Justin Auciello: The New Wave Planner

Save Our Sprawl? Evidence Suggests A Smart Growth Future

Low density housing, complete reliance on the automobile, isolation from goods and services, lack of recreational choices, and dull culture—all sprawl traits.

High density housing, multimodal transit choices, immersion in goods and services, overflowing recreational choices, and vibrancy—all urban traits.

Put the two traits side-by-side, show to one of my peers (highly educated, late 20s/early 30s, Northeast born-and-raised), and what will s/he probably pick as more desirable?

Without hesitation, the urban lifestyle.

It’s not just anecdotal evidence.

In a recently released report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010, prepared by the Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, insight gleaned from almost 1,000 real estate industry professionals suggests that the future is bright for smart growth, while “sprawl investment” is on the decline. (Even though the overall tone of the report is gloomy for real estate as a whole.) This finding is consistent with recent data.

In an April 2009 NRDC post, Kaid Benfield cites a 2007 National Association of Realtors survey of registered voters that found:

• 57% agree that “business and homes should be built closer together” so stores and shops are within walking distance;

• 61% agree that new home construction should be limited in outlying areas and encouraged in very urban areas;

• 81% want to redevelop older areas rather than building new;

• 83% support “building communities where people can walk places and use their cars less”; and,

• 88% support more public transportation.

In the same post, Benfield continues:

Arthur C. (Chris) Nelson, now at the University of Utah, and a scholar who knows more about these things than anyone else I know, has examined homebuyer preference surveys.  Nelson reports that fully three-fourths of Americans now prefer either attached housing (apartments, condos, townhouses) or homes on small lots of approximately one sixth of an acre or smaller.  25 percent express a preference for homes on larger lots above one sixth of an acre in size.

If the anti-sprawl sentiment continues (evidence does not suggest otherwise), expect a surge of density in our future, as the post World War II suburban boom—lasting over 60 years—may see a quick death, thanks to the economic downturn, shifting demographics, and new expectations.

From Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010:

Next-generation projects will orient to infill, urbanizing suburbs, and transit-oriented development. Smaller housing units-close to mass transit, work, and 24-hour amenities-gain favor over large houses on big lots at the suburban edge. People will continue to seek greater convenience and want to reduce energy expenses. Shorter commutes and smaller heating bills make up for higher infill real estate costs.

In New Jersey, sprawl is still alive, yet planners have been promoting urbanizing suburbs for years, and real estate developers, pushed by recent economic prosperity and market demands, have acquiesced. While sprawl is still alive, it is under constant assault.

Why?

Excessive traffic, unconscionable property taxes, overflowing school systems, lack of mass transit, high energy costs, shifting demographics, and way too many unshared municipal services (too many local governmental bodies). Moreover, judging from my peers, many are eschewing the suburban lifestyle—even though they had enjoyed a comfortable suburban upbringing—and flocking to urban areas.

It’s not just NYC, Hoboken, and Jersey City, of course. To name a few, New Brunswick, Westfield, Asbury Park, Red Bank, and Collingswood—all struggling communities just a few decades ago—are booming with yuppies and DINKs (double income, no kids). These locales have benefited from state funding and market driven redevelopment, both of which flowed like water during the 1990s and most of this decade.

Even though some of New Jersey’s downtown districts are struggling during the ongoing recession, thanks to recent redevelopment, cultural shifts, and legislative action, expect them to rebound well. The real protector, however, is a vibrant housing stock.

The theory is quite fundamental; sufficient housing engenders a critical mass of people within a finite area, creating synergy. In a downtown, as logic dictates, the residents can therefore support the local businesses, whose owners not only see an influx of revenue, but also have an incentive to maintain and improve their uses, as competition becomes fiercer. Housing generates people, people spend money, and businesses benefit, resulting in a safer and aesthetically pleasing environment and an influx of monies into the municipal coffers.

The housing has been built, and the residents are there, propelling a symbiotic relationship between the residents and shop owners, which is currently helping to sustain newly revitalized downtown cores.

There is now an established urban culture in New Jersey, and the state is doing everything possible to protect this core.

In a July post about the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, I wrote that the bill “seeks to spur economic development, while also artfully promoting smart growth practices.” In essence, although the urban core has already been established, more urban development is necessary to ensure prosperity during economic recovery:

It’s clear: with rising costs of materials, the burgeoning green movement, and statewide and federal policy anti-sprawl policy, the new waves of development will take the shape of redevelopment in our urban areas, where the infrastructure exists and where people can live, work, and play without a heavy reliance on the automobile.

Provide the incentives now in the lean times to develop, and once the economy rebounds, the foundation will have already been established, thus lessening the cost and hurdle of future development projects. This is smart growth in action.

My peers want smart growth; protecting the urban core is sprawl kryptonite.

They want to establish roots in vibrant, dense urban environments, rather than  isolated suburban subdivisions devoid of soul. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most of my friends (and not just my urban planning buddies) are interested in planting roots in urban communities, even suggesting that they would like to raise children there. Of course, as highlighted above, empirical evidence backs my findings, too.

Quite simply, the suburbs will never “fail,” but they’re in trouble, especially since the ongoing economic downturn is radically change our culture. The urban foundation has already been set for Generation X/Y. When the economy does rebound, look for continued urban support from the government (smart growth will become even more salient), which will in turn spur market activity in areas slated for growth.

