporation') make money, and we'll pay the work force whatever dribbles over the edge. IF something dribbles over the edge."

Ms. Fisher's Mentos commercial (I picture these fine young academicians exchanging high-fives as they get hip to "Fischernomics") is comically myopic and ends with a bang:

"The next time you hear about the evil oil companies, the evil Wal-Marts or any other evil company, remember that without them, you would not be at this institution, I would not be here, your other professors would not be here and the new building would not be built."

No, folks, this isn't satire. The column, and the delicious quote above, are authentic. I guess her point is, let these benevolent Corporate gods do what they will, because we suckle at their teat and they have made us what we are.

Wrong again.

She's apparently never heard of the GI Bill, a government program which made college affordable for an entire new population segment (i.e. non-wealthy) and their children.  And she seems to ignore the fact that the this new high-level workforce helped create the postwar US economic juggernaut. Corporations have responded - - only after government initiative showed them the way - - by seeding the academic ground for more talent by contributing to institutions of learning.

And how about a world where corporate whims are unfettered by government regulations? Let's go back to 70 hour work weeks and sweatshops packed with nine- and ten-year old kids - -  that's what worked for corporations before they were reined in.

Ladies and gentlemen, from the author of "Misgivings about taking action for the 'common good" and "What's so wrong with being selfish?" here's an ode to letting our Corporate betters do what they will  - - unencumbered by silly regulations or the need to pay taxes - - so they can continue their selfless good works:

Don't slap the hand that feeds you

By BARBARA FISCHER

Being a conservative economics teacher at a liberal arts college is not easy. Oftentimes when I am teaching market structures (bear with me here), the inevitable comments and questions arise: Why are businesses so greedy? Why do businesses earn excessive profits? We should boycott Wal-Mart. The oil companies are gouging us.

I decide to use this as a "teaching moment."

The lesson begins this way:

"Let's take a few minutes to answer some questions. Who pays for your tuition?"

Several hands go up. One student retorts, "I pay my own way." I ask how. "From my own paycheck, of course." I ask, "Who pays your paycheck?" The student responds, "The company."

"And how does the company have the means with which to pay you?" The student replies, "I guess from their profits." I respond, "That is correct."

The next student says, "I get a scholarship from the university." I say, "All right, and where does the university obtain scholarship funds?" "From our tuition?"

"Not really," I say. "It comes from donations and other similar means. Who provides these donations? Individuals and companies. And where do you suppose these individuals and/or firms get those funds?" From profits is the answer - again.

Another student replies, "I receive government grants and/or loans."

"And where do you suppose these funds originate?" I jump the gun and reply, "From taxes. Who do you suppose pays all the taxes? We do - from our paychecks from companies who create the jobs from profit. And let's not forget, companies pay taxes as well - from their profits."

Yet another student replies, "My parents are footing the bill." Before, I can say anything, some will say, "We know, from their jobs created by companies from their profits."

"Yes, but now let's move on to something a little closer to us right here. Where do you suppose the university received funds for the brand new building that was built? And the answer is not tuition. From individuals who donated the funds. And, in turn, where did these individuals obtain their funds? From either having a job or creating a company and donating money from their profits."

At about this time, a student will mention that not all individuals work at for-profit organizations. "Excellent point," I retort. "Let's discuss that next."

"Where do most not-for-profit organizations obtain their funds? From donations, which come from individuals who have a job created by business from their profits! Or perhaps from government funds, which come from taxes, which are paid by individuals from their salary created by profits. Or from selling services paid for by individuals who have jobs.

"What about people who work for government?" As I open my mouth, a student will say, "From our taxes, which come from people with a job created from profits."

I ask one last question. "Who do you think pays my salary?" That is an easy one as they say in unison, "We do! From our tuition that comes from our jobs, our parents, government, etc."

By now, they get the drill.

So I tell them, "The next time you hear about the evil oil companies, the evil Wal-Marts or any other evil company, remember that without them, you would not be at this institution, I would not be here, your other professors would not be here and the new building would not be built."

Companies are the economic engine that drives the economy of the United States of America.

I rest my case.

Barbara Fischer of Port Washington chairs the business and economics department at a local private university. Her e-mail address is [email protected]

Winter Wonderland

It's been a long time since Big Snow has spent the holidays in Wisconsin ...

Senior Citizens: Sprawled into the margins

I found quite a few resources at Smart Growth America related to aging Americans and mobility that are well worth sharing as a follow-up to my post of a few days back, which touched on the sad fact that poor planning, lack of useful public transit, and sprawl development policies are dooming senior citizens to a segregated existence.

600,000 people over age 70 stop driving every year

But they still have places to go, people to see, things to do. So how do they stay mobile once their ability to drive is gone?

As we’ve noted frequently, seismic demographic shifts are underway as America races towards 400 million in population. One of them is an approaching “senior tsunami,” with nearly 1 in 5 Americans expected to be over age 65 by the year 2030. The overwhelming majority of seniors prefer — and will choose — to age in place. But many of their places aren’t made for aging non-drivers.

Resources (via Smart Growth America):
The Aging in Place Initiative
AARP - Livable Communities and Aging in Place
 SGA - Aging Americans: Stranded Without Options

From The Washington Post:

Drive to Keep Going
On Any Given Day, Millions of U.S. Residents Over 65 Stay Home Because They Don't Have Transportation. The Race Is on to Change That.

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 8, 2007; B01

The ride in Betty Lee Thatcher's snazzy red Volkswagen Beetle was short and uneventful. But it meant everything to Patricia LaRue.

LaRue, who never learned to drive, traveled everywhere by bus, train or Metro, including to her job at the State Department. But since her cancer was diagnosed last year, LaRue has needed a little extra help getting around Northern Virginia.

"I just haven't gotten up the nerve to get on the bus," LaRue, 60, said. "I feel like one of those little wobbly dolls."

LaRue has to rely on friends or volunteers for door-to-door transportation, so she signed up for a ride with the Annandale Christian Community for Action, which coordinates volunteers from 27 Fairfax County churches to ferry senior citizens to medical appointments.

But the organization, which has been around nearly 40 years, is running out of drivers because so many volunteers are too old to drive. Thatcher, who drove LaRue to a doctor's office Tuesday, is 80. LaRue's driver for a follow-up visit is 87.

"I'd say the average age is 89 and rising," said Nancy Hall, president of the group. "The oldest driver retired at the age of 93. We just don't have the younger folks because they work longer. Or maybe they're not as charitably minded. There are people who say that, but I don't agree with that."

With the Jack Kerouac generation already well on the road toward retirement, demographers and experts on aging are urging policymakers to invest in new public transportation options. The shortage of suitable transportation for older residents will become especially acute in the suburbs, not only because transportation there revolves around the automobile, but also because boomers who grew up in the suburbs appear to be staying there.

The number of senior citizens is expected to double by 2030. As that population swells, experts said, so will the need for new ways to get around as more people live well beyond the age when they quit driving. A 2002 study by the National Institute on Aging found that about 600,000 people who are 70 or older stop driving every year and become dependent on other forms of transportation. The study found that men who stopped driving would rely on public or other means of transportation for an average of seven years. Women would need public transportation for 10 years.

A substantial number of older Americans already have difficulty getting where they need to go because they no longer drive. This is true even in areas with a host of transportation options, experts said.

"We have data that show people are stranded," said Elinor Ginzler, AARP's director for livable communities.

More than 20 percent of Americans age 65 or older do not drive. Of those, more than half -- about 3.6 million people -- stay home on any given day because they have no transportation, AARP says. The problem is more pronounced for those who are frail or poor and those who live in rural areas.

Those who cannot get around become isolated, and isolation can have serious consequences on a person's mental and physical well-being. For example, AARP says those who are unable to find transportation make 15 percent fewer trips to the doctor.

Many older people do not use mass transit, often because of real and perceived obstacles, Ginzler said. The multitude of services can frustrate senior citizens -- and others -- who struggle with bus schedules and multiple transfers. Such obstacles help explain why nearly 90 percent of older residents use private vehicles. Even when an older person decides he can no longer drive, he slides over to the passenger seat, and studies show that older residents will walk before taking public transit, Ginzler said.

In Fairfax, for example, low-income seniors can sign up for Seniors-on-the-Go, which lets riders buy subsidized coupons to pay for taxi fares. Others may qualify for MetroAccess, a paratransit (door-to-door) service sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for disabled passengers, or FASTRAN, the county-run paratransit. The county also offers a volunteer driving service similar to the Annandale Christian Community for Action's. And there are senior citizen discount rates on almost all public transportation, including Metro and Metrobus.

Grace Starbird, director of Fairfax County's Area Agency on Aging, said one of many initiatives undertaken by the county to enhance transportation for seniors is a proposal for a "one-stop shop" that would coordinate transit services for older residents.

Other governments and nonprofit organizations across the nation have explored strategies to help seniors get around, including implementing new approaches to volunteer driving services, revamping bus lines to make them more flexible and redesigning streets and highways to accommodate older motorists and pedestrians.

In Maine, for example, Katherine Freund, whose 3-year-old son Ryan was hit by an older driver nearly 20 years ago, started a nonprofit organization to help seniors get around. (Her son recovered and now attends the University of Oregon.)

Through Independent Transportation Network and ITNAmerica, which is working to replicate her model across the country, younger volunteer drivers can get credits to receive rides later or donate them to others. Residents who stop driving can donate their cars for credits, and merchants can help pay for rides for older customers.

A similar time-banking program operates in Annapolis, where the city's Transportation Department teamed with Partners in Care, a Pasadena, Md.-based nonprofit that helps seniors stay in their homes.

Partners in Care, which also operates in Frederick, administers a time-banking system so that a person who volunteers to transport an older resident will earn credits that could be used for home repairs.

"There are a whole host of seniors who need help getting out the front door," said Barbara Huston, the organization's co-founder and president. "Our niche is to provide people with arm-to-arm, door-to-door transportation."

Partners in Care started with 125 enrollees; today, there are 4,800. The city promotes the service and pays for background checks of a volunteer's driving record.

Prince William County offers "flex-routing" on its OmniLink bus service, said Christine Rodrigo, spokeswoman for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission.

The service allows any resident in Manassas, Manassas Park and some parts of the county to schedule a deviation from the regular route of up to 3/4 of a mile. There is a $1 extra charge for riders using the flexible service unless they are older than 60 or disabled.

Early proponant of Traditional Neighborhood Development?

Challenge: Walk to Franklin High School from any nearby subdivision. You're disqualified if you are grazed by a vehicle.

From The Daily Sprawl, this quote - read and then guess who might have said it:

The age of leisure and abundance can destroy vigor and muscle tone as effortlessly as it can gain time. Today human activity, the labor of the human body, is rapidly being engineered out of working life. By the 1970’s, according to many economists, the man who works with his hands will be almost extinct.

Many of the routine physical activities which earlier Americans took for granted are no longer part of our daily life. A single look at the packed parking lot of the average high school will tell us what has happened to the traditional hike to school that helped to build young bodies. The television set, the movies and the myriad conveniences and distractions of modern life all lure our young people away from the strenuous physical activity that is the basis of fitness in youth and in later life.

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John F. Kennedy writing an article for Sports Illustrated entitled "The Soft American"

Congratulations to - - and a request for - - Community Newspaper Inc.'s "Franklin Person of the Year"

Franklin's tireless volunteer and activist Casper Green was honored this week by Community Newspapers, Inc. as 2007 Franklin Person of the Year - a well-deserved title for a true community asset.

And now for the request: I hope that Mr. Green will use his platform - and further serve the local senior citizens for whom he has already done so much -  by exerting his influence on local developers and city officials who continue to create and approve site plans that ignore the needs of less-mobile seniors.

Yes, I speak specifically of the Shoppes at Wyndham Village as one particularly sad example - a project for which Mr. Green expressed unqualified support, and for which he mobilized the senior constituency.

It was unfortunate to see the very people who will be most adversely affected by the "Shoppes" vehicle-centric site plan used as they were - - though, it should be stated, their support was not so much for the project itself, but for developer Mark Carstensen, who has contributed generously to senior causes. One can hardly blame them for "Supporting Mark," which was the phrase I heard over and over.

But there is a greater issue at stake, as we are reminded by authors Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck in their book Suburban Nation:

Most elderly are neither infirm nor senile; they are healthy and able citizens who simply can no longer operate two tons of heavy machinery. The phenomenon of suburban auto dependency is not just a theory for these people. It is the reason we see otherwise reasonable men and women falsifying eye exams and terrorizing their fellow motorists. They know that the minute they lose their license, they will revert from adulthood to infancy and be warehoused in an institution where their only source of freedom is the van that takes them to the mall on Monday and Thursday afternoons.

It should not be surprising that contemporary suburbia, with its strict separation of land uses, has inadvertently segregated the elderly from the rest of society.

See also: Complete the Streets and the AARP.

Andres Duany in TIME Magazine (including audio interview).

James Rowen: "Oh, No: Light Rail Is Creating Development In Norfolk, VA"

James Rowen cracks wise at The Political Environment:

You know...light rail...can't work...isn't a development tool...no one will ride it...especially in Milwaukee (City, with about 625,000 residents, and the County with about 950,000) which doesn't have the requisite population density...

So surely it'll be a disaster in little ol' Norfolk, VA, a small conservative city of 230,000.

Alas, as Rowen notes later in his post - Surprise! Norfolk light rail is indeed sparking $220 million in residential and commercial development along the 7.5 mile starter route.

12/27/07 UPDATE: Dave Reid of The Reid Plan sent me a link to some great photos he took of TOD activity along the the Charlotte, NC LYNX Blue Line (including the shot below).

From HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com)   

   

Norfolk says light rail's benefits already rolling in

The first shovel of dirt has not been turned, yet light rail already has helped generate more than $220 million in planned office, retail, apartment and hotel development downtown.

Interactive map:
The Tide's route [1]

Developers of three projects – Wachovia Center, Belmont at Freemason apartments and a Residence Inn – said the city’s starter light rail influenced their business decisions. Having modern transit within a short walking distance delivers a steady stream of potential customers and provides an alternative to driving for residents and workers, they said.

Wachovia Center is a 22-story tower and apartment building that will include office, retail and residential space on Monticello Avenue.

“The fact that there will be a light rail stop right out the front door of our project was a key part of why we selected that site,” said Thomas G. Johnson III, vice president of sales and development for Nusbaum Realty, the project developer.

Developers of the Residence Inn by Marriott on Brambleton Avenue are counting on light rail to transport customers to what they believe will be a big draw for their extended-stay rooms, the Eastern Virginia Medical Center.

For Belmont at Freemason, “light rail was a big factor in the size, quality and scale of our project,” said Pete O. Kotarides, of Kotarides Developers, which plans to break ground early next year on the three-building complex, which will be adjacent to light rail’s York Street station.

It’s hard to predict how much more Norfolk can expect in private development along the 7.5-mile transit line, The Tide, which breaks ground Saturday.

What is certain, though, is that many modern light rail projects are as much about economic development as transportation. Light rail lines are increasingly being used to encourage and guide growth.

The American Public Transportation Association reports that, on average, $6 of private money is invested along a new transit line for every $1 of public money spent. That means for Norfolk’s $232.1 million line, $1.4 billion in new development could follow.

“We know why this project is being built – it’s truly about economic development,” Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson said in October when he was in town to award a $128 million federal subsidy for light rail construction. Industry experts warn, though, that there’s no guarantee of significant private investment.

“It’s not automatic; it has to be proactive,” said Robert Cervero, chairman of the city and regional planning department at the University of California, Berkeley, who has done extensive research on transit-oriented development.

