Urban Planning and Economic Development July 2012

July 2012

URBAN PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS MAGAZINE

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development

Renewal strategies and urban development The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans initiative VOL 3

Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

A Global Publication

A Global Publication

In Association with Urban Planning and Economic Development Associates Our Vision is to share a full range of interdisciplinary professional knowledge with community leaders, professional planners, businesses and interested citizens having a commitment to operational excellence in the public and private sectors. Contributions from our constituency will assist in facilitating sound decisions in community and economic development to promote continued commitments in creating quality places to live, work and play.

Our goal is to provide educational information and services in urban planning and environmental conservation to an interconnected global community that will both enable individuals and communities to adapt to new holistic techniques and solutions to resolve existing and future urban and environmental issues and foster economic and sustainable development.

General Manager/Publisher Pamela Shinn, B.S. URP

Editor in Chief

David Weinstock, Ph.D

Assistant Editor David Loomis

European Consultant Andrey Maltsev

Cover Photo, ‘Off-ramp to Hemel’ contributed by Derek Bissett of Buckinghamshire, England.

To see more of Derek’s work go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeeb/ or contact him on derekbissett@btinternet.com

© July 2012

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“Partnering for a Brighter Tomorrow” FEATURE ARTICLES: 4

Scenic Byways,

An Economic Development Tool

Photo by Guillermo Tella

By Tracy Mullins AICP

Economy Focus of Economic Development for Upstate New York Needs to Change

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MDS People Supporting People

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Next Energy

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Redevelopment

By Michael V. Franchell, Mel E. Ross, Harvey Price

By Sheri LaPlante

Millions of Dollars Saved by City as Result of Fleet & Fuels Task Force

By Kelly Jezierski

Transportation Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative

Renewal Strategies and Urban Development

The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

By Guillermo Tella, Ph.D.

Public Policy The Building Eye Buildingeye.com

By Ciaran Gilsenan

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Credits

Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

By Solenne Cucchi, Msc

Two Under-developed Transportation Systems

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35

42

Photo Credits

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Water and rail transport in the Netherlands

By Andrey Maltsev

Local travel and interaction

20

Wildfire Season and the Wildland-Urban Interface

38

By Daniel Scharf

Photo by Pamela Sinn

Urban Scape

Fire mitigation and management for a defendable space

By Pamela Shinn, BS URP

Millennium Park, Chicago

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Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP focused businesses helps to generate economic impacts for the communities along and adjacent to scenic byways. Leisure travel in the form of a “road trip” is engrained in the U.S. mindset and represents the ability to move from point to point in your very own car-branded identity. This accounts for thousands of automotive “shine and show” festivals and events across the country. Whether it is a cross country trip along Route 66 or crusing Highway 1 to Key West, scenic byways have become an integral part of the American vacationscape. In addition, the iconic images of rural landscapes, America’s farms and ranches, historic sites and small towns, national parks and seashores are powerful motivators for international travelers in search of a memorable American experience.

To understand this phenomenon and other aspects of what he calls Deep Travel, author Tony Hiss explores in depth “how our environment’s modes of travel and other aspects of American landscape affect our lives” in his book In Motion, the Experience of Travel (2012).

Scenic Byways, an Economic Development Tool

As far back as 1995, the World Tourism Organization estimated that tourism accounts for up to 10% of global gross domestic product, making tourism the world’s biggest industry. For economic developers, it is therefore important to smooth the progress of local community access to the tourism market (comprising tourists and the tourism industry locally) in order to maximize linkages to the tourism markets and minimize leakages.

Photo by Pamela Sinn

Since the mass production of the automobile, pleasure driving has become engrained in the American psyche. According to the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, 58.6 % of US population participated in driving for pleasure in the years 2003 -2005, and much of this traffic has been on Scenic Byways. Individual State Departments of Transportation have the challenge of designing and redeveloping highways and byways that incorporate community values and are safe, efficient, effective mechanisms for the movement of people and goods. The Scenic Byways program can be viewed as an attempt to align people with local economies and function as a single unit with its own sense of place.

Tourists and travelers prefer natural viewscapes and uninterrupted vistas, agricultural landscapes and well maintained structures over excessive billboards, junkyards and dilapidated buildings.

Driving on Scenic Byways provides tourists and residents with opportunities to learn about local heritage while experiencing firsthand the area’s scenic resources. For the economic development professional, the enhancement of local capacity for tour Photo by Adam Prince

Visitor experiences along scenic drives speak to the relationship between transportation and driving for pleasure. The mode of travel is an integral part of a trip and often the travel experience (sailing, canoeing, bicycling and sometimes driving) is more important than arrival at the final destination. Therefore roadway design, the historic significance of the route, and active interactions between people and landscapes are part of the unique attributes of a Scenic Byways travel experience.

This was not always the case. In the 18th and 19th centuries, American road travel was far too hard for anyone to enjoy.

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Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP

Photo by Ellen Jo Roberts

Horse-drawn coach travel over the primitive road system was something to be tolerated, not enjoyed.

Railway trains were a vast improvement over horsedrawn technology and sightseeing from the relative comfort of a railway coach became widespread, especially after tourism companies started to promote sightseeing as a leisure activity. As America moved into the early 20th Century, the promotion of gasoline driven vehicles and the development of good road networks were based on the commercial transportation of goods, the movement of people to a destination, as well as the pleasures of sightseeing. In many ways, the advocates of automotive sightseeing built upon the railroad promotions of the time. In a very short time, small businesses sprang up along the roadside to service vehicular traffic; diners, gasoline stations and roadside attractions opened around the country.

Americans started their love affair with the automobile, rejecting the notion that travel is nothing more than a “disutility”, an activity people undertake only when required to, and embracing the Sunday afternoon drive for families and eventually the Friday night cruise for teens. The pleasure trip flies in the face of travel as a “derived demand” (a means of accessing desired activities in other locations), which became one of the tenets of transportation engineering.

The parkway is a highway which, like a park, is free of commercial traffic. Its restricted access enhances enjoyment of the surrounding scenery. National parks were developed in such a fashion, with engineers having to build roads within the constraints of the setting to maintain a scenic experience. Details of Olmsted’s influence on roadways, railways and national parks can be found at www.fredricklawolmsted.com.

Photo by Pamela Sinn

The interstate system was planned and built during the 1940s and early 1950s to support economic development, improve highway safety, and serve national defense needs. Supporters of the interstate highway system also cited the recreational value of the interstate system, with tourist’s interests favoring its construction. As engineers began to work and the system of interstate highways began to grow and interconnect, observers criticize their dedication to function and a lack of aesthetic elements, as well as the damage to the environment. With efficiency in mind, transportation engineers modeled the end users of highways as part of a mechanical flow diagram indicating the number of passenger car units per hour, thus relegating the highway design criteria to the level of service, a conduit which facilitates the efficient movement of effluent. This sterile design lead to a massive backlash by the public and politicians began to feel the heat. As a result, the administration of President Johnson championed the idea of beautiful highways and federal and state highway agencies began to emphasize the blending of function with natural setting.

Not everyone involved in transportation planning envisioned transportation in the same utilitarian manner. Fredrick Law Olmsted (1822 – 1903), the founder of landscape architecture, launched the “Railway Beautiful” movement which beautified rail stations and right of ways and also influenced the creation of the first parkways in the 1800s.

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Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP and archaeological resources and marketing them based on one or more of these qualities. To get the designation of Historic Byway, a corridor management plan must be developed with community involvement to spell out a strategy for how State and local entities will maintain and enhance the Scenic Byways important features. In developing a Scenic Byway facility, careful thought must be made to create the “traveled-through experience”, which is the effect that travel and the structures built to support that travel will have either on the landscape or local community.

It was not until the 1960s that a coordinated national scenic program effort began to evolve because driving for pleasure had become one of America’s most popular outdoor recreation pursuits and the interstate system made trip planning easy. An increasing number of families owned automobiles and possessed the leisure time, income and desire to see America’s natural scenic beauty. Substantial economic benefits generated by tourism and sightseeing were made possible by attractive roads and parkways. However, there was a gap between those promoting travel and tourism and those who live in rural areas. Rural lands were often under the control of government agencies, private firms and local citizens who were not involved in tourism but with mining, forestry and agriculture; the interests of small towns and rural dwellers were focused on these activities. It was rare for rural regions to create the needed land use and zoning legislation, land use plans, or to direct planning officials to prevent the negative impacts and costs of unplanned tourism. Virtually all of the negative impacts of tourism can be avoided when communities take the initiative in planning tourism growth in directions suited to the local situation. Economic Developers and Urban Planners who wish to gain some in-depth understanding of planning for tourism are well advised to add Vacationscape: Developing Tourist Areas by Clare Gunn to their bookshelf.

In the 1990’s, Congress funded the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century, also known as TEA21, and included $148 million for Scenic Byways programs and related projects such as the recreation areas affected by designated byways. When the Act was reauthorized in 2005, as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), it included $175 million for Scenic byways.

The National Scenic Byways Program also provided merit based grants for Scenic Byways related projects developed by a State Departments of Transportation for roadway planning, design, and development. In depth information on the program can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/scenichistory.cfm

Economic Issues

What is a Scenic Byway?

The overall economic impact of Scenic Byways programs have been broadly explored and remain complicated due to the twists and turns of economic research into tourism and the quantitative/qualitative methods used to measure tourism impacts. The Internet has dozens of studies on individual Scenic Byways, but much research needs to be done. Economic research has primarily focused on various aspects of tourism impacts, consumer expenditures and economic activity while tourism research focuses on push-pull measures of attraction and aesthetics. What tourists are like and what they prefer as attractions and services represents the demand side of this equation. Communities must view themselves as tourists do, (not an easy task) so they may appropriately plan and develop the supply side of the equation. The supply side consists of attractions, services, information,

The concept of the U.S. Scenic Byway was introduced to Congress in 1989 and passed into legislation in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). ISTEA emphasized the importance of good design that is sensitive to its surrounding environment, especially in historic and scenic areas .

The Federal Highway Administration’s website reveals that the Scenic Byways program provides technical and financial assistance to help preserve America’s scenic roads and promote tourism and economic development. The Federal Highway Administration administers the program and designates Scenic Byways, recognizing them for their inherent natural, scenic, historic, cultural, recreational, 6

Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP

Photo by Pamela Sinn

promotion, and of course transportation. Tourists using Scenic Byways prefer low-cost, roadway accessible activities such as pull-offs that offer recreational opportunities, and they are attracted to small towns and cultural attractions. Travelers have a preference for commercial-free corridors, favoring commercial establishments clustered together in small communities and not sprawled across the viewscape.

Aesthetics research leaves little question that the quality visual environment is a valuable resource.

Throughout history, aesthetically pleasing gardens have been used to aid in the healing process, and psycho-physiological research by Roger Ulrich at Texas A&M Center for Health System and Design reveals that positive reaction to scenery has a sound scientific basis. Viewing natural scenes or elements cultivates stress recovery by evoking positive emotions and reducing stressful thoughts. By undertaking initiatives to improve the appearance of their communities, local officials can not only improve citizens’ quality of life, but also their community’s potential for economic development. Because of this preference, Scenic Byways that connect scenic, natural, and cultural sites with a minimal amount of visual blight are highly desirable amenities. These amenities are of significant importance and are associated to regional economic growth. Rural residents, especially newcomers, identify scenic natural and water-based resources as well as recreational opportunities as significant indicators of local economic performance, such as jobs, income, and property value and a good quality of life.

Senic Hwy US 89 crossing Glenn Canyon Dam neaer Page , Arizona

For those interested in measuring the economic impact of Scenic Highways on tourism, en-route tourists can be grouped into three categories: 1) paid accommodations, 2) unpaid accommodations, and 3) day trippers. People who pay for accommodations generally stay at a hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, resort, rented vacation home, private campground, or RV Park or possibly in a national, state, or County Park and tend to spend the most money.

Unpaid accommodations travelers are broadly classified as “visiting friends and relations” who stay with relatives or in their own vacation homes and are more moderate spenders. Day trippers generally are just passing through and may not spend any money at all.

Tourists and travelers who pass through without stopping and spending are just traffic; thus visitors must be encouraged to stop, leave their vehicles and enjoy the amenities on foot.

Travelers who choose a private vehicle as their mode of transportation are concerned with route characteristics such as directness, safety, congestion, and distance. The choice of using a scenic byway is generally of a secondary importance to travelers in choosing a route on long-distance and duration trips for non-vacation activities like business. Making use of a Scenic Byway is more important to tourists on vacation, who plan to camp rather than stay in hotels and plan a trip well in advance. This is often discussed in transportation/tourism discussions as “tourist” versus “traveler”. Travelers often become tourists as something triggers their need to explore more often than a tourist becomes a traveler, which generally involves an emergency which shortens the leisure experience.

So how do you measure the economic impacts of a Scenic Byway? The economic impact of tourists has three components. These components are direct impacts, indirect and induced impacts, and total impacts. Direct impacts trigger the initial economic activity, the expenditure of funds by the Scenic Byway user. Direct impacts are generally measured by entering them into input – output modeling software such as IMPLAN which can create a localized model to investigate the consequences of projected economic transactions in a defined geographic region. Input- output modeling software traces the flow of goods and services through the local economy and makes it possible to quantify the ripple effects created by new spending in the area.

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Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP These ripples are called the indirect and induced effects. Indirect effects are those effects associated with business-to-business spending such as a restaurant purchasing meat from a wholesaler. Induced effects of those associated with business-to-consumer spending. Total impacts equal direct plus indirect and induced effects. Money spent by a Byway user is new money in the local economy. In other words, these dollars would not have been spent in the area’s economy if it wasn’t for the Scenic Byway.

With infrastructure dollars dwindling and simultaneously more thinly spread, it is more efficient and effective to put those dollars towards existing roads and infrastructure, much of which is in critical need of repair.

Embarking on new road projects spreads resources thinly and passes higher costs to the tax will

Photo by Joseph Babyak

Significant portions of traveler spending are for retail items and on gasoline purchases. Retail and gas purchases should be margined in an impact analysis.

The process of margining involves assigning a dollar value to all the individual components of a retail sale.

When a person makes a retail purchase they pay a price that includes the raw cost of the item, along with a markup for the retailer and a cost for transportation and storage of the product. Typically, the item is not produced locally, so the only portion of the spending that benefits the local economy is the markup to the retailer and perhaps a portion of the transportation and storage expenditure. To make the greatest impact economically on a region requires that goods and services are produced locally and exported through sales to the traveler. To have the greatest impact on the local economy, economic developers who wish to maximize the benefit of the scenic highway designation should encourage local businesses to create local goods and services from local resources and not encourage fran- attract jobs and tax revenue. Policies that emchises who export the profits from the local economy. phasize proper maintenance and relatively minor improvements to existing roads are likely to be more cost effective strategies for economic development than expensive highway projects.

Studies of the economic impacts of highways fol lowed the development of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and 1960s, and many studies on the economic impact of controlled access highways were conducted in the 80s and 90s. Not surprising, the greatest economic impact from rural highway construction comes from the one-time activities associated with the actual construction of the road. Any long-term economic impact tends to be regional in scope and is not sufficient by itself to create long-term increases in economic activities.

Don’t Think Big Many politicians see the creation of new highways as a salvation for their struggling economies as new construction can create short term jobs and temporarily boost the local economy (until the end of construction).

Urban Planners know that proposing a new highway violates “Fix it first”, a key element of Smart Growth.

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Scenic Byways

an Economic Development Tool

by Tracy Mullins AICP The construction of the Interstate Highway System has showed that highway development can produce more costs than benefits to rural communities in those communities are bypassed by new construction. What’s more, the kinds of homogenized aesthetic businesses that do spring up along interstate interchanges – franchise restaurants, franchise hotels, franchise gas stations, and the limbo described by Gertrude Stein as “there is no there there” will likely draw economic activity away from bypassed communities, rather than to them.

Photo by Deerek Bissett

In late January 2012 Rep. John Mica (R), Chairman of the House transportation and infrastructure committee, introduced legislation that would eliminate the national Scenic Byways Program. As pointed out here, the National Scenic Byways have been an integral part in developing and strengthening the economy is of our rural communities. National Scenic Byways are an important international tourism marketing tool. This author believes that abolishment of the successful National Scenic Byways Program would eliminate a prime marketing asset that supports economic development efforts in countless rural communities and regions. Communities across the country have leveraged the National Scenic Byways Program designation to attain funds from other federal, state and local funding resources to make a significant impact on transportation planning, rural tourism development, preserving small town quality of life, and protecting natural resources.

As the economic picture of this country slowly improves, it seems ill-advised to eliminate roads that actually generate major tourism related revenues.

About the Writer Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP attended Lakehead University where he completed simultaneous degrees in Outdoor Recreation, Geography and Tourism Management. After a short time with the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Mullins started his career in consulting.

Working from Ontario, he provided economic development capacity building services to entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations in both Canada and the United States. Notable projects included the fields of tourism, recreation, telecommunications, historic preservation and small business start-up.

Photo by Ellen Jo Roberts

After being awarded a full scholarship from Eastern Michigan University, Tracy graduated with a Master of Science in Geography, major in Urban Planning.

While writing his Master’s thesis, he was retained as a Professor of Geography at the University of Michigan. Mullins subsequently received professional certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners and moved to Florida where he consults in Urban Planning/Design and Sustainable Economic Development. Expertise includes community redevelopment, urban design, tribal planning, tourism development, and professional services business planning.

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By Sheri LaPlante

Mesa Developmental Services on a mission

For over 45 years Mesa Developmental Services has provided assistance and support to individuals and their families in Mesa County (Colorado) who live with the challenges of developmental disabilities.

We are fortunate in our lifetime, to witness a progressive shift in treatment and support for people with disabilities and their families.

Prior to the late 1960s, many children born with developmental disabilities were regarded as conundrums and were institutionalized, and effectively cut off from participating in their communities. Those few who did remain in their homes had very limited resources.

Through the majority of the 20th century, families in Colorado who had a child with developmental disabilities had two choices; stay at home with limited options or be institutionalized and sent to a state-run facility.

Who we are

Who we Serve

MDS serves approximately 720 people from birth through senior citizens with a full continuum of services customized to meet the needs and assist each person in living as independently as possible.

The agency operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day, employing approximately 360 people.

There is no “typical� profile for the children and adults we assist. Therefore, a full spectrum of services for individuals reaches from infants to elderly and from those who require around-the-clock services, to those who many only have minor disabilities. For example, they may be married, have a home and a job, and just need assistance with budgeting and planning choices.

Our Services

Some of the services and resource coordination MDS offers to individuals include Individual Community Supports. This option addresses the needs of people who do not want or need total care. Another support service for adults in the MDS program is our Community Vocational Supports.

Mesa Developmental Services (MDS) is one of 20 service agencies called Community Centered Boards, subcontracted in Colorado to provide a NEW model of service.

That growth has been significant in changing for the In an effort to help integrate individuals with debetter the quality of lives for people with disabilities. velopmental disabilities into our communities, Within caring environments, MDS promotes opportunities that nurture personal growth, improve self-esteem, support community inclusion and advance the independence of those we serve.

this program objective is job and work related.

Customized to the needs and capabilities of each person with an emphasis on integration- working in a typical work-setting and interacting with other workers and people in the community.

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By Sheri LaPlante

Uniquely Yours A wonderful example of this is a retail extension of MDS called Uniquely Yours. Like many non-profits nationally, MDS has struggled over the last few years with significant budget cuts. It became imperative to consider other sources of revenue. Having a retail extension whose proceeds go toward the organization is not uncommon in non-profits.

Uniquely Yours occupied three other locations in more industrial areas before finding its Main Street home. As the business began to change and grow, MDS decided to invest in a store manager with years of retail management experience. Uniquely Yours was previously run mostly by vocational specialists and trainers of people with developmental disabilities. They weren't as knowledgeable about retail work.

These steps have helped transform Uniquely Yours into a genuinely unique blend of retail and vocational opportunities, and, it is quite successful in doing so!

Photo by Sheri LaPlante

Photo by Sheri LaPlante

Uniquely Yours is a charming specialty gift shop operated by MDS and is currently a fixture of our local downtown shopping center in Grand Junction Colorado. Uniquely Yours moved to its Main Street location in 2006 and business has been booming since!

Uniquely Yours began simply as an outlet for selling toys, birdhouses, Christmas crafts and other woodpieces made by MDS clients in our wood-shop.

Eventually the operation grew and merchandise began to expand to larger furniture pieces, and birdbaths. As it grew, it became an excellent vocational option for individuals in services. They are able to experience a variety of skills experience an every-day work environment, working along with others and enhancing self-sufficiency.

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Photo by Sheri LaPlante

By Sheri LaPlante To learn more about MDS and the variety of services and programs, visit their website at www.mesadev.org Uniquely Yours is located in Grand Junction, Colorado. 443 Main Street, 81501. It's hours of operation are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To learn more about Uniquely Yours, click on its link at the MDS website at www.mesadev.org.

Shopping at Uniquely Yours feels good. Not only are you improving the living conditions of people living in third-world countries, you are helping support local programs for people with disabilities.

You are helping promote self esteem and integration. You are also purchasing a specially made item that will make a lovely gift for you or a loved one.

Yes, shopping at Uniquely Yours feels good.

Mesa Developmental Services (MDS) is located in Grand Junction Colorado. Although it has many offsite locations, its main office is at 950 Grand Avenue, 81501. Their office phone number is 970-256-8640.

Photo by Sheri LaPlante

Along with offering the items that MDS clients craft, Uniquely Yours established a relationship with Ten Thousand Villages, and carries their merchandise as well. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade organization which guarantees a living wage to artisans in Third World countries. Their merchandise is a beautiful and diverse cultural collection of house wares, jewelry and dĂŠcor from all around the world. This blend of merchandise only enhances the uniqueness of this store.

About the Writer Sheri LaPlante works in Public Relations and Development at Mesa Developmental Services in Grand Juncgion, Colorado. She comes from a strong background in print/pre-press and design. She worked for many years as a graphic designer for an agency in New York City. Sheri has also worked for several publications locally, regionally and nationally. Her work includes design, page layout and writing. Sheri's background also includes public relations and marketing for a variety of non-profit and for-profit organizations and businesses.

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Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

By By Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy With more than 50 percent of the world’s population residing in cities, and the meteoric rise of megacities, the 21st century truly is the urban age. The boom of cities with populations greater than five million has positive benefits: an increase in density provides for a more efficient allocation of goods and services to a city’s inhabitants; however, it also introduces new challenges in transport issues.

in business hubs. Even in places such as the United States where less than 20 percent of trips in urban areas are for work commutes, the ability to get oneself to work and back plays a key role in terms of defining peak mobility demand and congestion across transportation systems. (McKenzie & Rapino, 2011).

In some countries, big companies consider mobility as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, sometimes due to legal obligations, like in Catalonia or in the United Kingdom. Sometimes it is also done as a response to incentives from public authorities, but rarely does a company act by itself without some form of necessity. The following article will take the example of Bogota, capital city of Colombia, as a case study for the potential of private action in the urban mobility field, with a movement driven by the private sector for the private sector, with the goal of better quality of life for citizens in general.

While the number of cars in emerging countries is exponentially increasing with economic development, the infrastructure needed to support this new automobile traffic is not keeping up. But the mobility problems are far more complex than just a lack of infrastructure, they also involve insufficient regulatory schemes and control mechanisms; inexperienced and undertrained citizens — whatever the mode of transport they are using; and technological failures. As many public transport institutions argue, newly slashed budgets in times of economic crises only make things worse, thus delaying the implementation of clear plans, or sap- A first step before exploring what the private secping political will altogether, for an effective solution. tor can do in this matter is to better understand what we mean by “sustainable mobility,” a term In this chaos, what is the role of private companies quite en vogue nowadays but rarely clearly defined. in offering a solution? It is surprising to see how little private corporations are considered as serious Rather than the classical World Business Counpartners by governments when it comes to finding cil for Sustainable Development’s definisolutions. Politicians rarely think about asking for tion directly derived from Brundtland’s definitheir direct collaboration in these matters. However, tion of sustainable development, the definition it would be logical to try to forge a strong public- given by Rory Williams (2007), based on the followprivate effort on an issue with as much impact as ing principles, is more concrete and politically usable: mobility. After all, private companies are the ones who produce wealth, manage their own finances and decisions, and, equally important, have a captive audience whom they can influence to change 1. Preservation of the natural environment; their transportation habits: their employees. So, who 2. Care for human health and safety; more than private companies can start working on 3. Compatible with the transport needs of the some of the mobility issues that big cities are facing? population (reliability, variety, affordability, and integrated transport systems); It becomes increasingly obvious that the need for 4. Support for economic growth that will lead to enhanced mobility in cities cannot be the sole regreater social equity; sponsibility of often shortsighted elected officials; it 5. Minimum transport costs for greater access; requires the commitment of long-term stakeholders 6. Minimum infrastructure costs; as well. In particular, the greater the proportion of 7. Maintenance energy security; and commuters who are using a city’s infrastructure to 8. Assurance of a long-term viability of the transget to and from work, the greater the possibility for port system. impact of strategies implemented by big companies 13

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy

In other words, “sustainable mobility” lies on a transportation system that is cessible, affordable, efficient, financially tainable, environmentally friendly, and

reacsussafe.

in terms of pollution, congestion, public health, and increased demand for energy. In Bogota,

private transportation CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions are 63% of the total of mobile emissions (Secretaria Distrital de Ambiente, et al., 2010). The rise in automobile accidents and the associated costs is also a concern. In Bogota, this cost is estimated to be 1.17% of GDP per year, amounting to $681 million (BID-Uniandes, 2011).

Clearly, responsibility for some of these principles is directly in the hands of public authorities. However, companies might have the potential to contribute to environmental preservation and to the accessibility of transport in terms of cost and time, at least regarding commuting trips. In Bogota, the contribution that the private secIndeed, commuting trips generate ternalities on three different actors: ployee as single individual, on the a productive entity, and on society

negative exon the emcompany as as a whole.

First, commuting has a direct effect on the person making the trip, the employee. Especially in congested cities, it generates additional stress and exhaustion that can be attributed to different factors like noise, bad infrastructure, road rage, congestion, etc. With all those elements, commuting also increases the likelihood of injury in an accident. The increased level of stress also creates bad working conditions in terms of productivity. From a medical point of view, commuting trips create health problems, as people get out of the habit of walking and commuting gives them less time to exercise—this, coupled with the increased time one spends in the car, leads to an overall sedentary lifestyle and obesity.

tor can make in order to achieve a more sustainable mobility is apparent when observing the high rate of trips generated by commuting to the city. In 2005, 45% of daily trips in Bogota was comprised of commuting workers, more than all other traffic such as shopping, students traveling to school, etc.

In 2011, the young corporate foundation from the automotive sector for which I currently work, the Chevrolet Foundation, and one of the most prestigious Colombian universities, Universidad de los Andes, began working on a project in Bogota to involve private companies as active contributors to the mobility solution. The Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plan project, el “Plan Empresarial de Movilidad Sostenible”, best known as PEMS initiative, was born. A “PEMS” is a plan involving the company as an active stakeholder in the search for a more sustainable urban mobility, through the implementation of strategies reducing the negative impact of their employees’ commuting On another level, these commutes also have a nega- trips. It was a big challenge, as nothing similar existed tive effect on companies. Aside from the decreased in Colombia, and private companies tended to be igproductivity of their employees, a company has to nored when it came to mobility policy development.

assume a certain amount of costs directly associated to employees’ mobility, such as the costs associated with work-related trips and the very high cost (depending on the city and the price of land) of parking lots. For example, an average company in Bogota has to pay about $7,000 per parking spot, or a monthly rent of about $60 for each.

Considering the lack of solid data for corporate mobility statistics, the first step was to create a set of indicators to understand how the employees of a specific company are commuting, to get a general picture of the mobility situation in the company, and then to be able to measure the impact of our project in the future. Given that, as described earlier, mobility has The aggregation of individual commuting trips a direct impact on society and the environment, a also has a negative impact on the overall society, twofold approach was chosen: to measure the im

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Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy

Source ecoefficiency.bligoo.com

pact of commuting trips on the micro level—their say on the employee, is measured by two other indicators: impact on individual employees; and on the mac- the quality of life footprint, and the equity footprint. ro level—the overall effect on the city itself. From this approach, four main indicators were defined. The quality of life footprint has been, for us, one of the biggest surprises in the programme. It meaThe impact of the company’s commuting trips on the sures the average time that an employee spends city’s environment is measured by the now classical in commuting from his residence to his working carbon footprint and by the energy footprint. Both place and return. If the diagnostic gives us a perindicators consider the aggregated result of all employ- centage of free time used in commuting, considees, depending on the distance from their residence ering an average free time of 6 hours a day, the reto their working place and on the mode of transport sult is more striking when considering the real time used to commute, data collected during the diagnos- spent in transportation, expressed in days by year. tic phase through individual surveys in the company. In Columbia, workers are legally entitled to 15 vacation days per year. According to our current study, an emThe carbon footprint refers to the amount of green ployee in Bogota spends about 18 days (or more) per land necessary to absorb the greenhouse gas (GHG) year, just commuting back and forth to work, regardemissions produced by human activity, in this par- less of the company’s location. Therefore, the average ticular case by commuting trips. Greenhouse gas- worker in Bogota spends more time in traffic comes include carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases muting to work than he or she spends on holiday. And such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sul- rarely are those commutes made by healthy alternafur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluo- tives such as walking or cycling. Worrying data, isn’t it? rocarbons, which are often referred to as “the six Kyoto gases” and are translated in CO2 equivalent.

To be more relevant to company managers, the total of CO2 equivalent emissions can be translated from tons of CO2 equivalent to acres of wood, with about 1.58 tons of CO2 absorbed per hectare of woods, according to the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (see Holden & Georg Hoyer, 2005).

The energy footprint measure refers to the quantity of fuel consumed by the employees just in commuting trips, considering the same information as the carbon footprint and considering the number of passenger for each transport mode. Therefore, a person riding a bus will be consuming much less fuel than someone commuting by car, even if in absolute numbers the bus consumes more fuel per mile than a car, because the fuel consumption has to be divided between all passengers of the bus, who in proportion are much greater than the driver of the car. Smilingly, a carpooler, or driver sharing his car with other colleagues, consumes less fuel proportionally than a single, lone commuter.

The last indicator we used is the equity footprint, which measures the average amount of income dedicated to commuting. The traditional pattern, whichever city you look at, is that the higher the income, the lower the weight of transport cost is in the total income.

However, when considering the real cost of transportation, we can also observe that the higher the income, the higher the real cost of commuting is. Bogota is The impact of commuting trips at a social level, this is to not an exception, as seen in the following graphs.

15

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy

Graph 1 Percentage of income spent in transport and average cost of transport Source: Built from Observatorio de Movilidad, Cámara de Comercio, 2010

The reason why the cost of daily transport increases with income in Bogota is because richer people (stratum 4, 5 and 6) tend to prefer private vehicles and taxi as a mode of transportation, whereas the poorest citizens (stratum 1, 2 and 3) have no choice but to take the bus, walk or cycle.

for measuring the global impact of the programme, for now on Bogota’s metropolitan region, but later on as well in the country, when implemented in other Colombian cities, or eventually at a regional level.

