Co-housing

You know I guess that most of us have experienced something like this if we have experienced the dorm life. I am just not sure if it extends very well later on when you are living independently or if you want to share all of these facilities again later on in life. It may be an interesting concept for a few but I'm not sure if it will work large scale. I guess it would be more economical and Earth friendly and we would all be in a better society, but I must say it is not for me. I guess I am more reserved and prefer my own space, but that means I would be representing the typical American suburbanite. Oh well, suburbanite I am...

Neighborhood Design, Circulation, Greenways etc...

I have always had lively and spirited with our Police Department concerning the creation of subdivisions and the pedestrian/bicycle connections. In a police world, these types of connections are escape paths for criminals, while in are world they are useful methods to encourage non-auto trips. So, we have such a conflict into whether or not we are going to have such connections because the police officers are not likely to want to get out of their cars if they would ever have to chase someone on foot. It's a rather interesting proposition because while there is limited crime and I can argue that point, in my town everyone is tied to their cars, so there is limited action in pedestrian connections. So, it really ends up being the preference of the developer as to what they want. Who knows, maybe we will get some progress on this issue if we can just find interesting places for pedestrians to go to that don't require a trip in the car.

We have an interesting issue in Greenfield where we are completely surrounded by agricultural land. Therefore, we require buffers between the fields and the developed areas that usually take the form of drainage ponds, parking areas, or other non-descript areas. Then one developer thought of the interesting idea of actually turn the buffer zone into a greenway. It looks great and is interesting, however not many choose to use it. The problem is that it doesn't go anywhere, it is just a walking path to nowhere on both sides. At least put something there that is of interest, and maybe it can be seen as useful. Sometimes I wonder if anyone cared about planning in this town. Now of course that I am here, no one wants to build anything given the slumping economy so we will still wait for a while until we get a chance to correct all of these problems by building better places.

Sustainability / Public Places

Sustainability indexes are interesting, since it follows environmental principles and revolves around a world that we wope to achieve, but seems rather impossible if we are going to disturb the planet with development. I would consider myself someone that looks more at the excitement of the development process and usually am not interested in sustainable principles. I must admit that I can't stand the horrible bureaucracy that is the California Environmental Quality Act. It drives me crazy and there are times that I could leave California for only the reason that I could get to of having to apply the boredom that is CEQA stuff.

There was also some interesting stuff about learning cities and collective communities and the value of the public space. I definitely agree that we need to focus more on our public spaces in the planning field and really look at the usage and get people involved to see what we can do to improve public areas, parks, plazas, etc. I am looking forward to getting more involved in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan that we are doing so we can focus on many of the public spaces here in town. I am hoping that this will trigger the public involvement that we usually lack during the public hearing process for subdivisions and other public planning projects. My hope is that the central gathering locations will inspire people to move forward and take more interest in collaborating and coming up with an sustainable and practical area for their own neighborhood parks.

The role of the Facilitator

Wow, I must say all of these rather smart concepts are so foreign to me in my professional and personal life. I don't know why however, it seems so simple on the surface. But then again, in local politics I must agree that in many if not all cases, the decisions have already been made by the few politicians that run the Council, or they are not really open to any suggestions. Very practical of politicians to act that way, I guess. I look at this reading, and see all of the excellent pointers and wonder if we could see that ever in the formalities of the City Council meeting. Facilitated discussions can be rather interesting, especially if there are people that are flexible to having open minds and actually take things away and are not so polarized. It would seem that we as a nation need to reconsider all of our past methods of doing things and move forward in making changes and trying different approaches. It appears that this country is moving in a downward spiral, so what does it hurt to change things a bit??? Good luck to the happy person that gets to be the mediator in the middle. What a thankless job...

State DOF Report

We are still growing (surprise) at a clip of 4.4% over the last year. Biggest percentage growth in Monterey County. Our current estimated population stands at 17,316!!! Big news for us... just thought I'd share.

Win-Win Plans? Are they possible in small-town government?

I preface by saying that I work for a small municipality. As such, working in government gives me the idea that a win-win plan just is impossible to reach because there always are the two polar opposites in so many decisions: developer v. city, Democrats v. Republicans, public v. private, mega-mall v. mom-and-pops. I say the list goes on and on and on... Well, the great author Mr. Green outs forward many concepts and ideas about how we can re-focus our efforts ofrom being naturally combatative to being collaborative. I think it makes a whole lot of sense and would work better if we could do things without having to consider the evil influence of the almighty dollar. It's amazing how greed can take over when there are financial considerations involved for at least one of the parties. When there are finite rewards at the end, it only seems logical that the end result is that people can't collaborate at the risk of losing money. My experience of dealing with developers would tell me that. Every time we talk exactions and dedications, oh the chill in the air that cringes at reduced profit margins, etc. I just see in many cases this bing a competition in the battle that I face on a daily basis, but it is an idea that deserves proper thought and evaluation. There are many cases in which things like this work, especially the cases where money is not involved. Unfortunately, I don't gt the opportunity often to get into these things. Maye someday i can go to a happy place where collaborative win-win decisions are mad outside of the ultimate locale where fiscalization of land use is king.

