urban planning and economic development news magazine

8/13/2019 Urban Planning and Economic Development News Magazine

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URBAN PLANNING AND

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

NEWS MAGAZINE

A Global Publication

Januar

y2012

VOL

1

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right?

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development

Alternative Energy for Economic Development

ourism Planning ools for SustainableEconomic Development


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Our Vision is to share a ull range o interdisciplinary proessional knowledge withcommunity leaders, proessional planners, businesses and interested citizens having a

commitment to operational excellence in the public and private sectors. Contributions romour constituency will assist in acilitating sound decisions in community and economicdevelopment to promote continued commitments in creating quality places to live, work andplay.

Our goal is to provide educational inormation and services in urban planning andenvironmental conservation to an interconnected global community that will both enable in-dividuals and communities to adapt to new holistic techniques and solutions to resolve existingand uture urban and environmental issues and oster economic and sustainable development.

General Manager/PublisherPamela Shinn, B.S. URP

Editor in ChiefDavid Weinstock, Ph.D

Assistant Online ManagerSam Lovall

AssistantWeb Design EditorRonald Hanson, M.A. FS

Design ConsultantChantel Martin

January 2012

Cover Photo, Morning Sunrise at North Hoyle; North Hoyle offshore wind arm, Liverpool Bay, IrishSea Courtsey o Arron Crowe, Denbighshire, UK. For more inormation about Arron Crowe and hiswork you can contact him at: acrowephotography@gmail.

In Association with

Urban Planning and Economic Development Associates

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FEAURE ARICLES:

Alternative EnergySolutionsA Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right?A closer look at solar power options or your home,business or public acility.By Clayton Grow, PE, LEED AP 4

Alternative Energy for Economic Development

Implementation o Biomass, Hydro and Solar PowerBy Alison Bates 39

ransportationBad Planning Vs Urban Economic DevelopmentWhy did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage eature notalleviate urban exclusin in Bogota?By Solenne Cucchi 8

Economyourism Planning ools for Sustainable EconomicDevelopmentBy racy Mullins, MS, AICP 15

LawRedevelopment and Blight in FluxSan Diego Superior Court Affirms High LegalTreshold or Municipalities to Declare an AreaBlighted or Purposes o RedevelopmentBy Anthony Nash 23

Urban ScapeIs the International Architectual Style SappingUrban Soul?By Annette Fehr-Stomp 20

AgricultureUrban AgricultureA growing trendBy Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA 26

RedevelopmentBrownfield Redevelopment in MichiganTe orgotten element o community planningBy Flo McCormack 32

Restorative Development RegulationsBy Kaizer Rangwala, AICP, CEcD, CNU-A 36

PhotobyPamelaShinn

CreditsPhoto Credits 47

PhotobyNikoPau

lBovenberg

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A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right?A closer look at solar power options or your home, business or public acility.

By Clayton Grow, PE, LEED AP

Growing Sustainably:Your guide to greenbuilding

Tis column, written by an engineer with experi-ence designing sustainable building practices innew construction and renovation projects, willkeep you up-to-date on useul strategies to helpyour building or construction project use energymore efficiently, generate less waste, and reduceits impact on the environment. Urban planners,

municipality officials, building owners and oper-ators, engineers, and architects will benefit romthe sage advice and easily understood explana-tions o the ofen conusing, but essential, worldo sustainable construction products and prac-tices.

A Common Misconception

A design team looking to use green building practicesin new or renovated buildings will, at some point,consider using solar panels. Te idea o solar panelsthat many people have is one o billboard-like assem-blies with sturdy vertical supports that require a sig-nificant amount o roofop or open area to convert thesuns rays to electricity.

Te truth is, there are several different types o solarpanels, and one o the most popular types does notconvert sunlight to electricity at all. Tis article willexplain the differences, advantages, disadvantages,

typical applications, and supplemental inormationsources o three main categories o solar panels: stand-ard photovoltaic (PV); thin-film PV; and solar ther-mal collectors.

Tree Categories of Panels

Standard PV panelsare the prototypical solar pan-el that most people have in mind when they envisionsolar panels. Tese panels are ofen mounted on roo-tops or in open areas, where they convert energy romthe sun to DC electricity (#1). Tis DC current flowsto the inverter (#2), where it is inverted to AC elec-tricity, to be used on-site (#3), with the excess gettingsent and sold back to the grid (#4).

Tin-film PV panels are considered the secondgeneration o solar panel design. Te general princi-pal o converting the suns rays to DC electricity andthen inverting it to AC is the same as standard PVpanels, but the materials used to make the panels aredrastically different. Manuacturers o thin-film PVsuse nanotechnology to reduce material costs, abri-cating these uturistic panels rom non-silicon mate-rials, including copper, indium, gallium, and seleni-um. Te flexibility o the film used to make theseinnovative panels allows them to be configured in al-

most any size or shape to best meet the needs o aproject.

Tin-film PV panels on a residential roof

in New South Wales, Australia. Image viaSolarShop on Flickr.

Image via SunVest Solar Inc.

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Solar thermal collectorsmay look similar to stand-

ard PV panels, but are quite different. Te most com-mon orm o solar thermal collectors are flat plate col-lectors, which are panels that consist o a transparentcover, a dark-colored flat solar energy absorber, andheat-transport tubing. Instead o converting the sunslight directly to electricity, these devices are config-ured with a series o fluid-filled pipes inside the panel.A pumping system circulates this fluid - water or a wa-ter/anti-reeze mix - that is circulated rom inside thebuilding, through the panel tubing out in, where thefluid then transers the heat it absorbed rom the sunto a hot water storage tank. Te tubing in the solarcollectors is very well insulated on the non-sunlightside in order to minimize heat dissipation to the out-door environment.

Less common variations o solar thermal collectorsinclude: evacuated tube collectors, parabolic troughsand dishes, and solar power towers. Tese are more

complex and experimental technologies and are notcommonly implemented, except by large utilities orresearch organizations.

Standard PV Panel

Examples

Standard PV panels are ideal or installation on pro-jects that have plenty o would-be wasted space.Buildings with extensive roo areas and projects withlarge open areas are a good fit or a standard PV solararray. While warehouses, actories, and campuseswith large open fields can best benefit rom a PV ar-ray by generating large percentages o their electricityuse, smaller commercial and residential applications

can also achieve significant electricity savings whenproperly configured.

Tin-film PV

ExamplesMany properties do not have sufficient area in whichto install large supports or a standard PV array, sothin-film PV may be more appropriate. Recent in-creases in efficiency and cost reduction are making

thin-film technology viable or more applications.Te advantage o installing a thin-film array is thatthey can be installed with a very low profile, some-times even using a peel-and-stick application. Ibuilding owners are concerned with maintaining asleek aesthetic or their building or i large supportstructures are ineasible, a thin-film PV system maybe most appropriate.

Solar Termal Collector

ExamplesBecause solar thermal collectors and PV panelsserve very different unctions, a building ownercould conceivably install both types to help de-ray the costs o both electricity and heating. So-lar thermal panels are most cost-effective whenused or buildings that have a high hot water de-mand, such as restaurants, hotels, laundromats,car washes, or buildings with hydronic heatingsystems. While they can be used or essentially

any building that uses hot water, the payback pe-riod is shorter or buildings with high hot waterdemand.

Schematic of solar themal collector and storage tankconfiguration. Image via Inkwibbna on WikimediaCommons.



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I youre considering LEED (Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design) certification, solar PVpanels and solar thermal panels can help achieve theollowing credits in the United States Green BuildingCouncils (USGBC) LEED Green Building RatingSystem, version 2009 or New Construction and Ma-

jor Renovations (NC+MR):

1. Sustainable Sites Credit 7.1:

Heat Island Effect Nonroo (1 point)

2. Energy and Atmosphere (EA) Prerequisite 2:Minimum Energy Perormance (required)

3. EA Credit 1:Optimize Energy Perormance (1-19 points)

4. EA Credit 2:On-site Renewable Energy (1-7 points)

5. EA Credit 6:Green Power (2 points)

6. Innovation in Design Credit 1:Innovation in Design (1-5 points)

7. Regional Priority Credit 1:Regional Priority (1-4 points)

Solar LEED Credits

Energy Savings

Te amount o energy you will save each yearwith a solar power system depends on the size oyour building, the size o the system, the climate,the price o electricity, and a slew o other ac-tors. For an appropriately sized system, i abuilding owner receives all o the ederal, state,and local tax credits and rebates available to de-ray a portion o the system installation costs, ahome or small business PV system can have apayback period as short as 4-5 years. Tis figure

also actors in the increase in property value thatbenefits a building owner that installs a solar PVsystem.Source: PV FAQs, U.S. Dept. o Energy, NationalRenewable Energy Laboratory, http://www.nrel.gov/docs/y04osti/35489.pd

Solar thermal collector systems installed or buildingswith a high demand or hot water restaurants, carwashes, et al. can ofen pay or themselves in lessthan a year, taking into account the tax rebates andincentives available or these systems in most states.Another actor to consider when determining thepayback period is the price fluctuation o the tradi-tional method o water heating in your area, which isnatural gas in most areas o the country. Residentialinstallations can also see a reasonable payback period,especially i a solar thermal system can be incorpo-rated into a hydronic heating system.

More inormation about energy savings and payback

periods or solar thermal systems is available at theUS Department o Energy site below:http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cm/mytopic=12910

PhotobySodonsEnergySolutions



PhotocourtesyBWL

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Factors to consider when deciding i a solar PV orthermal system is right or your residence or com-mercial building include:

1. Your monthly electricity bill

2. Your monthly natural gas bill (i used orwater heating)

3. Your hot-water demand

4. Te space available or a solar system(roo, parking lot, yard, etc.)

5. Average days o direct sunlight in yourregion

6. Te local or state solar energy incentivesavailable in your area (Database o StateIncentives or Renewables & Efficiency:http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cm?state=us )

Many organizations can help guide you through theprocess o selecting, sizing, and financing a solarenergy system. A ew reputable resources both

government and private-sector organizations arelisted below.

1. United States Department o Energy (USDOE) - http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/solar - a divisiono the ederal government dedicated to inormingthe public about energy.

2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory(NREL)- http://www.nrel.gov/solar/ - a division o

the US DOE dedicated to renewable energy re-search.

3. SunVest Solar - http://www.sunvest.com/ - aprivate, ull-service solar electric installation com-pany.

4. Solar Rating & Certification Corporation(SRCC) - http://www.solar-rating.org/ - a non-profitorganization that provides ratings, certifications,

and standards or solar thermal products.5. American Solar Energy Society (ASES) www.ases.org a non-profit association o solarproessionals and advocates whose goal is to speedthe transition to a sustainable energy economy.

Clayton . Grow, a licensed proessional engineer

and sustainability advocate, is an idependent writeror the engineering and construction industries.More ino at www.TeWritingEngineer.com.

Resources

Te Right System for

Your Building

About the Writer

PhotobyPamelaShinn

PhotobyKarlaPeiper



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Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic DevelopmentWhy did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage eature not alleviate

urban exclusin in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

PhotbyTerryFarrant

Tis article aims to bring to attention how a lack oconsistent urban planning can ruin the potential con-tribution o transportation to urban economic devel-opment. It takes the example o Bogot, Colombia,and the battle against urban exclusion. Te concepto urban exclusion, urban meaning both the physicalentity o the city, its population and its complex or-

ganization, is introduced as the combination o spatialsegregation and a lack o access to social services, po-litical participation, economic opportunities and cul-tural recognition. Poor transport service constitutes amajor barrier to accessing job opportunities, reduc-ing the size o effective labour market, which has beenpresented as a key element or urban economic devel-opment by many eminent economists such as RemyPrudHomme. Intermodality, understood as an inte-grative space where users can easily switch rom onemeans o transport to another, can partially bring a so-

lution to public transportation ailure i well designed.It can allow more people to reach the main activitycenters by combining the means o transport that aremore appropriate or them. In Bogot, this intermo-dality could be ound in the combination between bi-cycle and Bus Rapid ransit (BR) system. However,the lack o social planning added to socio-economicand political limits actually ailed to integrate theexcluded citizen to main job centers and to extendthe effective labour market size or the companies.

Bogota is well-known in the planning field or thephysical transormation implemented under the gov-ernment o Enrique Pealosa, articulated around aBus Rapid ransit (BR) system called ransMilenio

and driven by his broader vision or a more egalitarian

city. Tis system has some connecting points with thecitys cycle path or CicloRuta through ree and securebike storage called cicloparqueaderos. It is myunderstanding that bicycle and public transportdo not compete with each other but are comple-mentary (see Fig. 1), despites that initially, bothnetworks have been implemented as two paralleltransport systems presenting integrative featuresand impacts.

ransMilenio provides social advantages in the singleare applied regardless o the travelled distance andthe ree eeder-buses distributed mostly in poor areas.Tese avour income redistribution rom the maincorridors o the system, used by richer people whocontribute to pay or eeder-bus services without us-

ing them, to the periphery where those are running.On the other hand, with a length o 344 km, BogotasCicloRuta is the longest bike path network in LatinAmerica, mainly distributed through the periph-eral and poorest neighbourhoods. By connecting allparts o the city, the CicloRuta constitutes a key el-ement o economic and spatial integration and con-stitutes a major (and ofen only) recreational spaceor the poorest residents. It also recognizes bicyclesas major mobility assets or them with a numbero daily commutes by bicycle up to 4.5%, and morethan 80% o cyclists living in poor neighborhoods.See figure 1.

Sourceecoefficiency.bligoo.com

Bad Planning Vs UrbanEconomic Development

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TransMilenio network

Terminals

CicloRuta network

LEGEND

Figure 1 Coverage o CicloRuta network and ransMilenio system in Bogota (Source: IDP Colombia)

ransMilenio network

erminals

CicloRuta network

ransMilenio terminals with cicloparqueaderos

ransMilenio stations with cicloparqueaderos

A brie discussion o Bogotas socio-economic struc-

ture helps understanding the importance o down-town access or the residents economic interests.Bogota is usually described as a polarized city alonga north-south axis. However, using the DANE socio-economic stratification model, which determines theprice o urban services in each area, as an indicator orthe price o rent, Bogotas urban structure appears toroughly ollow the monocentric Alonso-Mills-Muthmodel. With the exception o wealthier pockets, andtaking into account the Andean topography limitingurban expansion, its price gradient declines rom the

city centre or CBD, where most o the activities, espe-cially economic ones, are located (Fig. 2).

As one can see, the poorest neighborhoods, which

also suffer rom capability constraints in terms otransport due to longer commute and poor publictransport service, are the arthest rom the ormal

job centres. Te creation o cicloparqueaderos withinransMilenio stations has thereore an interesting po-tential or urban inclusion and or economic develop-ment bringing more workers in the CBD by becomingan alternative eeder or ransMilenio or low-incomeresidents in areas outside its coverage area. It pro-

vides a space or intermodality between two veryefficient transportation networks that should allevi-

ate mobility-related exclusion in Bogota by reduc-ing mobility barriers, providing a cheaper and moreflexible mode o transport, a sae environment tostore bicycle and access to a ast mass-transit system.

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However, it actually is a ailure in terms o ull soci-etal integration and social objectives. My analysis othe case conducted to identiy several barriers to theurban inclusiveness that the cicloparqueaderos canprovide.

Te scarce number o cicloparqueaderos in Bogo-

t, 1,640 in total distributed among 6 out o the 114ransMilenio stations, is the first observation that onecan make when studying this street fixture. Consider-ing that more than 250,000 citizens commute daily on

the CicloRuta, and that rans-Milenio moves on above 198,000

passengers during peak hours,the service offered is negligi-ble as it provides protected reebike storage to less than 1% oboth networks users. Tis lacko inrastructure and availabilityo cicloparqueaderos resourcesrenders its social impact mini-mal.

Additionaly, two major politicalbarriers emerge when this lownumber is questioned. Firstly,political tension between thetwo lef-wing last municipalgovernments with the imageo bicycles and ransMileniostrongly associated with Pea-losa (Independent) is a mainobstacle to the implementationo more cycling acilities in Bo-gota. Te last mayors did not

want to invest in inrastructurethat could make publicity ortheir opponent. Te public in-

vestment in CicloRuta networkdevelopment illustrates this lacko political will towards the pro-motion o bicycle usage. Whilethe Pealosa and Mockus ad-ministrations built 330 km ocycling acilities rom 1998 to2003, construction ell to 15 km

under the next administrationand to 4 km since 2008, with apoor maintenance o the exist-

ing inrastructure. Tis abandonment o cycling con-cerns is also reflected in a declining amount o insti-tutional resources dedicated to cycling policy. As anexample, the bikeway management division o theUrban Development Institute (IDU), which employed8 people in 1998, has closed, and even the 3 peoplein charge o cycling in the public space division have

been removed. With the CicloRuta, it is the theme opublic space policy the political effort has turned itsback on.

PhotobyCarlosFelipe

Padro

PhotobyCarlosFelipePadro

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1: Downtown, mainly strata 6

and 5

2: Mainly strata 4 and 3

3: Mainly strata 4 and 3, with a

richness pocket in the north.

4: Mainly strata 2 and 1

5: Informal settlements

5

3

4

1

2

(highest)

(lowest)

Figure 1 Price gradient of Bogota based on socio economic structureFigure 2 Price gradient o Bogota based on the District Planning Secretary 2009 socio-economic stratification.

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Secondly, the weak cycling lobby in Bogota, whichimpedes the ormulation o a sustainable cyclingpolicy, as well as institutional stubbornness with re-spect to the bureaus in charge o cycling is apparentas another explanation or the weak political commit-ment regarding cycling and intermodal integration.Indeed, it has not been defined by any clear institu-tional scheme to manage the bicycle theme in an in-tegral way. Tere are different divisions in charge, indifferent public entities, but in a disarticulated wayand without a visible responsible person or the com-munity. Te responsibility or the cicloparqueaderos

eatures is currently lef to ransMilenio S.A. by thepublic administration. However, this small companydoes not have the capacity to ully develop the in-rastructure or the needed ull-integration betweenBR and cycling, and a sel-sustaining cycling policy.

At this point I think it is important to look at twomain aspects o the case: the motivation behind theimplementation o cicloparqueaderos, in order to de-fine whether social concerns were initially part o theplan, and their users profile.

Curiously, despite the act that some cycle paths havebeen clearly designed to eed the ransMilenio sys-tem, the attempt o integration between the two net-works only appeared in the second phase o rans-Milenio construction. According to one o Pealosasassessors, the absence o cicloparqueaderos in the firstphase can be understood in terms o social and eco-nomic policy. By not providing public bike parking,the local government aimed at ostering a quasi-in-

ormal economic opportunity or the residents livingaround ransMilenio stations to provide private bikestorage. However this economic development nevertook place, hence the creation o ormal cicloparquea-deros in the next phase.

But this implementation was not exactly driven bysocial concerns. Te first general manager o rans-Milenio S.A explained during an interview I conduct-ed, that economic concerns were the primary motiva-tion or the company to urnish this inrastructure.

Indeed, one o the main goals or the sustainability othe network is the maintenance o a low-cost and con-sistent are system. Te unique tariff o ransMilenio,privately operated, is built to cover two main opera-tional costs. First, the articulated-bus service running

on main-trunks, which operators revenue dependson the number o kilometres covered. Second, theeeder buses service, which operators income de-pends on the number o passengers transported.

Imbalance emerges with an economics classic: theree-rider issue. Indeed eeder-buses, to which accessis ree, are not exclusively used by ransMilenio users,but allow local people to move within the neighbour-hoods where the service is provided. Tose ree rid-ers, not taken into account in the ares construction,generate a negative financial balance or the company.

Bicycles have thereore been viewed as a solution toalleviate the eeder-buses burden, and the operationalcosts o ransMilenio. Te very first objective in build-ing cicloparqueaderos was to oster a switch in modalaccess to the system, rom eeder-buses to bicycles, byproviding users a sae place to store their bike. Tisobjective is clear when considering the location o allbut the last Cicloparqueadero implemented in 2010 inthe Ricaurte station: all were built in stations provid-ing eeder buses services, making bicycles an alterna-

tive eeder or public transportation, and in stationswhere there was space, and not where the major de-mand was. Tis is clear with the Ricaurte stationscicloparqueaderos, located under a highway bridgein a low accessible place. It appears, indeed, that thedistribution o demand is very unequal among thecicloparqueaderos, and their parking-capacity is notnecessarily reflective o the users needs (see able 3).While some bike storage stations are under-utilized,with occupation rate as low as 23% in February 2010,the cicloparqueadero in erminal Sur registers an av-erage demand o 162%.

PhotobyAndreyMaltsev

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able 1 Capacity, demand and occupation rate o cicloparqueaderos within the ransMilenio system(source: ransMilenio S.A., personal communication)

LOCAION CAPACIY DEMAND (USERS/DAY ) OCCUPAIONRAE

erminal AMERICAS 785 194 25%

erminal SUR 220 356 162%

erminal SUBA 324 74 23%

Station BANDERAS 101 N/A N/A

Station GENERAL SANADER 48 N/A N/A

Station RICAURE 162 N/A N/A

Tis utilitarian vision enters in conflict with theChamber o Commerce (CCB, 2009) considera-tion o bicycle and public transport as complemen-tary and not competing with each other. Surely, theeconomic motivation explains the maintenance ocicloparqueaderos within ransMilenio despite theirunder-utilisation. However, this particular type o in-centive seems to be misguided because it aims onlyto keep the same overall number o users while al-leviating the eeder-bus charge. It does not take ad-

vantage o those eatures to attract new users, whowould bring economic benefit to the system by con-tributing to the payment o eeder-buses without us-ing them. Tis highlights the existing tension betweenthe demarginalisation o excluded areas and econom-ic pressures on ransMilenio S.A. Te lack o socialinterest in the companys decision to implement reebike-storage is thereore consistent with the aver-

age cicloparqueadero users profile ound by CiudadHumana in 2006. Overall, the residents living in ar-eas excluded rom public transport service are verymarginally represented among their users and sav-ings is not a primary motivation to use the eatures.

Tere are many reasons or the scarcity o lowest-in-come representation among cicloparqueaderos users.Financial concerns are the main obstacle to the ur-ban integration o those currently excluded rom thesystem. Te relatively high ridership are (US $0.80)

is probably the main issue or the poor residentslack o access to the ransMilenio system. Tis bar-rier is also pointed out by Alirio, a 48-years-old-Bo-gotano living in stratum 2 area, who daily commutes

cycling 40 km, equivalent to about 160 minutes ocycling. Te main justification he gives or hischoice o transportation is speed and health, but healso expresses that he does not like ransMileniosystem, or it is too expensive. Te 160% rise in theransMilenio are observed since 2001 might ham-per the mobility options or the poorest in Bogota,which was limited to begin with, considering thatdespite a low trip rate less than 1.5 trips per dayin the lowest segment o the population - transpor-tation cost exceeds 20% o the total income o thepoorest households (see Bocarejo & Oviedo, 2010).

PhotobyAndreyMaltsev

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Te purpose o this paper was to bring to attention

how a lack o consistent urban planning can ruin thepotential contribution o transport planning to so-cial policy, to the battle against urban exclusion, and,through those, to the citys economic development.As shown, poor transport service actually constitutesa major barrier to accessing job opportunities. Te in-

vestigation on the specific inclusiveness provided bythe installation o ree and secure bike storage withinthe ransMilenio system has produced seeminglycontradictory results. Indeed, although the ciclopar-queaderos have the potential to better connect the ex-

cluded residents to Bogotas city centre, where mosto the economic activities are located, the analysis otheir current provision and utilisation tends to di-minish these hopes. Te lack o social planning onthe part o the company ransMilenio S.A., whichocuses solely on the economic benefits o the ciclo-parqueaderos, causes the company to overlook thepossibilities or the network in a broader scheme ourban development. ransMilenio is instead regard-ed as an end per se while I believe it should be viewedas a means to increase peoples access to better eco-nomic opportunities. Secondly, the lack o politicalwill towards alternative transport policy rom part othe present local administration has been noted as amajor problem or the implementation o sustainabletransport policy involving bicycle and ransMilenio.It is urgent to disconnect Pealosas image with thosemeans o transport in order or political rivalries notto remain a barrier to citizens well-being and to Bo-gotas economic development. In that sense, the pro-gressive appropriation o the cycling theme by the

green movement might bring some hope or a moreorganized and engaged cycling policy in Bogota.

One suggestion provided as a result o this work iswhether a differentiated are system could be appliedor urther improvement in intermodality. Keepingin mind that one o the limits to cicloparqueaderosinclusiveness is the prohibitively high price o rans-Milenio or the poorest. As the users do not use eed-er-buses, they could be charged a ew less than regu-lar ransMilenio users, which would compensate or

their physical effort to arrive at the station. Tiswould indeed be an efficient incentive to achieve theobjectives ransMilenio S.A. had when it providedcicloparqueaderos acilities in the first place: reducingeeder-bus usage and thereore some overhead costs.

Reerences:

Bocarejo, JP & Oviedo, D 2010, ransport Accessibility and

Social Exclusion: a Better Way to Evaluate Public ransport

Investment?, proceedings o the 12th World Conerence on

ransport Research, Lisbon, Portugal, 11-15 July. Retrieved 3

August rom JP Bocarejo [personal communication].

Cmara de Comercio de Bogot (CCB) 2009, Movilidad en

Bicicleta en Bogot, Cmara de Comercio de Bogot, Bogota.

Cmara de Comercio de Bogot (CCB) & Universidad de los

Andes (UA) 2009, Observatorio de Movilidad, issue 3, Cmara

de Comercio de Bogot, Bogota.

Ciudad Humana Foundation (CHF) 2006, Campaa por el Fo-mento de la Integracin Modal en ransMilenio: Propuesta de

Gestin Social Integral para la Optimizacin de los Cicloesta-

cionamientos de Estacin Banderas y Portal Amricas. Prim-

era Fase: Diagnstico y Anlisis. Fundacin Ciudad Humana,

Bogota, March.

Gilbert, A 2008, Bus Rapid ransit: Is ransMilenio a Miracle

Cure?, ransport Review, Vol.28, issue 4, pp. 439-67.

Pardo, CF & Sagaris, L 2009, Building a Multimodal ransport

System: Integrating Cycling and Public ransport, in . Go-

derooij, CF Pardo & L Sagaris (eds.), Cycling Inclusive Policy

development Handbook, GZ, Utrecht.UN-HABIA, ROLAC 2010b, Estado de las Ciudades de

Amrica Latina y el Caribe, United Nations Human Settlements

Programme, Oficina Regional para Amrica Latina y el Caribe

(ROLAC), Rio de Janeiro.

Videos

Bogota: Building a Sustainable City 2007, documentary e2

design, PBS series, season 2, episode 3 (2646).

Solenne Cucchi works as a mobility and environmentproject coordinator. Solenne Cucchis proessonaleducational background includes Msc Regional andUrban Planning - LSE as well as Master Stratgie er-ritoriale et Urbaine - Sciences Po Paris.

You can contact Ms. Cucchi at http://co.linkedin.com/in/solennecucchior Follow her on witter: SolenneCucchi

About the Writer

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ourism Planning ools or SustainableEconomic Development By racy Mullins, MS, AICP

ourism Planning ools

for Sustainable EconomicDevelopment

ourism is one o the largest industries in the world.While it is partially addressed in regional land useplans, transportation plans, comprehensive plans,recreation plans, and economic development plans,comprehensive tourism planning is rarely ound atthe local level. Sustainable economic development or

tourism requires the utilization o mechanisms to en-vision and plan or the uture across economic, envi-ronmental, social, and political dimensions.

ourism is dependent upon a sense o place, eithernatural or created. Without a sense o place, the at-traction, tourists and tourism dollars will not be sus-tainable. In his book Te Geography o Nowhere,James Howard Kunstler explains that people will notbe attracted to a location i there is no there, there.Additionally, attractions that merely capture pass-

through traffic will not generate consistent revenueor all community stakeholders. An example o this isthe highway strip mall. Franchised operations in ho-mogeneous strip malls rarely create a sense o place;rather, they simply provide opportunities or retailsales and marketing that are the hallmark o strip malldevelopments.

Sustainable tourism requires establishing a criticalmass o tourism attractions, goods and services that

create a sense o place - a destination. One must planor a quadruple bottom-line (economic, environmen-tal, social, and political) that meets the needs o boththe visitor and the local community. Tis requires co-ordinating a diverse group o stakeholders to addressdisparate issues such as multimodal transportationinrastructure, preservation o ecological diversity,designing energy efficient buildings, and controllingwaste streams. Sustainable tourism developmentmust meet the need o todays tourists and host re-gions while protecting and enhancing opportunities

or the uture. Successul tourism plans reflect the val-ues and interests o the local community, rame an ac-tion strategy, and result in activities that are actuallyimplemented.

Sustainable tourism planning is not an end in itsel,

but an ongoing practice that requires an iterativemonitoring and improvement process. One o manymethodologies or raming the process o sustainabletourism development is the OODA Loop. A quicksearch o the Internet using OODA loop as a key-word will yield hundreds o articles on the subject. Aull explanation o the OODA loop can be ound inRobert Corams book, Boyd: he Fighter Pilot WhoChanged the Art of War. Corams book is the biogra-phy o John Boyd, creator o the OODA loop.

PhotobyPamelaGailShinn

HE OODA LOOPTere are our steps in the OODA loop: Observation,Orientation, Decision and Action. OODA requiresthat you plan through a number o iterative planningcycles, not just one linear pass.

Te first step o the OODA loop, observation, involvesobserving and inventorying tourism assets, collectingdata, and analyzing the data. Te tourism environ-ment (economic, environmental, social and political)

is described in maps, spreadsheets and reports.

Te second step, orientation, is where the inormationcreated rom data is presented to stakeholders,

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first as educational material and then as the subject oanalysis and discussion. Program and policy develop-

ment may require a long negotiation process, but thisprovides the basis or creating strong, binding agree-ments on agreed-upon goals and actions.

Te third step, decision, codifies the knowledge romnegotiations and agreements into policy, regulationsand implementable business plans. Planning effortsaddress both big scale spatial planning and small scaleplace-making.

In the final step, action, plans are implemented andthe results are monitored or change. Te wisdomgained rom this monitoring are ed back into the ob-servation stage to iterate the OODA loop, resulting incontinual improvement and effectively eliminates theinertia that kills many planning efforts.

At any point in the looping process, you may decide todrop back to an earlier step and begin that step again.Fluidity, agility and speed are key actors in this plan-ning methodology. Te planning and looping never

end, but they provide opportunity or responding tomarket events as they unold. Your plans should be aliving document, with revisions based on continuousmonitoring and looping so they never gather dust ona shel.

Lets take a closer look at each step in the OODA Loopand tools that can maximize the effectiveness o sus-tainable tourism-based economic development plan-ning.

OBSERVAION

Observation requires assembling a tourism re-source inventory. Tis should include existing tourismresource assets (activities, acilities and services), po-tential tourism resource assets, and the inrastructurerequired to sustainably support tourism use within adefined geographic area. Tis inventory can be keptas digital files and maps with easy Internet access orstakeholders. Start with an inventory o inrastructureand public services essential to tourism ound in yourcounty and municipal comprehensive plans.

A vast number o physical inventories and data-richdocuments are available on the Internet, such as State

Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans, regionaltransportation plans, and special district plans (e.g.soil, water, economic). Also look or other data sourc-es such as regulatory compliance reports and studies,permitting records (e.g. wetland, endangered species),and Memoranda o Understanding. Dont orget non-profit data sources, such as conservation easement da-tabases and native plant societies.

Also required during observation is an inventory othe natural, cultural, historic and heritage attractionsand recreational activities in the study area and adja-cent region. Inventory and evaluation sheets can beound on the Internet or in publications like LinkingCommunities, ourism & Conservationby Conserva-tion International.

It bears mentioning that localism should be avoidedduring the observation phase. Te Internet offers re-sources and inormation rom all over the world; con-sidering this inormation will give you a competitive

edge over other project groups that have limited theirobservations to local, regional or state data.

Another essential piece o observation is the ourismMarket Demand Analysis. Tis is a situational analysiswhich describes the tourist, the competition and eachcompetitors advantage. Historic marketing data canbe obtained through Chambers o Commerce, Visi-tor and Convention Bureaus, Economic DevelopmentAgencies and local businesses. Market segmentationsofware such as ESRIs apestry or Claritas Prismcan

ocus your search urther, as can government tour-ism agencies and trade associations. Compiling dataon the competition may require on-site investigationto survey your competitors properties. Compare andcontrast local labor and training needs with servicesoffered by the competition, which will help direct de-

velopment o a local capacity building plan to create asuperior service offering.

Maps are indispensable or tourism planning, as

they are an effective way to inventory inormation.Computerized mapping known as Geographic In-ormation Systems (GIS) allows you to capture, man-age, analyze and display all orms o geographically


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reerenced inormation as files and data layers. GIShelps you view, understand, question, interpret and

visualize data to reveal relationships, patterns andtrends, and then express this inormation as maps, re-ports and charts that are quickly understood and eas-ily shared.

You can also use GIS to determine location and con-dition o tourism assets, track tourism trends, andmeasure tourism impacts and changes. GIS analyti-cal tools used in the observation phase allow you toollow the flows and impacts o tourist activities andresource usage so you can model what ifscenarios ordecision support. GIS mapping layers should includetopographic inormation, land use and land cover,water resources, traffic and transportation, tourisminrastructure, and administration and statistical data.Most o this data are available or ree over the Inter-net through organizations like the Geo Community(www.geocomm.com), or you can ask a proessionalgeographer or certified GIS proessional to work withyou as a means o saving time, money and effort.

Your project will also require a database o tourismstakeholders, tourism operators, and their products.Tis can be recorded in electronic spreadsheets or incustomer relationship management (CRM) sofware.A Public Involvement Program (PIP) is essential toidentiy stakeholders, build community vision andencourage the buy-in necessary to implement plan-ning. Work sessions, ocus groups and public presen-tations can be used to gather inormation, educate thestakeholder and build coalitions. Tese communitieso purpose can build local capacity or tourism.

Te results o observation should include a user-riendly database, map series and public involvementeffort. ogether these can create a common operatingpicture o the tourism environment or stakehold-ers to understand and discuss during the orientationphase.

ORIENAION

Te sustainable tourism destination needs a critical

mass o engaged stakeholders. Stakeholders identifiedin the PIP should be invited to join planning com-mittees. Engage the ull diversity o the communitysresidents, businesses, and other legitimate interests inCommunity Advisory Committees (CAC), but recog-nize that not everyone has sufficient background tomake expert decisions.

o avoid alienating proessionals, experts and lo-cal government officials, create a echnical Advisory

Committee (AC) whose activities will parallel butnot duplicate those o the CACs. Bring the commit-tees together early and ofen. All committees shouldaddress policy coordination, setting and maintainingperormance standards, promoting equitable sharingo tourism benefits, and generating economic sup-port or conservation o natural areas. Paper-basedmaps can be used to record committee recommenda-tions such as setting buffers around special areas (e.g.residential areas or environmentally sensitive areas),identiying buildable land, and determining the best

place or inrastructure improvement and tourismzoning. Tis inormation is then recorded in your GISsofware.

Te Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) pro-vides a mechanism or screening tourism planning e-orts or potentially negative impacts. Environmentalimpacts ofen address use/overuse o land and eco-logical resources, waste management issues and thephysical impacts o travel. Te World Bank and otherlarge unding agencies have guidelines on how to un-dergo EIA; these guidelines can be used directly oradapted to fit your needs. Measurable socio-culturalimpacts include the influx o tourists and their impacton the local communities and their cultural values.


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Carrying Capacity describes the maximum number o

people that might visit a destination simultaneously.Carrying capacity tools describe current and project-ed impacts by the number o visitors a site can hold,the point at which environmental degradation is irre-

versible, the point which tourists eel an unacceptabledecrease in the quality o experience, and the level atwhich local inhabitants eel their lie is disrupted bytourism. Although carrying capacity is a tool underdevelopment, several planning rameworks have beenestablished and tested in a variety o situations. Teseinclude Limits o Acceptable Change, Visitor Impact

Management, Visitor Experience and Resource Pro-tection, Visitor Activity Management Planning, andourism Optimization Management Model. Tese allhave their strengths and weaknesses; more inorma-tion on each can be ound online.

Afer reaching consensus on Carrying Capacity limi-tations, a sustainable product offering can be devel-oped. One helpul tool is the Recreation OpportunitySpectrum (ROS), a U.S. Bureau o Land Management

ramework to inventory, plan and manage recrea-tion opportunities. Tis tool divides land use intosix classes ranging rom natural, low use areas tohighly developed, intensively used areas and identi-fies appropriate programming and development oreach o the six classes. When using ROS with plan-ning committees, it is important they understand thatacilities will differ based on the recreation/tourismexperience and equipment. One-size-fits-all designsolutions typically ail because they dont take local

variables into account.

ourism Zoning codifies decisions to regulate activi-ties and identiy where those activities are permitted.Other management tools include use limitations, userees, design standards and guidelines, certificationprograms and regulation. ourism regulation can bedelivered through standards, licensing and inspectiono acilities and activities.

Afer determining what can be done and how, onemust determine i it is financially sustainable. Fi-nancial tools such as a Cost-Benefit Analysis shouldbe used to examine the qualitative and quantitativebenefits and costs o the project. Additional financialplanning can include tax incentives, airport departure

taxes, bed taxes, and micro-lending programs.

A final piece o the orientation phase is educat-ing the community about the activities o the AC/CAC groups. Tis can be achieved through educa-tion, interpretation and training programs that buildthe communitys capacity or implementing tourismplans.

At the end o the orientation step you have created adatabase o documents, maps, analyses, and scenariosthat have been thoroughly discussed and vetted by thepublic involvement process. Tese materials support

the decision phase o the OODA loop.

DECISION

Although decision-making requires that the observa-tion and orientation work is as complete as possible,holding back on making decisions until all possibledata is collected can kill an otherwise well-planned

project. Your AC/CAC groups must be willing tomove orward once they have sufficient data to do so.Committees need to seek convergence on agreed in-tentions, document them and build rom there; it isimportant to keep the decision phase ocused so com-mittees dont keep revisiting issues that have alreadybeen addressed.

Decisions made during this phase might include pol-icy coordination, setting perormance standards, pro-

moting equitable sharing o benefits/profits, generat-ing economic support or the conservation o naturalareas, and ostering the socioeconomic advancemento local communities. AC/CAC groups will need towrite business plans, master plans, marketing plans,and implementation plans based on their agreed-upon policy documents and codification. Te masterplan might include multimodal transportation corri-dors, linkage o parks and open spaces, and grey fieldredevelopment. Experts in the AC group might evencreate deensible/sustainable business plans, user pay

strategies, investment strategies, or other decision-based strategies that help to complete the picture.

Te results o the decision phase must be based onsolid data and analysis, not the gut eelings o a ew


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decision-makers. ourism planning that is centered

on creating a sense o place may help reconcile topicssuch as housing, jobs, inrastructure, and open space.Your plans need to have both political legitimacy andtechnical capacity in economic development, trans-portation, and land use. Your results can maniest asbusiness plans, sustainable tourism master plans, landuse change, zoning ordinances, overlay districts, etc.At the conclusion o the decision stage, you shouldhave solution differentiation and risk resolution thatis based in community consensus and ready or ac-tion.

ACION

Action and implementation require sufficient invest-ment capital to make the project happen, political re-sources (both top down and bottom up) to maintaincommunity involvement and support, elements odesign and nature to create a sense o place, ocusedmarketing campaigns to attract and retain tourists,and careul maintenance that sustains and renews theattraction itsel. It is not uncommon or a tourismproject to ail afer initial interest wanes or short-termexpectations are unmet. Planning through severalOODA loops allows the process itsel to evolve, keepsstakeholders engaged, and builds on lessons learnedalong the way. Experience can shape how scarce re-sources are allocated in the uture, what kind o inor-mation is really needed, how communication should

be designed, and which stakeholders need to be addedto the process.

At the end o the day, the real product o the planningprocess is the development o agreed intentions whichwill be carried out not a report that gathers dust on ashel. Te OODA methodology can assist urban plan-ners and economic development proessionals to bet-ter integrate their activities with those o the tourismsector. Sustainable tourism development is dependentupon the creation o a sense o place using cross dis-

ciplinary tools and technology to envision and planor the uture across economic, environmental, social,and political dimensions.

About the Writer

racy Mullins, MS, AICP attended Lakehead Uni-

versity where he completed simultaneous degrees inOutdoor Recreation, Geography and ourism Man-agement. Afer a short time with the Ontario Ministryo ourism, Mullins started his career in consulting.Working rom Ontario, he provided economic devel-opment capacity building services to entrepreneursand nonprofit organizations in both Canada and theUnited States. Notable projects included the fieldso tourism, recreation, telecommunications, historicpreservation and small business start-up.

Afer being awarded a ull scholarship rom EasternMichigan University, racy graduated with a Mastero Science in Geography, major in Urban Planning.While writing his Masters thesis, he was retained asa Proessor o Geography at the University o Michi-gan. Mullins subsequently received proessional cer-tification rom the American Institute o CertifiedPlanners and moved to Florida where he consults inUrban Planning/Design and Sustainable EconomicDevelopment. Expertise includes community rede-

velopment, urban design, tribal planning, tourismdevelopment, and proessional services businessplanning.

PhotobyRonHanson


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Once upon a time not very long ago, in a airy landfilled with airy castles and picturesque tree-linedlanes, a Great Contest was held to design the uture othe Great Capital City. Invitations were sent out to themost amous architects all over the world to submittheir most creative and innovative ideas or the utureo the Great City. ime went by, and the plans, draw-

ings and ideas or the Great Contest were collected to-gether rom a great variety o amous architects. Whowould have the most creative idea? Who would winthe Contest?

As the Scientific Committee examined the many,many applications, filled with very many beautiul

pictures, drawings and maps, they were amazed todiscover that all o the applications looked alike! Inact, the applications were mostly filled with pictureswhich were so very similar, it was hard to tell apartone application apart rom the other. Had there beena mistake? Had an evil (and uninventive) wizard sto-len the plans and submitted his own in their place?

Tis anecdote, although highly romanticized, is in acta true version o what occurred in the architectural

Is the International

Architectural StyleSapping Urban Soul?

Is the International Architectural Style SappingUrban Soul? By Annette Fehr-Stomp

As Modernism and the International Style o Ar-chitecture along with it became popular around theworld as expressions o Western-style development,progress and especially riches, its megalithic i acelessbuildings started replacing those typical architecturalexpressions o culture and history which so clearlyidentiy one city rom another. Tis year's plan orAbu Dhabi's Main Street transormation, or example,could just as easily be Miami, Monaco or Singapore.

graphisc

ourtesyGrandParis,f

romBustler

and urban planning contest or Paris, called GrandParisand meant to create a new global plan or theParis metropolitan region, according to French Presi-dent Sarkozy. Te anecdote was related at a coner-ence held recently in Switzerland by one o the twoco-presidents o the scientific committee, who wasstunned to say the least, by the contrast between theoverwhelming number o images presented and theirincredible lack o variety.

Tese images were representative o a style o archi-

tecture now very much in vogue around the worldcalled Te International Style, presented in a book byHenry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson in 1997.Based on the Modernism o the 1920s and 1930s, theInternational Style was supposed to express scientificdevelopment and progress which would erase tradi-tionalistic superfluous ornament as well as links to

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ImagecourtesyAbuDhabiUrbanPlanningCouncil


Te architectural popularization o the International

Style could be a result o globalization, Modernism,or some orm o Western imperialism or a diffusiono Western tastes and consumerism. On the otherhand, it might be the result o a replication o nearlyidentical aesthetic ideals and ideologies in the mostprominent architectural schools, which are also morerepresented in the West than in the Rest. Whatevermay be at the root o it, the International Style's resultis clear: culturally unique buildings and landscapes,which best distinguish cities, and also embody impor-tant memories and identities or the local population,are orever lost in exchange or an aesthetically blandstyle which in looking high-tech is momentarily styl-ish.

Yet, the need to belong, the need to identiy to a par-ticular group and to have a particular and uniqueidentity, both as individuals and as communities, ap-parently runs deep in the human psyche.

Architecturally, this maniests itsel in the unique par-

ticularities o vernacular architecture, which can varygeographically even within 100 km, and ar rom be-ing backwards technologically, are much ofen moreeco-riendly than Modernist buildings.

Vernacular buildings, rather than being designed in

ar away places by oreigners who never set oot in theland they are designing or, grew up over long periodsintimately tied to the history, the people and the land.In this way, many local, 'traditional' buildings, whichdeveloped beore the industrial era are as i custom-made or local climates while using local materialsand clearly being non carbon-intensive.

Tis brings up the point that 'green' building mustn'tonly be considered one building at a time, but mustalso include sustainable development patterns on ametro scale. In addition, climate-riendly measuresalso need to consider transportation networks, asmore carbon is emitted by vehicles. Having one land-mark highly-rated green building located in an isolat-ed place, where everyone must drive to reach it is alseadvertising. However, retrofitting traditional housesto make them habitable and high-quality living en-

vironments, able to compete aesthetically and ener-getically with new suburban housing, can discourageurban sprawl by providing real alternatives to the

suburbs. Retrofits can also help retain an inner-city'sresidents, and thus prevent demolitions which lead toa 'perorated' urban abric, urther lowering the qual-ity o inner-city neighborhoods.

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One example o an area rich in vernacular architectureis the wonderul pis, or beaten-earth constructioncommon throughout the Beaujolais area in France.Te thick walls o tightly packed dirt rom local siteseffectively shut out cold and humidity in the winter,and the scorching heat o southern France in the sum-mer, while lasting or centuries i regularly plastered.Sadly, these historic structures, many o which dateback hundreds o years, are regularly torn down to bereplaced by rows upon rows o bland, aceless, soul-less, sprawling single-amily homes which as well as

erasing a place's architectural memory, lead to morecarbon-intensive uses and liestyles. Ironically, real-estate companies advertise the construction o new ohouses by describing then as designed ''in the own-er's image'', while in act they are more in the imageo Southern Caliornia, while the truly French pisbuildings and even castles are being torn down tomake way.

While this is only one example, there must be thou-sands o others or the thousands o places where

vernacular architecture exists, including Western na-tions. Ofen these older structures are torn down withthe excuse that it would be more expensive to repairthem than to tear them down and start anew. How-ever, the construction and mortgaging o new housesis government-subsidized to such a degree that it wasone o the major actors pushing the economy to a cri-sis-point in the 2008 Recession, and may do so again.

At the same time, urban planners have been trying to

enliven downtowns and other ares o the city, search-ing to create or reinvent 'urban soul'. Tis elusivesense o place is as much elt as seen, and is made upo a mix o density, diversity, accessible and human-sized walkscapes, as well as lively public spaces andcommercial streetscapes. It also reaches into thememory and identity o a city, or it evokes historicalmoments which help to shape a place's collective andunique identity. In contradiction to this, the Interna-tional Style o architecture erases history and memo-ry, in-line with Modernism's sense o 'progress', and

denies identity, while making a true sense o urbansoul unauthentic, by making all places look alike.


Te traditional, 'old-ashioned' buildings, ull o elab-orate decoration, and historical and cultural elementsrepresent a great resource or cities looking to increaseresidential and commercial spaces and preserve theirmemory, identity and 'urban soul'. Doesn't ''reuse,reduce, recycle'' apply to real estate as well? Sincewhen was, ''tear it down and bring in oreign ideasand materials'' a good idea or social, economic or en-

vironmental sustainability? It's time to look aroundat the architectural wealth around us in the orm oirreplaceably old, traditional, and cultural buildings

and think about how retrofitting them might be anenvironmentally riendly alternative to urban sprawl.Preerring fixing up, that is retrofitting, the old, tobuilding brand-new houses may even prove cheaper ithe subsidies were removed rom new real estate con-struction and mortgaging. Giving value to a place'sarchitectural past could also go ar in preserving thatplace's memory and even in creating that elusive ur-ban sense o place called urban soul.

About the Writer

Annette Stomp has a B.A. in anthropology and ur-ban geography and a Master o Urban Planning, bothrom McGill University in Canada. She is presentlydoing doctoral research at the Swiss Federal Instituteo echnology at Lausanne (EPFL) on questions re-lated to urban sprawl, especially in its comparativedimensions across cities, countries, and cultures.While touching upon institutions, individuals, envi-

ronments, and transportation, her work is as ocusedupon the spatial variations o peripheral urban spac-es as it is upon the underlying social, political, andeconomic issues.

PhotobyPamelaSinn

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Redevelopment and Blight in Flux: San DiegoSuperior Court By Anthony Nash

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decidedKelo v. City o New London (2005) 545 U.S 469. InKelo, the Supreme Court interpreted the akingsClause o the Fifh Amendment to allow the powero eminent domain as justification to transer landrom one private owner to another or the broad pur-pose o economic development. Essentially, Keloopened the door or redevelopment o blighted prop-erties through eminent domain proceedings. Teafermath o the Kelo decision is still playing out allover the country as numerous condemning agenciesuse blight as the basis or condemnation o privateproperty. Tis process is controversial because blightcontains elements o subjectivity which orces juris-dictions to define what must be established in orderor condemning entities to exercise the power o emi-nent domain.

An interesting example o a condemning entity seek-ing to use blight as part o its redevelopment occurredrecently in National City, Caliornia. National City

sought to amend its redevelopment plan to extend itsright to use the power o eminent domain to con-demn real property that contained the CommunityYouth Athletic Center (Youth Center). Te YouthCenter contains a boxing program that ocuses onkeeping local at-risk youth engaged and off the streets.Te Youth Center challenged National Citys amend-ment to its redevelopment plan in the courts. Now,afer our-years o fighting, the Youth Center garnereda critical victory which highlights some o the ongo-ing issues related to blight playing a role in the imple-

mentation o redevelopment plans and acquisitions oproperty via eminent domain.

On April 20, 2011, San Diego Superior Court Judge

Steven R. Denton delivered a significant ruling orCaliornia property rights cases. Te Court ruled inthe case o Community Youth Athletic Center v. Cityo National City, San Diego Superior Court Case No.37-2007-00076404, that the City lacked the legal ba-sis, due to lack o substantial and tangible evidence, todeclare specific properties blighted to allow amend-ment o its redevelopment plan. Te Youth Centerdecision also contained findings about National Citysability to protect inormation it provided to consult-

ants during the attempted amendment o its redevel-opment ordinance. Tese topics will be addressed inturn below.

National Citys Redevelopment

Ordinance Number 2007-2295is Found to be Invalid and

UnenforceableIn February 2007, National City began the processo amending its 1995 Redevelopment plan to reau-thorize the eminent domain power over a 692 acrearea including the Youth Center. o accomplishthis amendment, National City had to comply withthe Community Redevelopment Law encapsulatedin Caliornia Health and Saety code section 33300et seq. Compliance requires finding that significantblight remains within the project area and that the

blight cannot be eliminated without the use o emi-nent domain. (Caliornia Health and Saety Codesection 33333.2(a)(4).) Blight is a legal question owhether a structure substantially impairs the growtho the community, hinders housing accommodations,constitutes economic or social liability, or is counterto the good public health, saety, morals or welare othe community.

Te Youth Center case ound that determination oblight must be both observable and verifiable. Tus,

National City did not have the authority to assert thatan area was blighted and thus subject to redevelop

Redevelopment and Blightin Flux:San Diego Superior Court AffirmsHigh Legal Treshold for Munici-

palities to Declare an area Blight-

ed for Purposes of Redevelopment

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ment or eminent domain without a clear definitiono what constitutes blight along with tangible andsubstantial proo o a how a specific property may beconsidered blighted. Te Court ound that NationalCity ailed to articulate any clear definition o blight.Further, National City was unable to show any tan-gible proo that the Youth Center property met thisnonexistent criterion. A key example o NationalCitys inadequate showing was its ailure to introduceany maps showing the location o the alleged blightedconditions and thereore, by deduction, which par-ticular pieces o property were purportedly blighted

within the 692 acre development area.

Te Court also ound that the limited and delayedevidence introduced by the City to establish blightdid not show substantial or serious current or utureblight issues. Finally, the Court ound that NationalCity did not meet the nexus requirement in assert-ing that the Youth Center was blighted. Te nexusrule requires evidence that the acts regarding blightare reasonably connected to their conclusions (in thiscase that 692 acres need to be reserved or potential

taking pursuant to eminent domain.) Te Courtnoted the purpose o the nexus requirement in Cali-ornia Health and Saety code section 33031(a)(2) isto prevent the use o redevelopment powers in areasthat are unctioning, but that a city simply wisheswere more modernized. (See Courts April 20, 2011Statement o Decision, pg. 22:18-20.)

Te Courts denial o National Citys request to amendits redevelopment plan affirms the importance o

substantial and quantifiable evidence o blight as aprerequisite to redevelopment acquisitions. Calior-nia Health and Saety Code Section 33333.2 requiressubstantial evidence to show significant blight.Further, Section 33352 (b) requires ponderable le-gal significance and tangible quantifiable evidencein determining a property to be blighted. Te YouthCenter decision is instructive in Caliornia because itrestrains the expanded eminent domain authority othe government contemplated by the Kelo decision,and upholds a high threshold or municipalities to

clear beore establishing that a property is blightedor redevelopment or eminent domain purposes.

.

Te Youth Center Court clarified the Public RecordsAct by holding that when the government retains aprivate consultant to perorm government unctions,the documents produced by the firm remain publicrecord and are subject to disclosure under the Act.

Te Court confirmed a previous ruling that [a] pub-lic entity cannot categorically shield any and all docu-ments rom the light o public disclosure by contract-ing out services to private entities. National Cityscontract with a private consulting firm gave the Cityull ownership over all documents. Te documentswere public record. Te Youth Center reasonably re-quested all data used by the City and the private con-sulting firm in reaching the conclusion o substantialblight. Te Youth Center Court ound that these re-quests were legitimate, timely, and clear enough wherethe City had no excuse to rerain rom disseminatingthe inormation. Importantly, the Court noted thatthe requirement o clarity in document requests mustbe tempered with the realities o record requests. Arequester likely does not know precisely the identityo documents sought because they have not seen thedocuments. Tereore, requests may be broadly de-scribed by general content.

Instructively, the Youth Center Court did not find

persuasive the argument that the records were in thepossession o the private consultant rather than theCity. Te items remained Public Record and the Cityhad a duty to undertake a reasonable search and e


Under Cal. Const. Art. 1, Section 3 (b) (1) and Gov-ernment Code Section 6250: access to public recordsare a undamental Constitutional and statutory rightAll Governmental documents are presumed opento the public. Te Government has the burden oestablishing whether an enumerated exception ap-plies. Generally, on a case by case basis, i a contract

between a municipality and a private entity gives themunicipality ownership over the documents, and thedata within those documents meets the definition opublic records, the items are presumed to be subjectto disclosure.

National Citys Consultant

Documentation RegardingBlight Was Not be Protected

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and potential taking o private property. Condemn-ing entities must be aware that detailed evidence andfindings o blight are required along with a strongconnection to any particular property that might be

singled out or redevelopment. Condemning entitiesmust also be aware that private consultants retainedto analyze and document the existence o blight couldbe subject to ull disclosure under the Public RecordsAct. Tis could change the nature o interactions andassignments provided to consultants related to rede-

velopment areas.

On the other hand, property owners aced with emi-nent domain proceedings related to blight should en-sure that all components o the process are open and

timely. Property owners should ollow the exampleo the Youth Center and participate vocally and ex-tensively in public hearings regarding redevelopmentand exercise o eminent domain powers related toblight. Property owners should also be aware that thepublic is allowed access to all public documents re-lated to the redevelopment or taking o land includinggraphs, maps, contact inormation, and environmen-tal impact reports. Tese types o inormation canall be obtained via due diligence, research and persis-tence. Parties must become knowledgeable about allacts and arguments relating to all areas and aspects oa redevelopment area or specific project.

Lessons from the Youth Center


It must be noted that the Youth Center case is a lim-ited decision. Te Court did not rule on whether con-demnation o the Youth Center would be acceptableunder these conditions because National City had yetto file a condemnation action. Moreover, the YouthCenter decision came rom the Superior Court andis not reported appellate authority in Caliornia. Teprevailing United States Supreme Court case, Kelo,remains the highest authority regarding Eminent Do-main and the government retains broad authority totake private property or public use. Regardless, theyouth center controversy and decision represents aninstructive example o how the lines between rede-

velopment, blight and eminent domain are being ad-dressed in the wake o the Kelo decision. In sum, thedecision indicates that courts will be willing to extendprotections in avor o private property owners in re-lation to redevelopment and eminent domain casesconnected to blight.

About the Writer

Te Youth Center ruling is an important one or both

condemning entities and business owners. Te over-riding lesson is that blight is not a simple path to re-development o troubled urban areas. Rather, despiteKelo, condemning agencies and government redevel-opment efforts must meet a high burden in enactingreasonable regulations related to the redevelopment

Relevance of Youth Centerfor Urban Development and

Planning

ort in disclosing the items. Tus, the Court grantedthe Youth Centers request or declaratory relie andound that the City violated the Public Records Actthrough its ailure to provide documents rom its pri-

vate consultant in response to the Youth Centers re-quests.

Antony Nash is a partner in the law firm o Luce, For-ward, Hamilton & Scripps. Mr. Nash's practice in-

volves all aspects o complex business and real estate

litigation, including representing trustees and benefi-ciaries in both judicial and non-judicial oreclosureproceedings, representing parties in complex com-mercial disputes, representing both public agenciesand private citizens throughout all phases o eminentdomain proceedings, and representing landlords andtenants in unlawul detainer and lease disputes. Mr.Nash also represents real estate developers in all ormso litigation ranging rom subcontractor disputes todevelopment approvals. He has extensive trial experi-

ence in the above issues. Mr. Nash also has expertisein easement disputes, breach o contract, breach ofiduciary duty and other tort actions.

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Urban Agriculture: A Growing rendBy Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA

Community gardening has been called many thingsin recent history such as relie gardens, Liberty gar-dens and Victory gardens, to name a ew. In the Unit-ed States, community gardens can be traced back tothe 1800s, where potato-patch gardens were locatedwithin city-owned plots o land offered to the unem-ployed poor so they could grow their own ood.

War-time gardens such as Liberty and Victory gardenswere government-promoted plots aimed at relievingood shortages due to the war. Relie gardens duringthe Great Depression were used to not only heightenmorale, but provide resh ood to a nation o unem-ployed. Although the purpose o the gardens mayhave changed over the years, these gardens all pro-

vided the same results: producing locally grown reshood as a result o a community-driven endeavor.

Recently, the community garden trend has becomemore popular due to several actors. One issue is thelack o access to resh ood in urban communities, es-pecially inner-city communities where ood options,much less resh ood options, are limited. Addition-ally, an increased awareness o knowing where oodis coming rom and the time and cost associated withgetting it rom field to table are also drivers in com-munity-produced ood efforts.

Community gardens can bring a neighborhood to-gether and make an inactive space into a social hub;its really quite remarkable, said Jessie McHugh, alandscape architect at JJR o Madison, Wisc.

Community gardening efforts are on the rise in south-eastern Michigan, and increasing in popularity in

Detroit. Due to efforts by organizations such as TeGreening o Detroit, the University Cultural CenterAssociation (UCCA), and Growown, communitiesare coming together in droves to participate.Mid-own Detroit.

Starting in late 2008, the UCCA worked with Detroitto establish a community garden within three par-celstwo o its own and the other by the city, locatedat the corner o Willis and 2nd Streets in Mid-own.

Te corner was blighted; a dumping ground or gar-bage and a center o illegal activities. Some vacanthousing surrounded its boundaries. A potential primedevelopment area owing to recent improvements tothe area prior the economic downturn, UCCA want-ed to find a community use.

UCCA staff surveyed current users o the propertyand determined i the parcel became a park, una-

vorable activity would continue. Tus, a communitygarden was born.

Sue Mosey, UCCA president, coordinated efforts withthe community and the city to move the project or-ward. Te timetable was tight with the goal to havethe garden built and planted by the 2009 MemorialDay weekend.

Mosley enlisted the assistance o JJRs Ann Arbor o-fice, to guide the site planning, design and installationo the space. Brian Charlton, a JJR landscape archi-tectand McHughled the planning and implemen-tation efforts or the project.

As part o the JJR Employee Volunteer Program, staffsacrificed their lunch hours to design ideas or thespace. Designers presented their ideas to residentsand UCCA or input. Barthel Contracting, a Detroit-area general contractor, got the site plans within justa ew weeks.

Countless community members, along with JJRs vol-

unteer participants, spent our weekends cleaning upand preparing the site or planting. An environmen-tal assessment was completed afer the removal o re-use and debris.

Urban AgricutureA Growing rend

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Te property was located on a ormer gas station site;soil samples revealed arsenic and lead. Even thoughlevels were low enough not to cause human harm, tourther ensure the user saety and meet state envi-ronmental contact requirements, 100 cubic yards otopsoil was removed, a layer o geo-textile abric wasplaced and 12 o new topsoil capped the site.

Upon researching the growth potential o vegeta-ble roots, the design team required that the plantingbeds needed to be at least 12 to 18 deep. Tis wouldkeep the roots rom penetrating the soil beneath thecapped system.

Community sign-onTe community embraced the idea rom the begin-ning. Some neighbors who had been living in the area

met or the first time during these volunteer days.Weeks beore the garden was to open, even beoreit was built, 91 garden plots, located within the 0.37acres, sold out in one weeks time.

Volunteers contributed time in their own uniqueways. A local artist used salvaged play equipmentrom a neighboring vacant site and created a planter

sculpture or the entrance to the garden. A retiredauto engineer made detailed Ikea-type instructionsor volunteer laborers on how to construct and assem-ble the raised garden bed structures.

Going through this process and observing the en-gagement o the community volunteer dedication,and the ollow-through o the project to completion,was inspiring both personally and proessionally, saidCharlton. When a particular need arose, someonewas there to help out.

Enclosed with a short ence and gate, not tall enoughto keep anyone out, the garden is operated on a trustsystem. Te last gardener to leave or the night locksthe combination on the gate.

In its second season, there is a waiting list to join. Sev-eral local restaurants use the garden as a supply orrecipes. Some o the gardeners donate the harvest toood pantries. Other organizations use plots to teach

community children about ood sources. Te result-ing effort has been successul in cleaning up the site,making it an active space, engaging the communityand, o course, providing resh ood.

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Urban AgricutureAnother kind o community garden has taken root.Laayette Greens is an organic vegetable and ruit gar-den right in the heart o downtown Detroit. It is anexample o a cooperative effort between private andpublic sectors, resulting in a productive use o a va-cant parcel o city land.

An urban garden sponsored by Compuware Corpo-ration, Laayette Greens ulfills its role as a commu-

nity garden and an attractive urban green space. Laayette Greens

Compuware Genesis

Te idea to create an urban garden originated withPeter Karmanos Jr., ounder o Detroit-based sof-ware and consulting giant, Compuware. At the grandopening o the garden in August, he spoke o how thegarden brings together two o his great passions: gar-deninghes a master gardener himseland the cityo Detroit.

It was conceived as a place where Compuware em-ployees, many o whom live in the suburbs, could beactive and invested participants in downtown Detroit

and continue the Compuware culture o giving backto the community. Te resh, organically grown pro-duce is grown and harvested by volunteers at Laay-ette Greens.

"Currently, Gleaners Community Food Bank is themain beneficiary," said Megan Heeres o Compuware,"and we have extended that to include other organiza-tions like the Central Methodist Church and Alterna-tives or Girls and other local community ood banksand soup kitchens or next season's harvest."

Heeres, art curator and community art and garden

program manager at the company, looked at severalsites in the downtown area to build a garden. A loca-tion near Compuware's headquarters, so that employ-ees could easily take part in the garden, was a priority.

Te vacant lot at West Laayette Boulevard and Shel-by Street, site o the recently demolished LaayetteBuilding and only a short walk rom Compuwareheadquarters was chosen. Heeres worked closely withDetroit city officials to secure a lease or the property.Te agreement brings a green space to what had been

an urban blight site, while allowing or uture devel-opment o the property.

Flowers and herbs at Laayette GreensPhotosbyBethHagenbuch

PhotobyBethHag

enbuch


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Design PhaseKenneth Weikal and Beth Hagenbuch o KennethWeikal Landscape Architecture (KWLA) began work-ing with Heeres in all 2010 to design the garden onthe Laayette site. Preliminary discussions centered onan edible-garden concept, based on community and

volunteer involvement.

Tis included conventional community garden ele-ments o raised beds, pathways and encing. Heeres

was also interested in providing opportunities orcommunity art in the space.

Many children o Compuware employees attend thedaycare program at the headquarters and would be

visiting the garden with teachers and parents. A spe-cial place or children was an important part o theprogram.

When KWLA designers began looking at the oddlyshaped, nearly -acre site, surrounded on three sidesby busy urban streets and tall buildings, they realizedthe lot had the potential to be much more than simplya community garden.

Its a highly visible location said Weikal, and thatputs it in a position to serve as ocal point and edu-cational space, one that can expand the conversationabout the urban ood movement and its place in thecity landscape.

Its a community garden that adds pleasure and out-door activity to the urban experience, said Weikal. Ithink that productive gardens in highly public placeshave a great potential to bring together green space,public space, public health, community engagementand sustainability in a very powerul way.

As design development progressed the program orLaayette Greens evolved. Te conversation grew toinclude the use o sustainable practices, relationshipsbetween the garden and its surrounding urban con-

text, defining spaces or public use and enjoyment,and creating a rich educational and experiential chil-drens garden.


"Te overall design o the garden was shaped by care-ul site analysis," said Weikal, "Our design team didseasonal sun-angle studies to make sure the raised

vegetable beds are oriented or optimal sun exposure.In a city environment, shade can be a challenge whengrowing vegetables.

It required both a ence or security and a welcome

atmosphere o inclusion. Te garden is bordered bystreets and pedestrian traffic, so the encing chosenor the project was strong, but nearly transparent toinvite pedestrians into the space when walking byon the sidewalk.

Multi-use,

Bio-sensitive site

Situated adjacent to the recently restored WestinBook Cadillac Hotel, the Detroit Federal Buildingand the amous American and Laayette Coney Islandrestaurants, there was activity and traffic in the area,but no outdoor place to sit, enjoy lunch in the sun, orpause to do a little people watching, he said.Due to its unusual shape, the vacant Laayette site re-quired pedestrians to go out o their way when pass-ing through the area. Consequently, people were cut-ting across the dirt-covered site.

Te promenade through the garden now carries peo-ple along this desired route, offering choices to

Ph

otobyBethHagenbuch

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move through quickly, linger on a bench, or enter andexplore the garden. o encourage public use o thespace, seating is provided throughout the site.Visibility o the garden rom the surrounding build-ings and parking garages also led to consideration othe visual impact rom above.

KWLA designers integrated sustainable practices andmaterials into the overall design. Impervious suraceswere kept to a minimum.

Drought-tolerant grass, gravel paths, the orchard,meadow and vegetable beds cover most o the site.Vegetable production takes place in bio-intensiveraised beds with drip irrigation.

Stormwater is collected and slowed in the Dogwoodbioswale along Michigan Avenue. A gabion curb filledwith re-used broken concrete outlines the entire gar-den and is also used to construct the bioswale.Broken pieces o concrete sidewalk rom the con-struction entrance are re-used as paving on site. Tegarden sheds are clad with recycled pallet wood, andplanters in the children's garden are re-purposed 5-gallon juice barrels.

Vegetative Richness

Te layout o Laayette Greens is a strong geometric

statement clearly visible rom above. Te final designconcept selected or the garden was titled Urban Ge-ometry, described as a play on ormal landscape de-sign and the rows o crops in Michigans rich agricul-tural heritage.


It brings a sense o ordered simplic-

ity to a busy urban space throughlines, circles and squares. Sym-metry and long linear raised-bedsprovide a structure o eleganceand order to this urban garden.

Te wide Promenade lined withlavender beds and benches, definespublic space and passage throughth

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