John King has reason to believe a cultural shift toward taller buildings and mixed-use neighborhoods is underway in the Bay Area. How? The language used by opponents of those causes.
San Francisco Chronicle Architecture Critic John King offers compelling perspective on the latest crop of anti-development ballot initiatives under consideration in the Bay Area.
In both Berkeley and Menlo Park, slow-growth initiatives are framed in such a way that proponents can say they’re not actually against the concept of dense development at all. Such arguments might be cynical or simplistic, but they tacitly concede that more and more people are comfortable with more urban ways of life.
King examines the case of Berkeley's Measure R (detailed by Planetizen's Reuben Duarte in September), finding a change in tone between the current growth opposition campaign and a failed campaign to defeat a 2010 growth initiative. That change in tone, which King details in the article, is a sign of a larger trend:
It’s also a clear signal that the conventional wisdom of a generation ago, that tall buildings are synonymous with some dire Manhattanization, doesn’t sway younger Bay Area residents who visit New York City every chance they get.
King goes on to argue that Measure M in the peninsula city of Menlo Park, which makes similar, disingenuous concessions to the language and policy of a pro-growth agenda.
Read the full story: These development measures are really antigrowth
Campaign 2014 Results: Bay Area Transportation, Land Use, and Soda Tax Measures
Votes exceeded the two-thirds threshold to pass two vital transportation funding measures in San Francisco and Alameda counties. In Berkeley (which passed the nation's first soda tax) and Menlo Park, voters resoundingly reject anti-growth measures.
Is Anti-Growth the Wrong Approach to Fighting Gentrification?
Limiting development has been a powerful tool for anti-gentrification activists, but have these policies had counter-productive effects?
Are We Approaching Peak Land Use Control?
With an increasing reliance on development regulations and requirements on land owners to satisfy policy goals, are we approaching an unsustainable point in land use controls?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority