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The Planetizen News Brief - 7/16/09

16 July 2009 - 9:00am
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

Gang violence is a notorious problem in cities across the world. A solution is not easy to come by, but in Los Angeles, one idea is making some progress. By simply keeping lights on at public parks in crime-prone areas, crime rates have shown a dramatic decline. A recent article from the New York Times looks at the program, now in its second year. Dubbed Summer Night Lights, the program doubled to 16 parks this year, keeping lights on and parks open until midnight. In 2008, the neighborhoods bordering the programs eight parks saw 86 percent fewer homicides and a 17 percent reduction in gang-related crime. Having lights on later creates a place to go for young people who might otherwise be lured into gangs or getting into trouble. They’ve raised $1.4 million for the program, an amount the city has promised to match.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, an elevated leg of Interstate 10 has been a point of contention for more than 40 years. The elevated freeway drew a sharp division in the city, and helped spur suburbanization that drained residents. Now, after years of complaining, planners are making visible steps to tear the freeway down. According to a recent article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the city’s Unified New Orleans Plan is calling for the freeway’s removal, and planners are behind the idea. But what’s really pushing things forward is simple economics. Because the Interstate is nearing the end of its lifespan, officials would need to invest tens of millions of dollars to refurbish it. The cheaper alternative, and one that is advocated in the city’s new master plan, is to remove the freeway and retrofit surface streets to handle the overflow. Though some concerns over traffic persist, planners say that the success of freeway removals in other cities like San Francisco prove that the idea not only could work for New Orleans, but that the city will be better off because of it.

And finally, New York City is also facing some questions about teardowns. But it’s not an aging interstate that’s plaguing New York. It’s 138 half-finished or abandoned housing projects that developers have been forced to walk away from. Instead of busting out the wrecking ball, New York is trying to turn those lemon buildings into affordable housing lemonade. According to a recent article from the Architect’s Newspaper, the city’s new Housing Asset Renewal Program is utilizing $20 million of city funds to help complete some projects and convert these once-market-rate units into affordable housing. The first infusion of city money is expected to rehab more than 400 units – and more money for the program is expected in the coming years.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

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In short, we’ve seen the last of the cheap oil on which we’ve built our economy, our communities, and our daily lives.
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