A Parks Plan for Greenfield

Our 203 project centers around the first ever Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan of the City of Greenfield. A town of 17,000, we have been behind en ensuring that the people are well represented and that we know what the people of Greenfield are looking for in recreational facilities. We are primarily a residential town, so our parks are of great importance. It is something that the public expects, and that we are charged to maintain. All this is made more difficult without the presence of a Parks & Recreation Department for teh city. Right now we contract with the YMCA for this service. They do a good job, but it doesn't cover the entire needs of the city in all aspects. This is where we hope to begin to bridge the gap and come up with site-specific solutions and most importantly, look for funding mechanisms to make sure these ideas can be implemented. We are working feverishly to come up with ideas to help engage the public and make sure that the public is the creator of the document and it is not just the staff and consultant that we will hire to do the project. That is where we are looking at collaborative methods to engage the public and ensure that they will take owenrship of the project. We will meet soon to interview the bidding consulting firms. It should be a fascinating experience.

Multiple Intelligence

"Much of what we in the U.S. call "learning" is just BINGE AND PURGE mental consumption that mirrors our Consumer Culture. To turn learners into consumers rather than creators, a common practice is to force feed topics that don't matter to the learner, to condition people to accept imposed ideas." - Allen Green

“One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year.” - Albert Einstein

Wow! How true is that... I went through the public school system primarily because I could master the art of the "binge and purge" system. I knew how to work those old Scantron cards. Everything in our system was designed to teach to the test, because it was the "test" that determined if we were smart or not and if the educators would be promoted or fired. It was my goal to "beat the system" so I could resort my time to more intersting things. In some places in the world, the "test" has consumed people and driven them to horrible fates. We know that there have been many that have attempted to overhaul the traditional education system and have lost to the big behemoth. No Child Left Behind sanctions this mathod and punishes helpless schools that cannot perform. Those that have struck out on their own with home-schools, charter schools, private schools should be commended. They are noble innovators. We know that what children really learn is so much that is found in the simple things of life, and has nothing to do with the rigid standards that exist in a school setting. We need to appreciate those who look outside the box to accomplish the same ends as eductors attempt - to bring up a competent generation to lead a nation into greater prosperity than the generation before.

Creative Collaboration

What I would give to have such a process in my little city of 17,000 in which I work. In 2006, my council ran unopposed. The planning department consists of myself. Public attendance at meetings is abysmal. The design review committee generally rubber stamps projects without many issues. The point of all this is that there is very little creative design or collaboration going on. I really think the creative collaboration process has a place in many places, just that it hasn't really functioned well in government settings, because we are so set in our codes, procedures and ordinances. That's why I respect the planners that I know that work in the private-sector. There they have the ability to do things and try things that us in the public-sector could never do, envelopes that we could never push, and plan projects without constant public intervention. We at times are so stuck to a formulaic approach to things, having to rule "by the book" and assume that rules are rules. Someday perhaps through workshops, public meetings etc. we will see creative collaboration without limits, and let people create ideas without having to worry about the political consequences. The university setting is great for that, because in many instances, the students have no financial interest in a project, but bring fresh and new ideas in a genuine attempt to help. I think that many in this class have been able to participate in that feeling of accomplishment in their groups and projects, in searching for creative ways to get things done.

What IF Teens Designed Cities?

One of the reasons I became a planner was that I was hooked to the computer game Sim City as a kid. Although it has gone through a number of changes and variations, teh premise remains simple. Design and run a city. It makes you play City Manager, Finance Director, City Council, City Planner, and Public Works Director all at one time. The concept is brilliant in its simplicity and in the complexity in which you can let your imagination succeed. the advent of internet connections and fan sites have led to the increase in collaboration and filesharing of unique architecture and concepts. It's like the players programming for the programmer. In essence, SimCity accomplishes many of the objectives that grind actual municipalities to a halt.

There is no political game to play in that game, you want a building built, it gets built. Re-zone a property, it gets rezoned. Build infrastructure and amenities, while at the same time knowing that there is a responsibility for maintaining and paying for all these facilities you created.

Given this simple system, teenagers can accomplish anything. They have the intelligence to master concepts without being brought down by all the naysayers who say you can't do things. They have can-do attitudes, and could design a thriving metropolis if we let them. But our system makes sure that doesn't happen. I often feel bad for teenagers who come to our City Council meetings, becuase they have such good ideas and then routinely are shot down because of "budgetary concerns" or "neighborhood opposition" or my favorite statement these days of "liabilty issues." Bless their hearts for wanting a voice in government, and hope that in the future they work together to make the positive change.

Cultural Creatives

To keep the record straight, I would not consider myself a cultural creative. I would say that I come from a traditionalist background, and have been extremely conservative in most to all things. It makes for a strange dynamic for me on a Bay Area campus, but find peace in that and "that's how I roll."

I see where things are going, and can definitely understand the frustrations of people having to deal in a system that is crushed by its own bureaucracy, that represses good ideas, and requires that every minute detail be approved by a board or group who could only care it it profits them in the end.

Take California for example. To get projeccts through, we require that developers pay through the roof because the current taxpayers have revolted against paying for the common good, and we have set up a system by which it takes millions of dollars and years to get projects pushed through. So, the little guys get squeezed because they cant afford the 13 permits that are required to open shop, or the cost of bureaucracy has priced them after a minute. Or the cops have shut down a little girl's lemonade stand because it is not a permitted use in residential zones and she failed to obtain a business license and sellers permit.

We have gone so far from Euclidian zoning principles that we have just killed off creative attempts. People promote green, but in the economic downturn can't afford the capital to invest in sustaining technologies. Those that don't know how to navigate the system get shut down on teh first trip to City Hall. There must be an avenue in which the government can function effectively, and the cultural creatives can shine. In my city, that will be something that I will look to do, but it may be an uphill battle.