Infrastructure: By-Passing Tomorrow for Easy Implementation Today

We solve problems with over-engineered, anti-urban infrastructure schemes even though we have no plan for funding their future maintenance obligations. Howard Blackson uses San Diego as an example, and offers up some pedestrian-oriented solutions.

1 minute read

February 19, 2013, 11:00 AM PST

By Hazel Borys


"Here in Southern California, we suffer from a local medical condition I’ve coined our Infrastructure Deficit Disorder (IDD).

"My city is falling apart. Sewers leak into stormwater outfalls during every rain event. Then our ocean is polluted for days afterwards. Our sidewalks and overly wide streets are crumbling, and our parks have been deficient since John Nolen identified the problem in his 1926 Comprehensive Plan for San Diego. Our Community Plans are 30 years old, doing little to provide predictability in the development process, meaning every new project of any scale is seen as a threat to a fantastic, yet precarious, quality-of-life. And, because we still measure traffic by the archaic Average Daily Trips generated by singular Land Uses, all new mitigation for mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods ends up being signalized intersections to facilitate the wider, faster streets required to avoid the feared LOS F (traffic traveling slower than 30 mph) performance rating.

"The net result: We’re keeping our neighborhoods from ever being mixed-use and walkable."

Howard Blackson goes on to offer up some solutions that include focus on revenue generation and changing measurement practices to maximize prior investments. He sums up with a Balboa Park example of a looming infrastructure investment choice, along with his own urban design solution.

Monday, February 18, 2013 in PlaceShakers

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight