A few things to know this week: September 4, 2020
Happy Friday, friends! Every week we collect some of the best things that members of our Verdunity team read, watched, or listened to over the course of the week—plus anything new from us.
This week on the Go Cultivate! podcast:
Reflecting on 40 years of growth in North Texas – with John Lettelleir
John Lettelleir on the explosive growth of Frisco (TX), the recent rejection of the Plano (TX) 2015 comprehensive plan, and navigating the challenges that come with managing growth.
The latest from the blog:
AJ Fawver: Being Busy is Not Equivalent to Being Successful
In today’s environment, cities are catching on and speaking out about the importance of inclusion and diversity in their staffing, the effects of climate change on their future, and the sustainability of their land development patterns. If cities are not tracking measures related to those priorities, are they really priorities? AJ Fawver would argue not.
This week’s things to know:
The case against Metro’s $5 billion transportation bond (City Observatory)
Once again, Joe Cortright from City Observatory delivers on a robust critique of transportation planning and capital spending in Portland, Oregon. The article outlines the funding mechanism, impact on 'corridors' and 'centers,' and climate/equity outcomes of an $800 million transportation ballot measure. The two biggest negatives to this ballot are: (1) the funding mechanism charges people who don't rely on the road system instead of those who do, and (2) the 'safety benefits' are actually counterproductive as they increase reliance on the car. You may need to bookmark 15 minutes to fully digest his thoughts, but it's a great overview of the ways in which our transportation system needs to be changed. – Tim
The Trillion Dollar Question Facing Every Major American City (Strong Towns)
This article nails the biggest fiscal issue facing cities that is still not being talked about enough: street maintenance funding, or lack thereof. Everybody wants their streets maintained. And most people think that because they pay property taxes (and in some cities, street fees as well), their city has the money to meet this expectation. The reality is that there is a massive gap between what road maintenance costs and what cities have budgeted, and it's growing year after year. Every year, cities chip away, dedicating a small amount of money to preventative maintenance. Many cities have Capital Improvement Programs that fund a few reconstruction projects every year, but it's only a small percentage of the overall needs and the money often comes from bond elections—debt financing that is funded by taxpayers. The result is the amount of deteriorating streets in cities is increasing and citizens' willingness to pay more is tapped. Something's got to give. – Kevin
E-Bikers Ride Much Farther and More Frequently Than Regular Bikers (Treehugger)
Do you enjoy these weekly roundups? (Why wouldn’t you?) You can get them sent straight to your email inbox every Friday, if you’re into that.
In my opinion a much more important shift than a move to electric cars would be to make space for and encourage the use of electric bicycles. Cars already make us unsafe, force us to spread out and build an unsustainably vast amount of infrastructure, and dehumanize cities. Electrifying them changes nothing about any of these dynamics, and does not do enough to have an appreciable impact on our carbon footprint. Some research has started to show that people using e-bikes have been replacing car trips, which is encouraging. We should think about e-bikes as car replacements rather than bike replacements (although they will have that appeal for some). Obviously right now, much of the US physically requires automobile access, and makes navigating the city on a bike (electric or not) a truly dangerous proposition. “If we really want to see a permanent uptake in the use of e-bikes, we need policy measures that provide a safe place to ride and a secure place to park. Then e-bikes can truly take their place as part of the urban transport system.” (This of course is not as simple as saying “build better bike infrastructure and people will be safer,” though. For that, we must take action to make the streets not just safe from car traffic but also safe for Black, brown, indigenous, and other vulnerable individuals to navigate freely and without fear of violence or scrutiny.) – Jordan
Webinar: 'Just Sustainabilities' in Policy, Planning and Practice (Tufts University)
Earlier this week, I signed up for this webinar, which will be hosted by Julian Agyeman next Thursday, September 10. I’m really looking forward to it. “Professor Julian Agyeman will outline the concept of just sustainabilities as a response to the ‘equity deficit’ of much sustainability thinking and practice. He will explore his contention that who can belong in our cities will ultimately determine what our cities can become. He will illustrate his ideas with examples from urban planning and design, urban agriculture and food justice, and the concept of sharing cities.” – Jordan
The Pandemic Has Exposed How Broken Our Housing System Is (Gen)
“As terrible as the eviction machine may seem during a pandemic,” writes Patrick Sisson, “it’s only a slightly worse version of an already broken system, one that’s biased toward landlords and property owners.” This is a good read. – Jordan
Here's the standard disclaimer: We always encourage our team members to freely share their thoughts and opinions, both in these newsletters and elsewhere. Given that, opinions expressed by any one member do not necessarily represent the views of the company as a whole.
Don’t miss out on our upcoming (virtual) events!
TML Annual Conference (October 14–16)
Kevin, AJ, and Monte Anderson will be presenting on "Cultivating Vibrant Communities and Local Economies with the Resources You Have."
APA Virtual Cross-Chapter Collaborative (October 5–9)
Kevin presenting with Tom Yantis (Asst. City Manager & Director of Development Services at City of Taylor, TX) on "The Economics of Land Use."
AJ will cohost a discussion titled “Taking Action to Minimize Unconscious Bias” and will be a panelist on the “Brainstorming Public Engagement – Diversity & Inclusion” interactive session.
Texas Downtown Association Conference (November 9–12)
Kevin will be presenting on "Bridging the Resource Gap: Cultivating Strong Communities with the Resources You Have."
Want to learn more about how fiscal analysis can help you make your city stronger financially?
We created a new sister website showcasing how we use math, maps, and money to help cities communicate your resource gap and explore ways to increase tax revenue and improve service efficiency without necessarily raising taxes.