Urban planning practices will become even more sustainable, just like the rest of our economy. This sustainable outlook will therefore propel a fundamental urban lifestyle.

Count on it.

So yes, the suburbs are really in trouble. Growth is not only least needed there, but  our shifting culture will simply not stand for the continued destructiveness of sprawl.

Perhaps this is just one silver lining of the recession.

Related posts on The New Wave Planner:

A Win For Urban Planning: Supermarkets Potentially On Their Way To New Jersey Cities

Innovation Is Now King, And It’s Perfectly Parallel With Obama’s Urban Policy Goals

A Vote For The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act Of 2009 Is A Vote For Smart Growth And Economic Development

Backyard Chicken Coops? Urban Farming? There’s A Silver Lining To The Recession

NYC Planners: Zoning Bonuses Will Spur Healthy Eating And Economic Development

Once Again, The Baby Boomers Are Changing Housing

Save “Jersey Fresh” As We Know It

Wake Up, Local Government, and Supercharge Your (Weak) Web Presence

It’s almost 2010, and everyone is on the internet. Your parents? Check. Your five year old godson? Check. That little coffee shop down the street? Check. Your grandparents? Check.

How about your local government? Check.

Odds are, your municipality has, at best, a minimal presence. But how about a website laden with multimedia: social networking tools, pictures, relevant information, and most importantly, the basic municipal documents that serve as the underpinnings of government functioning?

Probably not, and it’s inexcusable.

We live in a time when website design, publishing, and hosting are all simple. Gone are the days when establishing a web presence cost thousands of dollars, or when a digital presence was not imperative for branding, outreach, and information. Today, anyone with even nominal computer training can launch a comprehensive website, thanks to inexpensive—yet high quality—publishing services.

Just like for a consumer good, proper branding is essential for a municipality, especially one that is hopeful for redevelopment. At a time when foreclosures are rising and downtown businesses are disappearing, it is critical that our local governments establish open lines of communication.

It’s actually really straightforward.

A great municipal website is 1) an information portal and 2) interactive.

An informative website contains not just meetings dates, a trash collection schedule, and a photo of the governing body (all typical), but also the code and master plan, complete meeting minutes (video and/or audio, too), maps, budget, policies, and an up-to-date blog, chronicling happenings throughout the community.

A truly informed community has online access to all of these documents.

While a municipal website serving as an information portal is an obvious tool in serving constituents—yet still lacking all throughout New Jersey—interactivity is not, possibly because conventional wisdom holds that business should still be conducted face-to-face and phone-to-phone, rather than through the internet.

False. The continual employment of an old school communication platform is disservice to internet savvy constituencies.

There will always be a place for personal communication, but in reality, it is inefficient and a resource drain, especially in larger municipalities. Countless services should be online:

• Filing a permit and receiving an approval;
• Reporting broken street lights, potholes, or ongoing suspicious activity by placing a “pin” on an interactive map;
• Communicating with municipal representatives via Twitter and Facebook;
• Streaming municipal meetings live via an outlet with a chat function, allowing viewers to discuss issues in real-time and pose questions to the municipal representatives;
• And, holding quarterly virtual town hall meetings.

These services are all easy and cheap to implement—even for a small municipality that may have financial issues.

Of course, with today’s ubiquitous and low-cost technology, there are countless examples of open government functioning, all of which dovetail nicely with President Obama’s transparency mandate.

So why are so many New Jersey municipal websites stuck in 1995, a time when the nascent internet was still inaccessible to the masses?

There is truly no good explanation.

Perhaps the legislature should pass a bill that requires municipalities to establish a web presence with at least some informational and interactive features? In theory, it’s a novel idea and seemingly a no-brainer, but in practice, it’s a potential political mine field.

New Jersey is a home rule state, meaning that the 566 local governments wield an enormous amount of self-governing power, so mandating open government compliance mechanisms is quite difficult. Everything is very political, so power struggles over such an issue (when soaring property taxes and unemployment are the issues du jour) are potentially inefficient and could alienate voters. Moreover, to some municipalities, open government is a dirty word, because it hinders power consolidation.

However, an informative and interactive municipal web presence—something so obvious in 2009—should not be a political issue. Rather, it’s a civic issue and actually quite elementary—something called “government serving the people,” a concept that we learned about in grade school.

My argument may seem so obvious. That’s true, and that’s the irony of the situation. It is obvious, but the actual implementation is so rare.

Get with the times, and empower the citizens.

It’s well overdue.

Once again, San Francisco’s City is Conducting the Innovation Train

Maintenance Concern in San Francisco? Tweet @SF311

Government 2.0: It’s Time

The New Wave of Interactions

New Jersey State Atlas: Making the Inaccessible Accessible

Social Web Developers: Urban Transformers

Once again, San Francisco’s city government is conducting the innovation train

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom formally announced today—via a post on Mashable, a leading social media blog—plans to open an application programming interface (API) for @SF311, the innovative initiative that allows the city’s tech savvy residents to report maintenance concerns via Twitter. (I covered the June announcement here.)

Dubbed the “Open 311 Platform,” the city is hoping that software developers will “build applications on top of [@SF311],” according to Mayor Newsom’s blog post, with the goals of “1) [getting] request data from the 311 system, and 2) [submitting] new service requests to city departments.”

