Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

As Wi-Fi Havens And E-Book Centers, Public Libraries Aren't Going Away Soon | Fast Company

To those equating community libraries to simple warehouses for printed matter whose utility is tied to our dependance upon bound books, some interesting news:

The American Library Association has just published its newest investigation into the state of the nation's public libraries, and the news is...actually rather good. You may think that odd in an era of ubiquitous alternative distractions to reading a real book--from iPads to Kindles--but it's really these new high-tech devices, along with the Internet that's keeping libraries flourishing. The one fly in the ointment is that funding cuts seem to be threatening many services.

While just a few years ago public libraries were all about borrowing books to read, or finding somewhere to study alongside handy text resources, the Net has changed much of this. Now 99.3% of the U.S.'s libraries offer Net access, via a public PC or open Wi-Fi, and 64% of libraries say they're the only free access point in their communities. With that figure stepping up to 73% for rural libraries, and 70% of libraries reporting that public use of their Net facilities increased in 2010, it's easy to see that the public library is still hugely relevant in a digital era.

It seems that [the library's] Internet nexus is extremely handy for people seeking jobs, via vacancy listings and other resources: 88% of libraries offer this, and 72% say their staff are helping clients fill in application forms. Meanwhile, 25% of libraries are in partnerships with government agencies and other groups to build e-government services--almost double the 13% figure from just two years ago. Though we live in a digital era that obviates many reasons to travel, it seems the library still is the social hub for data sharing.

Read the rest at: As Wi-Fi Havens And E-Book Centers, Public Libraries Aren't Going Away Soon | Fast Company

Narrower roads: Less expensive, safer, and more bike/pedestrian friendly

Avert your eyes: The obscenity that is Franklin's 31st Street. At rush hour.

We often hear city officials proclaim their view of the "natural" progression of a road as needing to be BIGGER and WIDER as the years go on. A few years back, aldermen in my city lobbied hard for an obscenely wide road to be built behind the Northwestern Mutual Life headquarters.

After all, went the argument, it'll need to get that big eventually....

This viewpoint is deeply flawed, to say the least, and it's costing our cities an enormous amount of money. We now pay to plow, salt, patch and otherwise and maintain a wide, four-lane road that was laid in front of long-standing houses --- this is where a residential STREET should be --- that gets very, very little traffic per day. Worse, it's only a few yards away from, and parallels, 27th Street, which was supposed to be our high-traffic commercial strip.

People who travel down 31st Street for the first time (most Franklin residents are unaware that it exists) are utterly shocked at its immensity.

No - the smart money is on REDUCING the width of roads and streets. In Minnesota, cities are paring back streets when it comes time to repave them.

A growing number of metro area cities are taking a broader, greener view of street repairs.

Instead of just rebuilding worn roads, cities such as Bloomington, Richfield and St. Paul are narrowing streets to provide space for bike lanes and sidewalks. St. Anthony has added rain basins and retention ditches to filter and re-use runoff for irrigation, officials said.

But despite little additional cost, health and environmental benefits and lower traffic speeds that improve safety, some residents have objected loudly enough to stop their streets from going green.

"They are somewhat controversial when initially proposed in a neighborhood," said Metropolitan Council member Steve Elkins, a former Bloomington council member. "But once they are put in, we have never had a neighborhood ask us to undo the bike lanes."

...

The city website includes a Living Streets Plan manual, estimating that shrinking 30-foot-wide residential streets by 8 feet will save 15 percent in pavement costs, enough to cover the cost of adding rainwater gardens, trees and other green improvements.

The narrower street would cut maintenance expense by about 25 percent, which could save up to $1,000 a mile per year, the manual says. The rain gardens filter runoff before sending it into streams and lakes. More walking and biking instead of driving creates healthier residents and cuts air pollution.

Read the rest at: Cities turn to a new, green path for street designs | StarTribune.com

Steve Jobs Presents to the Cupertino City Council

Here's hoping that if the Franklin Plan Commission gets a proposal like this, we don't fumble the ball.

However, I have an idea of some of the problems Mr. Jobs would face in my suburb ...

Read the rest at: YouTube - Steve Jobs Presents to the Cupertino City Council (6/7/11)

Liveblogging notes from CNU 19: Sprawl Retrofit at the Macro Scale

Liveblogging my ongoing notes from the CNU 19 session entitled SPRAWL RETROFIT AT THE MACRO SCALE:

• First, an overall impression of CNU 19: It is incredibly bizarre to be surrounded by a huge group of people all "speaking my language."
• Another initial impression: Lots of stylin' black suits here. Architects, you know...
• Very well attended - almost every seat filled.
• Galina Tachieva (author: THE SPRAWL REPAIR MANUAL) is speaking: "Suburbs contain more and more diverse populations. Voters are in the suburbs."
• "We are likely facing a decade of recession."
• "There is a new awareness of sprawl's effects on environment."
• Health effects of sedentary lifestyle 
• Jim Kunstler couldn't make it. Damn.
• Change will not be sweeping, but incremental.
• Christoph Gielen is showing overhead photos of ridiculous "cluster world" suburbs, part of an art project he has done.
• "Prisons of our own making." "An encapsulated life...".
• Next Patrick Doherty, Director Smart Strategy Initiative: "Retro-Fit at the Strategic Scale"
• Mentioned increase in flooding and tornadoes; middle class recession. Natural and unnatural disasters.
• American Grand Strategy: Big problem, big response, ala Arsenal of Democracy in WWII. Suburban sprawl was an element of our Cold War national strategy.
• "Strategy of Sustainability" is recommended by government/military think tanks.
• The new economic engine consists of the attributes of walkable communities.
• How do you build a national strategy like we did with sprawl? Location efficient mortgages, etc.
• Planners as central in national security and prosperity.
• Adam Ducker (RCLCO): New Urbanism and mixed development - Does the market want it? Who is going to pay for it?
• Density not going up significantly yet.
• Lot sizes ARE getting smaller.
• "Repaired suburbs" are a preferred destination.
• "Urban Lite"
• "Walkable" is now most important buying factor for Gen Y.
• Next factor: Being near shopping.
• Challenge: Demonstrate "premium revenue potential" of great places.
• Galina Tachieva - There is a difference between suburbs and sprawl. Older suburbs were walkable.
• Municipal tax revenues INPROVE in new, denser development and commercial sectors.

 

CNU 19: The Making of Middleton Hills

Currently watching a presentation featuring Andres Duany, Jeff Speck, Jane Grabowski-Miller, Mary Jukuri, and Robert Gibbs, speaking on all aspects of the creation of the Middleton Hills development. We're 3 minutes in, and they've already mentioned Frank Lloyd Wright.

CNU 19 in Madison

I'm attending the Congress for the New Urbanism gathering in Madison this week, hoping to bring back some ideas (and energy) for Franklin. If we had train service between Madison and Milwaukee, I could be writing blog entries during my trips back and forth to the CNU 19 gathering; as it is, I'll have to catch up in the evenings.

In the meantime, here are some great regularly updated CNU news pages that will keep you on top of the events in Madison as they happen.

CNU Liveblog

The CNU 19 Daily