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The Planetizen News Brief - 7/9/09

9 July 2009 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

In the progressive San Francisco Bay Area, there’s an uncomfortable contradiction. Some environmentalists there have also been playing the role of NIMBYs, arguing against any new development. This opposition is instead pushing development out and exacerbating sprawl, destroying the very green and open space the environmentalists cherish. As the cities of Berkeley and Oakland debate new downtown plans, residents are coming to realize that they can be NIMBYs or environmentalists, but not both. As explained in a recent article from the East Bay Express, factions within these cities have been tussling about if and where more dense development should go. But as plans approach approval stage, it appears that the development-averse environmentalists are moving past their NIMBY ways to cautiously embrace the idea of density.

Out in Boston, filling potholes just got a lot easier. The city has unveiled a new piece of technology that allows residents to photograph minor urban nuisances like potholes and busted streetlights and send them directly to the city through their iPhones. According to an article from the Boston Globe, the application enables people to send in photos equipped with geographic data telling officials the exact location of the problem. In return they get a tracking number to monitor when – or if – the problem gets fixed. Like many cities, Boston currently has a telephone hotline that people can call to report problems, but many have complained that their requests seem to disappear into the bureaucratic jungle, never to be heard from again or resolved. As a result, the phone system is not very popular. City officials are hoping the modern iPhone approach will elicit more participation from the public about where problems exist. Whether the city actually solves those problems people report is another matter.

And finally, during this recession, small town America isn’t exactly in the best shape. Jobs are drying up, homes are being abandoned, and city budgets are evaporating in the summer sun. But that stereotype doesn’t fall across the board. A recent piece from the Planning Commissioners Journal looks at the downtown success of Niles, Michigan, a town of about 12,000 just shy of the state’s southern border with Indiana. Failed urban renewal programs in the ‘70s led to the eventual abandonment of the city’s main street business district. Downtown vacancies were at 25% in 2000. But then the city started doing outreach, meeting one-on-one with local business people and investors, delivering the message that the community would support downtown businesses if only they were there. That message, it seems, has sunken in. Over the past five years, 46 new downtown businesses have opened, and Niles officials are optimistic for the future even in uncertain times.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

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If hundreds of people in your community raised reasonable concerns about a planning program you developed, how would you respond? Perhaps you might call a community meeting, or ask community elected officials to reach out to community leaders.
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