The benefits are mutual. Developers will now have the ability to easily create a wide range of mash-ups and metric programs with the data, as well as applications that can be disseminated to the general public to report incidents directly back into @SF311. (Of course, there’s money to be made, so that’s a major incentive.) For the city, more reports and analytics will flow, resulting in a better product and enhanced responsiveness to citizen complaints.

While not built on a government API, software developers have already created applications that allow residents to report quality of life issues to municipalities, including New York City’s 311 Pix iPhone, Pittsburg’s iBurgh, and the District of Columbia’s DC 311. SeeClickFix, a privately developed application, is another example.

Introduced at TechCrunch50, the tech community is buzzing about CitySourced, an iPhone application that eases the maintenance reporting process, by allowing users to snap a picture of a problem (graffiti, for example), which is then routed directly to the municipality, via a user-friendly process. The difference between CitySourced and other iPhone applications is its robust metrics platform, as well as its scaling potential, with thousands of potential municipal clients. Think of it as crowdsourcing on a grand scale.

The beauty of the Open 311 Platform and the iPhone applications, which are not built on top of a government API, is the ability to quickly compile metrics to determine where the problem areas exist.  And, civic duty is now not only fun, but it’s also effortless; just tap on your iPhone.

The Open 311 Platform is not just a tool to stoke quality of life improvements. It’s also a revolutionary concept, and depending on its success (which, with the voracious start-up culture in San Francisco, all indications point to a resounding “yes”), it could become a model for cities everywhere. Provide the entrepreneurs with raw data, let them hack away, and wonderful applications will result.

Many cities gush about being “on the internet,” but there’s much more than just posting meeting announcements on an antiquated website. As I wrote in another post about @SF311, “there’s a substantial difference between being tech savvy and actively establishing open lines of communication.” In other words, show, don’t tell.

However, an impediment to such an initiative becoming mainstream is that a municipality will only follow Newsom’s lead if it intends to promote transparency and accountability in its functioning. Politically, “opening” government could be detrimental to elected officials if reported incidents are not being addressed—especially if logs are easily accessible to the public.

Although accessibility is a paramount objective of civic applications, a paradox emerges. Anecdotal evidence suggests that iPhone users are only a small percentage of mobile users, so the rest are naturally shut-out from using the technology. Nevertheless, as technology adapts, solutions should arise to combat this issue.

Hopefully, enough traction will build under these civic applications, resulting in citizens nationwide demanding that their governments participate. We’re almost a decade into the 21st century, so why not? Improve our communities, while concurrently keeping us civic-minded technologists happy.

I’ll reiterate the conclusion of my June @SF311 post:

After all, if you, Mayor of Anytown USA, have a question about the service, just simply send Newsom an @ reply message via Twitter.

Join the party.

Related posts on The New Wave Planner:

Maintenance Concern in San Francisco? Tweet @SF311

Government 2.0: It’s Time

The New Wave of Interactions

New Jersey State Atlas: Making the Inaccessible Accessible

Social Web Developers: Urban Transformers

Social Web Developers: Urban Transformers

My overarching focus on this blog has always been to cover and promote innovations in the diverse urban planning field.

As a catchall profession, urban planning tenets are applicable to all facets of daily life—above all else, as planners, our primary concern is to create healthy, sustainable, and happy communities. (If you’re somewhat perplexed about the planning practice, please read this post from May.)

With the advent of the Social Web, software developers—seeking the trifecta of personal, professional, and financial satisfaction—continually develop products that  promote healthy, sustainable, and happy communities.

I am talking about urban oriented applications in the iPhone App Store; web/mobile social networking applications (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, etc); Government 2.0/civic engagement applications (CitySourced); crowdsourcing forums (DIY City) and blogs (Neighborhoodr); and, purveyors of open source civic tools (The Open Planning Project).

There is a clear, natural linkage between the urban planning practice and the Social Web; they dovetail nicely, as the ultimate goal of both is to improve our quality of life.

As I wrote in a soon to be published piece about Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s social media outreach efforts, “…the growth of social media [is] parallel to successful city building, as in order to be successful at both, people must employ a multifaceted, transparent, and engaging approach.”

Online cities are growing, and it is only a nascent development. In just a few years, our virtual and concrete worlds have meshed.

On my personal blog, I recently mentioned venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s blog post, “Urban Architects,” in which he celebrates “the intersection between mobile, local, and urban life.”

I wrote:

[Wilson] argues that the advent of powerful internet applications, coupled with mobile phones, is transforming how we use our cities.

These “powerful internet applications” are also driving us into the Third Place, defined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg as “the heart of a community’s social vitality, the grassroots of democracy,” or places like the coffee shop, the barbershop, or the local tavern.

In the same post, I cited the rise of Social Web applications to develop a counterpoint to Mary Newsom’s article, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” in which she, according to my original post, “argues against the notion that online communities have become the modern Third Place, defending the traditional ‘value of real places where real people meet, and the little-heeded but significant role they play in the life of our cities and towns.’”

In response, I argued that Social Web applications actually push us into the Third Place:

By nature, the social media vs. the Third Place issue is reconciled by the fact that mobile enhanced innovations … and the interactive hyper-locals that are spouting everywhere are all drawing us into the Third Place.