The diagnostic gives us a panorama of the company’s situation in terms of employees’ mobilIt is important to mention that the four indicators of ity in the first place and helps us identify its weakthe programmes, even if initially measured for each nesses. Starting from there, the project’s working individual company or entity, have a common interest group proposes a mobility plan composed by 16

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy

companies while having a big impact on mobility, such as education campaigns to prevent road accidents, or ecodriving promotion to provide drivers with tips to achieve more economical and environmentally friendly driving habits. Finally, the relatively recent movement of car sharing—the car as a service and not as a good—also offers a good option for companies to promote a change in their employees’ driving culture.

This rationalization of private vehicles’ use leads to the promotion of transport alternatives: walking trips in short distances, bicycling when a safe environment allows it, or public transport, sometimes combined with a feeding system (by bus, by bicycle or others) when the stations are not at a walking distance from the company’s offices. In case of insufficient public transport options, the implementation of private routes, either paid by the company or financed by the users, is an interesting option, although quite expensive and logistically more complex.

The incentive to use alternative modes of transport encourages examination of the infrastructure needed to support that policy. To maintain a good consistency, a company promoting cycle use will have to make sure that the provision of cycle parking is sufficient, and that the employees will have the commodities to follow that policy; for example, having good shower facilities and lockers to be able to change their clothes.

Nevertheless, the infrastructure chapter goes beyond this point and tries to take into consideration the negative externality that the company’s activity and traffic might generate in the roads around the headquarters.

The movements implied by the entity should not create traffic jams, for example, or interfere with the public space or neighboring communities in a bad way. It is also important to ensure safe access to the company to all employees, regardless of their mode of transport.

The final set of actions for a company is maybe one of the most interesting and certainly the most modern since directly influenced by the development of new technologies of information communication (NTIC). It touches more deeply on the structure of corporate culture and organization, since we offer to reformulate the very way employees’ work is evaluated. By promoting a home office (telecommut

ing), for example, we intend to make a switch from a “classroom culture” where the number of working hours is the most important criteria of evaluation, to a target culture where employees are assessed according to their performance regarding specific objectives more than on the time they spent on them.

The brief description above indicates to us an important aspect and advantage of the PEMS project: it offers an umbrella to fragmented initiatives led by different areas of the company, that sometimes already exist but, without a unique methodology, are not related nor evaluated on the same criteria. The adoption of a plan, with the aim to reduce the indicators in the future all along the different actions implemented, gives the whole company a common direction, and in this sense promote an unusual inter-area collaboration, offers a greater unity, and the reduction of fragmentation between different departments. In this sense, we understand why the initial involvement of all the areas is important and especially human resources, CSR, environmental management, employee benefits, communication, security, and HSE. It is, as well, fundamental to name an internal PEMS leader in the company in charge of coordinating the teamwork and inter area meetings.

During the first phase of the project, three pilots where implemented. Their selection was the fruit of a careful process. The idea was to show through this implementation that any company is able to participate in the project, wherever its headquarters are in the city, whichever kind of business it is. Therefore, the pilots were distributed as follow: an industrial plant located in the southern part of the city, a service center in the center occidental area, and a third company in the northern part of the city, in which we focused on the administrative employees. A mobility diagnostic was conducted in each pilot, the first step for the company in the project besides a previous strong commitment at corporative level. This diagnostic aimed to characterize the mobility of the company’s employees’ understanding of how they commute and to get a first result regarding our four indicators. Focused only on employees and neither on clients nor suppliers, it was done based on three central elements: 17

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy several alternatives personalized to each specific case, and within the same company, to each headquarter as the different locations usually face different types of mobility issues. We can classify those alternatives into four different intervention fields, described in the following graphic.

Graph 2 Possible field of intervention of a company to improve the mobility of its employees Source: Personal elaboration This construction is certainly not exhaustive but yet gives a good idea on the set of actions that a company might work on to improve its employees’ mobility and therefore its indicators.

In the first place, we find that cars are often responsible for the main traffic issues faced in dense urban areas. I have to partly disagree with that statement, and rectify it by saying that the car is only a means, an object, so the real problem is the users who choose to use cars over any other mean of transport. One can own a car and only use it to go out on the weekend, for example. Therefore, the first concern should be educating people so they will use their car more efficiently, combining their journey of mobil-

ity scheme with other modes of transport when possible, and therefore more rationally. In some countries, especially developing countries, the stigma of non-motorized transport and public transport as mode of transport “for the poor”, doubled by the aspirational desire of owning a car, do not help this awareness. Companies can encourage good practices like carpooling (or sharing one’s car) that do not imply a big cost for them but have strong and direct effects on reducing per capita GHG emissions and oil consumption, and also present the advantage of diminishing the parking demand that usually represents a big cost for companies. Other options are available and very inexpensive for 18

Corporate Sustainable Mobility Plans Initiative: Private Companies’ possible contribution to Urban Mobility

by Solenne Cucchi, Msc in Urban Planning and Urban and Territorial Strategy

1. A survey directed to all the employees or the one advantages, and to encourage the creation of stronlocated in the headquarters that the company wants to ger public-private partnership in the mobility field. focus on. This survey covers topics like distance residence-work, commuting time, salary and commuting cost, principal mode of transport, disposition to use Bibliography: alternatives such as carpooling, cycling activities… BID and Universidad de los Andes. (2011). Estrategias de mejoramiento 2.

A questionnaire for the human resources department, in order to better understand the corporate culture, to keep track of previous mobility initiatives, their results, success and difficulties, to acknowledged current mobility policy or dispositions in the company. These pieces are important to adjust the proposed mobility plan depending on the existing restriction opposed by the company, in terms of working flexibility, hours, and routes…

3. A questionnaire for the security department in charge of the facilities management, to evaluate the existing infrastructure in the company (parking lot for employees, for visitors, for motorcycles, cycle park, accesses…)

We are currently in the second phase of the project, which specific objectives are the generalization of PEMS adoption in the city of Bogota and beyond, and the creation of a corporate network for exchange of best practices. It is astonishing to see the success the project is having, gathering more than thirty multinational companies in only six months without inverting a dime in publicity but only by word of mouth. And it is only a start. This initial success proves the need and expectations that big companies have in terms of being part of the solution. They are ready. Ready to be involved and ready to invest for achieving together a better mobility. The question now is whether the public authorities will know how to take advantage of this fantastic will and energy to improve urban mobility options working hand in hand with the private sector. We can just hope that our experience, aggregating efforts and results and separate initiatives, will help support the adoption of an official policy to promote the adoption of corporate mobility plans through legal and administrative

de la seguridad vial en transporte urbano en América Latina. Caso de estudio: Bogotá. Bogotá.

HOLDEN, E., & GEORG HOYER, K. (2005). The ecological footprints of fuels. Transportation Research Part D 10, pp. 395-403.

MCKENZIE, B. and RAPINO, M. (2011). Commuting in the United States: 2009, American Community Survey Reports, ACS-15. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. WILLIAMS, R., A definition of sustainable mobility, available on http:// www.carbonsmart.com/mobility/2007/03/a_definition_of.html , last update 15th March 2007, accessed 30th June 2012 Secretaría Distrital de Ambiente, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad de la Salle, Transmilenio S.A. (2010). Plan Decenal de Descontaminación del Aire para Bogotá. Primera edición. Bogotá, Colombia.

Secretaría Distrital de Movilidad. (2005). Encuesta de movilidad 2005.

Bogotá.

About the Writer Solenne Cucchi works as a mobility and environment project coordinator. Solenne Cucchi’s professonal educational background includes Msc Regional and Urban Planning - LSE as well as Master Stratégie Territoriale et Urbaine - Sciences Po Paris.

You can contact Ms. Cucchi at http://co.linkedin.com/ in/solennecucchi or Follow her on Twitter: SolenneCucchi

19

Local Travel and Interaction

by Daniel Scharf

How local economy and ourselves can be victims of our own spaces

It is to this that the questions of how best to orgainze a neighborhood to benefit all citizens which reside and visit the area arise. Historical planning in this regard has encountered many changes: improvements, poor judgements and unrealistic expectations. The greatest period of these emerging changes occurred during the expansive development after World War II. Many decided on cul-de-sac developments, where a notion that community neighborhoods would be improved, outweighed basic design principles ease of access, single usage static spaces, public and private spatial relation. The flexibility of a good public space in any area would enable a system of wide uses to many while also encouraging human powered travel.

Communities that that allow for a safer environment often prosper while those neglected continue to decline. As the numbers of citizens in our neighborhoods expand, and our ability to travel further distances becomes far easier, there must be a focus on the local area and its ability to function for all citizens.

Photo b y Michael Davis

to accommodate the middle class has ostracised many low groups. Indeed, structures have also been used to try and define public perception. Enacting a 1am curfew, trying to curb reckless behavior and loitering of homeless, at a prominent New When citizens are congregated in as large a number York community park in August 1988 led to maas they are in modern cities, their ability to express jor riots and a community backlash at the governindividuality can be suppressed by the societal norm. ment’s ideology that it could control people by force.

The principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design [CPTED] (Jeffery, 1971) are the most widely used principles to providing a safe environment for interaction. With permeability to allow casual surveillance playing a significant part of CPTED principles, cul-de-sacs can fail as community interaction areas, as they are inherently impermeable with their dead ends. A traditional grid layout, which can allow prosperity of CPTED principles, generally ignores design aspects of these principles as homeowners and builders are generally unaware and not held responsible on a community level. A well designed apartment building can successfully apply all of the principles, but it is not dependent to foster an internal social interaction. The principles of CPTED that should be checked among neighborhoods and incorporated into their future plans as most important to promoting social interactions and capital are:

Governments enacted regulations which that allowed massive growth during the war boom as they were quick and large scale with minimal risk to local budgets as developers took much of the burden. This change proved to be in detriment of good community growth, where city governments themselves produced social and spatial exclusion as a result of the inappropriate laws and regulations that they adopted (Watson, 2009). Within cul-de-sac developments under these regulations, many people are forced to use motor vehicles on trips they could walk less than a half mile for otherwise. Traditional grid systems can provide a much clearer orientation and easier defined public place, but as we move forward toward a higher density of living it is important to consider the impact that • apartment buildings will enforce on their communities. Watson also argues that the emphasis of planners

20

Landscape designs that provide surveillance in proximity to designated points of entry and opportunistic points of entry.

Local Travel and Interaction

by Daniel Scharf Use the least sight-limiting fence appropriate There are a number of situations in which design can for the property to control access and negate social interaction, whether intentional or not. encourage surveillance.

