This evening, the MA Chapter of the APA and MIT hosted a talk by Anthony Flint about his new book Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder And Transformed The American City". Attended by about 50 people, the group included professors, practitioners and students from across Massachusetts.

To begin with, Flint described the present focus on planning - infill, redevelopment, building off of and expanding public transit. As he noted, this stands in stark contrast to the actions happening in the 1960s - and it was these two pivotal people (Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs) who helped get us to where we are today.

It was interesting to hear how he compared the two. Generally, the planning field is (now) very critical of Robert Moses while many (especially the New Urbanists) praise Jane Jacobs. It turns out though that they had their similarities and weren't wholly positive or negative.

One of the biggest issues facing planners these days is NIMBY-ism (Not-In-My-Back-Yard). Flint pointed out that it was Jacobs that really started this concept. Her efforts to protect New York's neighborhoods from demolition for highway projects encouraged the public to protect their home and the area around it. He also noted that it was this same "protectionism" that she sponsored that saved homes in the West Village. That same neighborhood has gone through major gentrification, resulting in the displacement of the same people Jacobs wanted to save from highway displacement. It's resulted in a new guerilla campaign More Jane Less Marc. Of course, he brand of public concern and action had a much greater positive effect - such as the great freeway revolts in Boston and San Francisco.

While Jacobs provided America with the concept of "human-scale neighborhoods," Flint made the case for Moses's concern and focus on infrastructure. We are at the cusp of an infrastructure meltdown. Sadly, the public backlash regarding Moses caused us to turn away from infrastructure rather than incorporate it equitably.

Flint closed his presentation with the question "How does a city reinvent itself?" Jacobs left us the owner's manual for the city and neighborhood. Now we need to embrace density through proper design and scale, transit node focus, and distribution of parks.

Following his presentation, Flint opened the floor to questions and discussions. These included:

• Do we need government subsidies?
• What will be the effect of the new MassDOT
• Smart growth initiative for mixed-income developments
• How to balance NIMBY-ism
• Developing on/near the Greenway
• Flint's concern and focus on climate change and our responsibility for immediate action
• Where is the future of planning heading?
• The importance of visualizing a plan through new technology and how it fits into the regional framework
• Jacobs would support the Times Square traffic calming measures (she attempted something similar) and potential congestion charges
• Potential for sustainability to converge the engineering and planning fields

The Tufts UEP/AFE dual degree was featured in APA's magazine "The New Planner" this month. The article is "Expanding The Academic Menu: Today's Planning Students Have an Appetite for Food Systems."

Expanding the Academic Menu- Today's Planning Students Have an Appetite for Food Systems.pdf (513.24 kb)

Meanwhile, stay tuned for word from the new as-yet-unnamed UEP-Friedman School student alliance. They have some exciting events in the pipeline.

This past Monday, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) approved transitioning the LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot program into a full certification program. Up to this point, this certification process was provided to a select few projects in the US. The USGBC put the program up to a vote and all four voting organizations (Congress for the New Urbanism members, CNU Board of Directors, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the USGBC) approved the transition. 

The main difference between LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) and LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) is the project impact scope. A major criticism of the LEED-NC system is that a developer could build a Platinum LEED structure - out in suburbia in a greenfield. The LEED-NC does not evaluate the infrastructure needs, location, or transportation for a project. LEED-ND on the other hand acknowledges a large scope of impact. Developers are evaluated on use of land, correlation with surrounding use, consideration for brownfields, and access to public transit - to name a few.

The LEED-ND system is studied and incorporated into Christine Cousineau's "Green Urban Design" course.

For the New Urbanism News article about this: click here. 

To learn about the USGBC and its LEED accreditation programs: click here. 

Richard Florida published an op-ed in the WSJ calling  for urban policy focusing only on "Mega Regions"

These are some of the points he makes

"While there are 191 nations in the world, just 40 significant mega-regions power the global economy". Mega regions are: Home to more than one-fifth of the world's populationand account for two-thirds of global economic output and more than 85% of all global innovation. "China is not our competitor its Shanghai, Beijing and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen corridor, which account for roughly 43% of the output of the entire country".

He calls for policy that strengthen mega regions such as:

1.      Support global trade such as NAFTA.

2.      Stop transferring wealth to the periphery such as the transfer of recourses to the south from the core mega regions where it can be used “most productively”.  

3.      Density, stop subsidizing suburbanization.  

4.      Ensure economic competitiveness of mega regions by improving infrastructure such as fast rail.  

Link to article:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120796112300309601.html -

I am sure UEPers have lots to say about this so let’s hear your thought

A great talk on the  Mannahattan Project, the project created a 3d model of NY 400 years ago. 

Click to Watch

The Mannahattan http://themannahattaproject.org/

A movement to fulfill some of the McMillan Commission's 1902 visions of DC: McMillan Two.

Still no master plan, but New Orleans is producing some innovative residential architecture. 

Rethinking congestion (thanks to Alex Reisman for the link!).

Hi UEP!

You are invited to get involved with No One Leaves, a campaign started at Harvard Law School to help Boston residents living in foreclosed homes exercise their legal right to stay there. Some of us from UEP canvassed folks in Dorchester last Spring, and found the effort really worthwhile - we helped link people to some vital information and services, and learned a lot in the process about the foreclosure crisis (and where to get some great Vietnamese food!). I highly recommend it to anyone struggling this semester to link what we're learning in school to what actually happens in the real world.

Please join us for a meeting about the effort, and how you can get involved, next Tuesday, September 22, in Pearson 104 from 5.45-6.30 (right after Cities, in the same room).

If you're interested, but are unable to attend the meeting on the 22nd, please contact Abi Vladeck.

Today Nicolai Ouroussoff calls for a "bold new urban vision"  in the NY Times, and Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell mulls the future of Boston.  Both are well worth a read.

On Tuesday March 3, 2009, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.*, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), the city of Somerville and other communities along the Mystic River will host a town hall meeting at Tufts University in Somerville, Mass. At this meeting we will share exciting plans to make your region a more walkable, bikeable place to live, work and play, and provide you with opportunities to be part of the process.

Somerville is spearheading an effort to engage the Boston region in RTC’s 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation to double the amount of money the federal government invests in walking and biking. Specifically, we are targeting $50 million to each of dozens of communities, including those along the Mystic River, Boston and Cambridge, to build a complete network of safe places to walk and bike more and drive less.

What: "Active Transportation in the Boston Region"
Where: Tufts University (Barnum Hall, Room 104), College Avenue, Somerville/Medford, Mass. Maps and directions are here.
When: Tuesday, March 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.*
Why: To learn about and coordinate efforts to make the Mystic Valley and the Boston region a better place to live, work and play through more walking and biking.

* Light snacks and beverages will be served during a brief networking period at 6 p.m. The program will start at 6:30.

RSVP here.