Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

A long journey begins: The project is now official

Click on picture to embiggen

At last night's Common Council meeting I presented  a short description of my coffeeshop/co-working plan for the city civic center, and the council voted unanimously to allow myself and fellow Economic Development Commissioners to make queries in the city's name. It's a tiny step, but a vote of confidence for exploring this sort of nonstandard approach to encouraging economic development and active community space.

It was not without potholes. Not even an hour before the meeting, the mayor emailed me to note that he now recalled that the fire chief did indeed have possible plans to expand the fire department building and may desire the plot of land under discussion. Also, alderman Tim Solomon made it known at a meeting the night before that he was 100% against non-park, non-fire department usage of the land. Fortunately, there is quite a bit of open space in the area pictured above in which the concept could work; the building doesn't have to sit exactly where I initially planned. I was gratified by the unanimous affirmative vote and the supportive comments made from the council dais.

So, at this stage we question and query the "tentpoles"; MATC, Franklin High School, the Library (I met and enjoyed a long conversation with a library trustee last night; I'll speak at their next meeting), fire department, etc.

The idea is to gather the needed elements and put a "situation" in place so a Kinkos/FedEx or local-owned/franchise coffee shop can come in and feel comfortable with a nonstandard setup; one that enlivens community life, has an excellent educational and vocational training component, engages the "creative class," and stirs further walkable "commercial amenity" development in the area.

And off we go ...

The Story of Sprawl 2-DVD set | Planetizen

From Planetizen (visit their site for three sample clips):

In planning circles, it is fashionable to debate the merits or drawbacks of the spread of suburban living that happened in the 20th century. What isn’t up for debate is that it happened- that from the early '40s until the beginning of the 21st century, the American pattern of development changed radically.

This 2-disc set is an unprecedented visual document of how sprawl happened, told through a series of historic films ranging from 1939's The City, created by famed planner Lewis Mumford, to No Time For Ugliness from 1965, produced by the American Institute of Architects.

To get a modern perspective on what these films represent, we’ve recorded commentary tracks for each video with noted planners and authors. You can watch the films on their own, or with the voice of a noted expert guiding you through, including:

• Prof. Robert Cervero, UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design
• Duncan Crary of the KunstlerCast
• Andrés Duany, DPZ Associates
• Anthony Flint, author of The Battle Over Sprawl and the Future of America.
• Jacky Grimshaw, The Center for Neighborhood Technology
• James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere
• Prof. Jackie Leavitt, UCLA's Dept. of Urban Planning.
• Prof. Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, UCLA's Dept. of Urban Planning.
• John Norquist, President of the Congress for New Urbanism.
• Neal Pierce, Citistates Group.
• Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, DPZ Associates.
• Mark D. Van Ells, author of To Hear Only Thunder Again: America's World War II Veterans Come Home.

The Story of Sprawl 2-DVD set | Planetizen.

News Flash: Radio Talker Mark Belling lacks integrity

And, to the surprise of no one, is all talk.

Belling won't pony up on racetrack vow.

Breaking Silos in the City | Planetizen

I'm seeing this firsthand in my suburban community - I can only imagine how much worse the problem is in a big city.

City government is made up of many individual parts. Though they need to work together, they aren't typically very good at it -- especially in big cities. Recently, an interdepartmental group of city officials in Los Angeles came together to try to improve the way they work together and the way they improve their city.

Read more at Breaking Silos in the City | Planetizen.