URBAN v.7 is.2 - Sustainability

URBAN columbia university’s urban planning magazine

volume 7 issue 2 spring 2004

morocco slums the fall of freeways allen street green connectors

sustainability

FELLOW PLANNERS, With so many interests readily apparent in the planning program, in this semester’s

Table of Contents

edition of URBAN we created both a thematic subsection and a general interest section. In doing so, we were able to focus on a specific planning issue as well as 1

SUSTAINABILITY SUBSECTION

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ron slangen

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cassandra smith jennifer traska gibson

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jessica neilan dan o’flaherty

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mary e. northridge

The broad range of general submissions takes place in local, national

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daniel brehon

and international contexts. One author explains the historical origins of the

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amy schoeman

urban design of Allen Street on the Lower East Side (“Allen Street and the ‘Park

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brian stokle

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adam s. kelly

illustrate the discipline’s breadth.

Our subsection asks contributors from a variety of fields how issues of sustainability should be addressed with regards to large-scale urban development. As planners, our ears are attuned to the issue of sustainability, whether it be a green design exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York or in our semester readings.

Avenue of the People,’” page 10), while another discusses the transportation planning process for a controversial San Francisco freeway (The Rise and Fall of

GENERAL SECTION

the Central Freeway of San Francisco, page 14). Affordable housing takes us to Morocco (Reflections on Slum Eradication and Affordable Housing in Morocco,

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Allen Street and the “Park Avenue of the People” juliette dellecker michaelson

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In Focus: the Urban Environment Seen Through the Eyes of Kids jake mckinstry

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The Rise and Fall of the Central Freeway of San Francisco brian stokle

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Reflections on Slum Eradication and Affordable Housing in Morocco zineb morabet

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Talk of the Town tanya saltzman

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Green Connectors: Creating a Win-Win Situation for Transit Users and Cities nisha baliga

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Reflections on Brasilia shannon roberts

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Keeping with the Program...or Not brian tochterman

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Conservation of Cultural and Natural Resources in the Developing World’s Urban Centers prabhjot sugga

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A Selection of Second-Year Thesis Topics

URBAN

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What’s in a Name? jessica neilan

STAFF

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Goodbye, Columbia... david h. recht

page 16). We return to the U.S. for the ideal urban environment seen through the eyes of some insightful children (In Focus: the Urban Environment Seen Through the Eyes of Kids, page 13).

The final pages of this issue are more personal. A selection of second-year master’s students summarized their thesis topics, the focus of their second and final year in the program. To celebrate first-year students’ readjustment to academic life and the excitement of meeting new people, we bring you a crossword puzzle—with a twist. Finally, a second-year student bids an apt farewell to graduate student life at Columbia.

ja m e s , j e s s i ca a n d ta n y a

james connolly, jessica neilan, tanya saltzman [EDITORS] also:

nisha baliga, vivian castro, adam kelly, jennifer traska gibson, stephanie markison, amy schoeman

Cover Photo Credit: Cassandra Smith Far West Side, Manhattan

Contact Us URBAN MAGAZINE 413 Avery Hall, GSAP Urban Planning Program 1172 Amsterdam Avenue Columbia University New York, NY 10027

[web] http://www/arch.columbia.edu/UP/ To learn more about the graduate program in Urban Planning at Columbia, visit our Web site or call 212.854.3513.

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sustainability

o say a subject can be better understood through an interdisciplinary approach may be one of the least controversial statements you can make in an academic setting. Of course new perspectives and greater amounts of information lead to greater understanding of a subject. Given the obviousness of this statement, the question then becomes: to what extent can an interdisciplinary approach actually be realized within a given field—certainly a central problem for planning.

Sustainability was chosen as this issue’s subsection theme precisely because it has been explored in some depth. Our responses come from those who have studied Urban Planning, Architecture, International Affairs, Historic Preservation, Economics, and Public Health.The respondents present sustainability in terms ranging from architectural design to fluctuating interest rates, and cover a lot of ground in between.

In presenting these various approaches side by side, it becomes clear just how unrealistic it is for any one field to hope to create a sustainable urban form on its own. The breadth of issues involved is only slightly displayed by the answers to the question below.

Once an individual field builds a vision of sustainability within itself, someone must decide how to make that vision work in concert with those of other fields involved. That someone could be a planner, and such a collaborative effort could be the most sustainable action the planning field can take.

Question: How can sustainability (whatever it means to you) be best incorporated into large-scale urban developments?

Farming in the Z-Axis Vertical Farm, 6th Street Basin, Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, NY Design by Andrew J. Kranis Advanced Studio V, Columbia GSAP, Fall 2003 Richard Plunz, critic Biomedical Ecology consulting by Dr. Dickson Despommier, Columbia University School of Public Health

Gowanus Canal presents a unique opportunity to draw on the existing industrial character of an urban waterway to reinvigorate the human and environmental ecosystem, which has suffered severe degradation through population overgrowth, industrial pollution and century-old urban infrastructure. The Vertical Farm combines land-efficient, sustainable, industrial-scale crop production with blackwater treatment and methane power generation. AGRO-WANUS, a community vitrine for urban agriculture, is the new model for industry along the canal, reversing environmental degradation and maximizing the visual, infrastructural and pedestrian linkages between historic neighborhoods of South Brooklyn.

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sustainability

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

–Albert Einstein he postmodern era has resulted in a noticeable disintegration of planning, urban design, and architecture. A consequence of this condition has been the formation of multiple approaches in these fields that lack an organizing principle to approach urban problems—namely, racial segregation, economic disparity, environmental degradation, and poor public health—in both the developed and developing worlds. With a lack of a unified voice to address these issues, it is no surprise that the negative consequences associated with urban development persist.

In order to improve upon these problems, I argue that planners, urban designers, and architects must unify under a common cause of ‘sustainability’ as an organizing principle in education and practice. ‘Sustainability’ as a unifying principle may facilitate the integration of methods and approaches in both architecture and planning, and thus make our professions more relevant in improving places and people’s lives—the ultimate goal of our professions.

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WHY SUCH FRAGMENTATION? Movements, like cultural fads, come and go.

In architecture, for example, the average age of a movement in the global village is two years (Jencks, 1991:10). However, the decline of modernism in the 1970s was a major event in planning and architecture, where ‘pluralism’ rather than ‘determinism’ became the new professional framework.

In support of this change, urban critic Jane Jacobs advocated for ‘diversity’ and ‘complexity’ as overarching principles for planning rather than the mathematical simplicity of modernism (Fainstein, 2003: 20). With this shift to a postmodern sensibility, planners and architects could operate separately from the top-down rationalists of their day. The result was a multitude of approaches to planning and architecture.

The planning approaches that arose during and as a reaction to the postmodern era, namely New Urbanism, Communicative Planning, and the Just City each maintained differ-

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Ron Slangen Master’s Degree Candidate Urban Planning

ent solutions for improving urban life. However, the lack of a unified voice amongst this multitude of approaches, along with the reduced role of government intervention in the planning process, diluted the role of planners in the urban debate, forfeiting the planning process to developers and politicians.

Similarly, in architecture the effects of postmodernism resulted in a diversification of styles, forms, and materials. The absence of an organizing principle for both fields in addressing the social and environmental problems of global urbanization was apparent.

SUSTAINABILITY AS A UNIFYING THEME Whether it is integrating energy conservation principles into building design and construction, promoting transit-oriented development, or designing greener public places, planners, urban designers, and architects share the built environment as a context for improving the urban condition. As the functioning of the city depends on the specialized knowledge of each of these fields, it seems sensible to organize under a common cause. However, without a unifying theme, urban development will continue to occur in a fragmented manner, exacerbating the problems of the capitalist city.

Therefore, ‘sustainability’ as an organizing principle not only serves to bolster the relevance of planning, urban design, and architecture in the urban debate, but also enhances creativity and innovation for reshaping the built environment. More importantly, a unifying theme for these professions can create cities that benefit all people, instead of leaving billions behind or on the margins (Annan, 2001: Foreword). In so doing, we are working towards accomplishing our ultimate goals of improving people’s lives in this generation, and the next.

REFERENCES Annan, Kofi. 2001. Foreward in Cities in a Globalizing World. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT). Earthscan Publications. London.

Fainstein, Susan. 2003. “New Directions in Planning Theory.” Pp. 173-95 in Scott Campbell and Susan S. Fainstein, eds. Readings in Planning Theory. Rev. edit. Oxford: Blackwell.

Jencks, Charles. 1991. The Language of Post-modern Architecture. Pp 10. 6th edition. Rizzoli International Publishers.

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Cassandra Smith Dual Degree Master’s Candidate Historic Preservation/Urban Planning

he studio on the Future West Side of Manhattan this semester is investigating the current debate about industrial zones and their role in New York City’s changing economy. As we look closely at the area from 42nd Street to 59th Street west of 10th Avenue, we see a neighborhood that is zoned industrial but has retained a residential community since its earliest days as a working waterfront when dockworkers and longshoremen lived close to their jobs. As industry moves out of Manhattan, Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton increasingly faces questions about its future. Some advocate for increased housing, a dire need throughout the city. Debate surrounds whether that housing ought to be affordable, market-rate so as to increase the neighborhood’s tax base or a mix. Others point to office and condo towers on 42nd and 59th Streets to illustrate that the market-rate residential and commercial development encroaching on Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton is inevitable.

Still others firmly believe that industry must be retained to ensure a diverse economy and in turn, a diverse population in New York City. Crosscutting all these issues is the question of how much power Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton will have in determining its own future.

Perhaps the answers lie in determining what outcome is most sustainable for the city.

Current zoning prevents new residential uses in industrial zones, thus protecting industry from being squeezed out by higher-profit residential and commercial development. It is difficult to say whether this is the best long-term solution for the neighborhood as the industrial sector continues to decline. There are also concerns about contributing to the growth of the financial, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector at the expense of a diverse, and therefore presumably stable, economy. Plans for a stadium or multiuse facility just south of Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton raise additional questions about tourism and sustainability. These are questions we hope to explore further as we look more closely at a neighborhood with the potential to look very different in the future.

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Photo Credit: Cassandra Smith

Jennifer Traska Gibson Dual Degree Master’s Candidate International Affairs/Urban Planning

sustainability

istoric preservation can be an important part of sustainability when the opportunity arises, particularly in historic urban areas. It should be looked at critically and the opportunity to preserve should be taken when it is appropriate, in both large and small-scale urban projects.

Rehabilitating buildings is better for the environment than tearing them down and building new ones in their place. Tearing down a building means it ends up in a landfill, and building a new one means pulling on natural resourcessome in short supply. Historic preservation not only helps a neighborhood maintain a sense of place and history, reminding us of what has come before, but it is also less wasteful of building materials. That is a simple enough argument, but historic preservation is a complicated issue and adaptability is an important part of the discussion and decision to preserve.

Rehabbing is often less costly, so adapting a building to new uses can be a cheaper building option that deserves to be explored.

Depending on the age of the building in question, it may have been built in order to take advantage of natural systems, before modern amenities such as air conditioning and the widespread use of electric lighting were an option. If these systems have been maintained over time or have the possibility of being reintroduced to the building, in the end it can cut the cost and use of natural resources to cool or light a building.

Additionally, encapsulating harmful building materials that are no longer used (but still need to be dealt with), such as asbestos, in a rehabbed building is an effective way to keep them undisturbed, where they harm no one.

This avoids re-introducing them into the air, harming workers and contaminating landfills.

sustainability

n addressing the concept of a sustainable Hudson Yards, I thought no better sources existed than the co-editors of Readings in Planning Theory that every planning student consults to answer theoretical planning questions, Scott Campbell and Susan Fainstein.

Scott Campbell states in “Green Cities, Growing Cities, Just Cities? Urban Planning and the Contradictions of Sustainable Development” that planners can achieve sustainability only when what Susan Fainstein terms the ‘just city’ has been achieved.

Speaking in these terms, sustainability encompasses far more than the popular concept of building urban forms that are good for the environment. Sustainability must consider social justice and to further the concept, it must also include economic growth.

Part of the planner’s job is to ensure that development does not disproportionately favor big business over the poor. Planning for sustainable social justice means that social equity is part of the long-term plan, including those who live in an area now and in the future. The development planned in a large-scale urban development projects should continue to enable equal access to financial gain for all. At the same time, cities need the economic growth that development brings. New York would not be what it is without the development that continues to take place. Quite simply, cities like New York need economic growth to support a growing population.

In bringing the sustainability elements together, everyone should have equal access to economic growth and that growth, in terms of development, should not harm the environment. As much as each of these elements is needed, they are constantly in conflict.

In designing sustainable development plans for Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, planners must address conflicts between economic growth and equity, social equity and environmental protection and between environmental protection and economic growth.

A facility design already exists for the multi-use New York Sports and Convention Center, featuring aspects of green architecture.

This begs the question: is green design enough to offset the pollution from the increased traffic it will attract? And if not developing the area is best for the environment, what would the marketsensitive construction trade say to lost job opportunities such development could create? But what if that development displaces the few hundred people who currently walk to their jobs to make way for commercial and residential development unlike the area has ever seen, that may or may not attract the tenants the City hopes it will? Will rents in neighboring areas, such as Clinton, soar?

In addressing all aspects of sustainability and their conflicts, planners for the Far West Side can achieve a plan for the area that will benefit all interested parties for the long run. Planners involved in this process may start to address these and other questions of sustainability by looking at whose voices are currently loudest and what gives them that privilege in this latest debate heard all over the city.

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Jessica Neilan Master’s Degree Candidate Urban Planning

Dan O’Flaherty Associate Professor Economics tuff gets used up and thrown out all the time. Most of us don’t think toilet paper should be frequently re-used, and even though the Kleenex in my pockets might be passably serviceable, I probably should throw it out. And we will all be dead soon.

The only interesting question is when things get discarded, not whether they will be. Sustain-

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Things won’t last as long as they should if interest rates are too high. <

ability to me means that things don’t get used up before they should be. The chief mechanism that modern market economies employ to keep this from happening is the rate of interest and the array of financial markets that go with it (or them, to be more precise). The rate of interest determines the trade-offs that people and firms make between current and future consumption. Low interest rates make the future relatively valuable; high interest rates make the present relatively valuable. Things won’t last as long as they should if interest rates are too high.

So the way to assure the right degree of sustainability is to make sure interest rates aren’t higher than they should be. Smoothly functioning financial markets help to do that.

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Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public Health Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Public Health

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Photo Credit: Nisha Baliga

sustainability

ustainability is a word I use regularly in my interdisciplinary research, practice, and teaching around urban planning and public health. Indeed, one of the reasons I sought to collaborate with urban planners to design and implement interventions to improve population health is because there was the promise of achieving something that endures, bears up under pressure, and continues to provide support for populations in need—that is, interventions that are sustainable over time.

For any large-scale urban development project to be sustainable, it needs to be responsive to the needs of the populations who live, work, and play in that space, and promote their health and well-being. I have been thinking a great deal about interdisciplinary pedagogy of late, and what is needed to train and educate new generations of scientists and scholars to meet the challenges of our growing urban centers to ensure that they are built and revitalized to be more equitable, healthy, and—yes—sustainable.

To further answer your question, I’d say that in order to sustain progress in a coherent manner, it is necessary to ground our efforts in a fuller history as documented through multiple disciplines and from different population groups.

Through this approach we might learn from the past rather than repeat the same mistakes over and over again. As well, we need to ensure that we embrace a holistic view of health and wellbeing, and strive to understand the structural determinants of health and illness.

Public health is rife with examples of wellintentioned efforts that fail to produce lasting improvements in the well-being of populations because they are too narrow in focus (e.g., HIV prevention campaigns that focus on condom use only, obesity programs that seek to change dietary behaviors at the individual level). Programs that instead take a broader view by understanding how gender roles play out in

different societies, how sexual abuse and heterosexist discrimination affect risk and protection against HIV, and how power and wealth influence who has access to information, health care, and the necessities to sustain life, are far better strategies.

When the entire population distribution of weight shifts radically over a few short decades, and obesity is a public health priority not only in wealthy nations such as the United States, but also in poor nations such as Zimbabwe, it is time to consider solutions other than individual behavior change. Progress is made by considering healthy nutrition as essential to health and well-being, and making changes in our food supplies and distribution systems that might lead to improved nutrition at the population level.

Finally, sustainability requires that we be committed to social change for the long haul. We are all part of a continuum.

Our work is to set change in motion, and if we’re doing our jobs right, then we’ve also set up a space and a community to help move that change along after we’re gone. That’s sustainability.

sustainability

remember one episode of Sex in the City in which Carrie panics about moving in with her boyfriend, and Miranda tells her,“Hey, if there were an infinite amount of apartments in Manhattan we would be single forever.” When I think about urban economics, and the economy of New York City in particular, I think along the same lines. If our beloved city were infinitely large in area—like Houston, for instance—everyone would be happy and we could all stop worrying about urban planning. There would be plenty of affordable housing because you could always find a plot of land in the city on which to build a house. Manufacturers would seldom be forced out by residential developers and, if they were, there would be somewhere else in the city to go. Residents would not worry about encroaching office towers; after all, why would developers knock down an apartment building when there is vacant land nearby?

But New York is not like Houston, and everyone is climbing all over one another to cram into this magical 24-mile island called Manhattan. Real estate is as scarce and valuable as diamonds—a must-have for any self-respecting transnational corporation or jet-set socialite—and life gets complicated when you’re fighting over diamonds, especially when you don’t own them. A majority of Manhattanites, and virtually all the poor ones, are renters. The same holds true for manufacturing, another urban

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Daniel Brehon PhD Candidate Economics

planning cause célèbre. Developers, such as Trump, Durst, and Silverstein, are driving these renters out as they continue to pay top dollar for large parcels, the rarest of gems. In such a market, the question becomes: to what degree do we subsidize manufacturers and NYCHA, so that they can fend off better offers from greedy developers?

My first reaction as an economist is to let Trump have his way and then tax the bejesus out of him.

That way, his developments can subsidize the subways, garbage collection, CUNY, and everything else normal New Yorkers love. It’s what freemarket economists call the “optimal economic outcome” and it is how I have been trained to think. Needless to say, I always get a chilly reception from urban planners when I talk like this. In truth, nobody believes in the free market that

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My first reaction as an economist is to let Trump have his way and then tax the bejesus out of him. < much, and even academic economists appreciate the severe hardships faced by nascent manufacturers forced to move to New Jersey, and by residents displaced by gentrification.

Sustainability to me means striking a balance between this nebulous “optimal economic outcome” and the reality of everyday life, in which hardworking residents and manufacturers have sunk roots into their community and will suffer if forced out by yuppies. New York’s prosperity stems from its ever-changing nature, its ability to always find the most valuable use for scarce land. Chelsea has morphed from a manufacturing powerhouse to an artist colony to a capital for gay culture to a shopping mall for wannabe artists, and finally to “Midtown South,” all within our lifetimes. Every neighborhood can tell a different story. Our challenge as urban planners is to find a way to harness this energy (and economic efficiency) for the benefit of the entire city without leaving the old neighborhoods behind. Today, residential developers bid the highest prices for Manhattan real estate; fifty years ago, commercial landlords were all-powerful. No one knows who will rule Manhattan in the future.

But we better make sure the new Trumps, whoever they are, reinvest their profits for the benefit of the City, and the good people who live here already.

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Photo Credit: Cassandra Smith

built city such as New York. A green curriculum more relevant to New York’s particular anatomy would focus instead on promoting sustainable deconstruction practices, retrofitting, design, rehab, and the use of green materials.

For a green building education to truly germinate with students in the construction, architecture, and other building-oriented fields, there must be a concerted effort to make it a priority in the way organic chemistry is to a first-year medical student or geography is to a history student. Successful green curriculums would incorporate issues of sustainability in coursework in a rigorous way that is sensitive to disparate regional and spatial contexts.

Sensible engineering, architecture, design, and construction pedagogies should dictate to students, “Eat your greens!” in order to promote a more nutritious learning, building, and growing environment. Green activists and lobbyists should wait patiently, but should not let the educational institutions leave the table until they do.

sustainability

n the same way that physicians must learn about nutrition to promote the physical and mental health of their patients, building professionals must be trained in green construction principles for the long term health and vitality of our cities. If those who promote green building want to realize their goals, they must reach a universal curriculum on sustainability in educational institutions.

How can we live in a green world if those charged with building it know little about how to construct it? Most vocational, educational, and academic institutions involved in the building sciences teach little about green building.

As a result, the language of green building is misunderstood. Too often, in many areas of the country, it is deemed too costly or irrelevant and is easily dismissed by developers, contractors, and even the lenders who financially support green ventures. If the future professionals do not know the costs and benefits of green building practices (much less consumers), advocating for green practices will be futile. This is one of the missing links in the green dialogue and is perhaps one of the reasons it has not come to fruition in areas like the East Coast, which often lack broad green building awareness, and are much grayer for it.

Professional diets should be more well-rounded with more than the “meat and potatoes” courses.

While physics and structures should and do serve as the foundation of an engineering program, the discipline has other complements.

Green courses can help round out the diet in understanding the broader environmental framework in which it operates. Many programs offer such green-oriented programs, but they are usually not required, and if they are, the issue becomes a side note, an end of semester lecture.

Another obstacle to green architecture and engineering education is that the courses are not sensitive to different building contexts.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, for example, might be applicable to high performance building in a city like Portland, which has room to sprawl, but not to most development projects in a fully

Amy Schoeman Master’s Degree Candidate Urban Planning

sustainability

he construction of my new power plant is complete. Engineers are en route to the new coal-fired plant. Once the electricity starts running, I can build my four-star hotel with accompanying spa and marina. With luck, remaining funds could support a new school.

The only problem is that my people are very upset since they haven’t seen a raise in 10 years.

My island has no medical care, and the last housing project was completed 20 years ago.

I’m El Presidente, playing the computer game “Tropico,” and running a country isn’t easy. This simulation game by Top Pop forces you to deal with the many factors confronting the development of a city (or in this case, the Caribbean island-nation of “Tropico.”) One of these issues is sustainability.

The idea of sustainability in any project is somewhat of an impossible challenge when you consider the following definition for the word “sustain”: To manage to withstand difficulties and continue doing something in spite of them.

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Can I have a growing and prosperous population while also protecting the nature of my island? That is the $64,000 question. < In this case sustainability would seem to mean the management of the environment and continuing to build things in spite of it. As “El Presidente” I want to have a strong growing economy to help provide jobs and services (like medical care) for my people, but at the same time what they do (mining, timber harvesting, coal-burning electrical generation) is exactly what is despoiling our land. Can I have a growing and prosperous population while also protecting the nature of my island? That is the $64,000 question.

Every time I play “Tropico” I want to convert that coal-burning plant to a natural gas one. I issue an edict reducing industrial emissions or littering, but it all costs money. With a strug-

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Brian Stokle Master’s Degree Candidate Urban Planning

gling economy, the juggling of jobs versus environment is not easy. At the same time, in periods of economic success immigrants continue to arrive from other Caribbean nations as well as the United States. How do I keep building housing for them, increase the number of jobs, but also protect my island’s beauty?

No matter what I do, there are negative and positive consequences. The question for the real world is how can we creatively deal with our situation. Building more efficient heating systems, recycling water, and reducing car use help reduce impacts on the environment.

But let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that sustainable practices will actually “save” the environment. With the continued growth in the world’s population, no efforts for sustainable growth and development will truly preserve the environment. Nevertheless, if we are still impeding on the environment and not truly sustaining it, let’s make an effort to impact it as little as possible.

My beautiful island calls for me. There is an election this year, so I’m giving everyone a raise, reducing emissions, and building a new mill. By next year my policies will make the nation penniless, but my people will be happy and the air will be clean. That’s “Tropico” sustainability.

Image Credit: Tropico

have often thought of sustainable development in terms of what it seeks to undermine.

Easter Island and Shaker celibacy come to mind. Global environmental degradation tops the list as well. And I am increasingly concerned with the exportation of American consumption patterns to the rest of the world.

What aspects of American lifestyle pop into mind other than hamburgers and cars?

Globally, motor vehicle production is the largest manufacturing business, selling roughly 53 million cars per year2. If autos were environmentally friendly that may not be such an ugly carbuncle on the horizon. In a place like China, where severe air pollution coupled with exemption from arresting CO2 emissions due to developing nation status in the Kyoto Treaty, and changing consumption patterns, one need not have the sharpest vision to see the unsustainable consequences.

“The hope of many Chinese is to copy the lifestyles of affluent city people all over the world.”3 If China mirrored the U.S. in the automobile world, it would have roughly 600 million vehicles, approximately what is on the road today, the world over.4 Unfortunately, this appears to be in line with the U.S. auto industry, which in a ten-year time frame expects 66% of its growth to come from Asia Pacific.5 May they not take these cars through prefab drive-thrus.

Think of hamburgers in terms of food production. I’m told it takes seven to ten pounds of grain to supply one pound of beef.

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Adam S. Kelly Master’s Degree Candidate Urban Planning Not only would some vegetarians and vegans undoubtedly make their argument against eating meat on these grounds, it could also have serious impacts on land use and health issues.

The fast food industry is one venue selling more hamburgers and cheeseburgers, with cheese that isn’t cheese but “pasteurized prepared cheese product.” The preeminent fast food company is the cultural bête noire McDonalds. Rough numbers suggest that 8% of Americans eat at the institution daily, and 96% do so yearly.6 Global numbers are not insignificant either. Forty six million delight in the revelry of its Formica tables daily, at one of its 29,000 restaurants in 120 countries.7 Is it close to stabilizing in the global market? Not if in 1997 it averaged opening a restaurant every five hours and almost four out of five of the restaurants built in 2001 were abroad bringing in slightly more than half its sales of $40 billion. 8 McDonalds in China? Chinese meat consumption is on the rise, and they have a bit to go before being comparable to the U.S. Americans eat 269 pounds of meat while Chinese eat 104 pounds per person.9 I hope large automobiles and McDonalds don’t become icons of prosperity in China. Otherwise, obesity may become a national crisis; gigantic livestock farms and increased auto dependency could further erode an already precarious environment.

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If everyone…lived like Americans, then you’d need three planet Earths…to sustain that level of consumption. –Peter Raven

FOOTNOTES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Becker, Jasper. National Geographic, March 2004. “The Price of Growth in China,” p. 90 Gabel, Medard, Bruner, Henry. Globalinc. An Atlas of the Multinational Corporation. The New Press. 2003 p. 36 Becker, p. 94-95 Ibid., p. 80 Gabel and Bruner, p. 36 Ibid., p. 130 Ibid.

Ibid.

Becker, p. 90

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Allen Street and the “Park Avenue of the Plain People” Armed with modern technologies, great wealth and a modernist and fearless attitude, New York City set out to transform itself after the Great War. Skyscrapers appeared on the city skyline, the number of automobiles multiplied, the subway reached out to the outer boroughs, and amenities like electricity, central heating, indoor toilets and running water became commonplace. But the Lower East Side, a poor and immigrant neighborhood, saw few of these improvements. Despite the various health and safety regulations enacted by New York City officials in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, living conditions in the Lower East Side remained appalling. Newly immigrated families crammed into small tenement apartments with little light or air, and often no indoor plumbing. Record-high densities turned the neighborhood into a breeding ground for disease. Rampant poverty led to prostitution, gang activity, petty theft and other crimes.

To New York’s higher classes, the Lower East Side was considered to be “America’s most considerable and most incorrigible slum.”

Manhattan Borough President Julius Miller understood that the problems of the Lower East Side were beyond any city-wide health and safety regulations. The area was too poor, its reputation too damaged. So in 1924, Miller laid out a plan to transform the Lower East Side, to redevelop it “from a section of dilapidated old buildings, breeding disease, poverty and crime, into a section of model tenements with landscaped streets and courtyards.” To reach this goal, Miller argued, incremental change would not work. Only a radical transformation of the neighborhood’s physical form could save the Lower East Side. The first step of what eventually became a half-a-century battle to save the neighborhood was to widen Allen Street.

If the Lower East Side was known as a slum, then Allen Street was known as the slum of the slum. Not only was Allen narrow and crowded with deteriorating tenements, but it was covered nearly building to building by the Second Avenue elevated railroad. The three train tracks were said to come up so close to the fire escapes that train passengers could grab the laundry that was drying there. The elevated left Allen street with neither light nor air. In 1926, the Commissioner of the Parks Department described Allen Street as “a disgrace to the city… a narrow dark street, little more than an alley, practically roofed by an elevated structure. It is really a tunnel rather than a street; and is quite unfit for decent human habitation.”

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If the Lower East Side was known as a slum, then Allen Street was known as the slum of the slum. <

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In the spring of 1924, Julius Miller proposed a comprehensive plan to modernize the Lower East Side, to convert “the east side from a section of dilapidated old buildings, breeding disease, poverty and crime, into a section of model tenements with landscaped streets and courtyards.” Because Allen Street was the most

Life under the El

egregious example of archaic and unhealthy living conditions, Miller proposed that the first step of his plan to modernize the Lower East Side be to widen Allen Street from 50 feet—the width of a typical street in the Lower East Side—to 138 feet—just two feet less than Park Avenue. Lewis Pink, a member of the State Board of Housing, promised that Allen Street would “vie with many of the boulevards of Paris and Berlin and will be the Park Avenue of the plain people.”

First, Miller argued that widening Allen Street would provide New York with much-needed traffic relief. The widening of Allen Street would better connect newly paved First Avenue to City Hall and Lower Manhattan, and also provide better access to the newly completed Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges. The second argument in favor of the project was that widening would improve the quality of life of Allen Street residents. Even though the elevated tracks would remain, knocking down tenements on one side of the street would allow for more light and air to get underneath the structure. In addition, widening would also provide some much-needed open Photo: New York Times

j u li e tte d e lle ck er mic hael son

space, as a portion of the street would be reserved for playAllen Street may have seemed “crooked grounds. The east side in those years had one acre of park for every 12,000 people, and it was said that children had no and grimy, broken and old” to wealthy New place to play but on the fire escapes.

Yorkers, but to Lower East Side residents, As the project came to the public’s attention, opposition Allen Street was also a cultural and economic developed. Seven synagogues were located there, as was the spine of the neighborhood. famous House of Babies, a tenement whose landlord, Max Dick, was known as the Mayor of Allen Street. Dick, an immigrant himself, had not increased blocks, from East Houston to the rents in his tenement in 25 Delancey Street. years and he encouraged big News of the widening families by giving bonuses to was met with mixed emoparents of babies that were born tions from Lower East Side in the tenement. Allen Street residents. Many were happy was also a thriving commerto see more light on Allen cial center. It was known as Street and businesses on the “Brass Town” throughout the west side of Orchard Street entire New York region for the who gained a storefront on fine metalwork produced there Allen liked the project. Most

by Eastern European Jews residents, however, were who had learned their craft The widened Allen Street (above), versus Park Avenue (below). saddened by the widening. in the old country. On Allen, As the New York Times there were also stores that sold reported, “Little groups have furniture, lace and embroidery, gathered in the shadow of blankets and quilts, tobacco, the elevated road these last and groceries. few days and, between the The debate over Allen Street roarings of trains, have disintensified. Proponents of the cussed the wisdom of the project included various real city fathers who decree the estate interests, the Parks and alteration of their street.”

Playgrounds Association, the Work began in the summer Educational Alliance, the Comof 1927. Sixty-four buildmissioner of Health, Lillian ings on the east side of Allen Wald, and Mrs. Henry Moskowwere torn down and the new itz. Former City Controller Charles Craig and local Alderman street was opened for traffic on January 4, 1928. “New Moritz Graubard led the movement against the project. They Allen Street Welcomes the Sun—Old Narrow Canyon, argued first that the plan had been incorrectly publicized as a Roofed by Elevated, is Transformed into 138-foot Bouproposal for parkways and playgrounds, when it was essen- levard,” announced the New York Times. tially a plan for a street opening that benefited the city as a Barely a year later, discussion of extending the widening whole more than the neighborhood. Second, they believed of Allen Street to Division Street resumed. Again, former that the cost of widening Allen Street was prohibitive and that Controller Craig opposed the project. As he saw it, “the benthe money would be better spent on building more subway efits pictured when the plan first came up, the tall modern miles. Finally, they said that the greater priority should be to tenements and other improvements have failed to materialremove the elevated train tracks. ize on that part of the thoroughfare which already has been New York City Mayor James Walker was also skeptical of widened.” But proponents of widening argued that developthe proposal. He “didn’t see how the people on the west side ment had not occurred precisely because the widening had of Allen Street would get any more air and sunshine with the not been carried through in full. If Allen was not widened all ‘L’ structure remaining there,” and he believed that expand- the way to Division Street, the nearly $4 million spent on the ing the subway network was more urgent than widening city first phase of the project would have been wasted. streets. The New York Board of Estimate compromised and This time around, Craig was nearly alone in opposing voted to allow the widening of Allen Street along just three the project. “Practically every business and savings bank

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Photos: Office of the Manhattan Borough President Annual Report

Allen Street [continued] j u li e tte d e lle cker mic hael son

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of the east side, its churches, settlements, hospitals, YMCA, charity organization and civic bodies” —all were in favor of widening Allen Street. This apparent consensus may have to do with the fact that Lower East Side residents appreciated the light and air and playgrounds of Allen Street. But the changing nature of the Lower East Side in those years points to two other factors that played arguably larger roles in the near-lack of any opposition: the dwindling population of the Lower East Side and the Multiple Dwellings Law of 1929.

The Lower East Side of 1929 was demographically and economically very different from that of 1924, when Borough President Miller had first proposed widening Allen. First, the federal 1924 Immigration Act drastically reduced the number of immigrants moving to New York and starting a new home in the Lower East Side. Second, the 1929 Multiple Dwellings Law required such extensive rehabilitations that landlords often chose to abandon their buildings instead. The vacancy rate in the Lower East Side increased from around 14 percent in 1928 to 20 percent in 1930.

In this dire predicament, small real estate interests in the Lower East Side and larger, city-wide banking and real estate interests decided to pool their influence and advocate government intervention to reinvent the Lower East Side as a middle-class residential neighborhood. In 1929, the Regional Plan Association (RPA), whose members were drawn almost exclusively from the city’s banking and business elites, recommended that the Lower East Side be redeveloped as a “new residence district for ‘white-collar’ class.” Thus, the context for widening the southern half of Allen Street in 1929 was different from that of the first half of the project in 1924. In 1924, the movement to widen Allen Street had been lead by Borough President Miller and community leaders, and Lower East Side residents were still numerous enough to put up a fight. But by 1929, city-wide business and institutional interests had developed a vision for the neighborhood, and had the clout to see their vision implemented.

The Board of Estimate unanimously approved the second phase of the widening of Allen Street on October 2,1929. When the newly elected Manhattan Borough President Samuel Levy officially kicked off the razing of 100 buildings, he compared Allen Street to Park Avenue, describing the general plan for the street as “similar to Park Avenue, except the parkways will be more spacious with greater

Drawing of the new Allen Street

opportunity for decorative planting.” Other speakers at the event included Alderman Moritz Graubard, the president of the RPA, the president of the East Side Chamber of Commerce, and the vice-president of the Greater New York Taxpayers’ Association. In 1928, as the opening ceremony for the first section of Allen Street, speakers had included only government officials: Mayor Walker, Borough President Miller and Police Commissioner Warren.

The formal opening of the new “Allen Street Boulevard” took place on April 18, 1932. At this event, as in the one the previous year, government officials were flanked by business leaders. Future collaboration between the private and public sectors was specifically extolled: “Plans that are now in preparation promise a great deal more. The city government and the local associations—notably the East Side Chamber of Commerce—are cooperating in the development of a broad survey for the future, which will include not only the broadening of other streets and the opening of great new thoroughfares, but the acquisition and setting aside of more lands for park and playground purposes; the reclamation of the waterfront; the bringing in of better transit facilities and the stimulation throughout the entire area of modern housing developments.”

In the end, of course, Former Controller Craig was proven right: despite the best efforts of the municipal government, the RPA, the Chamber of Commerce and other business interests, real estate values in the Lower East Side continued to decrease, including areas improved by government intervention. In 1934, for instance, the New York Times reported that “although Allen Street is now a 138-foot thoroughfare with an attractive parkway in the centre, land values on the westerly side have dropped $1,000 to $4,000 per lot from the previous assessment.” Despite this sustained drop in real valuations, the real estate industry and the municipal government remained undeterred in their belief that physical improvements like slum clearance and street widening would eventually turn the tide and revive the Lower East Side. The physical embodiments of such beliefs can today be seen at nearly every street corner.

Drawing: Office of the Manhattan Borough President Annual Report

In Focus: the Urban Environment Seen Through the Eyes of Kids j ake m c kinst r y

One of the smartest decisions I have ever made was to spend two years teaching at the Epiphany School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Epiphany is a tuition-free middle school where the students attend programming from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The full-service component of Epiphany is geared towards removing any possible obstacles or barriers preventing the children from reaching their full potential both as students and young adults. Despite its small size (88 students), Epiphany is a diverse school, demographically reflecting the surrounding neighborhoods of Dorchester and Roxbury. These two neighborhoods are both vibrant and charismatic, while simultaneously reflecting the issues of inadequate access to resources affecting America’s inner cities. The students of Epiphany are extraordinary in their commitment to education and their resilience in the face of adversity. Kids have a way of cutting to the heart of the matter; their thinking is unfiltered, their ideas beautiful in their integrity. Growing up in the inner city they experience the urban environment at its most basic and fundamental level. The following is a selection of a few of their ideas about the urban environment.

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My perfect urban environment is a city with less apartments, more houses, and lots of grass growing wildly each day. Also, it would have devices that clean the air so there will be less polluted air and will help stop the acid rain. By keeping the air cleaner, trees will grow freely in this city. I will keep the same buildings, subways, schools, and jobs.

Since I love books and I read too many, I would create more stores filled with thousands of books so me and other people could read all the books in the stores.

Osa Okoh, 5th Grade

My ideal urban environment would have nice big buildings with windows. I would also like to have clean parks where kids could play and be safe. I would also like for people to make more shelter for the homeless people that have no place to stay. I would also like for people to make more schools for low-income families that don’t have much money and can’t give their kids a good education. Another thing I would like is more libraries for kids, and more boys and girls clubs so that kids can play basketball and learn a lot of other things.

Karina Evora, 7th Grade

”There will be many people with money because I hate to see poor people entertaining people to get money. I will also be the head of the Train Station.”

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When I am the President of my urban environment, it will be beautiful. There will be many people with money because I hate to see poor people entertaining people to get money.

I will also be the head of the Train Station. I will close it down, then tell some construction guys to make every wire connected. I will support schools with money, notebooks, pencils, and binders. I will support parts of places where it is poor. I will remove burned houses and make new ones so poor families will live in them. I will make new hospitals to save people who are dying from the cold. I will greet new people to my beautiful urban environment.

Anthony Depina, 5th Grade

If I was to make my own city I would name it Peace. I would name it Peace because I would make sure there is no gangsters and no fights. I would also make sure that everyone in my city had health insurance because it is really important that they get free health care in case of an emergency.

Isaac Marla, 5th Grade

The perfect urban environment would be a place with 0% pollution. I hope for diversity in this environment so no one feels left out because they are the only one with a certain color skin. There would be no poor people in this environment. Everyone would welcome poor people into their homes so that the poor people are no longer poor, homeless, or collecting cans out on the street.

Aidid Brayboy-Smith, 5th Grade

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The Rise and Fall of the Central Freeway of San Francisco Two forces, Mother Nature and community action, have led to the construction of Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco and raised a major question for planners and cities. What do you do with existing freeways when they become physically or politically unusable? And, more specifically, how can you balance the needs of local communities while maintaining transportation corridors for regional and long-distance traffic?

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In August 1996, the seismically dangerous upper deck of the Central Freeway was dismantled and destroyed, leaving only one deck of traffic going one direction between Mission Street and Fell Street. For six months the freeway was to be closed in both directions. Many, including the San Francisco Chronicle, predicted a “traffic hell,” but on the day demolition began traffic flowed fluidly.

Sensibly, commuters followed advance warnings and spread themselves throughout the city’s grid, avoiding a snarl.

The Fell Street one-way westbound ramp reopened in April 1997,1 but was not a permanent solution. The Fell/Oak corridor that it was feeding is vital for moving traffic west from I-80/US-101 to the Sunset and Richmond Districts as well as north to Pacific Heights and the Golden Gate Bridge. The city and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) needed to decide how to move traffic in the future.

Several alternatives were presented in 1997. One of the plans more seriously considered, Alternative 1B, would later become Proposition H. This plan proposed retrofitting the existing lower deck from South Van Ness to Page Street, and widening it to four lanes. Beyond Page Street, the Oak and Fell ramps would be rebuilt. The proposals costs ranged from $50 million to $68 million. In general, all of the proposals would have taken 4-5 years to complete.2 In November 1997, Proposition H went forth, backed by a coalition of neighborhood groups led by the San Francisco Neighbors Association. The group submitted 28,000 signatures to the San Francisco Department of Elections, nearly three times the number required, to put the Central Freeway retrofit measure on the ballot. The measure also allowed for future building of the freeway further north to Golden Gate and Franklin Streets. Winning by a majority, many considered it an upset at the time because Mayor Willie Brown opposed it.3 Soon afterwards, local transit and environmental activists, as well as Hayes Valley residents who lived below the freeway, pushed for an alternative plan. The plan aimed to repeal Proposition H and

put forth a new alternative called “Octavia Boulevard.” The measure gathered just barely enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.4 In November 1998, it went forth as Proposition E5 with proponents calling it a more rational and environmentally friendly plan. Affordable housing was also mentioned as a by-product of the freed up land. Detractors stated that the boulevard would back up traffic onto the freeway, even up to US-101, causing further congestion and gridlock. The measure passed by nearly fifty-three percent.6 Supporters of Proposition H felt that there wasn’t a fair comparison of the two measures, so the two went head-to-head in 1999: Measure I proposing Octavia Boulevard and Measure J in favor of rebuilding the Central Freeway north to Fell Street.

The measure supporting Octavia Boulevard won with 54.1% of the vote.7 Caltrans and the City and County of San Francisco are paying for the project. Much of the money to pay for the boulevard will come from the sale or lease of former freeway land. Caltrans relinquished the land to City in light of the city’s implementation of the Octavia Boulevard Alternative.8 Plans for an environmental impact report (EIR) on the Central Freeway and installing Octavia Boulevard began soon after. Designers Allan Jacobs and Elizabeth MacDonald drew up plans to create a neighborhood-friendly boulevard for both local and regional drivers. The Octavia Boulevard major throughway would allow cross-town traffic to move from the Fell and Oak Corridor to the rebuilt Central Freeway starting at Market Street. In order to accommodate slower local traffic, two parallel side streets are on each side of the central throughway.

Hayes Valley lacks green open space, so the designers also created a park, “Hayes Green,” between Fell and Hayes Streets, along Octavia Street.

The Octavia Boulevard Plan also calls for new housing and new potential retail space. With the demolition of the freeway, much land remains, that could be used for these purposes. Some former freeway parcels come in odd shapes and sizes.

Standard lots in San Francisco are normally 30 feet

br ian st okl e

wide and 100 to 120 feet deep. In the Octavia Boulevard plan, many stretches are only 15 feet deep.

This poses architectural and logistical challenges.

Other land parcels are much larger, especially between Oak and Fell where the ramps existed, and the corridor leading from Hayes to Golden Gate Street. The city has been conducting community meetings to help decide how to divide and propose uses for the land, but this remains a challenging part of the project.9

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As plans and community consultation moved along on Octavia Boulevard, residents south of Market began to complain that planners, especially those with Caltrans, had ignored them. < The City must decide how much land should be devoted to affordable housing, how much to marketrate housing and how much to retail space. Many advocates say that all of it should be devoted to affordable housing. They claim that 2000 units could be built. Upon further scrutiny, city planners found this would necessitate 15- to 20-story buildings in a neighborhood where most buildings are three to four stories tall. Most of the local residents around Octavia and Hayes Street advocate for a mix of uses, including affordable housing. They contend that to keep the neighborhood as attractive and vibrant as it currently is, a three to four story limit is necessary. These issues are still being determined at this time.10 As plans and community consultation moved along on Octavia Boulevard, residents south of Market began to complain that planners, especially those with Caltrans, had ignored them. They argued that they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been given the same amenities as north of Market, with its new boulevard and a planned park. The city and Caltrans conducted several community meetings where a consensus developed around proposals for a community garden and narrowing a wide street.

Once the freeway came down in the summer of 2003, some residents in the surrounding areas rejoiced, especially those who hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen the light of day since 1957. Others, however, such as those south of Market called for a reconsideration of the touchdown location due to safety and traffic concerns. Another group of local residents called for a halt to the ramp. Some proposed for the freewayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

complete destruction back to I-80, with an extended Octavia Boulevard replacing it.

Still others called for transportation planners to consider several touchdown ramp options. As Caltrans finishes its preparatory work, the debate and fate of the Central Freeway continues.

Forty years ago when freeways were being built across the country, planners had visions of a new way for fast and convenient movement of traffic. For many people in their path, it meant eviction from their homes, and it often divided older and poorer neighborhoods. For over forty years, the Central Freeway divided a part of the Western Addition and Mission Districts of San Francisco. With the demolition of the ramp to Golden Gate and Turk, businesses on Hayes Street flourished, and a growing sense of community developed.

Now, with the plans for Octavia Boulevard, this old neighborhood of Victorian homes will be reunited. The question still remains, though: when will a final plan come to fruition and will it be conscientious to all concerned?

FOOTNOTES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

atdnw.com, San Francisco Cityspan SFGov.org Asian Week sfbg.com http://sfgov.org/site/octavia_blvd_index.asp?id=236 sunsite.berkeley.edu. sunsite.berkeley.edu Weiss, sen.ca.gov/archives Billovits, John (San Francisco Planning Department)

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Billovits, John (San Francisco Planning Department)

Photo Credit: Ken McLaughlin

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Reflections on Slum Eradication and Affordable Housing in Morocco Recently the Moroccan government announced major affordable housing initiatives as a policy response to the considerable housing shortage that has troubled Morocco over the past century. Although the Moroccan government has been directly involved in the production and supply of affordable housing since its independence in 1956, the recent initiatives are taking on new significance and attention in light of the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca.

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Several of the bombers were from the slums of MOROCCO’S UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING PROBLEM Casablanca, and as such, the government decided The proposed housing initiative is in response to that improving housing conditions for much of both a general housing shortage affecting the entire the country’s population would benefit society and nation and a significant increase in the numbers alleviate social unrest and frustration. The housing of slums and other substandard housing around initiative is also part of a four-pronged strategic plan Morocco’s major cities. Plans have been made for announced by the sovereign Mohamed VI in 2002, a considerable amount of funding and effort to go which includes economic development, productive towards providing affordable housing to the popuemployment, the provision of useful education and lation’s poor over the next decade. Currently there decent housing.1 When I began to read about the gov- are 200,000 households living in slums, 430,000 ernment’s housing plans households living in illeI immediately began to gal, substandard housing, wonder: how effective and 90,000 living in the are the plans going to be, old, run-down medina and more specifically, to homes.2 The government what extent is the Morocplans to build 100,000 can government applying affordable housing units democratic principles of a year until its objective community participation in of cutting the housing these initiatives? shortage in half is met.

I spent some of my time Plans for increasing the in Morocco over the winter availability of affordable break, reading the relevant housing include the buildliterature and conducting In Morocco, 200,000 households are living in slums. ing of housing units by informal interviews with the government as well as researchers and city officials to begin to answer my incentives for private sector housing construction questions. What I found was a very complex situa- projects.3 The government is also urging banks to tion spanning across the private and public sectors “make mortgages more accessible to slum dwellers at all levels of government and all income and social by offering low interest rates, longer maturity perigroups. While the goal is laudable and desirable, it ods of 25 years and beyond, and exemptions from is difficult to imagine successful and effective deposit payments.”4 public participation as part of such a large governThe housing shortage problem is not new to ment project if the political and social environment Morocco and has troubled the government since as remains the same. A radical change in motivations, early as the 1920s.5 Over the past century, a series of mentality and habits is needed by almost everyone policies was implemented by both the French coloinvolved to successfully eradicate the housing prob- nial administration and the Moroccan government lem and to truly help those who need housing the to try to rectify the problem. The Moroccan governmost. Until then, millions of dirhams and ambitious ment’s policies toward the housing shortage and the plans and efforts could have minimal impact. alleviation of slums and illegal housing have largely

Photo Credits: Zineb Morabet

zineb mor abet

been influenced by the inherited French colonial system.

For example, when the French colonial administration finally began to realize the extent of slum growth that was occurring around the old Moroccan centers of town and around the peripheries of cities in the early 1950s, it decided to take on the responsibility of building and providing housing units for the urban poor.6 The Moroccan government chose similar policies by directly supplying and constructing housing in later years. In addition to adopting the French system, the Moroccan governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s socialist tendencies after independence also influenced its policies to directly provide housing for the poor.

Much of the housing shortage is due to a high natural population growth rate. However, a significant portion of the urban housing shortage is also due to the high level of rural-urban migration that has occurred over the last century, particularly since the end of World War II. In the beginning of the century only 7% of the population lived in urban areas.7 By 1975, 38% of the population lived in urban settlements and by 2000, the urbanization level rose to 51%.8 French colonial policies that favored urban development and natural calamities such as continuous droughts that hurt the rural economy both contributed to the encouragement of rural-urban migration. In addition, better employment prospects, higher wages, better living conditions and the availability of social services in the cities also motivated large numbers of rural inhabitants to move to cities.

The effects of this significant and rapid rural-urban migration caused both primary and secondary cities to grow in uncontrollable and unplanned ways over the past several decades.

The substantial urban population growth resulted in large sectors of informal housing and slums in and around cities.

As with many other developing countries, the housing units found in slums are built of non-durable materials such as oil drums and wood planks and generally do not have any public services such as running water, electricity or a sewage system.

The informal or illegal housing sector has higher housing standards and is built of more durable materials such as cement; Illegal dwellings in Morocco often lack basic infrastructure, and do not however, these dwellings do not meet housing construction regulations. meet all housing construction regulations, rarely have official authorization, and often lack basic infrastructure. The older, traditional sections of the cities (medinas) that Moroccans were limited to during the colonial times were also The Moroccan governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies toward flooded by rural migrants, turning the housing shortage and the alleviation of slums and these once lively, illegal housing have largely been influenced by mixed-income, the inherited French colonial system. and balanced cities into overcrowded, dilapidated and poor urban centers.

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THE PROPOSED INITIATIVES AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Although there has been some effort by the prime minister to convince lending institutions to ease regulations to make home ownership more affordable, the government is still very much in the business of building housing. Major plans are in the works to build large residential

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Slum Eradication and Affordable Housing in Morocco [continued]

sectors that will impact thousands of households over the next decade. As a result, entire communities will move into residential areas that are planned, designed, organized, and managed by the state. How will this process affect communities? Do the residents have any say on the planning of their future homes and communities, or are they simply moved in haphazard ways in the name of providing decent homes? My brief

of lack of community participation is a vital factor in the failure of many of the government’s prior housing initiatives. A common theme resonating from these theses and other interviews I conducted is around the question of corruption. Corruption permeates the entire affordable housing sector on all levels, from the public to the private sectors (including the building and management of government housing, slums and illegal housing).

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Corruption permeates the entire affordable housing sector on all levels, from the public to the private sectors (including the building and management of government housing, slums and illegal housing). <

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research confirmed that the lack of public participation has been and remains a major obstacle.

However, the government seems to have recently embraced the concept of public participation and is now publicly confirming its importance.

In an interview with a city planning official, I was told that the affected slum communities are rarely consulted and do not participate in the planning and implementation of government housing plans (except for financial participation). The topdown, highly technical and paternalistic approach still very much dictates process. In his work Villes et Campagnes au Maroc, Mekki Bentahar argues that solely providing decent housing units will not eliminate other social problems experienced by slum dwellers. He argues that the state continues to focus on eradicating the bad effects of slums without truly understanding these effects and ignoring their causes. He contends that the administration has largely ignored the important social and economic function that slums actually provide: much needed affordable housing, an important source of labor and a significant number of consumers.

The state focuses simply on the elimination of an eyesore in the cities through an emphasis on the physical aspects of planning.9 For example, the official I spoke to admitted that slums could be allowed to exist, as long as they were “hidden” from the public eye. The criticisms expressed by Bentahar 15 years ago are still applicable today.

A review of select urban planning master theses at the national university on slums reveal that the

Examples include city officials who allow construction of illegal housing by accepting payments as well as housing and land speculators involved in the slum building/provision and eradication process. Another instance of corruption presents itself during census counts. When government officials conduct a census of slums to determine the number of households needing housing, some residents (either on their own, or pressured by speculators) build a second or third door to their home as a method of obtaining the right to several government housing units. Once slum dwellers are given newly built government apartments (which they frequently can’t afford despite the low prices), they sell the apartments to housing speculators who then resell them for a higher profit. In the end, subsidized housing is introduced into the private housing market, thereby bypassing the originally intended recipients and benefiting many in the process. As a result, the original slum

Ghost towns of vacant housing are often surrounded by thriving slums.

zineb mor abet

dwellers simply move CONCLUSION and establish themselves It is clear that over the past decades, elsewhere and the proofficials have concerned themselves cess of slum eradication mostly with the mere physical exissimply becomes a protence of slums, rather than the actual cess of slum transfer. social, economic and psychological There are also numerconditions of its residents. As such, ous accounts of the little coordination is made with other corruption within the governing branches regarding the agencies in charge of improvement of economic growth, constructing and managunemployment, or public health. Less ing government housing. coordination or communication efforts Driving through parts New housing is built adjacent to vacant dwellings. are made with the residents themselves. of Sale during my visit In addition, it is widely recognized that revealed this dysfunctional system. Apartment the lack of community participation is directly related to the building after apartment building were closed up regressive security policies pursued by the state. Many of the urban and vacant, while hundreds nearby were under problems—slums in particular—are seen as security threats to the construction. The vacancy of the buildings cre- administration and the status quo, and policies have therefore been ated a ghost town, while a short distance away a designed to repress community organizing and participation.11 slum continued to thrive.

These are important characteristics of the political system and urban A conference conducted at the national architec- planning in Morocco that must be considered, particularly if the govture school by Najib Lahlou Director of the Social ernment pursues its housing initiatives and claims to want to include Housing and Land Management Department the public in the process. Again, the recognition of community particiexposed some budding changes in the govern- pation is a start; however, a radical change of interests, mentality and ment’s perception of public participation, how- habits as well as a comprehensive understanding of socio-economic ever.10 After briefing the audience on the national forces behind the development of substandard housing is desperately housing plans and goals for the next several years, needed to successfully begin to solve the housing problem.

Lahlou also discussed the newly recognized importance of community participation in the FOOTNOTES 1 “King inaugurates housing projects in Casablanca” BBC Monitoring Middle East. May 28, government’s housing initiatives. It was correctly 2003. pointed out by an audience member, however, that 2 www.seh.gov.ma/Habitat%20Insalubre/Habitat_Insalubre_New.htm effective community participation is a slow, ardu- 3 “Moroccan authorities revealed last week details about their plans for cutting housing shortage in the country.” Middle East and Africa This Week. January 13, 2003. ous, and very costly process that requires complex 4 “Morocco launches drive to eradicate shantytowns.” Reuters News. October 6, 2003. management systems and political transparency.

5 By housing shortage, I mean the shortage of affordable, standard, authorized housing.

Like others, I also wondered, how does the gov6 Johnson, Katherine Marshall. (1971) Urbanization in Morocco: An International Urbanernment plan to realistically build 100,000 units ization Survey Report to the Ford Foundation. New York: The Ford Foundation, p. 20. a year while including effective and meaningful 7 Escalier, Robert. (1994) “Morocco” in Urbanization in Africa : A Handbook. ed. James Taylor. community participation? Although the audience Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press. P. 246. questioned the speaker on the seemingly unrealis- 8 Habitat. (1996) An Urbanizing World: Global Report on Human Settlements 1996. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 447. tic and overly ambitious goals, this announcement 9 Bentahar, Mekki. (1988) Villes et Campagnes au Maroc : Les Problèmes Sociaux de and recognition by the government is recognized L’Urbanisme. Rabat: Editell. p.132-135. as a first step.

10 “L’action du Ministere dans le Domaine de L’habitat et la Lutte Contre L’habitat Insalubre” by Najib Lahlou, Director of the Social Housing and Land Management Department, December 25, 2003.

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Photo Credits: Zineb Morabet

Johnson, Katherine Marshall. (1971) Urbanization in Morocco: An International Urbanization Survey Report to the Ford Foundation. New York: The Ford Foundation, p. 66.

Talk of the Town ADVENTURES IN ORAL HISTORY WITH STUYVESANT TOWN’S ORIGINAL RESIDENTS

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Jay Charles, eighty years old, swims the butterfly competitively, and in recent years has won dozens of medals, all displayed on the walls of his apartment.

In October of 1948, he and his new wife, Minna, moved into Stuyvesant Town, which had only recently been completed in the former Gas House District of Manhattan.

Seen from above, it looks like a city within a city, with symmetrical rows of identical buildings interspersed with landscaped patches of green. Stretching from 14th to 23rd Streets on the east side of Manhattan, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are unique examples of large-scale postwar housing projects for the middle class. Within the buildings live many original residents like the Charleses, whose memories of the early days are being compiled into a comprehensive oral history of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

The oral history project, conceptualized by Manhattan’s Community Board Six (which serves the area bounded by 14th Street, 59th Street, the East River and Lexington Avenue) is part of a larger effort to secure landmark status for the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village site, which would prevent significant exterior modifications. On its own, however, the oral history project is seeking to capture the details of an important part of New York’s history—one facet of the city’s effort to Hey baby: many of Stuyvesant Town’s return to normalcy after early residents were new families. the war, and to address its sudden housing shortage.

Originally conceived as housing for veterans of World War Two, Stuyvesant Town created an instant community of young families, handpicked by Metropolitan Life, which owned the

property. Prospective tenants were interviewed and visited at their current residence, and then—if all went well— offered an apartment. “We grabbed the first one offered to us,” states one couple, who were the first occupants in their building in October 1948. “We remember muddy walks where paving had not yet been done,” and the playgrounds—a central component of the project and a defining feature today—were still under construction. The rent? Eighty dollars a month, including electricity and gas, for a two-bedroom apartment, and $59 for a one-bedroom.

The best part of living in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, say the original residents, was the sense of community. An urban oasis in its design—that was its intent at least—as well as its social life, the project fostered a neighborliness that could sometimes be lost in the larger city. “It was definitely smalltown living,” remembers one original resident, “in the sense that we were all young veterans with new families, all quick to make friends, comparing notes on new apartments, new children, eager to have children play together. During daytime hours, our doors were not locked while we were at home.

Photo Credits: Jay and Minna Charles; Helen Dawson (top right)

tanya sal t zman

Helen Dawson shows off her daughter, 1948.

The camaraderie was wonderful.” Says another, “We knew all the cops!”

One resident who worked for a manufacturing corporation was often sent to Pennsylvania for work; his employer kindly purchased a television set for Bea, his wife, since she “should be able to be entertained” while her husband was away.

Stuyvesant Town was a product of its times and of postwar optimism, and it capitalized on cultivating this image. One wonders whether it could be recreated today.

As the primary interviewer for this project, I have had the privilege of peering into the lives of the original residents, as well as some of their children. This has not only satisfied my voyeuristic tendencies and introduced a new demographic into my social circles; it has provided a human face to the sometimes-too-detached field of urban planning. It is one thing to study the theory of the tower in the park—it is another to eat cookies with its inhabitants.

> One resident who worked for a manufacturing corporation was often sent to Pennsylvania for work; his employer kindly purchased a television set for Bea, his wife, since she “should be able to be entertained” while her husband was away. <

Jay Charles, daughter Kathy, and the gas tanks that were later demolished.

If you lived here, you’d be home right now.

The beauty of oral history, I have learned, is that it is not precise, nor is it objective. It takes a lot of time: stories lead to other stories, photographs are unearthed from musty boxes, long-forgotten names eventually are recalled. It is slow and occasionally awkward, such as when we discuss Stuyvesant Town’s early practice of racial segregation (“It just wasn’t an issue,” one man stated).

Whether the management tactics of “Mother Met” or the intricacies of playing sidewalk games like Skully, no detail has been too small to contribute to the picture of early Town and Village life. It is precisely these fallible, human elements that serve to make the history of Stuyvesant Town more rich, diverse, and real.

Will landmarking the physical structures of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village preserve their unique social history? It is difficult to tell. However, in the larger scheme of planning, it is important to remember the individuals involved; oral history provides the fine-grained human counterpart to broader policy-based thought.

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Green Connectors: Creating a Win-Win Situation for Transit Users and Cities Green Connectors can be defined as nonpolluting and energy saving-transportation modes, such as bicycling and walking, which connect people to mass transit.1 In the United States, with the exception of a few places like New York City, the private automobile is the primary means of reaching mass transit. A typical three-mile car trip to a park-and-ride lot creates nearly as much pollution in terms of hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions as a 10-mile trip, since most tailpipe emissions occur in the first few minutes of driving.2 By eliminating short car journeys, Green Connectors serve to make mass transit a truly environmental transportation mode. Over the last decade, several efforts to create and maintain Green Connectors that are integrated into mass transit systems have been implemented.

B ENEFITS OF GREEN CONNECTORS There are several reasons, environmental factors aside, why Green Connectors are beneficial to a city.

COST REDUCTION Most transit users drive to mass transit and use parking lots adjacent to these stations. While convenient, these facilities are far more expensive to maintain and build compared to bike and ride facilities or pedestrian pathways. Furthermore, they require land located near transit facilities that would be more efficiently served by housing, recreational facilities or transit support uses. The table below illustrates the fact that conventional park-and-ride facilities are not fiscally efficient and public financial resources are better spent in creating facilities for Green Connectors at mass transit stations, particularly in the form of bike storage facilities.

reasons for the growth of this epidemic. Public health advocates explicitly advise more walking and cycling, as the US Surgeon General specifically recommends walking and cycling as ideal approaches to raising physical activity levels in the country. 4 TRAFFIC CALMING By promoting walking and biking to major transport hubs, cities can reduce traffic jams and overcrowding in the vicinity of rail and bus stations.

This will create efficient access to mass transit and enable cities to create pleasant non-motorized plazas adjacent to transit hubs. In countries outside the United States, non-motorized areas have been very successful in traffic calming and in the creation of pedestrian plazas that provide retail and recreational space.

INCREASE OF TRANSIT CATCHMENT AREAS Surveys have found that transit users, given the right circumstances, i.e. pleasant traveling experiences and good weather conditions, people are willing to walk almost one mile and bike almost three miles to transit.5 The creation of Green Connectors allows transit agencies to increase their service to rural areas, or areas not located within short distances from transit. Instead of spending resources on creating expensive park-andTABLE 1 PARK-AND-R IDE AND BIKE-AND-R IDE FACILITY COMPARISON 3 ride facilities, that are often Park-and-Ride Bike-and-Ride Characteristic located five miles or more Land requirements (m2) 30 1-2 from the transit userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, Installation cost per space $10,000 - $12,000 $140 - $800 transit agencies can work to create pleasant walking and Operating cost per space (year) $110 $0 - $30 biking environments that will Source: Environmental Defense Fund increase the overall catchment area of transit modes.

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PUBLIC HEALTH B ENEFITS Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Year 2000 figures show that 31% of the adult population in the country is obese and approximately 64% of the population is overweight. Furthermore, several studies suggest that lack of physical exercise is one of the major

nisha baliga B EST PRACTICES In the United States and abroad, certain exemplary non-motorized plans have proved to be successful in changing the way people use Green Connectors to get around, as well as access mass transit.

NATIONAL: PORTLAND Portland, Oregon is known as one of the most bicycle and pedestrian friendly cities in the United States.

Portland’s success is related in large part to its long-term commitment to non-motorized transit.

Even prior to the passage of Inter-

As a result of actions that were started almost twenty years ago, the bicycle is a major mode of transportation for thousands of Portland’s residents and bicycle use is rising rapidly. More than half of the city’s residents own a bicycle and the bicycle share of trips has increased from about 1% to 3% of the modal split.

In addition to simply promoting bicycle usage in general, Portland has tried to create a viable network of trails for transit users by designating blue pathways on major intersections for bicycles, creating

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As a result of actions that were started almost twenty years ago, the bicycle is a major mode of transportation for thousands of Portland’s residents and bicycle use is rising rapidly.

More than half of the city’s residents own a bicycle and the bicycle share of trips has increased from about 1% to 3% of the modal split...it is easier for bicyclists to park their bikes with more than 3,000 publicly installed and maintained parking spaces and 150 rental lockers. < modal Surface Transportation Act (ISTEA), Oregon passed a state law mandating a minimum expenditure of 1% of bicycle improvements in 1971. This has now increased to almost 10% of total transportation expenditures.

Citizen involvement has also provided the driving force for these non-motorizing efforts. A Resident Task Force was created almost twenty years ago to push through efforts to create better bicycle pathways. Citizen participation has continued to be instrumental for Portland’s efforts, through a Bicycle Advisory Committee, a group of residents appointed

by City Council to advise on all matters related to bicycling. Several advocacy groups such as the Bicycle Transportation Alliance have also worked to create public awareness about efforts to increase usage of non-motorized transport.

bicycle paths and boulevards. It is easier for bicyclists to park their bikes with more than 3,000 publicly installed and maintained parking spaces and 150 rental lockers.

In a significant innovation for the United States, Portland has built five “Bike Central” stations for bike commuters that provide showers, changing facilities and long-term storage. In terms of directly increasing bike to transit trips, Portland has also partnered with a regional transit authority that runs regional buses, Portland streetcars and MAX, the light rail facility. The TriMet authority has ensured that all three mass transit modes are 100% bike accessible and commuters are allowed and encouraged to bring their bikes on all three modes. This particular program has been very successful in implementing Green Connectors not only in the city of Portland, but also regionally. 6

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Green Connectors... [continued] nisha bal iga

INTERNATIONAL: B OGOTA, COLOMBIA Bogota, the capital of Colombia, has seven million inhabitants and boasts one of the world’s best networks of feeder bikeways and pedways. It has Latin America’s largest network of cycleways (250 km), the world’s longest pedestrian corridor (17 km) and is home to the planet’s biggest Car Free Day. The city of Bogota has achieved this level of transit success under the leadership of two mayors Antanus Mockus and Enrique Penalosa, along with widespread citizen support and participation.

The city began its urban transformation as late as the late 1990s, attempting to mirror the success of the high-speed, high-capacity bus system that was created in Curituba, Brazil. The system in Bogota is called the Transmilenio, which consists of a 26-mile rapid transit busways with a dedicated right of way. Most of the bus lanes are located in boulevard medians. In order to create Green Connectors, vehicular parking is limited mainly to the terminal stations of the Transmilenio, with pedestrian overpasses serving nearly half of the intermediate stations. The bikepaths and sidewalks that feed

CONCLUSION

Clearly, Green Connectors are beneficial not only to the environment and health of the population, but serves the transit infrastructure of a region.

It is important to realize that successful policies to create Green Connectors rely on regional, city and local support. While Federal Laws can create conducive conditions for such movements, it is the regional and local bodies in conjunction with the support of community groups that oversee such actions. Depending on the level of this kind of support, certain cities in the United States have made very real strides towards creating Green Connectors and continue to advance in this regard, whereas others continue to lag behind in creating access for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The examples discussed above illustrate that a variety of approaches towards creating Green Connectors can work in different cities. While Bogota’s people powered-transportation plan illustrates that if the political will exists to implement creative transportation alternatives, some US cities have moved from viewing cities in all countries can create sustainable transportation solutions. biking and walking as recreational pastimes into these stations are well designed and landscaped and also pro- to integral parts of daily commutes, there is still vide access to civic plazas, parks and recreational facilities located a long way to go. Portland and Bogota provide examples of varied climates, land uses and cultures within one-third of a mile of bus stops.

Furthermore, in order to promote cycling and walking, in 2000 where the implementation of Green Connectors can the city declared Sundays to be Car Free Days. On every Sunday, be successful. Hopefully, their success will provide 75 miles of road are closed to cars with approximately 1.5 million the impetus for other cities to change. cyclists using the streets for recreation and transportation.7 Bogota, under the leadership of a dynamic mayor, has transformed GOVERNMENT SOURCES of Portland Transit Website (http://www.portlandtransportat its urban landscape creating a city that is designed for people, not Cityion.org) cars. Using measures that are relatively inexpensive, it made its City of Chicago Transit Website (http://www.ci.chi.il.us/ Transportation) citizens and their needs a priority and wasted no time in implemenUS Department of Transportation (http://www.usdot.gov) tation. Furthermore, the program has been able to create jobs, civic FOOTNOTES pride, better air quality and reduce congestion. Prior to Bogota’s success at creating Green Connectors, it was believed that the success of 1 Cervero, Robert.“Green Connectors: Off-Shore Examples,” Planning. May 2003. p 26. such programs was limited to Europe and North America. Bogota’s 2 Environmental Defense Fund. Carbon Emissions Fact Sheet. July people powered-transportation plan illustrates that if the political 2002 will exists to implement creative transportation alternatives, cities in 3 Michael Replogle and Harriet Purcells, Linking Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities with Transit, National Bicycle and Walking Study, Case all countries can create sustainable transportation solutions.

Study No. 9, FHWA, (Washington DC; www.bikefed.org), 1992.

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<

4

5 6

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7

Pucher, John and Lewis Dijkstra, PhD. Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from The Netherlands and Germany John Pucher, PhD, and Lewis Dijkstra, PhD. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 9, September 2003.

Pucher, 12.

Improving Conditions for Bicycling and Walking: Rails to Trails Conservancy and Association for Pedestrian and Bicycle Professional. January 1998. p 7-8 Cervero, 28-29.

Reflections on Brasilia s h a n n on l . r ober t s My interest in Brazil’s capital city began in the early nineties when I won a Rotary scholarship to live and study in Sobradinho, a satellite city of Brasilia.

At sixteen, I knew little to nothing about Brazil, much less its famously planned capital city, and yet I found myself living in both its planned and unplanned realities. A decade or so later, my experiences in Sobradinho and Brasilia are still very much with me.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRASILIA SOBRADINHO AND BRASILIA: 1991-92 The creation of Brasilia was largely the culminaWhen I arrived in the Brazilian desert in August tion of the will of three men: Juscelino Kubitschek, of 1991, I was a wide-eyed girl from Wisconsin, Brazil’s president at the time of its creation; Lucio who had never been on a plane before, much less Costa, the master planner whose notorious air- outside the country. The realities I faced living plane design is the signature of the city, and in Sobradinho were a world away from those I Oscar Niemeyer the city’s architect whose designs grew up with in my hometown of Oshkosh. In accent the terrain of the Plano Piloto, resembling one of my first letters home, I wrote to my mom monumental sculpture of my new hometown and more than just buildings. the shocking world I was The site of the new encountering. capital was selected for “I don’t know exactly its symbolic and strategic how big Sobradinho is location in Brazil’s intebut I’d say between thirty rior; equally remote from and fifty thousand! It is all of the country’s major very underdeveloped here, you’d think it was part of cities. The construction of the city in 1957 coina third world country. I’ve cided with the building seen so many homeless of Brazil’s major road and people it is sickening...The rail networks, all of which people just live in cardboard huts. And I have reflected the government’s mission to open up Brazil’s never seen so much litter!! vast interior to developThe unemployment rate ment.1 The city itself was is skyrocketing here I am told…” inaugurated in the spring As the months wore of 1960, after nearly three on, I settled into life in years of around-the-clock Sobradinho. I attended construction. school when it was in sesAn unexpected outsion, which was not often come of this futuristi- Congressional building, Brasilia due to the frequent teacher cally planned city was the numerous favelas that sprung up around the strikes that resulted from the country’s staggering capital during its construction. It was the growth inflation rates. Daily trips to the butcher, baker, of these shantytowns in Brasilia that ultimately and grocer were an unexpected part of everyday led to the creation of its satellite towns, which dot life for me. After attending school and running the countryside of the Federal District.2 Today, errands for my host mom, I usually rode the the Federal District is home to over two million bus into Brasilia. These afternoons were spent Brazilians, however, the majority of the capital’s with friends at Conjunto National (the Brazilian population live within Brasilia’s seventeen satel- equivalent to a downtown mall), the city park or lite cities. In fact, two of these cities, Taguatinga at the TV Tower on Brasilia’s central mall (the and Ceilândia, boast larger populations than site of a daily flea market). It was during these Brasilia. This tension between the planned city of everyday activities that I learned how to speak Brasilia and the organic growth of its surround- Portuguese, dance the lambada and samba, and to appreciate my family and friends. ing satellite cities is what I will focus on.

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Photo Credit: Shannon Roberts

Brasilia [continued] shannon l. roberts However, I also learned some tough life lessons, I saw inconceivable poverty surrounding unimaginable wealth; I witnessed acts of kindness and charity that surpassed anything I had ever seen. I also saw acts of cruelty and callous disregard that were equally shocking; and for the first time in my life I saw how Americans were viewed by the world community.

While these experiences have undoubtedly influenced the woman I am today, they have also informed the planner I am becoming. They have shown me the dual reality of life in Brazil’s capital. In Brasilia, I remember walking with my fellow exchange students through the massive superquadras of Asa Sul to get around town, because as exchange students we were not allowed to drive. And I remember running for my life across eight lanes of speeding traffic to get from Conjunto National to the TV Tower area because there are no stop lights in Brasilia, much less cross walks. These events stand out to me now because I can see how unusual they were. After all, no one really walks in Brasilia, unless they are an exchange student, who has lots of time on their hands and no other means of transport.

The city is just not designed to accommodate pedestrians.

In contrast, most people in Sobradinho walked, whether it was to school, the market, church or to the shopping area.

And in retrospect, I guess I spent the majority of my time in Sobradinho walking. Unlike Brasilia, walking was very much

part of the everyday culture of Sobradinho. I also spent a considerable amount of time on the bus going to and from Brasilia.

The bus to Brasilia served as a lifeline between the two communities, carrying the working class of Sobradinho to their jobs in the city and home again.

CONCLUSIONS At the time of its construction Brasilia was planned according to the Modernist ideal, and was acclaimed as a city of the future. However, the planner’s utopian dream was never realized and even from the beginning the city has been inhabited almost solely by the wealthy. Designed at the height of the automobile age, the city’s streets were designed to accommodate highway not city driving, forcing those without cars to rely on the extensive regional bus system. It is also the epitome of modern zoning, with uses regulated to official districts within the city from the official cemetery to the city park to the hotel district. In many ways, the city of the future has become the city of the past, its architecture reflects a Modernist movement which peaked nearly a half century ago. Even as Brasilia’s growth has stagnated, Sobradinho and the other satellite cities continue to expand.

After all, the poor and middle class of the Federal District have little choice but to rely on Brasilia’s satellite cities for their housing choices.

During these past couple of years at Columbia, I have reflected often upon my experiences in the desert of Brazil. These memories have made me question some of what I have learned here and have served to reinforce other lessons. I think Brasilia represents a unique opportunity for planners to observe both the benefits and costs of planned and organic growth.

REFERENCES Dijk, Hans van and Paul Mewrs. “Petrified Myth: Brasilia, the Exorcism of History.” Archis, January 1998 1998, 48-57.

Haskell, Douglas. “Brasilia: A New Type of National City.” Architectural Forum, November 1960 1960, 126-33.

Heathcote, Edwin. “A Carnival in Concrete: Modernism Remains Very Much a Living Tradition in Brazil and Brasilia in the Realisation of the Modernist Architectural Dream.”

The Financial Times, January 31, 2004 2004, 18.

McConnell, R. Shean. “Brasilia: City for the Year 2000.” Official Architecture and Planning, December 1971 1971, 905-09. www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3416/pop_df_i.htm: Brasilia’s Population FOOTNOTES 1 2

Douglas Haskell, “Brasilia: A New Type of National City.” (Architectural Forum, November 1960), 127.

Hans van DijK and Paul Mewrs, “Petrified Myth: Brasilia, the Exorcism of History.”

(Archis, January 1998 1998), 55.

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Sobradinho from the hills Photo Credit: Shannon Roberts

Keeping with the Program...or Not b ri a n t oc ht er man

An age that worships the machine and seeks only those goods that the machine provides, in ever larger amounts, at ever rising profits, actually has lost contact with reality; and in the next moment or the next generation may translate its general denial of life into one last savage gesture of nuclear extermination.

Lewis Mumford1 In urban history—certainly American urban history—no project has garnered so much attention and interest as the World Trade Center (WTC) reconstruction. Thanks to the magic of television so many people, not only New Yorkers, were emotionally affected by the tragedy. As a result, the rebuilding process has assembled numerous “planners;” many diverse parties, with diverse interests, and diverse ideas for the project. With the current plan (one extremely captive to the past WTC) moving quickly ahead, planners must act immediately. The market is driving a structural reconstruction; even though it’s debatable that the demand for downtown space exists. Ultimately, any democratic, pluralist alternative future for the site can only be determined, as planning history demonstrates, by public intervention and advocacy.

Leading the charge for reconstruction is the owner of the site, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), and lessee Larry Silverstein.

The PA creation was a fantastic feat in the field of regional planning. Established in 1921, it was the result of a promotional effort by prominent business groups, mostly on the New York side of the harbor. The PA was initially interested in rationalizing freight in and around the harbor.2 Increased use of containerization and trucking, however, killed the New York port. In the 1960s, the PA decided to enter the real estate business under the guise of trade. PA executive director Austin Tobin declared, “The world today stands on the brink of new era in international trade.”3 Of course, their WTC never housed international trade firms.4 In 1964, with the help of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the PA put forth “The Program.” The Program, as christened by PA director Guy Tozzoli, featured a proposal of 10 million square feet of office space. Tozzoli and Tobin would force architect Minoru Yamasaki to squeeze that space into the world’s two tallest buildings.5 As the half-empty towers commandeered the skyline, they came to represent America’s capitalist might, and created a target. Ironically, at the same time Yamasaki’s towers were rising, his PruittIgoe housing projects were being demolished.6

His Trade Center would suffer a similar, though not municipally sponsored, fate.

The PA, Silverstein, and in some ways the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) all seek to construct a project that is dangerously captive to the WTC’s past. In order to recoup losses, the Faustian Silverstein is dead set on the 10 million square foot figure. Now that the PA recently reopened its WTC PATH train station, it appears they are in for the long haul. The LMDC, half appointed by the mayor and half by the governor, initialized the rebuilding through a design competition judged by the public. The first six banal designs were overwhelmingly rejected— advantage pluralism. In the second competition, in what James Traub calls a “fine triumph for demo-

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Ironically, at the same time Yamasaki’s towers were rising, his Pruitt-Igoe housing projects were being demolished. His Trade Center would suffer a similar, though not municipally sponsored, fate. < cratic engagement,” world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind’s design won applause from the community and critics alike.7 Despite featuring less than 10 million square feet, the design was clearly driven by “The Program” mandate, even including a plan for the world’s tallest building.

Michael Sorkin notes the City will require an additional 60 million square feet of office space by 2020.8 However, office space doesn’t necessarily have to go downtown. The notion that it must, demonstrates how horribly the current plan is captive to the past. The WTC was the brainchild of David Rockefeller, as a downtown home for Chase Manhattan Bank, and an incubator for an ailing downtown.9 By mid-century, the once indomitable downtown Manhattan financial sector was losing out to Midtown’s modernist Miesian towers. Ironically, Rockefeller’s family, and their Rockefeller Center, aided the downtown abandonment. As Rockefeller transferred control to the PA, only downtown locations were ever considered for the WTC.

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Keeping with the Program...[continued]

Rather than concentrating on downtown, Sorkin advocates dispersing investment throughout New York City. He fails, though, to include regional investment, particularly in New Jersey. After 9/11, New Jersey (in PA jurisdiction) quickly housed a suddenly terrified downtown workforce. Lewis Mumford, a regional thinker, was always quick to criticize New York’s skyscraper support by proposing to “lessen the congestion in lower Manhattan by recentralizing the metropolitan business districts.”10 For instance, Mumford would

“crowded bazaar for cut-rate gadgetry that was one of Manhattan’s most vibrant shopping areas.”12 The reintegration represents a victory for Jane Jacobs-style urbanism over the Le Corbusian super-block. Regarding the style emulated by the WTC, Jacobs writes, “no matter how vulgarized the design, how dreary and useless the open space, how dull the close-up view, an imitation of Le Corbusier shouts ‘Look what I made!’ Like a great, visible ego it tells of someone’s achievement.”13 How can diverse interests wrench the power away from the

fight over London’s Docklands.

Docklands and the WTC site feature some rather uncanny parallels. Both were/are considered their country’s greatest development opportunity, were/ are situated on quasi-public land, were once celebrated international ports, which floundered with containerization, and were/ are essentially planned during economic downturns.16 Docklands was meant to be the beginning of a radical new grassroots approach to planning. Militant community groups got involved in an attempt to preserve the East End

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How can diverse interests wrench the power away from the great visible egos? What are the limits imposed on these interests, and what are the possibilities for them? As urban history demonstrates, the only way for the public to accomplish planning goals is to interfere in the market or threaten bourgeois complacency. <

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probably advocate situating a business district in the vicinity of the PA’s George Washington Bridge, in an attempt to ease congestion downtown.11 Driving around New York, one is confounded by the fact that areas like Harlem, with the Triborough Bridge and MetroNorth access, or Washington Heights never became vibrant central business districts.

Uptown bridges became funnels for downtown locales rather than perpetuating largescale commercial development at their on and off ramps.

