Streetcar update: Killed, but not dead yet

Charlotte City Council just voted 6-4 for a budget that doesn’t include a $119 million expansion of the city’s streetcar project. (See my earlier post here.)

Then Mayor Anthony Foxx vetoed that vote. What happens next? The council reconsiders the veto at its next meeting – 6:30 p.m. today. It takes 7 votes to override a veto. Council member James Mitchell is not here but he has been a streetcar supporter. Unless something changes (always possible) the streetcar is not dead yet.

Must go now; Patrick Cannon is finally saying something. He’s been quiet so far.

Why planners need resilience

In the 21st century planners across America will have to confront changes never seen before, and innovation will be essential. So will resilience. The national president of the American Planning Association on Thursday recounted for a symposium of planners, architects and developers some of the huge changes ahead, not just nationally but in North Carolina.

Mitchell Silver, planning director for the city of Raleigh, also heads the APA this year and in recent months has been visiting places all over the country. Amid many demographic changes, he said, people don’t even agree on what the term “urban” means.
To the Census Bureau, “urban” includes the suburbs, and suburban fringe areas. “For some people the term ‘urban’ is a popular culture term; it has nothing to do with geography,” he said. At one conference in another state, he recounted, a man said to him, “If you’re going to talk about ‘urban’ let me know and I’m going to leave.”

But in North Carolina, the state’s five top urban areas (Charlotte, Greensboro, the Triangle, Triad and the Virginia Beach metro area) hold 70 percent of the state’s population, 75 percent of its jobs and produce 83 percent of the state’s GDP.

At the same time, across the nation, 25 percent of all counties have lost population. He showed a map of North Carolina; 2000-2010 seven N.C. counties lost population. “We have to figure out how cities, suburbs and rural areas grow – together,” he said.

Mitchell spoke at a symposium Thursday, “Resilient communities, innovation for change,” sponsored by the UNC Charlotte Master of Urban Design program, the university’s Belk College of Business Master of Science in Real Estate program, and the nonprofit ULI Charlotte.

Huge changes on the horizon that Silver pinpointed:

“The silver tsunami”: “By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65.” By 2025 the number of single-person households in the U.S. will equal the number of family households. “By 2030 it’ll be a clear majority,” he said. That, alone, is a game-changer for communities and how they plan.
For example, he said, the elderly often have to give up driving. Will they be able to get around via public transit? In three years, he said, in metro Atlanta projections show that 90 percent of seniors will live in neighborhoods with poor access to transportation options. Among midsize metros, Raleigh is No. 5 on that list of transportation access for the elderly.

The browning of America: By 2042 no race will be the majority in America – for the first time in U.S. history. Silver showed a time-lapse slide that showed the growing number of N.C. counties where the proportion of the non-white population was rising.

Generations X-Y-Z: By 2009, 41 percent of children born in the U.S. were born to unwed mothers. For a variety of reasons, marriage is no longer the automatic choice for parenthood. And for  Gen Y, Silver said,  “Place matters, not job.”

“People want the experience of place,” he said. “Because place matters.”

Finally, he made a pitch for planning based on economics. “Strategic planning adds value,” he said. His examples (with a tip of the hat to Asheville’s Joe Minnicozi, who first ran these types of numbers):
– In Raleigh it takes 600 single-family homes in a 150-acre subdivision to equal the tax value of the Wells Fargo Capital Center, on 1.2 acres in downtown Raleigh.
– A highrise in downtown Asheville on three acres pays off its public infrastructure investment in three years. The return on civic infrastructure investment is 35 percent.
– Also in Asheville, a suburban multifamily complex on 30 acres pays off its public infrastructure investment in 42 years. The return on investment is 2 percent.

How friendly to pedestrians is your Charlotte ‘hood?

SOURCE: Carlton Gideon, UNCC Urban Institute, City of Charlotte

One advantage of being surrounded by people who crunch data for fun (and for degrees, but not for profit, at least not at UNCC’s Urban Institute), is that they’ll just pop up with some cool factoids and maps.

Geography grad student Carlton Gideon from Wilmington just wandered in with this map showing which Charlotte neighborhoods are the most pedestrian-friendly. The measures used come from the City of Charlotte’s 2010 Quality of Life Report, research for which was done by UNC Charlotte’s Metropolitan Studies Group. The Pedestrian Friendliness Index was based on the total length of sidewalks in each NSA (neighborhood statistical area) compared to the total length of streets. The index ran from 1 to 2.  In the Quality of Life study, a 0 to 1 measure was Low pedestrian friendliness, 1.1 to 1.3 was Medium, and 1.4 and higher was High pedestrian friendliness.
The report doesn’t tally up how many neighborhoods ranked “high” in pedestrian friendliness although my guess is: not many.

What Gideon did was show, on the colorful map atop this posting (click on it for a zoom view), the gradation of neighborhood friendliness.It’s interesting to note, for instance, that one of the most pedestrian-friendly areas is a large suburban subdivision, Highland Creek. It’s the big blue neighborhood in the northeast corner. The lighter blue neighborhood just south of it includes the University Place area. The UNCC campus area, alas, is the orange pie-shaped neighborhood just south of that. Plenty of sidewalks on campus, but the rest of the area is sadly lacking. Also interesting is the comparatively better rankings of neighborhoods in the farther fringes. Maybe, Gideon theorizes, they were built after the city began requiring sidewalks on both sides of streets in new subdivisions?
You can see below his color-coded pedestrian-friendliness map superimposed on a Google satellite view of the city, where you can zoom in or out. If that doesn’t work for you, take this URL http://webpages.uncc.edu/~jcgideon/test2.kmz and paste it into the search window of Google maps:


View Larger Map

CATS wants input; more of us recycle; read about a great NC street

(I’m cleaning out the old email inbox today)

CATS wants your ideas. The Charlotte Area Transit System is holding a series of forums this week and next to help it formulate ways to improve its bus service in Mecklenburg County and the region. Two meetings are tonight, 6-7:30 p.m., one at North Regional Library and one at Independence Regional Library. (Maybe if you live near there you can zip on down there tonight.) Thursday one will be at Arbor Glen Outreach Center (1520 Clanton Road). The last will be at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center on Oct. 21 (next Thursday).

Recycling Rises: The City of Charlotte today sent word that recycling has risen since the debut of the green roll out bins. On any given day, approximately 53 percent of all households are setting recyclables out for collection. That compares to only 42 percent during a study in October 2009.

Also, the city reports collecting 37 percent pounds more recycling in August compared to August 2009, and 22 percent more in July compared to July 2009 (3,177 and 2,599 respectively); however, there was a 37% increase in tonnage collected in August 2010 when compared to August 2009 (3,338 and 2,426 respectively).

Still can’t remember which week is your recycling week, now that it’s collected only every other week? If so, you are not alone. Visit this web site for all kinds of useful information on recycling. Go to the GeoPortal where there’s a bunch of interesting information, plug in your address and check on “services.” You’ll either be a “green” or “orange.” Then visit here to see the calendar in color, or here for a black and white, printer-friendly version. We have a copy posted on the fridge. Or you can call 311. If you have the time to sit on hold …

Great Street: We all know North Carolina has some of the world’s great places, but the American Planning Association this year has dubbed New Bern’s Middle Street one of its Great Places for 2010. Here’s what the APA writes: “From a scenic waterfront to historic architecture, Middle Street encapsulates everything that makes New Bern special. The town’s rich history — including colonial, Civil War, and early 20th century — is embodied in the street’s beautifully restored homes, five churches, the early 20th century Blades Mansion, and vibrant commercial district. Access to the Trent River is just steps away. At the same time, the street is a cornerstone for the city as it works to reinvigorate its economy by capitalizing on its two greatest assets: its history and waterfront.”

In 2009 Main Street in Greenville, S.C., won a similar honor.

Big Sweep Swept Up Big Trash: During Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s annual creek- and lake-cleanup on Oct. 2, more than 500 people helped dredge up more than 8 tons of trash, mostly bottles, cans, food wrappers and other litter. They removed 707 bags of garbage and 27 tires. Also found:

• A dog house,
• A baby training
• A giant candy cane yard decoration.

Demolition, part two

My posting last week, about a very nice two-story home demolished (“What’s the opposite of green? Maybe this”), has an update. Owner Max Redic says he’ll be building a new house on the site.

Redic said his family had lived in the house 10 years, had been thinking for five years about rebuilding. The house had mold and a 25-year-old HVAC system, he said. They’ve temporarily moved to another site in Charlotte and yes, he said, they do have a building permit for the new house. (The demolition permit posted said “Total res demo – No Build Back.”)

He said they recycled much of the building material, donated a good bit of the interior goods to Habitat for Humanity, and let the fire department use the house for training before the demolition.

And, he pointed out (as my blogpost had), it’s his property to do with as he wishes. A bit of context: The lot is near a number of others where nice, but older, houses have been torn down and much larger new ones built — some on spec by developers and some by homeowners.

Demolition, part two

My posting last week, about a very nice two-story home demolished (“What’s the opposite of green? Maybe this”), has an update. Owner Max Redic says he’ll be building a new house on the site.

Redic said his family had lived in the house 10 years, had been thinking for five years about rebuilding. The house had mold and a 25-year-old HVAC system, he said. They’ve temporarily moved to another site in Charlotte and yes, he said, they do have a building permit for the new house. (The demolition permit posted said “Total res demo – No Build Back.”)

He said they recycled much of the building material, donated a good bit of the interior goods to Habitat for Humanity, and let the fire department use the house for training before the demolition.

And, he pointed out (as my blogpost had), it’s his property to do with as he wishes. A bit of context: The lot is near a number of others where nice, but older, houses have been torn down and much larger new ones built — some on spec by developers and some by homeowners.

Sprawl on high: Losing N.C. mountain wilderness

If you love the North Carolina mountains – the rocky wilderness trails, shady streams, the waves of mountaintops fading into the horizon – you won’t like what I’m about to tell you. On the other hand, if you like miles and miles of stripped-out highways lined with conveniences stores, gas stations, chain motels, chain restaurants and billboards, you may enjoy it:

A recent study has found that in 30 years – 1976 to 2006 – land development in the North Carolina mountains increased 568 percent – from 34,348 acres to 229,422 acres – while population increased only 42 percent.

This means the development grew even more thinly spread around the area than it was in 1976. The average number of developed acres per person, known as the “development footprint” went from 0.06 in 1976 to 0.30 in 2006.

Projections are that the number of developed acres will increase another 63 percent by 2030, while population will increase only 25 percent. So the development footprint will grow to 0.39 acres a person.

I know unemployment in the N.C. mountains has been a severe problem. My concern is that the form of development, not the fact of the development, is destroying a precious natural treasure. Plenty of other countries have figured out how to have both development and preserved natural areas. Too bad ours hasn’t done that yet.

Read the full study at the newly launched, newly redesigned website for the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. You can also read pieces by UNCC architecture professor David Walters, comparing Charlotte’s transit options to those in Basel, Switzerland (er, we fall short), and a piece by now-retired Urban Institute director Bill McCoy on dynamic downtowns throughout the region.

Walters says, “Cities such as Basel are … better positioned to respond effectively to future changes in lifestyle that may be occasioned by external factors such as climate change, volatile energy prices and diminishing oil supplies. Charlotte, by contrast, faces some daunting, self-imposed challenges as it struggles towards a more sustainable urban future.”

McCoy concludes that downtown Charlotte puts downtown Atlanta to shame, and gives a rundown on changes in places such as Mooresville, a former mill town that now sees gallery crawls and wine-tastings in its downtown. He concludes: “The suburban big box retail option dealt a blow to our regional downtowns, but it was not a fatal blow. In fact, our towns have weathered that storm and have come back by emphasizing niche markets, micro-retail, festivals and celebrations, cultural events, music, residential opportunities, and other community building dynamics.”

The mountain study come from a collaboration among researchers at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Charlotte, RENCI at UNC Asheville, researchers from UNC Charlotte’s Center for Applied Geographic Information Science (CAGIS), with funding from the City of Asheville, the U.S. Forest Service, and RENCI’s home office in Chapel Hill.

(Photo above courtesy UNCC Urban Institute, ui.uncc.edu)

For traffic geeks, policy wonks and more

Sharing tidbits and links:

– Lew Powell shared this article about a math whiz in Manhattan who is devising an intricate Excel program to show the cost to everyone from each car, truck, taxi or bus that enters Manhattan daily. It’s in Wired magazine. For congestion-policy geeks and others.

[Lew, for you who don’t know him, is now retired from his long-time role as Observer Forum editor, Buzz editor and office “wag” – as when people would write, “an office wag quipped … ” and recount a pithy and witty observation.]

– A sad, ironic note. The Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department recently learned it’s one of three finalists for the 2010 NRPA Gold Medal Award. It’s an annual award from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) honoring excellence in management and planning of parks and recreation agencies. Of course, the county park department’s budget is being cut almost in half. It’s losing dozens of staff to layoffs, and some of its programs will have to be eliminated.

– Want to see a new promotional video for the city, done by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA)? It’s at the bottom of this page. Cameos by Michael Jordon,
Winston Kelly, Anthony Foxx, a tray full of homemade biscuits and more. I note one shot early on is from – gasp! – the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont (not Gastonia, as I wrote in haste Thurday night). That’s legit if you think of “Charlotte” as the region. Not sure about that Childress Vineyard clip, though. It’s up the road rather a ways, outside Lexington. Pick you up some Lexington BBQ on your way …

– Here’s a link to the piece in the Atlantic magazine about Andres Duany – a piece I referenced in my May 21 op-ed, “Jane Jacobs, Robert Moses and NIMBYs.” If you missed them, here are a couple of earlier posts on related topics, here and here. Both were written at a conference where Duany spoke, sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Nieman Foundation and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Anthony Flint of Lincoln Institute sure wished I’d have mentioned that sponsorship in the print oped. I should have, he’s right.

‘Bright flight’ changes the face of cities, suburbs/Younger, educated whites moving to urban areas for homes, jobs – It’s a link to an Associated Press story on the msnbc.com web site. It refers to a Brookings Institution study released in May, but the link to the study on Brookings site is temporarily broken. This link takes you to the main Metropolitan Policy Program site at Brookings.