tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.comments2022-04-29T13:22:00.817-04:00Joe the PlannerJoe the Plannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-63236256597426931362010-09-17T22:33:57.895-04:002010-09-17T22:33:57.895-04:00"Transportation policy, land-use laws, and go..."Transportation policy, land-use laws, and governmental structures will all have to change"<br />... all glittering generalites. Come on Joe, you know that incremental change is all we get, when politics so dictate. We are all idealists for a while, so you go Joe, this is your time.<br />Jersey Joe the Planner, AICP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-45024513443092328292010-06-10T10:33:47.952-04:002010-06-10T10:33:47.952-04:00What I find interesting about the topic is how dif...What I find interesting about the topic is how difficult it is to discuss the issue with non-planners. The Erie County Planning Board idea didn't die because people didn't want it, it was because those that did want it couldn't make it worth talking about on the 5 o'clock news, in the bars, and in people's living rooms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-49606384615396748412010-05-04T00:54:26.813-04:002010-05-04T00:54:26.813-04:00Yeah Joe!! Glad to see you are posting again! Your...Yeah Joe!! Glad to see you are posting again! Your posts are insightful and make a strong argument. I bookmarked you last year, and every so often I come back and check in. Looking forward to your next post---no pressure, whenever you do will be the right time... My own online projects are a bit everywhere, so I understand. I do, however, love your focus and ideas. Keep up the good work!Kennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11319419843882504143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-89357160731764110172010-05-01T15:05:30.256-04:002010-05-01T15:05:30.256-04:00I have a blog in Pittsburgh that sort of attempts ...I have a blog in Pittsburgh that sort of attempts to talk about art, culture, architecture and urban planning issues in the Pittsburgh--Cleveland area. <br /><br />I guess I am hoping you might consider occasionally contributing/ cross posting. I think a dialog that was a bit more regional could be very helpful. My email is on my blog. If your town is anything like mine, things can be too much like a bubble and an echo chamber.<br /><br />I do have to say that you missed a big factor at work here, in that some spread out in the former Rust Belt can be traced to industrial users, who often had a far wiser eye towards the logic of land use than we have today--mostly because they had to. <br /><br />Another big topic on my blog is creative reuse and zoning with a special focus on artists, a group that blurs the line between residents and manufacturers.John Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11099009144603936211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-63492760300785404382010-04-22T13:44:55.424-04:002010-04-22T13:44:55.424-04:00What's the next step we should take to work to...What's the next step we should take to work toward forming a coherent consensus?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-14847512857465985902010-04-22T01:15:58.443-04:002010-04-22T01:15:58.443-04:00@Evan Lowenstein: Many thanks for the link to the ...@Evan Lowenstein: Many thanks for the link to the Brookings study. I hadn't seen those numbers yet. They're eye-opening to be sure -- but not surprising, given the other statistics. It certainly adds to the already considerable weight of evidence.Joe the Plannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-83574801159207008542010-04-22T00:08:43.833-04:002010-04-22T00:08:43.833-04:00No one's talking about forcing people to do an...No one's talking about forcing people to do anything. Our region, like virtually every other, provides many choices in lifestyle. I'm simply arguing against myopic, self-destructive planning policy -- and I assert that the costs of people's behavior should reflect the true cost.Joe the Plannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-43489123503370952712010-03-15T13:39:41.348-04:002010-03-15T13:39:41.348-04:00But the region DID shrink. Erie County has tried s...But the region DID shrink. Erie County has tried sprawl. Erie County failed. Case closed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-39379143395494364022010-03-15T10:21:20.053-04:002010-03-15T10:21:20.053-04:00Any regional plan has to deal with two big hurdles...Any regional plan has to deal with two big hurdles - proportional voting/control and tax redistribution. The city/urban areas are poor but populous. Any regional govt woud give them a larger say in where and how regional resources are allocated, resources tyhat they by and large are taking from the suburbs. The suburbs, the evil "sprawlers" are the income that drives the region. Had the region not been able to grow to accomodate demands for new types of living and industry, the region would have shrunk. Regionalism assumes that by preventing housing/industry choice you can force people to live the way their grandparents lived, and work in old mutli-story factories the way they did. Not going to happen. They will simply move to another region that gives them the housing/job choices they want.