The only aspect of the current WTC plan unworthy of a Bronx cheer is the reintegration of Greenwich and Fulton Streets into the street grid. In this way, the new site echoes the past preWTC, when it was Radio Row. Radio Row was, ironically, a Middle Eastern neighborhood of generic tenements, and a

great visible egos? What are the limits imposed on these interests, and what are the possibilities for them? As urban history demonstrates, the only way for the public to accomplish planning goals is to interfere in the market or threaten bourgeois complacency. In 19th-century England, market fundamentalism failed to provide necessary sanitation, living wages, or suitable housing conditions without intervention and regulation by the state.14 Planning was born. For Elliott Sclar and Tony Schuman, planning “is the process of superseding the market forces in creating the built environment.” Effective planners “must be public authorities with the political will to exercise the necessary restraint on the private market.”15 A relevant precedent to the WTC fight—though certainly lacking the exceedingly high level of emotion—was the

character through the London Docklands Strategic Plan of 1976. When Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government came to power she placed Michael Heseltine in charge of the plan. As Heseltine saw it, “Everyone was involved. No one was in charge.”17 Heseltine explicitly bypassed progressive planning, and instituted Americanized “leverage planning.” Diverse interests were squashed. Thatcher and privatization won.18 Like the original WTC, the overbuilt, underplanned Docklands struggled in a poor real estate market. Susan Fainstein says the Docklands failure, “indicates the limits on turning to the private sector for achieving public ends.”19 As planners working in the public sector and in the public interest, we possess an ability lacking in the private sector: the ability to plan comprehen-

b ri a n t oc ht er man

sively.20 As planners we can choose to lead, à la Heseltine, or we can encourage pluralism.

With such emotional connection, and numerous diverse interests vying for control over the WTC site, pluralism is the only answer. In his “Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning,” Paul Davidoff argues that planners should act as advocates of diverse interests, much like a lawyer advises a client.

Davidoff pleads for an effective urban democracy in which all interests are represented, all are heard, and all present alternative plans.21 Davidoff’s rationale can be appropriately applied to the current situation downtown.

Currently, only the LMDC (and the folks who want an exact replica) have publicly proposed plans for the site. Though the LMDC’s competition was partially democratic, it didn’t represent the ideas of the other affected interests. It now appears that Silverstein has commandeered the LMDC’s proposal by installing his own architect, the corporate David Childs, to

partner with Libeskind. Even Gov. Pataki has endorsed this change—weighing heavy on his mind is the Republican National Convention groundbreaking (read: photo-op).22 Ideally, under the guide of advocate planners, the other interests would be presenting their own plans. With bold alternative plans, the other interests could wrangle necessary public support. The problem is that many of these interests— the public, the victims’ families, etc.—lack the financial support to develop alternative plans.

According to Davidoff, government and foundation money should be sought and made available for such an enterprise.

With proper governmental support the possibilities for downtown are endless. At one point, Mayor Bloomberg offered the PA airport land ownership in exchange for City ownership of the WTC site. Though the PA didn’t bite, Bloomberg should remain headstrong. Silverstein should receive incentives to invest elsewhere (does he truly believe

people will work in another target?). After 9/11, New York City issued incentives to rent and buy downtown real estate; why can’t Silverstein be enticed out with similar inducements? Finally, the other interests should develop their own plans and present them to the public. New plans will encourage dialogue − something that was crucially missing immediately after 9/11. In the LMDC’s recent memorial competition, the victims’ families lobby was successful in restricting entries through an absurd amount of guidelines. The results are abominations of public space, and public pressure will likely result in reworking. Rather than stunt creativity, the families lobby, as well as other interests, should be able to fund their own memorial designs. Of course, this will only happen if planners “bark.”23 Particularly, in this case we, as planners representing the public, should be interrupting the market rather than allowing the market to regulate and restrict us.

FOOTNOTES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mumford, L. The Case Against “Modern Architecture”. Architecture As A Home For Man. Johnson, D. A. Regional Planning for the Great American Metropolis. Two Centuries of American Planning. D. Schaeffer. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.

Lipton, J. G. a. E. (2002). The Height of Ambition. The New York Times Magazine: 32-44, 59-63.

12 13

Hall, P. (2002). Cities of Tomorrow, Blackwell Publishing.

Traub, J. (2003). Public Building. The New York Times Magazine: 17-18.

Sorkin, M. (2002). The Center Cannot Hold. The City Reader. R. T. L. a. F. Stout. New York, Routledge: 390-395.

Lipton and Glanz. The Height of Ambition.

10 11

Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cites. New York, Vintage Books.

14

15

Ibid.

Ibid., 38

Lipton and Glanz. The Height of Ambition.

16 17 18 19 20

Johnson, D. A. Regional Planning for the Great American Metropolis. Two Centuries of American Planning. D. Schaeffer. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.

21

Mumford, L. (1932). The Plan For New York. Planning the Fourth Migration: The Neglected Vision of the Regional Planning Association of America. C. Sussman. Cambridge, Mass, The MIT Press.

22 23

Hall. Cities of Tomorrow.

Schuman, E. S. a. T. (1996). The Impact of Ideology on American Town Planning. Planning the Twentieth-Century American City. M. C. S. a. C. Silver. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.

Hall. Cities of Tomorrow. 389-392 Ibid.,392 Ibid., 393 Ibid., 398 Sclar and Schuman. The Impact of Ideology on American Town Planning.

Davidoff, P. (1965). Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning. The City Reader. R. T. L. a. F. Stout.

New York, Routledge: 423-433.

Traub. Public Building.

From Peter Marcuse in a recent panel on the World Trade Center reconstruction.

29

Conservation of Cultural and Natural Resources in the Developing World’s Urban Centers

30

This paper is part of proposal prepared for CUBES’s (Columbia University and UNESCO’s joint program on Biosphere reserves) Urban Biodiversity Group (UBG).1 UBG derives its conceptual framework from that of “Biosphere Reserves” and its purpose is to examine the ecological footprint of cities around the world and manage the relationship between built and natural environments through conflict mediation, education, and awareness. UBG has been working with ten cities around the world on different aspects of conserving urban biodiversity.

The world’s population continues to increase, with 96 percent of this growth in developing countries (UNFPA, 1991:3). In the second half of the twentieth century, there has been rapid growth of very large cities with population over 10 million, popularly known as ‘Mega Cities.’2 In developing countries, the number of cities with over 1 million people increased six-fold between 1950 and 1995 (IDNDR, 1996; U.N.1999). With an urbanization rate of 3.8% per annum, cities in the developing world house nearly two-thirds of the world’s urban population.3 Both rural-urban migration and natural increase account for this sudden rise.

These development patterns can be explained in part as the result of modernization, which has led to mobility of labor from rural areas to newly industrialized centers seeking better economic opportunities (Berliner, Springler and Myers, 1977). Also, the pressing debts of international aid agencies (mostly a result from recovery policies) affect the priorities of national governments. These governments’ economic priorities often lead to unequal distribution of resources among urban and rural areas (Lipton 1977).

Increased urban population is accompanied by more need for transportation and its related problems, more waste to deal with, worse living conditions for the poor, and more need for basic services. Higher levels of technology in manufacturing mean fewer jobs for unskilled labor and worse economic conditions for the poor.

Large cities in the developing world suffer the most because of sheer size. Processes of industrialization and rapid urbanization have disproportionately impacted old living cities with rich cultural and natural resources. Disruption of ecological corridors due to encroachment and development of land has resulted in an ecological imbalance and loss of fragile biodiversity.

Although certain species adapt themselves to urban environments, they are often

victims of increased human-animal conflict.

Additionally, valuable cultural resources are also threatened. The accelerated pace of urbanization in the absence of adequate urban growth management strategies has resulted in the destruction of a number of ecologically fragile natural environments and cultural heritage sites.

Under these conditions, any attempt towards conservation of urban biodiversity and cultural property seems bleak. But no action will result in even greater problems. I present here a case study, using the city of Delhi, for conservation of urban cultural and biodiversity through the use of heritage sites.

BACKGROUND AND ISSUES Delhi’s population grew from 4 million in 1950 to 15 million in 2001. This massive urban transition has placed enormous strains on natural and cultural resources of the region, leading to severe environmental degradation. The natural biota of Delhi’s forest (in the Ridge River wetlands and Asola Wildlife Sanctuary) has been disrupted by urban development and growth, resulting in loss of various species of flora and fauna. Those species that survive this problem have adapted

Map Credits: Prabhjot Sugga (left), Delhi Development Authority (right)

pr abhjot sugga themselves to the urban environment but remain the rich Indo-Gangetic plains for over 2000 years. at the center of the human-animal conflict. Also Present-day Delhi is comprised of various histhreatened are the rich, old cultural and heritage torical layers in the form of over 1000 monuments sites, whose number has been reduced by one- (1500 monuments in 1947) that co-exist with the third since the country modern city. Massive Part of the problem lies in the very urban expansion has achieved its independence in 1947. resulted in the loss of nature of conservation, as it disallows The Himalayan cultural heritage sites. the use of the heritage sites. influence on the one Those that survive are hand and that of the desert on the other explains in a dilapidated condition due to lack of policy the diversity of birds and fish in Delhi. Since implementation and of proper enforcement. Part 1926, the city has progressively lost its green of the problem lies in the very nature of conservacover (presently it is only 88 square kilometers tion, as it disallows the use of the heritage sites. in the city’s total area of 1483 square kilome- Under these circumstances, the most viable use ters) due to construction activities, settlements, of the heritage sites4 can be sheltering the urban garbage dumps, fuel extraction, grazing live- biodiversity. stock, and mining, resulting in loss of biodiversity. Furthermore, planting of fast-growing A PROPOSAL FOR CONSERVATION exotic species has changed the character of Certain heritage sites5 can be used as an alternative the biodiversity. The Ridge River ecology, that to the habitat of urban biodiversity. This conservahas been supporting a vast variety of fauna and tion strategy uses the tools of education and awareflora, including leopards, wolves, deer, ante- ness, and emphasizes an increased role of local lopes, jackals, and hog deer, has vanished over communities in the conservation process. Central to time due to the destruction of ecological corri- this strategy is the reduction of the human-animal dors. However, migratory birds (approximately conflict through increasing awareness, compassion 400 species) make the city their home for a and tolerance towards urban forests as well as world short period. Also, Ridge serves as the “Lung heritage sites and their impact upon biodiversity, of the City,” cleaning the air pollution resulting natural ecology and cultural resources of the city. from high vehicular traffic. Hence, there are still Greater local autonomy in management and conmany biodiversity features to be preserved for servation of heritage sites and natural areas and future generations. networking between government agencies, NGOs, Delhi’s cultural diversity is explained by its grassroots organizations and local communities are existence as a capital city and as a gateway to necessary parts of this approach.

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FOOTNOTES 1

http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cubes/ http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cubes/groups/ urbanbio.html

2

The United Nations predicts that by 2010 there will be 511 metropolises exceeding one million inhabitants and for the first time, more than 50 percent of the world’s population will dwell in cities (Barclay Jones, 1991:5). According to UN, The number of mega cities will increase from 19 in year 2000 to 23 by 2015.

3

Gugler, I., “Cities in the Developing World,” page xiv

4

World Heritage Sites in Delhi: The city has two world heritage sites: The Humayun’s Tomb and The Qutb Minar Complex. The latter is proposed as pilot site for model implementation. The Qutab Minar, though known primarily for the tower, there are quite a few other things in the area. A few tombs, a madrassa, the famous iron pillar, and Alai Minar to name a few. The present buildings are contained within a large, partially ruined, rectangular enclosure approximately 225 by 125 m. The enclosure is a multi-period complex containing three major phases of Islamic building, the earliest of which is dated to between 1193 and 1198. 5

5

http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/doc/mainf3.htm

31

The Object of Their Affection [ A Selection of Second-Year Thesis Topics ]

R ic hard F. B erger

Je s s i ca Gu i lfo y

The goal of my thesis is to identify trends in the purpose of statewide planning laws from the first in 1961 to the present. These laws, often called growth management acts, are characterized by state governments assuming planning power that is usually reserved for local governments. To do this research I depend on the goals that are listed as part of the majority of these laws. I will examine these goals over time to determine how the goals have changed. This should show how the rationale for this important group of planning laws has evolved.

My thesis aims to understand economic development through the comprehensive approach that incorporates three vital components. I hypothesize that local economic development initiatives are successful when they leverage the people, the political, and the economic strengths of a city. I seek to demonstrate successful initiatives that utilize these strengths in a city to produce economic development and opportunity that account for and integrate changes in industry and technology over the past decades. New Bedford, Massachusetts is a microcosm of the current economic realities port cities are confronting. Port cities are exploring new ways of integrating technology and diverse waterfront uses, while supporting and sustaining their fishing and industrial base. The case study of New Bedford, Massachusetts uncovers a port city working from its strengths in a mixed-model approach to local economic development.

A aron D onovan I’m studying the postwar economic development of Stamford and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Stamford cleared 1,100 families and 400 businesses from 50 acres of prime downtown land in 1960.

Fifteen years later, the city had undergone what The New York Times called “the most sweeping redevelopment of any small American city.” It had become a corporate office center equaling or surpassing some much larger, well-established cities like Boston and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Bridgeport, some 20 miles to the east along the same transportation axes, did not fare nearly so well. It suffered a similar decline in manufacturing as Stamford but without the white-collar office boom. A number of redevelopment initiatives were proposed and in some cases partially carried out, but they failed to attract the same level of large-scale private investment.

Why?

J oel Ferree

32

“We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it,” wrote Oscar Wilde. “The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.” Lately, art has become a popular tool for economic development. Cites ranging from Barcelona to Milwaukee, Bilbao to North Adams (Massachusetts) have placed their bets on a cargo-cult strategy of arts-based redevelopment. There is a risky “if you build (or rebuild) it they will come” mentality to this approach. Although it is an attractor of wealth, art in itself does little to generate revenue.

What is more is the question of inclusion. Even when municipalities effectively use art to spin off revenue-generating enterprises, the problem of sharing the benefits lingers. Acknowledging this problem is tricky. Values of aesthetics are difficult to quantify. In this ambiguity liesa great deal of art’s power and appeal as well as its shortcoming as an equitable tool for redevelopment. Such characteristics can be used to dominate a political discourse. Not only does art overshadow the less-glamorous issues of equity and social justice, it also proves to be a slippery concept when measured against them.