The largest design flaw that can negate social interaction is poor maintenance. It is known that boring • Using a single, clearly identifiable, point of entry. places can cause impassiveness and that “if people don’t want to be in a place, there is little chance that • Amenities such as seating or refresh- there will be any benefit ... after safety, the main conments in common areas in a commercial or cern should be to provide a variety of affordances for institutional setting to promote interaction. play in the same location, rather than any specific equipment” (Castonguay & Jutras, 2009). The previous article was designed in relation to children’s interaction with places, though the same principles are easily extrapolated to adults. A variety of affordances with the opportunity to engage in conversation is necessary. Environmental psychologists have suggested that these elements of the built environment can create a situation in which people can recognize the signs that remind them of “proper” or expected behavior This does not ensure compliance, and could even be met with resistance, but it is a simple method of enabling a better sense of community.

At its most basic, “social capital has mostly been operationalised as social participation/social networks and trust” (Lindström, 2004), and can be ranked by With areas in which people feel safe and secure, this relationship. The most commonly used rankthey are much more likely to be open to interac- ings of social capital are: high-social capital [high tion as well as helping deter crime and encouraging trust and participation], traditionalism [high trust, local mobility. While walking down a dark street low participation], miniaturization of community with no relatable buildings or places, people become [low trust, high participation], and low-social capital more likely to behave aversive or confrontational. [low trust and participation]. The theoretical nature of social capital is that both participation and trust The opportunity to assimilate uses of space within de- mutually benefit or disadvantage each other. It was sign of public spaces is simple, though often ignored. also found by Lindström that if either participation Large parklands are ideal for people to walk dogs, but or generalized trust were considered to be low, the regulations to protect local fauna normally ensure self-reported mental health of community members this is done by leash. Dog off-leash areas have now ap- is significantly affected. When one finds themselves peared all over Brisbane, Australia which allows dog in a friendly area the level of community participaowners to release their pets in a safe and controlled tion to keep things tidy and approachable will often environment, while also exposing the owners to peo- make one more comfortable to part with their money. ple who share a common interest. Their popularity is In contrast finding shops you feel safe to enable ecoclear as the number of areas have grown to 110. The nomic activity in an unkempt downtown is far lower. success of these areas has been well noted alongside cycling centers community arts facilities, libraries Public spaces have become a place of high interand public events. To provide an area for common est for many local communities. Previously the reinterest to come together to share stories and experi- sult of left over development land, public space is ences is vital to improving general social interaction. quickly becoming a major part of local communities.

Photo by Daniel James Scharf

•

21

Local Travel and Interaction

by Daniel Scharf Though greatly favorable favorable to the community, “the beneficial properties of public spaces are not solely reducible to a set of design-based, natural or aesthetic criteria” (Cattell, Dines, Gesler, & Curtis, 2008). They are instead an area of inclusive space. If a person feels up to interacting, they are presented with the opportunity to do so,; however, if they wish to remain in solitude, that privilege should also be granted upon them. Indeed “since urban parks are inclusive spaces, they can be seen as possibly favorable spaces for stimulating social cohesion, [and] conclude[d] that most social interactions are cursory, for example, people have a short chat or just say hello” (Peters, Elands, & Buijs, 2010).

The role of public space is not just limited to parkland of course, as “people need a variety of spaces within an area to meet a range of everyday needs, spaces to linger as well as spaces of transit; spaces which bring people together and spaces for escape” (Cattell, et al., 2008). This understanding leads us to incorporate a public space atmosphere to transport nodes (benches for seating), pseudo-private areas within spaces to relax, and a space that can be utilized by a group.

that lack critical oversight of impacts must be transformed. The design of public/private areas and improved attention to environmental aspects that that affect reactions of citizens must be addressed. Public spaces that only influence a particular set of residents or severely limit usage must be redesigned. The ability for one to communicate and travel openly within their community will always be entirely their choice.

To provide an area in which to safely and effectively do so, however, requires us as a society to pay more attention to the environment in relation to all citizens.

Reference Castonguay, G., & Jutras, S. (2009). Children's appreciation of outdoor places in a poor neighborhood. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(1), 101-109.

Cattell, V., Dines, N., Gesler, W., & Curtis, S. (2008). Mingling, observing, and lingering: Everyday public spaces and their implications for well-being and social relations. Health & Place, 14(3), 544-561.

Jeffery, C. R. (1971). Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.

Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Lindström, M. (2004). Social capital, the miniaturisation of community and self-reported global and psychological health. Social Science & Medicine, 59(3), 595-607.

Peters, K., Elands, B., & Buijs, A. (2010). Social interactions in urban parks: Stimulating social cohesion? Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 9(2), 93-100.

Photo by Daniel James Scharf

Watson, V. (2009). [`]The planned city sweeps the poor away...': Urban planning and 21st century urbanisation. Progress in Planning, 72(3), 151-193.

About the Writer

Michael Schraf is from Brisbane Australia and attended Queensland University of Technology and has a Bachelors degree in Urban Development - Regional and Town Planning with experience in econominc So, as our cities continue to expand with continued development and regional planning. growth, a societal norm for dependence on the motor vehicle can continue, or be curbed by a further importance placed on local spaces and transport to reinvigorate communities again. Government regulations 22

Focus of Economic Development for Upstate NY Needs to Change

by Michael V. Franchell, Mel E. Ross, Harvey Price

The Upstate New York economy has been declining in jobs, wages per job, personal income and population since the early 70s and the outmigration of our population continues. Apparently our funding approach has not worked. Why have our economic development efforts failed? The economic develop approach has not included community small businesses and it has been too narrow in scope. In 2006 New York had the second highest amount of grant money in the U.S., totaling 4 billion dollars, and the results have yet to be seen.

Somehow in the past 20 years creativity seems to have been captured by the Universities, and the billions of dollars pouring in as grant money was earmarked to create new concepts, new ideas and possibly new products. The simple fact is a University only has a few great ideas and the rest of the concepts will never create enough jobs. It is often the case where a brilliant idea lacks the pragmatic experience to implement the concept. CBBIC.org would recommend a twopronged approach of funding: both Universities and community small businesses. Historically, economic development efforts have avoided funding the largest segment of society that creates most of our new jobs and that is the community-based small businesses.

• Have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.

• Create more than half of the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).

• Hire 40 percent of high-tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers).

• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.

• Made up 97.3 percent of all identified exporters and produced 30.2 percent of the known export value in FY 2007. NY ranks 3rd in the value of ex ports by small businesses, over $58 billion. NY exports increased 16.8% in 2010.

• Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms; these patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited. NY ranked 3rd in patents awarded.

• NY’s entrepreneurial income, despite the recession, increased 16% between 2000 and 2009.

The data from the SBA and the Kaufman Foun. dation clearly points out that the small firms and startups are the key to reinvigorating our economy. • Two million small businesses in NY, 7% of national total, are located in every region, community and neighborhood contributing to making NY a great place to live and conduct business.

Small firms have a very important role in

our economic growth:

• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.

• Employ just over half of all private sector employees.

• Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.

• Small Businesses employ 51.5% of NY non-farm, private sector workforce in 2008.

• NewYork’s real gross state product increased 1.6% in 2009 while U.S. GDP grew just 0.7%.

• 537,838 minority-owned businesses and 594,492 women-owned businesses in NY.

23

Focus of Economic Development for Upstate NY Needs to Change

by Michael V. Franchell, Mel E. Ross, Harvey Price

A manufacturing renaissance will reverse our economic trends. Manufacturing brings higher job multiples than any other type of industry, so we need to focus our energy and intellectual talent on creating more manufacturing jobs that will stimulate additional community jobs.

ing just as you would provide grant money for research.

Use a not-for-profit such as the Community Based Business Incubator Center, Inc ™Incubator and make it wall-less so it can cover the entire geography of our area.

Provide mentors who are real entrepreneurs with experience to back them up. Provide our local entre preneurs/intrapreneurs/enterprisers with computers and appropriate software that you can communicate to so we can help them overcome the obstacles that are holding them back. Have a team of Entrepreneurial Advocates trained to help them move through the process of starting a company and charge them nothing. Accelerating economic development will happen when a combined approach of technology, communication and consultation is utilized.

Products made in China have an uncertain future. It is historically understandable that as China's middle class grows so will the social unrest grow; that unrest will disrupt their manufacturing base that has been dependent upon low paid employees. The perfect corollary is Lenin did not want the peasants to own farms because they would then become members of the bourgeois. China is creating many new members of the bourgeois and they in turn will demand more freedom. The issues of social unrest, higher laSummary bor and fuel costs, combined with mediocre product quality, create an opportunity for Upstate NY. Central NY can become the hub of new manufacturing facilities because it is close to major North American markets. From a transportation perspective our target cities for our locally produced products would be: Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, New York City, Montreal, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Toronto by ground Recognize the value of small business and fund entre- transportation. For international distribution we can preneurs/intrapreneurs/ enterprisers with GAP fund ship out of the ports of Albany, New York City or Boston.

What Do We Change?

24

Focus of Economic Development for Upstate NY Needs to Change

by Michael V. Franchell, Mel E. Ross, Harvey Price

Upstate can be a thriving, growing region again because we have the land, the housing and the knowledgeable labor to create new innovative manufacturing facilities that will enhance the wealth of our local communities. What we lack is capital and vision to create the new economy and our next new job. The chart below illustrates how our concept will boost the economic development cycle in upstate New York.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg summarized the concept: “The essence of innovation is you don’t know what you’re going to build, what it’s going to be called, how much it’s going to cost.”

Central NY can become the hub of new manufacturing facilities because it is close to major North American markets. From a transportation perspective our target cities for our locally produced products would be: Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, New York City, Montreal, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Toronto by ground transportation. For international distribution we can Recognize the value of small business and fund entre- ship out of the ports of Albany, New York City or Boston. preneurs/intrapreneurs/ enterprisers with GAP funding just as you would provide grant money for research. Upstate can be a thriving, growing region again beUse a not-for-profit such as the Community Based cause we have the land, the housing and the knowlBusiness Incubator Center, Inc ™Incubator and make it edgeable labor to create new innovative manufacwall-less so it can cover the entire geography of our area. turing facilities that will enhance the wealth of our local communities. What we lack is capital and viProvide mentors who are real entrepreneurs with ex- sion to create the new economy and our next new perience to back them up. Provide our local entre- job. The chart below illustrates how our concept will preneurs/intrapreneurs/enterprisers with computers boost the economic development cycle in Upstate. and appropriate software that you can communicate to so we can help them overcome the obstacles that We can rapidly grow our new companies if we commit are holding them back. Have a team of Entrepreneur- to the idea. If we continue to use the same ideas with ial Advocates trained to help them move through the same people then you will get the same results. the process of starting a company and charge them nothing. Accelerating economic development will Sources (see the Office of Advocacy’s Research and Statistics page): • U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and International happen when a combined approach of technol- Trade Admin. ogy, communication and consultation is utilized. • Advocacy-funded research by Kathryn Kobe, 2007

What Do We Change?

• CHI Research, 2003 • U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Slide Presentation by Jim L. King State Director of SBA. • Original concept: “The Virtuous Cycle” by McKenzie & Company Modified by George Huang, http://IDEASolutions.biz • Harvard Business Review: Wanted: A First National Bank of Innovations by Edmund S Phelps and Leo M. Tillman

Michael V Franchell is the Executive Director for the Community Based Business Incubator Center, Inc™.

Contact him at mikef@cbbic.org Mel E. Ross is the Chief Financial Officer for the Community Based Business Incubator Center, Inc™.

Contact him at mross3@rochester.rr.com Harvey Price is a Board Member for the Community Based Business Incubator Center, Inc™. Contact him at hprice@nycap.rr.com 25

Renewal strategies and urban development

The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

by Guillermo Tella, PhD, Institute of the Conurbation, National University of General Sarmiento (Argentina)

Introduction

Photo by Guillermo Tella

Since its foundation, the port of Buenos Aires – showing its back to the central area, on the estuary of the River Plate– has been one of the main links of the national economy for more than four centuries, channelling the exportation of raw materials and the importation of elaborated products.

Nowadays, the attempt of using that space, by appealing to its strong evocative power, and in such a way as to expand laterally the central area, has led to re-functionalizing an industrial sector no longer destined to port use and has also led to a re-ensued debate on the necessity of structural planning with a capacity of decision on the development of new centralities.

Buenos Aires is the capital city of the Argentine Republic and it is situated in the south cone of South America, on the estuary of the River Plate. It is the central district of a metropolitan conglomeration which has over thirteen million inhabitants and which is inserted globally among the non-central economic spaces.

A port born old Towards the end of the 19th century, the Argentinean National Government recognised the necessity of providing Buenos Aires with a new port capable of managing efficiently the increasing commercial flow. Even though there was no doubt as regards the modernization of port technologies, the methods of construction and, mainly, the site of location were debated. The out-coming project consisted of four docks organized linearly over the muddy banks in front of the foundational area and political-administrative center of the country.

Since its foundation in 1580, its port –showing its back to the central area– has been one of the main links of the national economy for more than four centuries, channelling the exportation of raw materials and the importation of elaborated products. Moreover, it has left its imprinting in the Once the port had been inaugurated, strong discultural identity as a referential landmark and approval of the project gained momentum, such defined the axis of urban growth in the region. as the phrase: ‘the port was born old’. Therefore, in 1908 the construction of a new port was authorised, Nowadays, the attempt of using that space, by appeal- which was designed in a sequence of five docks withing to its strong evocative power, and in such a way as out locks, perpendicular to the bank, and which was to expand laterally the central area, has led to re-func- situated to the north of the installations of Puerto tionalizing an industrial sector no longer destined Madero. Finished in 1925 and named Puerto Nuevo, to port use and has also led to a re-ensued debate on the new port quickly doubled the functioning cathe necessity of structural planning with a capacity pacity of the old Puerto Madero, thus, this one fell of decision on the development of new centralities. into disuse and hurried its vertiginous decadence.

26

Renewal strategies and urban development

The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

by Guillermo Tella, PhD, Institute of the Conurbation, National University of General Sarmiento (Argentina)

The plan of urban development

- the reconversion of the area so as to recover it from its state of deterioration; - the reconstitution of its character, preserving its strong evocative power; - the allocation of land for tertiary activities which re quire a central location; - the re-conquest of a new and effective approxima tion of the city towards its river; - the contribution to re-centring the central area, bringing balance to its northern and southern sectors.

After several decades of abandonment, in 1989 the National and the Local Governments agreed to promote the urbanization of Puerto Madero area, through the constitution of a joint-stock society called ‘Corporación Antiguo Puerto Madero’ (‘Former Puerto Madero Corporation’), in which they were both equal partners: the former contributed to this project with the lands of the area; the latter, with the urban regulations for its development; and, together, they promoted a plan for the zone and laid out the necessary infrastructure, as a way to orientate the real estate activities. Consequently, the proposal sought to recover the area for urban uses and to capitalise the demands Following as a model the experience gained in the for new equipments, increasing the value the pre-exrecovery of the waterfront of the London Docklands, isting ones. From the ideas contest –in which more and after an intense debate, the master plan was de- than a hundred projects took part– the winning fined for the urbanization of the 170 hectares (ap- team produced the master plan for urban developproximately 18.300 million square feet) of the former ment, which draw up structural lines along which the port seeking to achieve these five structural aims: project is still running nowadays after two decades.

Photo by Guillermo Tella

Motivations of the master plan

27

Renewal strategies and urban development

The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

By Guillermo Tella, PhD, Institute of the Conurbation,

Photo by Guillermo Tella

National University of General Sarmiento (Argentina)

Even though the zone is an industrial and port area no longer in use, and is highly conditioned by the low accessibility of its bridges, the objective aspired to generate a site of prestige as a lateral expansion of the central area and –without unbalancing the present urban fabric– absorb the demand of new-generation offices, which efficiency required broad and flexible areas. The urban codification defined morphological indicators block by block, accentuating the criterion of preserving its intrinsic characteristics.

The scope of the proposal With a buildable area of 1.5 million square meters (approximately 16.150 million square feet), the proposal consisted of a narrow urbanised strip between the four docks and a big park, formed by natural green reserves.

The transverse connection –coinciding with the existing boat-breadths waterways between the impounded docks– is made by wide boulevards which link to the city. Between these axes, upon the said park, highrising buildings were disposed to frame the civic axis.

The group ended up structured as follows: the system of avenues and the modulation of the docks, which characterises differential stretches; the fills and gaps of the docklands, which do not respect the rhythm in the layout of the city; the sheaf of high-rising towerlike buildings upon the intersections of the fabric; and the cranes and grain mills and elevators, which define the imprinting of the former port. Then, the plan comprised the restoration of the old docklands of the western side, the conservation of those buildings with patrimonial value, the construction of a narrow strip of seven-story residential buildings in the eastern side, a group of towers and a big park in order to re-establish the relation between the city and its river.

The process of managing the area The Corporación Antiguo Puerto Madero leaded all the planning process and the management of the area, promoting the development of a master plan and setting up the land subdivision, the sale of lots and the execution of the infrastructure works. First, the 28

Renewal strategies and urban development

The case of the waterfront of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires

By Guillermo Tella, PhD, Institute of the Conurbation, National University of General Sarmiento (Argentina) whole area of influence, which expulsed population and also traditional shops were replaced for new brands stores. And, from a global point of view, the operation generated a surplus which urban rent was wholly withheld for itself, without promoting the transfer of it to other zones of the city in need, In a few years the recycling process was finished and such as the impoverished southern neighbourhoods. therefore it gave rise to the formation of a sough-after space for the settlement of companies and a new gastronomic commercial district. The success in the development of the western sector strengthened the launch of the eastern sector, with tracts of greater building possibilities. Differently from the western side of a wholly historical profile, the eastern side allowed the development of a more modern architecture and the incorporation of state-of-the-art technology, which triggered a frantic real estate speculation.

Photo by Guillermo Tella

recycling of the brick buildings of the docklands, which were distinctive of the port identity, was undertaken in the western sector of the docks. These buildings, of historical and architectonic value, had been built together with the port and served as goods warehouses.

Effects of the renewal operation Nowadays, the renewal of the waterfront of Puerto Madero goes through its final stage, after twenty years of development, with the filling of the last parcels. From this perspective, it is possible to set in value some distinctive features of the operation. On the one side, a new model of territorial management was proposed in the local environment, which allowed the requalification of port lands which were useless for quality urban land use. On the other hand, given its longitudinal character, the piece triggered off a reconversion process of the old centre for the allocation of economical, services and tourism-related activities. Services have been brought in, streets have been opened, squares and parks have been built and urban equipment was provided.

About the Writer Guillermo Tella is an Architect and Philosophy Doctor (PhD) in Urban Planning. In addition, he has developed the Postdoctoral Program in Social Sciences and Humanities. He has been Professor and Researcher in Urban Planning since 1989. Moreover, since 2005 he carries out academic activities in the Institute of the Conurbation in the University of General Sarmiento (Argentina). In his professional experience, he takes part and coordinates the development of strategic plans and of urban ordinance and local development for public as well as for socio-urban and environmental consulting firms. As a result of this theoretical production and professional practice, he has published numerous sciences and outreach works on the processes and effects of the metropolitan trans-formation.

However, the development of the eastern sector proposed a heterogeneous kind of intervention, unequal morphological results, with no character, and governed by the strong pressure of the real estate market. Finally, it must be underlined that a strong process of gentrification has started in the 29

Millions of Dollars Saved by City as Result of Fleet & Fuels Task Force

By Kelly Jezierski

Detroit's fleet of 4,000-plus vehicles and equipment consumes more than 13 millions gallons of fuel yearly.

An opportunity existed to drive optimization across all City of Detroit departments by sharing best practices, leveraging common approaches and tools, and aggregating resources work in fuels, fleet, finance and behavior.

With a grant from the Kresge Foundation, the the City of Detroit Fleet & Fuels Taskforce (FFTF) was formed to achieve these objectives.

NextEnergy and CEC collaborated with representatives from the City's Department of Transportation, General Services Division, Department of Public Works, Department of Water and Sewerage, Department of finance (Purchasing), and the City Council/City of Detroit Green Task Force.

As a result of the task force, the City will not only receive the $2 million in grant funding but will eventually see a total $6 million cost savings. Importantly, more than 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents will be saved, improving the health of the communities at large through the reduction of harmful emissions.

Founded in 2002 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, NextEnergy is headquartered in Midtown Detroit’s Innovation Center and serves to accelerate energy security, economic competitiveness and environmental responsibility through the growth of advanced-energy technologies, businesses and industries. For more information about Next Energy visit: www.nextenergy.org or find them on Twitter @NextEnergyMi

About the Writer Kelly Jezierski is Manager, Alternative Fuel Based Energy Programs, at NextEnergy, a Detroit non-profit organization founded in 2002 whose mission is to advance alternative-energy technologies, businesses, and industries. Kelly holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Alternative Energy Technologies.

Kelly Jezierski is responsible for executing projects funded by foundations, industry (including automotive OEM’s), and state and federal government agencies (DoD, DOE, EPA, etc.) that relate to alternative fuels or vehicles. Examples of the projects she has worked on include: thermochemical conversion technologies, biofuels, hydrogen, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the New Economy Initiative and Kresge Foundation work with the City of Detroit, and Smart Grid work for MEDC. Since joining NextEnergy in 2007, she has managed more than ten projects with a net worth that exceeds $10 million.

30

Two Under-developed Transportation Systems Water and rail transport in the Netherlands

By Andrey Maltsev

Just as it is worldwide, useful transportation system is critical and necessary condition for economic growth in the Netherlands. Most cities rely on public transport to keep citizens moving and economies working while, at the same time, working to reduce the negative environmental impacts of too many automobiles.

Netherlands ferries are confronting a number of challenges and problems. A major one to consider is the current state of public transportation funding in the region.

Both ferry systems between islands and internal city water traveling have a history of inconsistent support.

Rising costs against a relatively flat budget threaten the viability of current operations. One problem they have seems to be a lack of political clout. All too often, ferry services, because they serve smaller populations than larger volume mass transit systems, find themselves

Future public transport demands will be increasingly diverse. Although automobile travel in any country will not disappear, many populations are showing a decided preference for walking, cycling, and public transport, provided those options are convenient, comfortable and affordable.

Photo by Andrey Maltsev

Water transport makes an important social contribution to the Netherlands because it connects the country’s islands and mainland. They include ferries operating between the island of Texel and the mainland; service to Ameland and Schiermonnikoog; fast and regular ferry service to Vlieland, the car-free island, and Terschelling; and ferries between the Waddeneilanden: from Texel to Vlieland, from Vlieland to Terschelling, from Terschelling to Ameland and from Ameland to Schiermonnikoog.

Fig.2 Free of charge ferry from Amsterdam to IJplein.

Fig.1

Ferry-ways

around

31

Netherlands.

Two Under-developed Transportation Systems Water and rail transport in the Netherlands

By Andrey Maltsev

much lower on the funding priority list. Historically, water taxi and ferry initiatives have experienced only limited financial success, with many evolving into excursion-focused enterprises, operated as a public service.

These challenges can be overcome through careful planning and design. Additionally, governments can aid the cause by seeking out private enterprise partners.

Photo by Andrey Maltsev

At least two private companies are doing well in this sector. Both work, not only like travel boats between towns in the Netherlands, but also resolve transportation shortfalls between hard-to-reach cities on the islands.

Considering current way in the water transportaion point for country or just for sea-based regions inside country we see that much greater research and development activity will also be needed to extendid develop and deploy this issue. Government and private companies need to extend of the human capacities and financial resources to impove investment and modernization of the water transport sector. Government and private investment in fuel saving technologies will be more effective in nowadays when fuel price is comparatively high; it is only one way from many to make ferry system more attractive for bus lines.

City administrations and local governments have an especially important role to promoting ferry transport at the local level. Increases of investment in water transport infrastructure and services are urgently needed, in particular, in the cities of countries lie on the sea line and having big river or channel systems.

Fig.3 Teso

Teso is a long-time private operator of ferries between the islands of Texel and Den Helder working for a long. The boat sails every hour and crosses the Marsdiep in about 20 minutes.

Rail transport is an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of the auto or the plane for a broad range of occupancy rates and technologies used (Button and Rietveld, 1999). In terms of speed, the average car and train are about equal, and in particular cases—congestion in metropolitan areas and high-speed rail—the train is clearly faster.

Photo by Andrey Maltsev

The modern ferry port in Horntje has only been in place since the 1960s. Before that, the ferries came out of the harbor of Oudeschild, which caused much longer crossing times. The crossing and waiting times threatened the region’s burgeoning tourist trade, which forced the change in harbors. Even with the harbor change, long waiting times still remained, especially in the 1970s Another small company—Wagenborg—is a part of Koninklijke. Located in Delfzijl, the company employs 90 people and provides ferry services from Holwerd to Ameland and from Lauwersoog to Schiermonnikoog.

Fig. 4 Netherlands train

32

Two Under-developed Transportation Systems Water and rail transport in the Netherlands

By Andrey Maltsev

Yet the share of the train in passenger transport is modest in most countries. For a balanced development of public transport systems, it is necessary that investments in higher speed rail lines be compared to investments in the local road network and environmental costs around auto networks.

The Netherlands has a very broad rail network with a very high occupancy. The rail network of the Netherlands has a density of 41.5km of line per square kilometre with an extremely high occupancy of 4,801 passenger-km/km of line, compared with European average of 1,773.

Holland has one of the most extensive and modern public transportations systems in the world. Visi- Some statistics from Dutch railways: tors can get to almost any part of the country within a matter of hours traveling only by train and/or bus. • 6,830 km trail, managed by NS The NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – Dutch, Neth- • erlands Railway - English) covers most of the country, with almost all small and big towns connected in one network, most of them have a service frequency of two trains an hour or even more (and at least • 4 trains each hour between the biggest five cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven as well as some larger cities: Amersfoort, • Arnhem, Hertogenbosch, Dordrecht and Leiden).

The Green Harttunnel (HSL) is the longest railway tunnel in The Netherlands (7.1 kilometers)

•

62% of Dutch people traveling once a year or more by train

•

13% of Dutch people do this at least once a month

75% of the Dutch population lives within 5 kilometers of a station 1,157,260 people in The Netherlands take a daily train (Annual Report 2010)

The high occupancy of the Dutch network indicates the need for increasing the network’s capacity. However, because the country is small and densely populated, the space available for expanding the network is scarce and expensive.

Fig.5 Map of the rail network in The Netherlands

Dutch authorities responsible for the management of the network do their best. Over the past decades, as the economy continued to grow, readiness to invest in the expansion of the transport infrastructure evaporated. It became a popular belief that as more infrastructure capacity merely generated new demand, why was there a need to build more infrastructures?

The budget spent on increasing the capacity of rail and road infrastructure has been around 0.8 percent of GDP and was well below the European average.

33

Two Under-developed Transportation Systems Water and rail transport in the Netherlands

Photo by Andrey Maltsev

by Andrey Maltsev Investments need to be supported at a high level, providing a stable of long-term commitment to building a public and modern transport system.

A short-term commitment of funds will not work here. Critical point in the investments is that investments need to be undertaken intelligently. It is mean that they need to build public transport systems that work well, provide easy-to-use alternatives to automobile or plane travel. Intercity rail needs to be connected with urban transit systems

Fig.6 Amsterdam train station Photo by Andrey Maltsev

Soon, the Dutch government will decide on a major infrastructure project involving the construction of a new rail link between Amsterdam/Schiphol airport and the City of Groningen in the North of the country. Amsterdam is part of the Randstad region, the economic core of the Netherlands. Government has been provided a several descriptions of the possible Fig.8 New train from NS rail connections between Schiphol and Groningen because so many passengers do not end up traveling across the Afsluitdijk. They should decide and choose from one city to another only to be off at their deswhich type of transport techniques may be used: tination. High-speed rail can play an important role 1. intercity railroad (IC) - variants are relatively and often displacing short distance air travel. But slow (a maximum of 160 km/h) but will high-speed lines need to be a consentaneous together use existing tracks with conventional rail lines. Within cities, different bus and rail lines also need to be well-coordinated 2. high-speed railroad (HS) and Maglev system with each other. This includes a high degree of fre(ML)- variants are faster (about 300 km/h) quency and reliability of service, and well-designed, but need modifications of existing tracks easy-to-understand passenger information systems. to reach higher speeds

About the Writer

Advantage of the last two systems is high speed, but there is main disadvantage - they need relatively long distances to reach their maximum speed and to slow down again.

Andre Maltsev works in IT Technology and is a freelance photographer/journalist from Almere, Netherlands. Born in Russia, Andrea’s career has taken him from Russia, to working in Her Majesty’s service for the British Embassy, to Italy to where he is located today in the Netherlands. You can view many of Andre Maltsev’s works at http://www.flickr.photos/ryzhik/

In all of the countries the creation of a strong rail industry has depended from large and steady investments in rail and public transport.

34

By Ciaran Gilsenan

The Dream

All building and planning permits… access to city documents associated with that file. sorted, mapped and linked Icons are color-coded to reflect the permit status;

for example, blue is received and green is granted.

Every day, all over the United States, people are Still in beta, the platform will be released with more applying for building permits. In city halls, con- cities as the database grows. tractors, architects, consultants and homeowners are both pulling and applying for permits.

The new norm that arrived alongside the huge increase in data online is that we all expect to gain access to the data we are looking for within seconds. Try searching a city hall web site for planning and building information and the experience will very likely redefine the word “opaque.”

Fortunately, the veil can be lifted with a new web application, which allows users to see what building or planning permits have been applied for in San Francisco, Seattle or New York without having to go through the city hall web sites. A mobile version is currently in development and to be released very soon.

It’s called buildingeye.com.

Permit mapper and more Founded in July 2011, buildingeye.com is the creation of practicing civil engineer Ciaran Gilsenan of Dublin, Ireland, and Philip McNamara of San Francisco. The California company’s application takes government planning and building permit data from different cities and visualizes it on a map, making it easy to see what’s happening in local neighborhoods right now.

It identifies each permit application with a small site icon on a map. There is also an information window providing a full description of the proposed project and a link at the bottom, providing direct.

Figure 1. Overview of the Buildingeye app

35

By Ciaran Gilsenan San Francisco, we are using technology and innovation to improve city services that impact our everyday lives, from transportation to education to civic engagement.”

Company co-founder Gilsenan envisioned a mobile device app that offered greater transparency In the past, start-ups would not have had the advanthan is usually available in typical city hall web sites. tage of the data being made freely available to them.

This is the kind of transformation and open thinkRecently, the city of San Francisco joined the ranks ing that gave buildingeye.com the confidence to of the Internet’s burgeoning open data movement. build its new app, which delivers the following benIn June 2012, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee efits to the U.S. planning and building communities: announced the Open Government Innovation PartUser-friendly access to available city hall nership – a call to action to help cities advance and • information prioritize innovation to drive job growth, economic development, improved efficiency and collaboration.

• A real-time, low-cost data application with no public procurement protocols “This is a time for cities to confront challenges by taking to be adhered to. risks and embracing innovation,” said Mayor Lee. “In

Why Now?

Figure

2.

Screen

shot

from

Buildingeye.com

36

showing

San

Francisco

Data.

By Ciaran Gilsenan

What does it cost?

From Building Eye’s perspective, for an application to be an effective use of open data, it needs to provide some service for free to members of the public. To facilitate this, there needs to be a business model to sustain this service. Thus, the application provides the following features: • A search facility. free of charge to the public

Outside the USA some European countries—the United Kingdom, for example—are out in front in the open data community. Data sets for transportation, health and crime top of their open data list, with building permits slated for future release. The key to getting the system right is for the data providers – Government Bodies- providing an ongoing, machine-readable data feed in a common format.

As a user of the data we would rather see it put out there in raw format rather than waiting for it to be perfect, at least there is something we can do with it.

• A more detailed search for subscribers, whose subscription fees, in part, underwrite the cost of making the access to the Contact information data free for the public.