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-6359909647066728232010-03-14T18:14:58.859-04:002010-03-14T18:14:58.859-04:00Thank you for this excellent discussion of sprawl ...Thank you for this excellent discussion of sprawl and regionalism in Western New York. The League of Women Voters of Buffalo/Niagara has been trying to raise awareness of this situation ever since we launched our Education Campaign on Urban Sprawl in 2000. We took our PowerPoint presentation to hundreds of residents, and then we published "At Taxpayers' Expense: How Government Policies Encourage Sprawl in Erie and Niagara Counties" in 2004, revised in 2006 (in which we cited the shocking statistics on building permits vs. new households mentioned above by Evan). Please see http://lwvbn.org/lwvbnactivities/sprawl/sprawl.html to view the presentation and to read our publication. For the last few years we've worked with Maria Whyte and a group of community organizations she assembled to establish an Erie County Planning Board, only to have that shot down by a veto by the County Executive. It is discouraging that there has been so little progress in spite of these efforts. I'd like to hear from Joe the Planner about what he thinks the next concrete steps in our struggle should be.<br /><br />Anne Huberman<br />Cochair, Local Government Committee<br />League of Women Voters of Buffalo/NiagaraAnne Hubermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-87768139764612238682010-03-14T15:47:24.363-04:002010-03-14T15:47:24.363-04:00Hi from Rochester! Thanks for this important piece...Hi from Rochester! Thanks for this important piece and for your work overall. I may have missed this in my scan of this post, but are you familiar with this Brookings study: <br /><br />Vacating the City: An Analysis of New Homes vs. Household Growth<br />http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2003/12metropolitanpolicy_bier.aspx<br /><br />The Buffalo-Niagara Region is the gold medal winner, head and shoulders above the rest of the 75 metros studied, in this important measure of sprawl: comparing the number of new households in a region to the number of new housing units built. <br /><br />To me, this is a very important report, because in regions like Rochester and Buffalo, where there is flat or negative regional population growth, homebuilders say that despite these population trends, they need to keep building because the change in demographics mean more households, and more demand for housing, even in places where population is overall flat or negative. Yet this study debunks that premise-- in Rochester and Buffalo, the number of new housing units being built STILL exceeds even new HOUSEHOLD formation by 31% and an astonishing 250%, respectively!!! <br /><br />Evan Lowenstein<br />Green Village Consulting<br />Rochester<br />www.greenvillage.usEvan Lowensteinhttp://www.greenvillage.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-38395497943027619862010-03-12T00:01:26.042-05:002010-03-12T00:01:26.042-05:00Nice editorial but you're going to need much m...Nice editorial but you're going to need much more than suppositions and incomplete census data to make the kind of locktight case for ending the practices that result in sprawl. And in the end you will be dealing with race. no discussion of this topic is complete without a thorough review of race relations that are historically prime drivers of outward sprawl. That is the elephant in the room in the regionalism discussion as well. Overall, it's good to see any examination of this topic in a city that needs to have this discussion so thank you for this presentation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-31669308105531391892010-03-11T23:29:00.799-05:002010-03-11T23:29:00.799-05:00Many thanks.
Yes; some people try to complicate ...Many thanks. <br /><br />Yes; some people try to complicate what amounts to a pretty simple, straightforward message. But it's quite predictable, as I discussed in the second paragraph. <br /><br />Besides, a little controversy is necessary to shake people out of their comfort zones!Joe the Plannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-35103285013290965232010-03-11T20:56:15.661-05:002010-03-11T20:56:15.661-05:00Very nice piece -too bad it is so far over the hea...Very nice piece -too bad it is so far over the head of so many.STEELhttp://www.buffbuildings.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-20392709620491216022010-03-11T16:36:52.420-05:002010-03-11T16:36:52.420-05:00@Betty: Very true. Creation of the library system ...@Betty: Very true. Creation of the library system was an excellent first step, but happened so long ago it is probably beyond the horizon of cultural and political memory. But it is a good model and one of the precedents we can stand on. <br /><br />Now all we need is a vision, leadership, a reasonable consensus, and sense of urgency!Joe the Plannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-23096186998724447152010-03-09T17:55:09.410-05:002010-03-09T17:55:09.410-05:00Well-deserved recognition of the library system as...Well-deserved recognition of the library system as a model for other service consolidations. Before the BECPL system, there was the Buffalo Public Library, the Grosvenor Library, and an increasing number of unaffiliated town/suburban libraries.<br /><br />It took a lot of work and special legislation but all were brought under one roof. In the 1950s. We did it then, we can do it now.Betty Barcodehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614223500937270009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-63308062424470677312010-03-09T08:23:18.293-05:002010-03-09T08:23:18.293-05:00Good to have you back!Good to have you back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-39698889480164319762009-11-08T12:46:33.933-05:002009-11-08T12:46:33.933-05:00Excellent! Thanks so much for this.Excellent! Thanks so much for this.Tyler Brownhttp://www.tethos.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-19966134134637614702009-03-19T20:07:00.000-04:002009-03-19T20:07:00.000-04:00Joe: Your article is making the rounds.Awhile befo...Joe: Your article is making the rounds.<BR/><BR/>Awhile before and co-incident with, the collapse of the retail economy, we are experiencing the Amazon.com phenomena!<BR/><BR/>In our household, 90 % of our expenditures are now online purchases. Most of our, get by automobile, stuff is perishables, hardware and business supplies. We maybe the extreme, living 23 miles from Safeway and 40 mile from Lowes and Office Depot, but online purchasing has become very user friendly and blogs have become the ideal way to check product workability and reliability. <BR/><BR/>We are in a “Paradigm Shift” of retailing and we may find that we are at “Peak” quantity of highway infrastructure other than upgrade.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-61104266952950347852009-03-10T21:31:00.000-04:002009-03-10T21:31:00.000-04:00If you like Joe the Planner (as I do), you'll love...If you like Joe the Planner (as I do), you'll love James Howard Kunstler: www.kunstler.com.Betty Barcodehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614223500937270009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-68529523688643212332009-03-10T18:08:00.000-04:002009-03-10T18:08:00.000-04:00Joe, this was a very good article. Write more, pl...Joe, this was a very good article. Write more, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-49083384431040468552009-03-07T14:34:00.000-05:002009-03-07T14:34:00.000-05:00A comprehensive website that looks at open retail,...A comprehensive website that looks at open retail, parks, commercial and real estate development projects, foreclosure spaces and unsold property combined with information on current developments would be an incredible resource. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps we should start an open source Google Map for Urban Planning.<BR/><BR/>I've put something together with a few examples to show you what I'm talking about. This could be a great resource for planners, business owners, investors and city officials. e-mail me at dgoshin@yahoo.com<BR/><BR/>http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=111098536190091663226&hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-85076396285111666542009-02-20T10:13:00.000-05:002009-02-20T10:13:00.000-05:00Great article Joe, very well written. I look forw...Great article Joe, very well written. I look forward to future posts. <BR/><BR/>Much like Minneapolis, Rochester (that semi-mythical city just 70 miles down the Thruway) has also completely re-written its zoning code in 2003. Downtown (which we call the Center City District) does not require parking at all. All other areas of the city have minimal parking requirements and impose a maximum parking cap. That code change, along, does not guarantee success. Developers (usually of the Rite Aid, McDonald's, Tim Hortons types) come to the city and say "your maximum parking requirements are mucht too low for our corporate standards, we are going to apply for a zoning variance." And the variance is almost always granted. How could the Zoning Board of Appeals possibly stand in the way of the "economic development" that a Tim Hortons represents?<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, I'm also amused by the Buffalo-ism of "parking ramp." Even in Rochester, that term is met with blank stares. We call them "garages."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-34807914932570461772009-02-19T23:35:00.000-05:002009-02-19T23:35:00.000-05:00Great post Joe, I can't wait to read your follow...Great post Joe, <BR/><BR/> I can't wait to read your follow up piece. I've always felt that the Kensington expressway killed the city, the parking lots rate a close second.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32091884.post-51942023116878308132009-02-19T21:04:00.000-05:002009-02-19T21:04:00.000-05:00@ dgoshilla: you raise some good points. Both our ...@ dgoshilla: you raise some good points. Both our cities and inner-ring suburbs are trashed. In a future of diminishing returns, we've certainly got our work cut out for us.<BR/><BR/>But if our future does mean fewer resources and higher costs (particularly for energy), then the layout of the 'burbs is particularly badly suited. The subsidies and incentives that have artificially propped-up exurban development will, by and large, disappear. The least-valuable parts of suburbia may be good for nothing more than salvage. (In fact, over the last few decades, blight has overtaken many older, less-extravagant inner-ring suburbs surprisingly fast.)<BR/><BR/>In this future scenario, it'll be much easier to rebuild our older, traditional communities. Our land-use and development practices may begin to resemble something like common sense.Joe the Plannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577251046288232934noreply@blogger.com