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Paved with good intentions
How can a country that is so wealthy be in such enormous debt? How can a country that can build such marvelous transportation systems not find the money to sustain them? How can a people that enjoyed decades of unrivaled economic hegemony -- staggering levels of growth beyond anything seen in human history -- be facing such economic turmoil after a couple years of, not even decline, but just slowing growth? The answer to these questions reveal some uncomfortable truths about who we are, how we got here and what options we have for our future prosperity.
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Community Character 201: A Lesson from Italy
When I go traveling to another country, I always take a book that helps me get in the right mindset. Oftentimes I choose fiction that takes place in that particular country. But this time as I packed for Italy, I made room in my suitcase for a fabulous collection of Paul Bowles collected writings entitled Travels.
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Stop Making Sense: A new strategy for community outreach
Okay, I'm not confident David Byrne would be all that excited about turning an ironic subtitle from the Talking Heads' 1984 tune into a community engagement tactic. But stay with me here. Over the last few months, the urban planning universe has been all atwitter (literally) with concern over how "those people," the Agenda 21ers and Tea Party folks, have been making life tough in public meetings and planning processes. In February, a "Facing the Critics" session at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in San Diego attracted a standing-room-only crowd desperate for solutions to out-of-control meetings. (You can download presentations from that session here.) And in just the last couple weeks, I've attended meetings in Boston and Burlington, Vermont with similar topics on the agenda.
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| Urbanism Scales Down for Small Towns
I had the unique opportunity to participate in a "Smart Growth" bus tour of communities in North Carolina, organized last year by the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute and the Local Government Commission. We visited a variety of neighborhoods, from low-density to high, pre-car to newly developed, to learn how livable and sustainable principles can help a wide range of communities to adapt to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
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Norfolk Councilmembers Stand Against Coal Plant
Kudos to Norfolk City Councilmembers Tommy Smigiel, Andy Protogyrou, Barclay Winn, and Theresa Whibley, who put the health and well-being of Norfolk citizens ahead of corporate influence and political pressure. At a meeting of the Norfolk City Council this week, the four voted in favor of a city resolution formally opposing a mega coal-fired power plant proposed in nearby Surry County. This despite considerable lobbying pressure from power plant supporters to dissuade the city from taking a position on the controversial project.
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