It’s a business model that works, and it’s generating more social and involved communities. Both can naturally co-exist and work together in community building.

While one can choose to shun the Third Place and huddle at home, the Social Web is making us even more social than ever in the real world—a boon, as I wrote, for “community building.”

That is the simple, yet profound, connection between urban planning and the Social Web, and if the just announced NYC BigApps Competition is any indication, we are just realizing how Social Web applications will change us, our communities, and create better communities—bringing the virtual world to the concrete world and back again.

Sponsored by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city of New York, the competition is seeking software developers “to create innovative online and mobile applications to serve New York City residents, businesses, and visitors,” as described in the blog post announcing the competition. (The software architecture is applicable to any location that has open data sets; so theoretically, the applications could also serve the world).

In the introductory blog post, Mayor Bloomberg wrote:

We have worked diligently to make a considerable amount of City data available on the new NYC.gov Data Mine (coming the afternoon of October 6th). The data will remain accessible upon conclusion of the NYC BigApps Competition for all New Yorkers.

NYC BigApps provides a competitive outlet for developers and encourages the general public to get involved as well. We welcome public comment on the process – indicate your support for the competition, share app ideas, and inform contestants on what type of app you’d like to see. “Popular Choice” winners will be selected through open voting on the site, so make sure to vote for your favorite app starting in December.

It is pure Government 2.0, although the private sector is driving progress—just like John Reiser is doing with the New Jersey State Atlas—but the goal is the same: use the emerging (virtual) technology community to improve our (concrete) communities, while concurrently spurring economic development.

In my September interview with Mr. Reiser, he commented that a significant impediment to municipal application development is the inaccessibility of raw data. Unlock the data vault, and a veritable goldmine will be available to innovative developers.

The NYC BigApps Competition has solved this problem by launching the “NYC Data Mine,” a clearinghouse that contains around 170 data sets (i.e., locations of all types of city facilities, as well as municipal tax data, inspection information, and traffic reports, among other sets) culled from over 25 city agencies.

It’s transparency in action.

To sweeten the deal, the competition is offering $20,000 in cash prizes, as judged by a panel of tech leaders. Even more valuable than the potential monetary windfall is the exposure applicants will get on tech blogs—TechCrunch, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, etc—and from venture capitalists, including the highly respected Fred Wilson, who, as a panel member, is obviously interested in innovative products by Urban Architects (and the programmers are no doubt interested in impressing him and the other VCs).

The stakes are high for everyone: the software developers who will create innovative applications, the panel who will judge the applications, and us, the citizens, who will use the applications to streamline our lives.

While Social Web developers are not classically trained urban planners, they are urban planners in their own right, by creating applications that will promote healthy, sustainable, and happy communities.

I’ll keep you abreast of the latest NYC BigApps Competition developments.

Related posts on The New Wave Planner:

Maintenance Concern in San Francisco? Tweet @SF311

Government 2.0: It’s Time

The New Wave of Interactions

New Jersey State Atlas: Making the Inaccessible Accessible

New Jersey State Atlas: Making the Inaccessible Accessible

We are well aware that the internet streamlines our lives on a daily basis. Whether it’s looking for a movie on Moviefone, scouring for hard to find items on Craigslist, sharing pictures with family and friends on Flickr, or checking out restaurant recommendations on Yelp, our lives are more informed, accessible, and most of all, organized.

Most of us, however, are not seeking publicly “available” data, and that’s good, considering that the generally status quo public sector lags far behind the innovative private sector.

The reason is simple.

Government will always exist, whether or not it is online, thanks to the taxpayers, while private enterprise needs constant injections of capital to survive. Especially in perilous economic times, innovation is key, and those who refuse to adapt, create, and implement are surely at an enormous disadvantage and subject to failure.

Since a government entity can generally ride the coffer train, there is no true incentive to challenge the status quo and innovate, and I think that is exceedingly clear as you travel around the internet and compare public and private sector websites.

At a time when technology is not only accessible, cheap (if not free), and most importantly, ubiquitous and commonly understood by the masses, our government should be open, readily share information to keep us informed, and embrace interactivity.

In an April post on The New Wave Planner about the online efforts of LaSalle, IL, I wrote:

Sadly, government has not embraced this emerging technology on a widespread basis, resulting in a deepening disconnect between the entity and its constituents, and frustrating interested parties whom have become accustomed to information on demand in their lives.

Up until May 2009, the “deepening disconnect” had not plagued LaSalle, thanks to the efforts of past City Engineer Pam Broviak (Ms. Broviak was not reappointed in the wake of a new political administration that did not share her vision; as such, the city’s social media outreach efforts have been greatly diminished), nor has it impacted San Francisco, an extremely wired government, which now allows its residents to report maintenance concerns via Twitter. They’re both symbols of the Government 2.0 (aka “Gov 2.0”) movement.

Gov 2.0, as I wrote in the LaSalle post, is “an evolving model to improve transparency, communication, and efficient and practical delivery methods between government and citizens.”

The movement is strong and building, but it’s still in its infancy, and government receptiveness is still relatively scarce.

In New Jersey, Gov 2.0 has gotten some traction in recent years. Many planning professionals are familiar with Monmouth County’s Tax Records search (which covers all 21 New Jersey counties), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s iMap, and the various maps and data available from the Office of Smart Growth.

All three resources are critical to maximizing work efficiency and are thus invaluable to planners. Just a few years ago, planners had to spend valuable time in municipal buildings just to acquire simple information. Now, a lot of standard information is publicly accessible via the internet.

But beyond social media outreach and publishing general information and data, what becomes of the data (some common, some esoteric) that is rarely found on government websites, or is available in a raw or an unsearchable format?

This remains a problem, but in New Jersey, John Reiser is in the process of unlocking the government data vault and sharing the bounty with us in a multimedia, mashup format.

To a planner, this is pure gold.

Mr. Reiser operates New Jersey State Atlas, which is, according to the site, “an interactive website featuring multiple web maps” with a simple, straightforward mission:

Within New Jersey, there’s a massive amount of data that is inaccessible to many people. One of the goals of this website is to make that data accessible.

Mr. Reiser, a GIS specialist and instructor at Rowan University, has identified a problem (inaccessible data), devised a solution (mapping and other data outputs), and implemented the solution (created a publicly accessible website).

I recently discussed NJ State Atlas with Mr. Reiser, who as a mapper, a seasoned navigator of the statewide data sea, and a web publisher is excited about the future of easily accessible data delivery to the masses.

TNWP: Please give us an overview of NJ State Atlas.

JR: NJ State Atlas is web-based interactive atlas of New Jersey. The focus of the atlas is to make geographic data throughout the state accessible.

TNWP: Why did you create NJ State Atlas?

JR: Several of the maps on the site were developed out of my own frustrations with publicly available GIS data. At all levels, government has been a source and repository of massive amounts of information. Freedom-of-information acts have helped make that information easier to access, and the internet has reduced the cost of distribution; however, just making data available is not enough.

Data must also be accessible to members of the public. GIS specialists have no qualms about downloading a shapefile and taking a look; however, a local resident wanting to know more about his or her town may not be able to make sense out of a shapefile. The State Plan maps and the Journey to Work diagrams are a direct result of my desire to make difficult data understandable.

TNWP: What are the most popular features on NJ State Atlas?

JR: The one map that usually receives the most traffic is the DOT webcam mashup. Real-time incident data and live highway cameras are overlaid on top of Google’s traffic data. The page is highly ranked for searches dealing with New Jersey traffic, but I’ve found that people tend to stay on the page and use the map.  The State Plan maps and the USGS Topographic maps are usually second and third.

TNWP: Although your site is easily accessible for anyone, it is quite useful for planning professionals. Have planners been receptive to NJ State Atlas?

JR: Planners have been using the site. The journey to work map doesn’t seem to get many hits from search engines; much of it is direct referrals - people bookmarking the site and returning for information.

When I was still in NJ State Government, I would often hear that people were using the NJ State Atlas map over the official locator. The HMFA locator still uses ArcIMS and is intolerably slow. I hope planners will continue to use the site, and if there’s anything I can add to it that would help them do their work more efficiently, I’d love to know.

TNWP: What are some of the challenges you have faced in the creation of the site, and what type of challenges do you anticipate in the future?

JR: Well, the first challenge is that it’s done entirely in my spare time. I’d love to do more with the site, but usually I’m bound by time constraints. The other major challenge is that its run entirely on shared-hosting. Most other web mapping applications are hosted on dedicated servers. Most software out there expects the user has access to the entire server.

I’d love to do much more with the site, but it’s an uphill battle just getting the software to run without root access. It’s really run on a shoestring budget.

TNWP: Speaking of the future, if you don’t mind sharing, what are your future plans for NJ State Atlas?

TNWP: Do you think govt will begin to embrace the type of technology you have used to create NJ State Atlas, or should we just except more private developers (like yourself) to innovate and create products that are useful to the public?

JR: The federal government is moving in that direction. There are a few interactive maps on whitehouse.gov and recovery.gov using both open source and ESRI web mapping technology to highlight some issue of national importance.

Speaking specifically to New Jersey, I hope that those that support government adoption of new ideas and technology push for that adoption - internally and externally.

State government is in sad shape. There is no ability to retain staff, and any concepts outside of the norm are not likely to be considered until after the election. In the absence of State Government being able to provide such services, I hope that other private developers throughout the State will continue to produce high-quality, interactive data applications that are free to use by the public.

TNWP: You have recently relocated from the New Brunswick area to South Jersey. I’m wondering, though, why you didn’t choose a location with top lottery winners, which your “Geography of Luck” feature provides.

JR: Well, you know, it is just random chance. I was greatly surprised that the instant win lottery winners tend to cluster around the urban areas. Is it that you’re more likely to stop in a convenience store and play a scratch off in an urban area, or is there some unintentional bias?

Pitman has historically won more than Glassboro. I guess I’ll have to buy tickets over there. They’re luckier.

TNWP: Where do you work, and how do you spend your free time?

JR: I am currently the GIS Support Specialist for the Geography Department at Rowan University. I was previously a Planning/GIS Specialist at the Office of Smart Growth. I spend my free time riding my bike, playing games, and thinking about maps.

TNWP: You’re obviously well versed in all facets of GIS. Do you provide freelance consulting services?

JR: I do provide consulting services. If you’d like me to develop an interactive web map for you, feel free to contact me. (You can use john@njgeo.org or (856) 347-0047)

Thanks for your time, John.

Mr. Reiser is a prime example of someone who sees the value in making the inaccessible accessible. He is democratizing data.

Luckily, transparency in government has become a rallying cry, and a variety of data can be easily procured through government information requests and produced into a user friendly platform.

However, while we applaud Mr. Reiser’s efforts, our government bodies should be creating similar applications.

Is this likely? Probably not in the immediate future, but as Gov 2.0 evangelists continue to hammer their mission nails into our government agencies, accessibility improvements may arise.

Nevertheless, it appears that private industry will continue to trump governmental effort, and even though we may feel that public sector should deliver useful online products, as long as the innovations are being released, the source should not matter.

If the public sector refuses to innovate, we should rest assured that individuals like Mr. Reiser will continue to fill the void.

Related posts on The New Wave Planner:

Maintenance Concern in San Francisco? Tweet @SF311

Government 2.0: It’s Time

The New Wave of Interactions

Innovation is now king, and it’s perfectly parallel with Obama’s urban policy goals

Everything is looking up for innovation in America.

President Barack Obama, who holds the subject of urban issues “near and dear to [his] heart,” said during a White House urban affairs summit on Monday that he wants to “reinvent” our cities and formulate a “new, imaginative, bold vision” for federal urban policy.

The first in 30 years, the urban agenda will target every federal agency and identify how policies affect the urban environment, including those relates to housing, green development, infrastructure, etc.

As a component of the White House operation (and thus separate from Department of Housing and Urban Development control), the creation of the Office of Urban Affairs is clearly a watershed moment for intelligent urban planning and needed now, especially since “by the year 2050, 70 perfect of the world’s population will live in cities,” according to Adolfo Carrion, the director of the Office of Urban Affairs.

According to a July 14, 2009 article in The Washington Post, Obama is seeking to create a best practices manual of sorts, which will be accomplished by his staff pounding the pavement across America to find the most innovative practices that discourage urban sprawl:

Obama noted Denver, for its plans to build a public transit system to handle the city’s anticipated growth; Philadelphia, for its urban agriculture; and Kansas City, which has weatherized homes and built a ecologically minded transit system in one low-income neighborhood.

Importantly, Obama recognizes that the “urban condition” is no longer contained within our cities:

Even as we’ve seen many of our central cities continuing to grow in recent years, we’ve seen their suburbs and exurbs grow roughly twice as fast. It’s not just our cities that are hotbeds of innovation anymore, it’s our growing metropolitan areas.

For too long, federal policy has actually encouraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, rather than quality public transportation and smart, sustainable development.

It is refreshing to have an administration that is concerned about urban policy and its concomitant components. In fact, since Obama has made it clear that urban policy extends beyond city limits, this signals a new age of regional planning, a practice that is usually given short shrift in favor on implementing local planning initiatives.

But with a current economic crisis Public Enemy #1 in not just the White House, but also in our municipalities and households, is it the most appropriate time to strive for innovative urban practices?

Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, says “yes.”

In a December 15, 2008 report in The Wall Street Journal, Professor Christensen feels that the economic downturn “will have an unmitigated positive effect on innovation.”

Why?

It boils down to scarce resources, according to Professor Christensen, who feels that “the breakthrough innovations come when the tension is greatest and the resources are most limited.”

He continues:

[The current economic crisis] will force innovators to not waste nearly so much money.

One of the banes of successful innovation is that companies may be so committed to innovation that they will give the innovators a lot of money to spend. And, statistically, 93% of all innovations that ultimately become successful started off in the wrong direction; the probability that you’ll get it right the first time out of the gate is very low.

So, if you give people a lot of money, it gives them the privilege of pursuing the wrong strategy for a very long time. In an environment where you’ve got to push innovations out the door fast and keep the cost of innovation low, the probability that you’ll be successful is actually much higher.

How does this dovetail with federal urban policy?

Human capital and job creation

With limited resources (related to both project funding and personal finances) across the board, the playing field has been somewhat lowered, while simultaneously spiking competition. People are thinking, and the best ideas are carefully vetted, produced, and relate to what is most salient.

New industries, jobs, and an altered American culture will flow from the current “back to the wall” innovation mentality. Is it just a coincidence that cities are doing things a little bit differently now in their approach to constituent needs?  No. Just read about the explosion of backyard chicken coops.

With less consumption, there’s less waste, and this is a hopeful barrier from continued sprawl

The funding that does exist will now only flow to the most creative innovations that can have a longstanding impact on our society, forcing most innovators to work within the “do more with less” framework.

In doing so, the ultimate output is more lean, focused, and in tune with not just society’s needs (we obviously do not need more sprawl), but also White House policy, which will impact federal appropriation decisions in the coming years. While it’s different to contain congressional pork barrel spending, I’m quite sure that the days of appropriating for sprawl oriented projects are over.

We’re already seeing innovative practices on the most local—and simplest—levels

Case in point, a New York City based group, Macro-Sea Pools, has created a “cool” summertime neighborhood amenity within an empty Brooklyn lot by converting three commercial sized trash dumpsters into a swimming pool. Although it’s not open to the public (perhaps due to liability concerns), it’s just a small example of what innovative people are devising in this rough economy, and most importantly, it is consistent with Obama’s mission to “reinvent” our cities.

String together enough creative neighborhood experiments, especially those that involve adaptively reusing pieces of our cities, and we have spurred an innovative—and sustainable—environment.

Again, create more with less, and the benefits will be enormous.

Our president has already taken notice and sees the value of innovation within our country. However, while the orders may come from the top, it is important that the action comes from the people at the local level, even if funding is slight or non-existent. Professor Christensen says it can be done.

As Obama says, we need to reinvent America.

We can do it.

—-

Related Post:

The New Wave of Interactions

A vote for The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 is a vote for smart growth and economic development

New Jersey is not coping with the current global recession too well, and according to a July 9, 2009 article in the Newark Star-Ledger, it is among the states with the most critical budget shortfalls:

The state had to dig itself out of a projected shortfall of nearly 30 percent, or $8.8 billion, before passing the 2010 budget last month. That was the seventh-biggest gap in the nation, after California, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, New York and Alaska, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

It’s easy to blame the politicians, but in this current economic environment, that argument does not carry much weight, considering the budgetary conditions across the county.

Certainly, both Democrats and Republicans carry a share of the blame, but it’s well beyond statewide politics.

If blame is to be pinned on politicians, it should fall on those who supported bank deregulation practices, as ultimately the near collapse of the banking system is what almost brought our county to the brink of an economic apocalypse.

Beyond the appropriations issues, there is a garden variety of other economic concerns in New Jersey, most of which are tied to disappearing jobs, with a current unemployment rate of 8.8% (compared to 9.4% nationally). Due to the widening recession, businesses will continue to economize, meaning that weekly jobless claims should continue to rise at record rates.

Moreover, due to fears of looming pay cuts or job cuts, people are now beginning to save money, something many have not done since the boom times—flush with easy money—began.

Lastly, with the commercial real estate industry on the verge of collapse nationwide due to, according to Jon Greenlee of the Federal Reserve, an accumulation of $3.5 trillion worth of debt, the fears are real in New Jersey, with “for rent” signs popping up within sprawling office parks located just off many of the interstates. Take a ride through any office park in suburban Central and Northern New Jersey to see for yourself.

What does all of this mean?

People cannot spend money in our communities if the income faucet is not flowing. Without sales, this puts our retailers in jeopardy, which begins another domino effect of job losses and suffering.

An easy solution?

None exist.

A workable solution?

Yes.

The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009, aka A-4048/S-2299, passed both the Assembly and Senate on June 25, 2009 and is now awaiting action from Governor Jon Corzine.

An omnibus bill, it is an important piece of legislation that, according to the preamble, concerns:

[E]conomic development, job creation, economic growth, affordable housing, urban transit hub tax credits, expanding capacity and facilities at our institutions of higher education, bonding in certain planning areas, and exempting certain taxes and energy charges of certain manufacturing facilities; authorizing certain taxes and fees to fund redevelopment; amending and supplementing various section of the statutory law; and making an appropriation [$15 million to the “New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund.]

The New Wave Planner wholeheartedly supports this legislation.

Recognizing the severity of the current economic crisis and its trickle down effect, businesses need a significant stimulation—not just window dressing—in order to both retain and hire new employees.

We need economic development to spur job retention and creation, and with a deepening crisis that is expected to continue and a state unemployment insurance fund that is running on fumes, the legislature acted quickly and appropriately in passing this bill.

Let’s dig into the state stimulus package, specifically how it seeks to spur economic development, while also artfully promoting smart growth practices.

The over-arching intent is to spark developer activity in urban areas, or those areas in the Metropolitan (PA-1) and Suburban (PA-2) Planning Areas, as identified within the State Development and Redevelopment Plan (SDRP), though a cocktail of tax credits, an expansion of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit, and a temporary relief from non-residential affordable housing fees.

Clearly, this stimulus has deep roots in smart growth policy, as dictated by the SDRP, the visionary document that is intended to shape the future development of the state by identifying where development should and should not occur.

Designated by “Planning Areas,” with 1 being the area in which the most development should occur and 5, of course, where the least should occur, the paramount goal is to balance development with the protection of open space and rural areas.

Therefore, the document encourages development in areas with existing infrastructure (urban and some suburban areas), so as to lessen the overall cost to municipalities, where access to public transportation is available and people have access to goods and services within walking distance of their homes—therefore, not having to rely on personal automobiles, thus reducing traffic and air pollution.

The problem, however, is actually stoking the development in portions of our urban communities (such as Newark, Paterson, Camden, and Trenton, to name a few), and without an inducement, especially in this economic climate with bank funding scarce, positive change is unlikely.

Luckily, this legislation contains the requisite inducement.

The most generous and innovative aspects of the stimulus legislation is the creation of the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant (ERGG) program for areas within the PA-1 and PA-2, with the purpose of, according to the bill, “encouraging redevelopment projects in [a municipality] through the provision of incentive grants to reimburse developers for all or a portion of the project financing gap for such programs.”

Coupled with the expansion of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program, which encourages economic development in nine urban communities within 1/2 mile of the train station, including Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, and Trenton, through tax credits up to, in some instances, 100% of capital improvements within a eight year period (subject to minimum employment thresholds), the state stimulus package is mindful of where the jobs are needed and should be located.

