A few things to know this week: September 20, 2019
Happy Friday, friends!
Every week, we round up some of the things we read, listened to, or watched that really caught our attention. Here are just a few things we think you should know this week:
This week's things to know:
This Is How Engineers Ruin Cities
Earlier this week, (fellow engineer) Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns wrote a great piece titled “Four Ways Traffic Engineers Thwart Public Will.” That examination of the damaging role engineers often play in cities is, of course, worth a read on its own. Then, Dallas’ D Magazine ran a piece illustrating how these exact patterns are reflected in the North Texas region. Even if you’re not living in North Texas (or Springfield, MA, which Marohn’s piece uses as its example case), you’ll likely be able to identify ways this same pattern has played out in your city or region. Note, however, that if you’re a public official, you also have a responsibility to not let the values of the engineering profession dominate your city. “You’re the boss,” as Marohn says. He ends his piece with a bit of advice that we’ll selfishly (but proudly) repeat here: “There are tons of great engineers out there ready to work with you, not against you. I recommend you go and get one of them.” I’m not an engineer myself, but I work with a few of the good ones, and they’d love to take your call. – Jordan
Federal Spending on Kids Falls, as More Dollars Flow Toward Older Adults and Debt
We say we're a country that invests in the future, but often we can't because we're just trying to keep up with debts and obligations from the past. Yet another way it's hard not to feel sorry and afraid for our kids and future generations. – Kevin
Dollar stores are increasingly making the news with their proliferation; their numbers now outpace the amount of Wal-Marts and McDonald's combined. This article from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance outlines a measure in Tulsa to discourage dollar stores, and enable more 'small-box' stores that sell fresh fruit and vegetables. It provides a great outline to the challenges that small grocers face, like securing a small business loan, and the means to discouraging dollar stores, such as requiring special permit to open. – Tim
Big Plan on Campus
It's a lengthy article but it keeps hitting on some key points that I hope to always hit on in our work. Reinvesting, revitalizing, redeeming, and restoring present the better long term outcomes far more often than the “build new somewhere else” approach. Also, this project in Detroit had a focus on investing in people through place. People make a city and that should always be the focus or our investments of time, money, and talent. Those people need good places built on their local piece of dirt and rock, not pixels, to thrive together. We'll never be able to sustain a build new and abandon approach, and we can't afford to forget how to reinvest, revitalize, redeem, and restore. – Felix
Why Flood Victims Blame Their City, Not the Climate
There are two things I took away from this article that I think are important for every city to think about. First, that infrastructure is crucial to residents. As we discuss frequently here at Verdunity, having standards that require more infrastructure than is necessary means that maintaining that infrastructure at a high level is outside a city's reach. While indirect, it reminded me why we need to continue the conversations about whether the new infrastructure we are building is necessary (because, is increasing the city's footprint necessary?) and necessary at that scale (think overly wide streets). Second, the concept of "heritage narratives" is very real and something local government leaders hear frequently. Unfortunately, it isn't taken seriously often enough. These have to be addressed directly, openly, and honestly. Residents have to be part of the decisions and solutions, and that means understanding their frustrations. This is a powerful point not only from the perspective of a growing awareness of the implications of climate change, but many other perspectives as well. I see this article as a great conversation starter. – AJ
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Why inclusive cities start with safe streets
This article goes in deep on the new American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Universal Design Guidelines for neighborhoods, streets, parks and plazas, playgrounds, as well as gardens. This design guide will make it easier for designers from all disciplines and backgrounds, elected officials, and citizens to grasp what an inclusive and accessible public realm looks like. There are great examples and testimony from a deaf designer, Alexa Vaughn, and how she is able to interact with the built environment. Overall this is a wonderful example of what is to come with the design of cities and communities. – Ryan
How to Lead a Parking Policy Reformation
It’s Park(ing) Day, so here’s a bit of insight on how cities can become stronger by rethinking their relationship to parking. Cities that require builders to provide off-street parking trigger more traffic, sprawl, and housing unaffordability. But, says Donald Shoup, we can break out of that vicious cycle. In this piece he distills his 800-page tome on the subject (The High Cost of Free Parking) down to three essential parking reforms cities should undertake:
Remove off-street parking requirements.
Charge the right prices for on-street parking.
Spend the parking revenue to improve public services on the metered streets.
Read the rest of the piece to learn his rationale behind reform in the “most emotional topic in transportation.” – Jordan
Texas legislative digests now available for free!
To our Texas friends: Want to dive deeper into the new legislation passed down this year—and what it'll mean for your city? We've got you covered. We put together a legislative digest package featuring nine of the most important new laws, explained in plain English.
If you’re interested, here’s how you can get your copy:
Join the Community Cultivators Network if you haven't already. (It’s open exclusively to folks working for a local government or agency, and it’s totally free to join.)
Look for "86th Texas Legislative Session" under "Groups," and join.
Enter the group and download the digests!
Hey, friends in local government:
Have thoughts on any of the links above? Think we missed something essential? We’re discussing these topics and more over on our brand-new online community, exclusively for local government employees.* Sign up for the Community Cultivators Network and join the discussion!
* The network is currently only for those wonderful folks out there who work in local government. If you’re not currently working for a city, town, or county, we still love you (and are sure many of you would add value to the community), but we want to keep our commitment to making this a community focused specifically on our friends working in local government. Thanks for understanding!
