Smart?

FUNDERS NETWORK FOR SMART GROWTH

http://www.fundersnetwork.org/

"The mission of the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities is to inform and strengthen philanthropic funders' individual and collective abilities to support and connect organizations working to advance social equity, create better economies, build livable communities, and protect and preserve natural resources. The Network operates based on the following values:

--Collaboration: a commitment to inclusiveness, diversity of participation, interdependence, multi-disciplinary approaches, and a focus on the common good of the “whole” community, including children and families
--Equity: a belief in equal access to opportunity across race, gender, and generational lines, a commitment to social justice, and a focus on inter-generational fairness
--Optimism: a belief that leadership, sustained commitment, and bringing together diverse individuals in holistic approaches can make a difference
--Integration: a recognition that achieving sustainable, more livable communities requires equal commitment to the economy, equity and the environment
--Environmental Stewardship: fostering environmental protection, creating effective partnerships, and making sound land use decisions
--A Focus on Place: connecting and valuing neighborhoods and regions, striving for livable communities, and focusing on people as well as communities."

Some Cool Things they've Done:

--Gone around the Country on "Listening Sessions" to assess challenges and opportunities facing smart growth and liveable communities movements. Places they did assessment: Mid-Atlantic, Pennsylvania (yea alison and jen), Cali, Southeast, Chicago, Central Vally Cali, NY/NJ/Conn., Southwest, Ohio, Pacific, Twin Cities (yea Jamie).

to see what is up in your area check out the report: http://www.fundersnetwork.org/info-url_nocat2778/info-url_nocat_show.htm?doc_id=100775

For example, my future town of D.C. had the following "Impediments":

--In the Washington, DC region, working across multiple state, county, and city jurisdictions is a challenge. There are different policies, procedures, and politics.

--Northern Virginia officials often have difficulties obtaining what they believe to be their fair share of resources from Richmond. In terms of funding, income taxes collected in Northern Virginia counties are transferred directly to the general fund in Richmond. Currently, politicians would like to retain more tax revenue in Northern Virginia predominantly to fund road projects (I LOVE ROADS, I LOVE ROADS, LOVELOVELOVELOVE, LOVELOVELOVELOVE, I LOVE ROADS - sung to the tune of "hot cross buns), but mass transit and other transportation projects could also benefit from increased revenue.

--The disparity between land use and transportation planning in Virginia makes integrated Smart Growth planning difficult. Additionally, the disparity between planning an zoning further hampers Smart Growth planning (WTF, how can their be a disparity between PLANNING and ZONING???? isn't one supposed to be the tool of the other????? WTF!!!).

--Virginia business leaders, the BoT, and AAA Mid-Atlantic are proponents of widening and adding roads and often have the ears of politicians (DUDE, SWEET, Transit peeps should just hire MIKE TYSON, then we'd all be set. problem solved.), especially at the state level. However, if business leaders took the cue from leaders in other parts of the countrpotential for being progressive could also provide economic benefits.

--Some Maryland counties have Smart Growth approaches that differ from those of the state planning office.

--Washington, DC officials often become frustrated by the effect the federal government’s budget oversight has on District planning (poor district).

--VDOT is such a proponent of building roads in Virginia and is such a large organization, that it is difficult for the 30-person (WTFFFF.. THIRTY PEEPS??? Note to self: order more mike tysons) Department of Rail and Public Transportation to receive adequate funding and resources to pursue mass transit options.

--VDOT does not communicate well with the Maryland DOT, making plans for improving the Beltway and adding mass transit options difficult (Damn folks who don't serve sweet tea don't communicate with peeps that are sane enough to...f-in elitists!).


MAJOR CONCLUSIONS FROM STUDY:

**PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON DON'T LIKE TO COMMUNICATE ACROSS LINES**

Walking and Biking: peddle paddle

So, a TEN YEAR update just came out on National Biking and Walking (I am wondering how we can say that walking and biking is deserving of merely a TEN year-old project...oh yeah, i guess we forgot about them during the prior 20 years when we also got obese..ahh, yess) oh yeah...ramble ramble, want the link?

http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/pp/nbws1.htm

Target of the Project? "The National Bicycling and Walking Study (NBWS) established the target of doubling the percentage of trips made by bicycling and walking from 7.9 percent to 15.8 percent."

-well at least they recognized in 1990 that walking and biking were the "forgotten modes" yesss, 10 points for FHWA

Good news?

--Omnibus Household Survey found in 2001-2002 that nearly 2 million adults, or approximately NINE PERCENT of all adult workers, REGULARLY bicycle or walk related to their work.

Bad News?

-- the goal of doubling the percentage of trips by bicycling and walking, as called for by the NBWS, has not been met

Good News?

--The Omnibus Household Survey also found an average of 16 percent of the non-institutionalized adult population (what, they don't let crazy people ride bikes? shoooot) rode a bicycle an average of six days a month, for an average of more than an hour on a typical day.

...wait, we are supposed to be proud of that????????????

Ok, but i guess this is Good News...for real this time

--"from 1993 - 2003 there was a 17.3 percent decline in pedestrian fatalities and a 23.3 percent drop in bicycle fatalities" dude, sweet!

and...

--More people DIED but they weren't pedbikers...sweet, so all the gas -guzzlers are going kapoot (that was awful to say): "Bicyclists and pedestrians represented more than 16 percent of all traffic fatalities in 1993, and then dropped to 12.3 percent in 2003. At the same time there was an increase in overall traffic fatalities of more than seven percent."

also good?

--STATES LOVE YOU: all state DOTs have real, live, designated bike and ped coordinator (ummm...ok? woopdedo, why didnt they before???)
--THE GLASS IS HALF FULL: 29 states have adopted statewide bike plans (ok, well at least that is more than half?)

MORE GOOD (for real)

--"Spending on independent bicycle and pedestrian projects has grown from approximately $6 million in 1990 to more than $422.7 million in 2003"

BUT...

--sigh..."Despite this remarkable change, expenditures on independent bicycling and walking projects are still less than two percent of total surface transportation spending."

But..buttt...

--and did you know that in 1990: "many of the Federal-aid funding programs were not used for bicycle and pedestrian improvements and no State was allowed to spend more than $4.5 million in any one year on bicycle and pedestrian projects that were not part of a larger highway project." SHIT!


So basically, my overall assessment of these crude numbers and comments: MAN, WE USED TO REALLY FUCKIN' SUCK, but now we just mostly suck...75% suck...

Transportation and Public Health

YIPES...i got like 20 emails this week about BEPH-like topics.

One to put on your calendar: December 16, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST is a webcast of a panel discussing "Transportation and Public Health: The State of the Science." including panelists from FHWA, the Centers forDisease Control, and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. This panel is co-sponsored by FHWA and Institute of Transportation and the Environment at NC State University. To get a link ot the webcast go to www.itre.ncsu.edu/cte

Now on to the documents:


"THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH: 11 Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation"
http://www.preventioninstitute.org/pdf/BE_full_document_110304.pdf

This document discusses 11 low-income communities where local residents mobilized public
and private resources to change the physical environment in the neighborhoods to improve the health and QOL. The document is supposed to help communities and citizen groups model their efforts on these sucesses. yuppp.

WALKING SECURITY INDEX - IMPLEMENTABLE!!!
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~wellarb/walking_security_index_pilot_stu.htm
City of Ottawa Walking Security Index Project...yup...so they found that (suprise!) Intersection Volume and Design Index (like humongo cowabunga widening at crossing for more lanes going across intersection, etc.) , Quality of Intersection Condition Index, and Driver Behaviour Index were all importance factors. Not only that but (YAY) all the data is available in order to easily assess the walking security of intersections so they have no excuse not to IMPLEMENT IT...WOOHOOO!

So yay, maybe more cities will adopt this index and can actually implement it into policy - eek! yowzers! So now in addition to saying an intersection can't have a Level of Service (LOS) of less than D, we can also say that the "walking security index" must be X. So next step: laws that say what X is for what projects. After that: the world!


Okay, more later...