Y u n Hu a n g My subject is Urban Greenways as an integral part of a city’s “green infrastructure,” together with other parks and available natural areas. They are especially valuable as connectors of otherwise isolated green spaces and as urban corridors for preserving wildlife and encouraging human movements. A greenway is one particular strategy used to bring nature back into the city and is a step forward in breaking down the dichotomy of city and nature. Although the benefits of greenways are somewhat well understood, less is found in current literature addressing the practical planning and implementation obstacles, a large part of which involves land use issues. Given the enormous benefits of greenways, why and what are the forces and factors working for or against the implementation of urban greenways? My particular research is directed at how land-use issues, such as ownership and regulations, facilitate or thwart the implementation of urban greenways. Our discussion would be based in New York City, and in particular, exploring the topic within two case studies—Staten Island North Shore Greenway and the Williamsburg-Greenpoint Greenway.

E m i ly Ka rp e l Mobility and travel can be a challenge as a person ages. Studies show that mobility and independence are related to good health and successful aging. For many, due to a lack of accessible public transportation in their communities, personal automobiles are their only accessible form of transportation. However, driving can be difficult and dangerous for people over the age of seventy. When a person living in a suburban or exurban area loses the ability to drive, they may likely lose their independence, and be susceptible to depression and poor health. I am interested in learning how one’s perceived future transportation needs influence the housing

choices of the elderly. In particular, I am trying to determine if and how the elderly are considering their future transportation needs when shopping for an independent living community. To determine this, I am holding focus groups at six different independent living communities in three different environs (Urban, Suburban, Exurban). The goal of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of how the elderly perceive their transportation needs in order to effectively plan for future infrastructure in preparation for the rapidly increasing older population.

J ul i ette D el lecker Michaelson I am interested in how transportation affects real estate values and land use, especially in the context of smart growth. My thesis is a quantitative study of the change in real estate values along NJ Transit’s Morristown Branch in the last 10 years. In 1996, a new train service was inaugurated on the Morristown line: thanks to “Midtown Direct,” trains that used to go to Hoboken (at which point commuters had to take the PATH into Manhattan) were rerouted to head directly into Penn Station. Thus, from one day to the next, all the suburbs along the Morristown line found themselves 20 minutes closer to New York City, and real estate values quickly soared. My thesis aims to measure that increase, and to study whether it took place mainly within walking distance (a halfmile) or driving distance (5 miles) of the train stations. If I find that the increase was greater within walking distance, then that could give a stronger economic basis to the movement to build transitoriented development around train stations.

S eth M yers

in our global city, not just immigrants are consuming ethnic foods.

Growth in food manufacturing can provide low skill jobs for the city’s large immigrant community, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities for immigrants. However, economic development potential is not the only relationship between growth in ethnic food manufacturing and ethnic communities. Traditionally, ethnic food businesses are small-sized, family-owned enterprises that have an important economic and cultural role within ethnic communities.

In order for such a business to grow it needs to break out of the ethnic enclave, which can result in change of location, finance, ethnicity of workers, and even production methods and products.

My research is looking at ethnic food manufacturers from the Russian and Middle Eastern communities in the city, trying to describe the growth-related changes and its planning implications.

M e li s s a Ne u m a n My thesis explores the role of health in urban planning through the case of Johannesburg, South Africa. A survey of the literature on public health, urban planning and policy, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS and planning, has identified interrelationships between planning and health and suggested strategies for integrating health concerns into urban planning. A content analysis of recent city-wide and regional plans for Johannesburg, South Africa, has shown that, while health is mentioned as a concern by Johannesburg’s planners, the relationship between planning and health is neither as complex nor as deep as the relationship described in the literature. The conclusion will attempt to explain the mismatch between literature and practice in this case and to suggest ways of integrating health more closely into planning practice.

I am looking at location decisions affecting New York City’s apparel manufacturing firms. There is a generally accepted notion that clothing manufacturers in New York are going out of business not only because of foreign competition, but high real estate prices. The manufacturers seem to cluster together in “high rent” areas where they can have access to designers. I want to investigate if when rents go up in a certain area, do the number of firms there decrease. Do firms decrease more slowly in lower rent areas than they do in higher rent areas? I believe this is an important issue for the city of New York; we must begin considering ways to diversify our economy and preserve our status as an international fashion innovator.

Water, water, water. The focus of my thesis is on the political, social, and legislative processes of watershed protection on the ground level. More specifically, I am exploring the intersection of local governance structures and watershed protection efforts in small towns in the Croton Watershed. My ultimate goal is to find out what is working, what is not, and think about new approaches to finding the balance between the conservation of our water supply, regionalism in environmental protection, and continuing economic development.

G uri N adler

E lo i s e Pa u l

Unlike most manufacturing industries in New York City, the food production industry is not declining. In fact, food manufacturing, especially that of ethnic foods, has a real economic growth potential that is acknowledged by the city. In our global age, and

Long Island City, Queens in New York City is in the midst of a transformation that will forever alter the land use, economic structure and demographic makeup of this once industrial hub. As in many post-industrial American urban areas, Long Island City’s

Si o b h a n O’Ka n e

33

Theses... [ Continued ]

Parking is considered the “poor stepchild” of transportation planning. Billions of dollars have been spent to build roadways, bridges and tunnels, under the assumption that parking would take care of itself. The curbside has been given over to storage of automobiles, with minimal research of how to best use this high traffic portion of the city. My thesis will look into ways to improve the current parking situation through congestion pricing, leading to higher curbside pricing. Raising the price for curbside parking should improve the service to drivers, by proving an incentive for other drivers to store their car elsewhere, while simultaneously raising significant dollars for municipalities.

D avi d H . R ech t

Ju li e To u b e r

We live in an age of increased water consumption, and of ever decreasing supply. Over the next fifty years, many parts of the world will encounter water shortages. Water will need to be conserved, utilized, and distributed in the most efficient manner possible. One way in which water will be more efficiently harvested is through the use of storm water for irrigation and industrial processes. This requires that rain not become polluted when it runs through urban streets, compromised of oils and other automobile-related waste.

As a result, cities will spend increasing amounts of money on filtering and treating storm water after it has run through streets and parking lots, but before it is released into natural streams and waterways. My thesis, “The Price Tag for Clean Urban Rivers,” seeks to predict and justify the future economic trend of increased financing for storm water treatment, based on the above rationale.

Today, Sana’a is a large developing city that shows neither sanitation crisis nor major sewerage problems. With the renovation of the buildings, the old city is becoming a perfect charming tourists’ spot; even if some congestion appears at lunch hours, roads are efficient and well-maintained. The recent expansions of the city are spontaneous but follow generally the patterns of the roads. With an annual urban growth rate of 10% during the nineties, it is almost surprising to find that the place is not facing more challenges. After the reunification of the North Yemen and South Yemen, Sana’a, as opposed to Aden on the coastline, became the capital. This political decision brought particular attention on Sana’a, with its development mainly based on the concentration of the centralized administration.

Can it be said that planning policy changed something within the development of Sana’a—did it shape the actual city? If so, what types of policies/plans have been used? Moreover, what is the sustainability of a “conducted urban boom” for a city developed through political will at more than 7,500 feet altitude, in the middle of a desert, with severe water problems and no economic development opportunities due to its geographical situation?

Doesn’t it show the limit of urban planning with concern to regional planning?

S hannon R obe rts I seek to explore the migration and residential patterns of urban Indians throughout the twentieth century, in an attempt to understand what forces led to and shaped this massive urbanization of Native peoples over a 100-year period. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, over 75 percent of Native Americans live in urban areas as opposed to less than one percent in 1900. However, Native Americans do not conform to the conventional patterns of urban ethnic groups, clustering in ethnic enclaves.

It is the contention in this thesis to show how government sponsored programs whose aim it was to assimilate Native Americans into urban areas is one of the reasons for both the residential spatial patterning in urban areas and the irregular patterns of migration.

And how this, coupled with tribal identifications among Native populations, has led to the dispersed residential pattern of Native Americans in cities.

34

Ga ry Ro th

former identity as a manufacturing and production center has been altered, and the new Long Island City is, in many ways, representative of the new economy. While some manufacturing uses still thrive and continue to vie for affordable space, the role of arts and culture has become an integral part of the local economy and landscape. The relationship between these two sectors, arts and industry, is evolving, is in flux, and is shaping Long Island City’s future identity. In the meantime, the City of New York has also pinpointed Long Island City as an area with excellent growth potential, and has slated it as the next CBD. I will analyze the confluence of these interwoven plans, trends and interests in the new Long Island City, and offer suggestions to ensure sustainable growth.

What’s in a Name?

jessic a neil an

The following is a test to see how well you know your fellow first-year planning students.

Answers may be FIRST or LAST names.

ACROSS 2. a surprise at the bottom of every bag 3. reinventing dickens one christmas house at a time 9. label shopper 10. wouldn’t want to challenge her to a karaoke contest 11. t-man 12. pops tall, friendly architect 14. canadian-born preservationist 15. soooo vermont 17. not so ‘minnesota nice’ 18. u.p.’s connection to the business school 19. capable young woman 21. former middle-school teacher newby

DOWN

22. lawyer from mexico city

1. it’s all about the love, man

16. korean history is in her blood

23. jersey girl

2. a developer among us

17. class diplomat

26. warm up with a hot one of these

3. not that kind of moan

20. wanna see a picture of his girlfriend?

29. soros’ rousse

5. homeless for a spell

33. come to her for housing

6. layz down the beatz

34. last name could be one’s first

7. husband probably sleepless in seattle

36. strawberry _____ forever

8. ballerina watcher

30. the worker bee

37. newly engaged

13. has the sweetest name

31. violinist from seattle

38. rocks a djellaba

14. everyone’s favorite dining companion

32. bodily functions. tmi

39. johnny cash’s voice double

4. the san fransisco treat

24. dude, where’s my park?

25. waffles are in his ancestry 27. 3 a.m. studio. he’ll be there 28. good day ___________

35. berkeley babe

35

Goodbye, Columbia... david h. recht How time does fly. We, the second year planners, Columbia’s Urban Planning graduates of 2004, came to New York from every corner of the globe just twenty-one months ago. We came from different backgrounds, but shared a common passion: an interest in urban life, and in the problems and opportunities derived from such life.

By the time these thoughts go to press, we will have Museum of Art. I had a similar quest: to see every piece of art defended our theses, and will be idly passing the days until in every chamber of the Met. I took a floor plan, and marked graduation. While I don’t know for sure, I suspect that those my initials and the date on the map for the room that I had few days, from around April 20th to May 19th, will be very absorbed on that particular date. The semester came and went, precious. Times of transition always do seem to be fun. and before I knew it, I had made seventeen visits to the Met, For me (and I suspect for others, particularly for those of averaging a little over two hours per visit. While I had indeed us leaving for other parts of the world), the immense weight covered vast swaths of the museum’s galleries, there was more of New York City adds to the sentiment. The feelings started —so much more—to be seen. My plan was to step up my pace sometime last summer. I went back to Dallas, and undertook over the winter break, but the bitterly cold New York weather the minimum amount of responsibility possible. I mowed led me to snowbird in Texas for a couple of weeks. lawns with my neighbor. I mowed just enough lawns to While in Texas, I had a chance to think. Over time, I came permit me to eat, and to buy a twelve-pack of Budweiser to realize a couple of things about New York. By necessity, longneck bottles on Friday afternoons. I had a great time. In my explorations in New York would have to extend past our the evenings, I watched my beloved Houston Astros on TV, graduation date. This would, in turn, give me a good excuse and my neighbor and I talked about our aspirations to grow to return to New York, and to see my friends. I breathed a from a mowing service into a landscaping, drainage, and sigh of relief, and prepared myself for my last semester at construction company.

Columbia.

As the summer aged, The spring semester Even worse, a sense of finality (while ever so slight) the days started to get a began to set in. There were nine months left until has moved at a quick little shorter, and I felt pace. Springtime is my graduation. Nine months left until the next phase favorite time of year. a longing from within. of life. So much was yet to be done.

I missed my friends.

The weather is warmer, I missed New York. my mood more carefree, Even worse, a sense of finality (while ever so slight) began and baseball season starts afresh. This will be an exciting to set in. There were nine months left until graduation. Nine year because, during the offseason, native Houstonians (and months left until the next phase of life. So much was yet to future Hall-of-Famers) Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens left be done. There was so much left to see in New York, and so the New York Yankees to return to their hometown, presummuch more time that needed to be spent with my friends. ably to lead the Houston Astros to their first World Series I returned to New York on Friday, August 29th. Jeff picked me Championship. Yes, now that baseball season is here, graduup from the airport, and we went to a late dinner. It was good to ation can’t be far behind. be back. There wasn’t much time to get settled, however, as the And so it comes down to this. We have received an eduU.S. Open was underway across town at Flushing Meadows, cation—the best that money can buy. There are two things, and I wanted to be there. Thus began one of the most exciting though, that we will take from Columbia’s hallowed halls, periods of my life so far, as I tried to cram a lifetime’s worth of which no amount of money can acquire. The first thing we New York City activities into a nine-month period. will take is two years of fond memories of graduate student I have particularly fond memories of autumn Wednesday life in New York City. The second thing we will take is a afternoons in midtown. My class schedule was empty on number of precious friendships with sincere, good people, Wednesdays, and I used the time to take in Broadway mati- who earnestly seek a better life for themselves and the nees at cheap student rates. I saw Ashley Judd in Tennessee world around them.

Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. One week I saw Mel Brooks’ Goodbye, Columbia. We certainly will miss you, and will The Producers. The list goes on and on. It was originally my shed a tear or two in your name on May 19, on the steps of goal to see every Broadway production, but soon I realized Low Library, under the watchful eye of Alma Mater. But that there was no way to keep up. I did my best, but one show we will never, ever, forget the time that we spent here, and per week in a semester amounted to seventeen shows, which the lessons we learned, inside the classroom and from each is less than half of Broadway’s offerings at any given time. other. And we will never forget each other. To our dying I dedicated Friday afternoons in the fall to the Metropolitan day, we will remember. Farewell.

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