To realize the development benefits, Cervero said, other things must be in place. Those include land-use policies supporting transit; a strong economy; a population that’s inclined to use transit; and a transit system that’s effective and inviting in both service and design.

Cervero, a Norfolk native, said downtown’s redevelopment is at a “tipping point.” facing challenges with traffic congestion and parking supply.

“It’s fortuitous to bring in light rail now,” he said. “Without question, light rail can further stimulate the redevelopment of downtown Norfolk. A great thing rail does is provide a focus area.”

Two cities that are often held up as prime examples of how to best integrate light rail and economic development are Dallas and Portland, Ore.

Since building the first light rail line in Portland in the late 1970s, the city has realized more than $3 billion in development adjacent to the line. In Dallas, more than $1 billion has been spent on new development around DART in the past decade.

Closer to home, Charlotte opened its first leg of light rail last month. Already, $400 million in new development is under way and another $1.4 billion is planned through 2011.

But not all light rail projects have been economic development success stories.

“One thing that can happen is nothing,” said Robert Dunphy, of the Urban Land Institute. “Transit advocates will claim if you put rail in, all of a sudden you’ll have this money flowing. It’s just not true.

“What has to happen is someone needs to look at the market and focus the development and make sure there’s a supportive environment.”

Already, Norfolk has adopted a parking policy that limits the growth of downtown parking to encourage transit use.

City planners are now evaluating land uses along the light rail route and identifying where there are opportunities for new development. In some areas, that will mean higher-density development, said Planning Director Frank Duke. Duke, who came to Norfolk in August, said the process should have started many months ago.

“We need a smart plan now,” said Councilman W. Randy Wright. “We’re not going to get the best development by letting plans happen on their own.”

In Charlotte, the city started integrating plans for transit and land use in the 1990s, long before the first light rail track was laid.

“We don’t see how we can do one without the other; we wouldn’t be successful in either,” said Tina Votaw, transit oriented development specialist with Charlotte’s transit agency.

Meanwhile, the city is soliciting proposals for redeveloping what’s now the Kirn Memorial Library site. The library will be relocated, and its building demolished next year to make way for a light rail station.

Roderick S. Woolard, economic development director, envisions more development opportunities at Fort Norfolk, Harbor Park, Military Highway and Newtown Road.

“The greatest value will be connectivity,” he said. “We’ll be connecting Fort Norfolk to downtown and Harbor Park to downtown. It will enable us to have a greater downtown area.”

Wright said that as a result of light rail, the city already has received one unsolicited proposal for developing land near Harbor Park. He would not provide details.

“There’s already huge opportunities within the city of Norfolk,” he said. “Ultimately, when we extend the line to the Navy base, there will be more opportunities. And even more if it goes into Virginia Beach.”

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588,

[email protected]

   

Going into your pocket to cover corporate tax shortfalls

Right wing demagogues make a hobby of crying to high heaven over their property tax bills and fees, shouting "tax hell!" To stoke the fire, they lean heavily on intensely partisan Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) press releases without shame (State Senator Mary Lazich, in particular).

You might as well consult Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears about birth control.

As Paul Soglin writes in the Capital Times:

WMC is known for brandishing the weapon of fraudulent reports in an attempt to demean the Wisconsin business environment.

We see it most frequently when WMC trots out studies from the Tax Foundation, which distorts the Wisconsin tax picture, then says the Badger State is "tax hell." WMC ignores the more scholarly and accurate analysis done by University of Wisconsin professor Andrew Reschovsky, which shows that when we examine all government collections per person, Wisconsin ranks close to the middle of the 50 states.

You won't hear "tax hell" shouters talk about the fact that individual taxpayers have to pick up the slack for corporations who simply don't pay their fair share. The WMC won't let them; they advocate eliminating the corporate tax entirely.

So, as we examine our property tax bills this week, or read about Franklin's sewer rate hike, this tidbit should be foremost in our minds: Two-thirds of the more than 50,000 corporations that filed income tax returns with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in 2005 owed no taxes.

