Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.
The Planning Report interviews Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom about the new element:
"That's why Santa Monica is a good petri dish: we have the resources to try out new ideas. So, for example, we'll do some good in Santa Monica with our no-net-new-car-trip philosophy, new emphasis on being a bike-friendly city and expanding public transit. But, ideas like that have to take hold regionally to have a dramatic impact on traffic in the larger area."
"[L.A.] made a decision that between good planning and economic development-economic development trumps planning, and expediting supersedes planning. I don't think it has to. I don't think that it should. They should go hand in hand, and there is no reason why they can't."
"I believe that if we can get to a place where we achieve consensus around projects like that, we are doing a net good for our communities. We get better land use decisions, and we get better land use implementations. That helps lift the community economically."
Thanks to James Brasuell
FULL STORY: Mayor Bloom On Santa Monica’s Land Use & Circulation Element
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
