Tag: smart growth
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So Much to Blog about, So Little Time II
More great stories that I don’t have time do justice to… Curb Appeal D.C. Streets Blog Summary: Alan Durning tackles the political challenge of how to persuade people to embrace performance (market-based) pricing for parking on streets where they are accustomed to parking for free. Plow the revenue from variable-price parking meters into a highly…
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Does Henrico Need a Meals Tax — or More Innovative Government?
From a column published in October edition of The Henrico Monthly: by James A. Bacon Before pulling the lever this November on the meals-tax referendum, Henrico citizens should ask themselves: Are they satisfied with county government that conducts business as usual, posing false choices between raising taxes or cutting services? Or would they prefer proactive…
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IG of the Day: the Price Premium for “Walkable Urbanism”
Once upon a time, the Atlanta region epitomized suburban sprawl. But development has shifted dramatically in the past few years. Since 2009, reports Atlantic Cities, “60 percent of new office, retail and rental properties in Atlanta have been built in what Christopher Leinberger calls “walkable urban places.” That new construction has taken place on less…
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How IT Is Revolutionizing America’s Transportation Systems
by James A. Bacon Recent innovations in technology and social networking are transforming America’s transportation landscape, concludes a report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group, “A New Way to Go.” Smart phones and mobile connectivity have made possible a whole range of new services that allow people — especially the young people…
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So Much to Blog About, So Little Time…
Here are some great stories today that I just won’t have time to do justice to: UVa Board of Visitors lead the way in state political giving The Daily Progress Highlight: Current board members at Virginia’s 10 largest public, four-year institutions have shelled out about $9.5 million in state political contributions over the last 20…
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Kotkin Still Confused about Where People Prefer to Live
by James A. Bacon Joel Kotkin is at it again. The anti-Smart Growth crusader insists that the Burbs are Back. Writing in Forbes, he cites data compiled by his ideological pal Wendell Cox to argue that suburban and exurban counties have made a come-back since the dark days following the 2007-2008 real estate crash and recession.…
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There’s No Place Like Home (Owners Associations)
by James A. Bacon Developers hewing to the New Urbanism school of design pay close attention to the arrangement of public spaces, the architectural details of the buildings and the profitability of their projects. Typically, they address the rules for Home Owners Associations (HOAs) as an afterthought. And that can lead to unhappy residents, lawsuits…
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Reinventing the Research Triangle Park
by James A. Bacon Fifty-five years ago, North Carolina business and government leaders were worried about the Tarheel state’s economic competitiveness. They set aside a tract of land half the size of Manhattan located between three research universities — Duke, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University– and opened up the Research Triangle…
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Bicycle Commuting up Nine Percent
I was driving through one of Henrico County’s most heavily traveled intersections at Parham Road and Patterson Avenue a few days ago when I encountered a remarkable sight: two bicyclists waiting at the stoplight. They weren’t riding together. One was traveling north on Parham and the other heading east on Patterson. That location is the…
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Why Bundling Parking Costs… Well, a Bundle
When you subscribe to a cable TV service, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow, you’ll get a package that includes access to FOX News, MSNBC and CNN, not to mention a host of other channels that you may or may not ever watch. Even if you find Hannity…
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Civic Elites Prefer Density, Transit in Richmond
In May about 300 people gathered at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center to participate in a Reality Check visioning exercise for the Richmond region. Everyone crowded around tables and placed Lego boxes on maps to indicate where they thought 450,000 new people and 200,000 new jobs expected for the region ideally should be located should…
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“The Missing Metric”
by James A. Bacon Here is must reading for anyone interested in the fiscal implications of Smart Growth: the August issue of Government Finance Review. In the lead article Peter Katz (profiled here) elaborates his thoughts on fiscal analytics and growth management. He starts with the argument, which I have embraced, that the fiscal impact…
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Who Will Report the News? Weeklies, Monthlies and Blogs
In the last couple of days, I have come across two instances of excellent reporting on transportation and land use issues from obscure local publications. Both articles deserve exposure beyond their immediate circulation areas. In Chesterfield Monthly, Scott Bass writes about the lack of a walkable city center in Chesterfield County. Chesterfield is largely a…
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How to Squeeze 40,000 More People into Richmond
by James A. Bacon According to growth projections cited by the Urban Land Institute, the population of the Richmond region is expected to grow by roughly 200,000 households (430,000 people) by 2035. Where will that growth go? How much of it can be absorbed by existing urban areas, and how much will end up, by…
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Quote of the Day: Chuck Marohn
Great minds think alike. From today’s Strong Towns blog: “Any city that wants to be financially strong and healthy needs to stop making investments that cost more over the long term to service and maintain than they generate in wealth. They need to stop accepting grant funding or “donated” infrastructure that they ultimately will not…