To contact BuildingEye: Subscription prices range from $50 per month to The Hub, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704 Please Call (510) 684 7750 $250 per month.

Email ciaran@buildingeye.com or phil@buildingeye.com This is just the first strand of what the company can Twitter @buildingeye do. With additional data layers, we will be able to service more authority-specific information to users in sectors other than building and planning.

Figure 3. Buildingeye.com planning list extract: search for new retail permits in San Francisco

37

Wildfire Season and the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire mitigation and management for a defendable space

By Pamela Shinn, BS URP

These weather conditions contributing to the recent outbreak of fires that have plagued many areas from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, California and those other areas in the draught areas are now of dire concern to many communities. To date the state of Colorado alone has had a number of major fires bordering the wildland-urban interface. At the time of writing this article the Colorado fires had been contained and still under the monitoring of Colorado office of

figure 2

Emergency Management who report that the High Park fire is 100% contained, Waldo Canyon is 98% contained, Weber fire is 90% contained, Little Sands is 40% contained. The losses alone reported from these fires remain at 6 lives lost, over 127,000 acres destroyed, and urbanization on the fringe of these wildland-urban interfaces (WUI) has lost an estimated 600 homes. As the fire season is far from over, it

figure 3 38

www.noaa.gov/

figure 1

www.noaa.gov/

As the 2012 wild fire season is upon us, it is only exemplified by continued prediction of drought. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), drought has been increasing both in extent and intensity across the country and is expected to persist and expand across the nation. In NOAA’s May to June 2012 reports, many regions across the country are being reported as dryer than normal. NOAA also has reported that over a three month time scale as being the driest on historical record. Those areas that are not to normal and fall below normal, with the most severe being in the Central Rockies and the Ohio Valle, having landmarked as the two dries areas on record and in ranking (figure 1). Sixteen other states fall in the driest third as well in the historical record. During the month of May 2012, the Palmer Drought Index (PHDI), indicates that 44% of the contiguous US falls within the moderate to extreme drought categories.

The Palmer Hydrologic (figure 2) and Metrologic Long Term Index (figure 3) for the month of June 2012 shows not much of an improvement for many areas.

www.noaa.gov/

The Driest Season on Record

Wildfire Season and the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire mitigation and management for a defendable space

By Pamela Shinn, BS URP

is imperative that fire prevention measures in are put into motion to assist is protecting urban areas, planners, contractors and homeowners can use preventive measures to help homes build in vulnerable areas.

A CWFPP can be developed at the community level such as with a homeowners association, town, county, or city level. This should be developed in collaboration with community members and relevant partners. .All the information that will be contained within the plan should be appropriate and community specific. There should also be a county level plan, which should provide a wide umbrella type of plan which should be set up to include CWPP’s on the county level and should be considered as an alternative plan since they will not include community specific plans.

As we strive to preserve open space and curb urban sprawl, across America every year many homes are subject to fire-prone areas. While some of these homes survive, others do not survive a major wildfire.

Those homes that do survive these fires is primarily due to having been prepared in assuring location, construction and landscape as assisting in making a defendable sustainable living area. Although this A plan include: A description of the community’s WUI that does not guarantee the survival of a home, wildfire • will identify problematic areas utilizing a mitigation that can be taken on the public and primap and narrative vate level may help to save your home or community.

Wildfire Mitigation Planning

•

Information on the community’s preparedness to respond to a wildland fire

•

Community risk analysis which should include: the risk of wildfire occurrence, fuel hazards and community assets to be protected in the immediate vicinity and the surrounding zone where potential fire spread poses a threat

From the city planning standpoint, zoning and building regulations can play a major role in assisting to assure that those homes built on the fringe of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) have defendable buildings as well as a defendable building space. Construction materials and landscaping can • increase the potential for a more positive outcome.

Local officials and planners can assist in the mitigation of wildfire damage protective measures. One method for city officials and planners is to assist the community in the development of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWFPP). The CWFPP is one of the best tools to begin with for communities located on the wildland-urban interface.

By developing a CWPP, communities can develop a fire mitigation plan tailored to their specific community and the communities needs. Key partners in the plan may include; local government, local fire authorities, representatives from your local federal land managing agency, and other non-governmental agencies. The key partners should assess the community and develop a very specific community plan.

Identification of fuels treatment priorities on the ground and methods of treatments

•

Ways to reduce structural ignitability

•

Plan implementation measures

Codes for wildfire prone areas While during wildfires where homes and buildings are exposed to the threat of fire, there are three basic types of wildfire exposures.

• • • 39

Burning embers Direct flame contact/exposure Radiant heat

Wildfire Season and the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire mitigation and management for a defendable space

By Pamela Shinn, BS URP

time a building element, component or any assembly maintains the ability to confine or restrict fire while continuing to give full structural performance and mandated the use of non to low combustible materials into their building codes. These materials range from roofing, vents, soffits and eaves, gutters, windows, decking, Of course the required use of non or low combustible siding, calking, fire barriers and walls, joint systems building materials is also a very large consideration. and a whole lot more. All requirements take into conThe state of California since 2008 has mandated that sideration three fire related standard characteristics: any new construction done in a wildfire prone area of First, the ability to resist the spread of fire that state are required to comply with fire mitigation re- • Second is flame resistance quirements instituted in the California , building code. • • Third the ability to resist generating The provision in Chapter 7A of the California buildburning embers ing code provides regulations for “Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure” and applies to building materials, systems and assemblies You can find more about the “Materials and Conthat are used in all exterior design and construction struction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Expsure” of for buildings that will be located within a WUI area. the California building code at: http://publicecodes.citation.com/st/ca/st/b200v10/ Local zoning regulations are also another tool st_ca_st_b200v10_7a_section.htm that can be used in fire mitigation. These regulations are generally site and land use specific plans Homeowners and Wildfire that can assist in regulating by identifying addi- Mitigation tional development and control standards. Some tools to consider for regulation may include: It is important for homeowners to know and recognize the areas that they can assist in improving upon miti• provide for two lane road access to main roads gating their homes against wildfires and providing for a more defendable space. Homeowners can take two and fire lanes areas into consideration in the approach to help protect • requiring buffer zones around any home or a against the treat of wildfires in regard to their homes.

The first and primary consideration to assist in helping planned unit development to provide a defendable living space would begin with the structure of your home, utilizing materials recom• mandating within that buffer zone fire mended as low-combustible materials as we discussed retardant materials and vegetation previously. The second would be making the space around the structure is on as high a defendable space • Providing for lower density by means of as possible. The goal here would be to reduce fuels that idetinfying minimum residential lot may aid in the spreading of the fire to the structure. depth as well as structure placement from buffer zone While embers are the number one major cause of homes being lost during wildfire season, the major considerations of wildfire mitigation also include the threat of embers to ignite near-by vegetation as well as the structure.

Homeowners can mitigate their landscapes and still These regulations and methods have already been tak- maintain the natural setting of their property. It is en into consideration in many areas. Many building important that not only is the physical logistics of the codes utilize fire-resistant ratings, being the period of landscape important, but the live vegetation as well.

40

Wildfire Season and the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire mitigation and management for a defendable space

By Pamela Shinn, BS URP

Vegetation and Clearance The term Defendable Space in landscape (or Firescape) the area and is considered as a 100 foot zone area which would surround a structure. The area may have vegetation, and consideration to low height as well as non to low combustible materials and vegetation should be used. Fire resistive plants should be spaced and maintained to minimize any fuel mass that may ignite due to fire. The first 30 feet around the structure is considered the Defensible Space Zone should be kept free of vegetation and any combustibles that may fuel a fire. From 30 feet to 100 foot zone extension from the home should be considered as the Reduced Fuel Zone. This area is where any fuels and vegetation should be separated both vertically and horizontally. This can be accomplished by: •

Thinning and pruning to limit overgrowth and to eliminate dead growth

•

Removal of vegetation to eliminate dead material and to ride the area of highly combustible vegetation. This can be done to also provide separation between plants

•

Trimming trees up from lower vegetation and also to provide lateral separation within the canopy.

Examples of low combustible vegetation are: • • • • •

Plants that grow close to the ground Have a low sap or resin content Grow without accumulating dead branches, needles or leaves Plants that are easily maintained and pruned Are drought-tolerant

You can find a specific list of plants suggested for high risk fire mitigation at: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/SuggestedPlants.pdf

Photo by Pamela Sinn

According to Analysis of the Utility of Wildfire Home Protection Strategies, studies have recommended that “bush clearance of between 10-19 feet to the north and west was best correlated with homes sustaining structural damage while a tree clearance of 0-4 feet to the north and west resulted in a greater probability of structural damage. These findings indicate that the recommended 30-foot brush clearance the 15-foot tree clearance were effective in protecting homes as these suggested vegetation clearance distances were not correlated with homes sustaining wildfire damage.” 2002 Hayman Fire Disaster burned 133 homes, 138,114 acres, Types of vegetation are dependent upon your area.

There are types of vegetation that are fire non or low plants and others that are highly combustible.

and forced the evacuation of 5,340 people- Pike National Forest, Colorado. Photo taken June 2012.

41

Urban Planning and Economic Development News Magazine Cover Photo, ‘Off-ramp to Hemel’ contributed by Derek Bissett of Buckinghamshire, England. To see more of Derek’s work go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/deeeb/ or contact him on derekbissett@btinternet.com Michael Davis is an aviation and urban enviornment photographer formerly based out of Nashville, Tennessee. Having grown up in a small town in Kentucky, Michael always dreamed of living in a bigger, more urban, environment.

Michael is pleased to share his passion of the built environment in the form of photos. Michael has had numerous photos published in some of the world's most respected publications and is a published author of one book. Michael can be reached directly at mddavis@comcast.net and his photos can be seen at www.flickr.com/perspectivephotography.com.

Highway A1A photo provided by Joseph Babyak. You can view more of Joseph’s work at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/llnesinthesand/3651104461/

Adam Prince is a travel enthusiast that resides in North Carolina. You can follow his travels at his blog "Sure, Why Not?" at: http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/.

Historic Highway 89A sign by Ellen Jo Roberts.

Michael Schraf is from Brisbane Australia and attended Queensland University of Technology and has a Bachelors degree in Urban Development - Regional and Town Planning with experience in econominc development and regional planning.

Andre Maltsev works in IT Technology and is a freelance photographer/ journalist from Almere, Netherlands. Born in Russia, Andrea’s career has taken him from Russia, to working in Her Majesty’s service for the British Embassy, to Italy to where he is located today in the Netherlands. You can view many of Andre Maltsev’s works at http://www.flickr.photos/ryzhik/

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