How will these grants be funded? Directly from the taxes generated from the new developments that will follow as a result of the stimulus. Inducement for redevelopment projects in the state’s urban areas, especially in this economic climate, must be derived from an innovative program, and ERGG helps to fulfill this mission.

Ironically, the properties that developers avoided during the boom times of the past decade or so may be the same ones that help turnaround the current statewide economic ills.

It’s clear: with rising costs of materials, the burgeoning green movement, and statewide and federal policy anti-sprawl policy, the new waves of development will take the shape of redevelopment in our urban areas, where the infrastructure exists and where people can live, work, and play without a heavy reliance on the automobile.

Provide the incentives now in the lean times to develop, and once the economy rebounds, the foundation will have already been established, thus lessening the cost and hurdle of future development projects. This is smart growth in action.

Critics have emerged, with contention ranging from environmental to funding to affordable housing concerns. With most of the attention geared toward development in urban areas, the environmental issues are minimal, as the SDRP dictates that most of the future development should occur within PA-1 and PA-2.

Affordable housing, always a hot button issue in New Jersey, will be protected, as the legislation appropriates $15 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in order to recoup a portion of payments that will be lost to the temporary relief from non-residential affordable housing fee provision of the bill. Nevertheless, the office and commercial construction will invariably stoke residential construction, which will require 20% affordable housing set-asides or a payment into the municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund per each new development.

While funding is an immediate concern, since grant money is to be paid through individual ERGG programs within municipalities, in the long-term, once the taxes are generated from new development, money will flow back into municipal coffers.

Naysayers have suggested that the ERGG will siphon money away from municipal services; however, by granting money to development projects within urban areas, consistent with the intention of the SDRP, this will stimulate growth throughout New Jersey’s municipalities, from the high-rise office building to the mom-and-pop shops dotting the business districts, thereby helping to pull the state out of the current economic mess

The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 will help us get through these tough times, ultimately stimulating job creation, new construction in our urban areas that are well served by infrastructure and transit, and fulfilling smart growth goals.

—-

Related Posts:

Once again, the baby boomers are changing housing

So what is age-targted housing?

The New Wave of Interactions

As humans, interactions with others are essential. Certainly, most people do enjoy alone time, but we thrive off communicating with others and keeping up to date.

This is not a groundbreaking theory: just ask your typical twenty-something if s/he uses, let’s say, Facebook or Twitter on a daily basis; most do. Although our social networks extend well beyond the Internet, undoubtedly, the Second Generation of the Web (also known as Web 2.0, i.e. post dot-com bubble) have tightened our networks so quickly and stunningly, in such ways that we could not even envision just a few years ago.

Our world is now so entrenched in this New Media/Social Media process.

Much has been written about President Barack Obama’s internet prowess; his campaign managed to harness the power of a multitude of social websites (including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube and his blog) and a massive database/email distribution list, both of which ultimately resulted in a grassroots network of interested parties and contributors. By just creating the web presence, maintaining the accounts, and disseminating the message, the Obama campaign product became viral — spreading effortlessly. Armed with record amounts of cash, an ironclad message of “change,” and an army of dedicated volunteers, Obama cruised to an historic victory. Now, the weekly presidential radio address and press briefings are broadcast via Vimeo. 
 
People have woken up, and now realize that this interactive model can be applied to mostly anything.

For better or worse, the New Media has entered the mainstream consciousness. We have reached a critical mass in that not adapting with the New Media is to fade away into antiquity.

All of this in just a few years.

How does this relate to planning? Well, the planning process is participatory by nature, in that the most thoughtful plans are vetted among a disparate group, such as stakeholders, developers, public agencies, the press, etc. In the past, while all interest groups have had the ability to express their opinions on issues through their respective interactions, the general approach had almost always been controlled by the bureaucracy.

Now, with the ubiquity of the internet, a bottom-up approach is now tenable, and there is no reason that a critical mass of information and power should not be exploited by everyone. Even beyond this, municipalities should be tapping into the power of the new wave and promoting these invaluable to tools to their respective citizenry.

For instance, on the simplest level, a municipality could easily create a Twitter account to disseminate news instantaneously, solicit input from its residents, and engage in an ongoing two-way dialogue.

In addition, a municipality could create a simple mapping interface, linked to Twitter updates, for its residents to report broken street lights, property maintenance issues, and crime “hot spots,” among others. This could be displayed in real-time and updated when issues are rectified, thus holding department heads accountable.

Lastly, for the true urbanite, these same networks can be also used to streamline daily life, such as real-time updates of bus schedules, wait times at restaurants, and “rideshare” requests.

The interplay between internet technology, the New Media, and interactions in the planning process, a practice that I feel is ready and well suited for a dose of Web 2.0, should be both maximized and evangelized—and I will push this movement through this blog.

On the tech front, future updates will include:

• A review of the New Jersey State Atlas, an interactive mapping website, which is maintained by John Reiser, and how it is a prime example of the New Wave interplay;
• An analysis of how contemporary crime prevention techniques are changing the law enforcement rubric and our communities, including crime mapping and gunshot detection technology; and,
• An ongoing, expanded examination of how municipalities should be adapting with the New Wave to meet the needs of their respective constituents.