Surprise: Wisconsin Republicans - largely bought and paid for by their corporate clients - are against any tax scrutiny of corporate scofflaws. Their true colors are flying.

Previous posting: Property Taxes: "Why do we pay so much?"

See also James Rowen's post here.

From the Associated Press:

Update: Bill would target Wis. business tax loopholes

The Associated Press

Three of the nation’s largest corporations paid no corporate income tax in Wisconsin, according to the author of a new report that estimates tax loopholes cost the state $643 million last year.

Microsoft, drug-company Merck and Sears all paid no corporate income taxes in 2005 despite combined profits of more than $18 billion, said Jack Norman, research director of the Milwaukee-based Institute for Wisconsin’s Future.

The independent, nonpartisan institute released a report Wednesday that said businesses have used tax breaks, loopholes and profit shelters to avoid paying taxes. Norman identified three of the largest companies that didn’t pay any taxes at a Capitol news conference called to announce a new bill targeting the issue.

The proposal by Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, would require public companies to disclose more information to the state about taxes they are paying. Companies that do not pay Wisconsin taxes would have to explain why not.

The bill, to be introduced and scheduled for a hearing in January, also would require corporations to disclose their tax liability in the state, including any credits or exemptions they receive and subsidiaries that affect their taxable income.

Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, issued a statement attacking the bill for raising the “level of hostility toward Wisconsin employers to a new high.”

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which represents some of the state’s largest companies, also has come out against the bill, saying it would amount to badgering businesses. WMC has advocated eliminating the corporate income tax.

The bill itself won’t raise anyone’s taxes, Hansen and other supporters said. But it would provide more information about the level of tax avoidance in the state. It also would give auditors at the state Department of Revenue more tools to go after companies that owe, said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar.

Jauch said the bill will be part of a series considered by a Senate committee he chairs on tax fairness that will attempt to close some of the tax loopholes.

Wisconsin is considered a leader in the nation already with disclosure laws that make public the amount of taxes paid by employers. But Norman said that information is difficult to get, especially given the number of subsidiaries companies set up.

And while Wisconsin would be the first in the country to have as broad a disclosure law as Hansen is proposing, it is being discussed in a number of states, Norman said.

Hansen’s bill would apply only to public companies, which Norman said is less than 1 percent of all businesses operating in the state. The information submitted by the companies would be made public after two years.

Two-thirds of the more than 50,000 corporations that filed income tax returns with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in 2005 owed no taxes, the institute said in its report.

Microsoft reported $12 billion in profits but paid nothing in Wisconsin, Norman said. Merck reported $5 billion but paid nothing and Sears had more than $1 billion in profits but paid no state tax, Norman said.

The report said corporate income tax amounted to 10.4 percent of the state’s general funds in 1980 but was just 7.1 percent by 2007 even though corporate profits more than doubled during that time.

The Democratic-leaning Institute for Wisconsin’s Future was founded in 1994 by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the Wisconsin Conference of Churches, and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. Its stated mission includes providing a progressive voice in policy debates that impact working families.

Useful acronyms beyond NIMBY

Interesting planning acronyms from the book THIS LAND, by Anthony Flint:

NIMBY: Not In My Backyard

LULU: Locally Unwanted Land Usages

BANANAs: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything

Complete the Streets Pt 2: Saner streets for Franklin?

(Illustration courtesy of AARP)

How do you get developers and local governments to create public spaces more hospitable to the entire population, not just those with access to a vehicle?

Complete the Streets is an initiative designed to get cities, regions and states to enact and enforce street engineering and design policies that provide safe access for all - -  including older people, children, and people who who use wheelchairs or have vision impairments. Of course, it also means bicycles and pedestrians are given proper consideration.

In other words, Complete the Streets encourages enforceable policies that make the city and developers do more than the bare minimum; it forces them to look beyond self interest and observe the current and future needs of the community. It enables meaningful (and commercially profitable) public spaces. It means being able to safely walk to school rather than having to take a bus from two blocks away.

(Above) INCOMPLETE STREETS: This is what we consider "safe" neighborhood access to a school in Franklin?

 

But make no mistake: Developers will not do anything that they aren't forced to do, and local governments - - Franklin's most definitely included - - are loath to step on the toes of developers unless there is a clear statute or ordinance in place to cite.

Enter the Complete the Streets movement.

The membership of Complete the Streets is diverse: America Bikes, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Smart Growth America, the American Society of Landscape Architects and Paralyzed Veterans of America are just a few of the organizations lending support to the cause.

You may recall that local seniors activist Casper Green mobilized his constituency to support Mark Carstensen's Shoppes at Wyndham Village despite its elderly-unfriendly site plan. Mr. Carstensen's financial contributions and generosity to causes and organizations that Mr. Green champions trumped all other considerations. As a result, the very population that has the most at stake in terms of their loss of freedom and mobility due to a poor, Target-dictated site plan remains silent on the issue - - to raise concerns would seem "ungrateful." Mr. Green - - a genuine community asset and tireless volunteer - -  made it clear to me in my conversation with him that as far as he's concerned, when you criticize the "Shoppes" project, you are "against Mark."

Of course, a few weeks later Mr. Carstensen began to differentiate between "my part of the development, which is the Sendik's and all the outlying buildings" and Target's huge - - and site-plan dominating - - swath of property, which Target owns and wholly controls. Unified site plan? Nope. Target Corporate called all the shots. Well played.

Clearly, if the soon-to-be-reconstructed stretch of Drexel Avenue that fronts "Shoppes" is to be properly designed to allow as much usability as possible given Franklin's current center-less status, the mayor, plan commission and common council are going to have to ignore partisan pressure groups; veiled threats from Target; bluster from blog-wielding conservative mouthpieces ("my good friend the mayor", "my close personal friend the alderman"); and scoldings from the developer.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

That's why the Complete the Streets movement is invaluable. The organization works to identify and put in place enforceable guidelines at whatever level possible - - be it local statute, "best practices" rules, regional ordinance, etc. For example, the DuPage County (IL) Healthy Roads Initiative contains this language:

Construct a sidewalk or bicycle path where right-of-way is available; Ensure that the new construction project is safe for both the user and the community; Ensure that the new construction project adds a lasting value to both motorized and non-motorized users; Ensure the project incorporates context sensitive and environmentally sensitive design. Requires public meeting during preliminary engineering design; consensus should be reached.

Developer balking at creating a walkable site plan? Fear reprisal? Cite the initiative; "Nothing personal, but we have these guidelines to follow....".

And "connected" communities are more valuable communities. As noted in an excellent opinion piece from The Seattle Times:

People tightly wed to the single-passenger-car concept are least likely to accept the complete-streets idea. But 90 percent of us, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, believe that new communities should be designed so we can walk more and drive less, and that public transportation should be improved and accessible.

Look around us. Clearly, Franklin is full of "incomplete streets," built for vehicles only, and built for speed regardless of environment.

Hope that's not your small child below, forced into the ditch trying to dodge traffic on the way to school. Simply pathetic.

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From the Complete the Streets web site:

The streets of our cities and towns ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams. They’re unsafe for people on foot or bike — and unpleasant for everybody.

Now, in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets. States, cities and towns are asking their planners, engineers and designers to build road networks that welcome all citizens.

(Click picture below to see Complete Street transformation)

ELEMENTS OF COMPLETE STREETS POLICIES (from the Complete the Street website)

1. The Principle

• Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.
• Creating complete streets means changing the policies and practices of transportation agencies.
• A complete streets policy ensures that the entire right of way is routinely designed and operated to enable safe access for all users.
• Transportation agencies must ensure that all road projects result in a complete street appropriate to local context and needs.

2. Elements of a Good Complete Streets Policy

A good complete streets policy:

• Specifies that ‘all users’ includes pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and users, and motorists, of all ages and abilities.
• Aims to create a comprehensive, integrated, connected network.
• Recognizes the need for flexibility: that all streets are different and user needs will be balanced.
• Is adoptable by all agencies to cover all roads.
• Applies to both new and retrofit projects, including design, planning, maintenance, and operations, for the entire right of way.
• Makes any exceptions specific and sets a clear procedure that requires high-level approval of exceptions.
• Directs the use of the latest and best design standards.
• Directs that complete streets solutions fit in with context of the community.
• Establishes performance standards with measurable outcomes.

2.5 Implementation

An effective complete streets policy should prompt transportation agencies to:

• Restructure their procedures to accommodate all users on every project.
• Re-write their design manuals to encompass the safety of all users.
• Re-train planners and engineers in balancing the needs of diverse users.
• Create new data collection procedures to track how well the streets are serving all users.

See also another article about complete streets from the AARP here

Complete the Streets, part 1; the upcoming Drexel-Shoppes test

This past weekend as I attended my grandfather's funeral, I was inevitably reminded (as was the rest of my extended family) that we're not getting any younger. The day will come when, in terms of our freedom to get around, we'll be at the mercy of whatever conditions prevail for public transit and street design.

With that in mind, take a look around Franklin. Now imagine trying to traverse the many inhospitable portions of our built environment without a vehicle (the bike path, wonderful as it is, does not count - it doesn't go anywhere).

Bleak prospects, indeed.

I bring this up because Franklin faces an important test when reconstructing Drexel Avenue in front of The Shoppes at Wyndham Village, and I confess that I don't have high hopes.

As previously discussed in this space, Franklin is patterned on classic suburban sprawl templates, one of which is the lack of a cohesive, traffic-taming street grid (an ongoing problem; recall developer Mark Carstensen's overt indignation - - "This is the first I've heard of it!" - - at a public hearing when he was reminded that he would need to need to allow space on the eastern edge of the Shoppes site for a future road that would allow some level of connectivity to future developments).

Developers of untamed subdivisions were/are allowed to create spaghetti-strand roadways built for speed and unrelated to  current and future connectivity. The Franklin "plan" appears to be one that leans heavily (almost exclusively) on collector roads that occur in mile-by-mile increments (Rawson, Drexel, Ryan, Puetz, etc.). These roads are designed to simply get busier and busier, and we'll keep widening them in "response."

A city of incomplete streets.

Unfortunately, one of these "roads as sewer" collector roads - - Drexel - -  runs right in front of the Shoppes at Wyndham Village, intersecting with fast-moving Highway 100. Drexel will assuredly get no relief from alternate routes you'd find on a grid system; it's just going to get busier and more congested. Close your eyes and imagine the environment along the street between Loomis and Hwy. 100 a year from now; and remember, the only way to get to "Shoppes" is to drive.

Again, bleak prospects.

Sprawl-induced barriers abound in what is supposed to be Franklin's "City Center," where "Shoppes" is located. For example, standing between the current nominal municipal center (consisting of the Franklin library, city hall, and Legend park) and Shoppes is multi-lane Loomis Road. Park once and walk to multiple destinations? No way - expect people to get back in their car and drive to Target from the library - not even a half-mile apart from one another - rather than brave that crossing on foot.

Speaking of "municipal center": persons from out of town might be asking, "where is the police station?" We don't call it something so benign here in Franklin; no, we have a Law Enforcement Center that sits off on its own, a sprawling, unapologetic monument to the suburban ideals of "give me space" and "connect me to nothing useful."

Pardon the extended digression, but just look at this thing:

Is that lawn mowed for free?

Given the "macro" sprawl characteristics we observe here in Franklin, how can the city address the more "micro" problem of making Drexel less deadly in front of Shoppes at Wyndham Village, as well as accessible to persons without a vehicle? Perhaps they can't, to be honest, but more progressive and forward-looking suburbs are taking steps via a movement called "Complete The Streets" to make their communities safer, less vehicle dependent and more inclusive for persons with mobility issues.

Stay tuned for part two.