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The Planetizen News Brief - 7/23/09

23 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

Some are calling it unexpected, but to others it’s simply good news. Cities across the country are experiencing falling crime rates, according to a recent article from The Washington Post. And the figures are striking. New York City, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. are on their way to recording their fewest homicides in at least 40 years. Figures are also down in cities like San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis. The downturn has caught some criminology experts off-guard, leaving them scrambling for reasons why. During this recession, many are quick to try to relate the decrease to the struggling economy, but experts say the connection’s just not there. Whatever the reason, crime enforcement officials in these cities are happy to take the credit.

Meanwhile, in El Paso, Texas, city officials are trying to put a stop to outdoor advertising. The El Paso Times reports on recent moves in the city council to ban all new billboard construction in the city, and place new controls over digital signs. Officials there want to join up with more than 350 other Texas cities that have banned new billboard construction. But the idea is taking a lot of flak. Some within the city argue the billboards are a good source of revenue for the city, especially during tough times. Business people in town also argue that the tighter rules will hurt small businesses who count on billboards to reach their customers. The controversial move to ban the billboards was passed by the council, but Mayor John Cook promptly vetoed it. The city council will meet next week to consider an override of the mayor’s veto.

And finally, in the posh beachside community of Santa Monica, California, one small street has gotten a complete makeover. But it’s not new benches or fancy landscaping that’s changing the face of this street, it’s work below the surface. The city just opened its first green street, equipped with permeable pavement, infiltration basins and filtered gutters that prevent rainwater and urban runoff from carrying pollutants into the nearby Pacific Ocean. A recent story from The Lookout takes a tour of this new green street, which soaks up most of the water that hits it before it can get to the gutter. Because most of the stormwater system drains into the ocean, stopping pollutants from entering the system is the best way to prevent them from contaminating the sea. These permeable techniques and filtration devices are seen as the future of stormwater management in Santa Monica, and a possible model for streets throughout the country.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

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There is lots of theory, and lots of wonderful mathematics, and even lots of dealmaking. But the financial engineers are not real engineers who take responsibility for the bridges that fall down. They have no notion of a safety factor.
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