Showing papers in "Journal of The American Planning Association in 1996"
TL;DR: A wide range of strategies to reduce impervious surfaces and their impacts on water resources can be applied to community planning, site-level planning and design, and land use regulation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Planners concerned with water resource protection in urbanizing areas must deal with the adverse impacts of polluted runoff. Impervious surface coverage is a quantifiable land-use indicator that correlates closely with these impacts. Once the role and distribution of impervious coverage are understood, a wide range of strategies to reduce impervious surfaces and their impacts on water resources can be applied to community planning, site-level planning and design, and land use regulation. These strategies complement many current trends in planning, zoning, and landscape design that go beyond water pollution concerns to address the quality of life in a community.
2,087 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a "planner's triangle" with sustainable development located at its center, and argue that planners would benefit both from integrating social theory with environmental thinking and from combining their substantive skills with techniques for community conflict resolution, to confront economic and environmental injustice.
Abstract: Nothing inherent in the discipline steers planners either toward environmental protection or toward economic development—or toward a third goal of planning: social equity. Instead, planners work within the tension generated among these three fundamental aims, which, collectively, I call the “planner's triangle,” with sustainable development located at its center. This center cannot be reached directly, but only approximately and indirectly, through a sustained period of confronting and resolving the triangle's conflicts. To do so, planners have to redefine sustainability, since its current formulation romanticizes our sustainable past and is too vaguely holistic. Planners would benefit both from integrating social theory with environmental thinking and from combining their substantive skills with techniques for community conflict resolution, to confront economic and environmental injustice.
1,501 citations
TL;DR: Consensus building with stakeholders as discussed by the authors is a model for planning that responds to each of Altshuler's critiques and is based on assumptions about the nature of knowledge, about the organization of interests, and about the public interest.
Abstract: Thirty years ago, Alan Altshuler, in a devastating critique that has never been effectively answered, challenged the legitimacy of comprehensive planning and of planners' expertise. He called on the field to reinforce its theoretical arsenal. This article takes up his challenge, contending that not only have practices now arisen that make comprehensive planning possible, but also political and social theory has evolved to provide its intellectual grounding. The article argues that consensus building with stakeholders offers a model for planning that responds to each of Altshuler's critiques. Consensus building is shown to be founded on assumptions about the nature of knowledge, about the organization of interests, and about the nature of the public interest that differ from those Altshuler applied. Evidence is taken from eight in-depth case studies of consensus building over growth and environmental issues in California, and from a study of the New Jersey state planning process. The article concl...
812 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework for reporting, preparing a list of potential sustainability indicators, evaluating them by a variety of criteria, choosing a final set of indicators, analyzing their results, presenting the results to an intended target audience, and then periodically assessing indicator performance.
Abstract: Urban sustainability reporting is a tool for informing local government, as well as individuals, businesses, and other organizations, about the progress that they are making towards achieving urban sustainability. The reporting process starts with the definition of sustainability goals for the community, followed by a scoping stage. Subsequent steps comprise choosing a conceptual framework for reporting, preparing a list of potential sustainability indicators, evaluating them by a variety of criteria, choosing a final set of indicators, analyzing their results, presenting the results to an intended target audience, and then periodically assessing indicator performance.
428 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the distribution of employment among subcenters in the Los Angeles metropolitan region in 1970, 1980, and 1990, defined in terms of trip generation rates rather than employment.
Abstract: This paper examines the distribution of employment among subcenters in the Los Angeles metropolitan region in 1970, 1980, and 1990, defined in terms of trip generation rates rather than employment ...
401 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined changes in the ratios of jobs to employed residents in 23 large San Francisco Bay Area cities during the 1980s and found that imbalances generally worsened in job-surplus cities, particularly in the Silicon Valley.
Abstract: Regions in California have recently set jobs-housing balance targets, to relieve traffic congestion and improve air quality. Critics of such targets charge that many factors prevent people from living near their workplaces, and that market forces, left unobstructed, work to produce balance—that is, people and firms co-locate to reduce imbalances. This article examines changes in the ratios of jobs to employed residents in 23 large San Francisco Bay Area cities during the 1980s. Imbalances were found to have declined generally, mainly because dormitory communities in 1980 had attracted businesses by 1990. However, imbalances generally worsened in job-surplus cities, particularly in the Silicon Valley. The research also reveals little association between jobs-housing balance and self-containment. Several Bay Area cities are nearly perfectly balanced, yet fewer than a third of their workers reside locally, and even smaller shares of residents work locally. Restricted housing production, especially i...
327 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the special characteristics of the overcrowded, where they are located, why the incidence of crowding has resurged, and why it is confined to specific locales.
Abstract: Overcrowding has increased in the U.S. after decades of decline—dramatically so in some locales and for some ethnic groups. The nature of the problem and its very definition for policy purposes are also changing. We examine the special characteristics of the overcrowded, where they are located, why the incidence of crowding has resurged, and why it is confined to specific locales. Ethnicity, age, immigration, and poverty play important roles, but housing market conditions appear much less important. We also show that the planning standard used to judge overcrowding is a relative one that has varied over time, and that the social norms vary among ethnic groups. The issue of overcrowding may exemplify the current perplexities about imposing uniform standards in an evolving multiethnic society. Worst-case housing needs would be better targeted in highly impacted locales by allowing more “place diversity” in the setting of standards.
189 citations
TL;DR: In the history of indicator use, five lessons for neighborhood indicators stand out as discussed by the authors : it is imperative that the numbers have a specific policy purpose, and one must from the outset distinguish clearly between indicators that measure neighborhood well-being and measures that measure the wellbeing of neighborhood residents, and to be most useful, indicators must be unbundled.
Abstract: Historically there have been very few attempts to build neighborhood-level indicators as a means of measuring neighborhood problems and designing policies to address them. However, recent developments in desktop geographic information systems, combined with the devolution of social programs to the local level, have created the technology and the need for such indicators. In the history of indicator use, five lessons for neighborhood indicators stand out. First, it is imperative that the numbers have a specific policy purpose. Second, geographic indicators play a special role, more important than that of subject area indicators, because policy is administered through geographic units and because neighborhoods and cities themselves affect the quality of people's lives. Third, one must from the outset distinguish clearly between indicators that measure neighborhood well-being and indicators that measure the well-being of neighborhood residents. Fourth, to be most useful, indicators must be unbundled...
186 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that community groups from low-income neighborhoods have the most to gain from full access to data, yet the least capability to achieve that access or make use of the data once they have it.
Abstract: Community groups from low-income neighborhoods have the most to gain from full access to data, yet the least capability to achieve that access or make use of the data once they have it. The gap is ...
145 citations
TL;DR: In particular, the number of both automobile trips and vehicle-miles traveled can actually rise with an increase in access, such as a move to a more grid-like land-use pattern as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Various “new suburb” land-use designs have recently been proposed to address a number of social and environmental problems, including the dominance of automobile travel. Transportation benefits are expected from reducing the surface street distance between locations, mixing land uses, “calming” traffic, and promoting walking, bicycling, and transitvia redesigned streets and streetscapes. That auto travel will fall is a largely unchallenged premise of these designs. Yet what little evidence exists is either weak or contrary; this paper presents a simple behavioral argument to explain why. Generally speaking, driving is both discouraged and facilitated in the new suburbs, with the net effect being an empirical matter. In particular, the number of both automobile trips and vehicle-miles traveled can actually rise with an increase in access, such as a move to a more grid-like land-use pattern. Whatever the merits of neotraditional and transit-oriented designs, and there are many, their transportation...
142 citations
TL;DR: In Boston, transit ridership has increased over the last twenty years because the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has offset the effects of suburbanization and income growth by extending rail lines into the suburbs and by keeping fare increases below the rate of inflation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Boston is typical of many metropolitan areas struggling to maintain or increase their transit ridership while keeping their transit deficits—defined here as the shortfall between passenger revenues and transit agency costs— under control. In Boston, transit rider-ship has increased over the last twenty years because the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has offset the effects of suburbanization and income growth by extending rail lines into the suburbs and by keeping fare increases below the rate of inflation. The service extensions and fare reductions have been a major factor, however, in the explosion of the MBTA deficit from $21 million in 1965 to $575 million in 1991. There has been little political will or incentive to date to adopt measures-such as tolling autos or contracting out transit services with the private sector—that might help control the deficit without greatly reducing ridership. Although these measures are not long-term remedies, without them cities like Boston ...
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive review of empirical analyses of state-sponsored enterprise zone programs is provided, focusing on major theoretical and policy issues about enterprise zones, and a summary of studies on two major dimensions of enterprise zones programs: (1) job and investment impacts, and (2) program costs.
Abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive review of empirical analyses of state-sponsored enterprise zone programs. An introductory segment focuses on major theoretical and policy issues about enterprise zones. This discussion is followed by a summary of studies on two major dimensions of enterprise zone programs: (1) job and investment impacts, and (2) program costs. The research reviewed ranges from individual case studies to cross-state analyses. Interpretation of findings from these studies suggests that enterprise zones vary in their effects on investment and employment in declining areas. This variation is partly explained by the features of program design and the specific attributes of zone contexts. Although enterprise zones have been effective in generating new employment and investment in certain areas, they have important limitations that must be scrutinized more closely to minimize program costs and target benefits to depressed communities more effectively.
TL;DR: Five statistics packages are described here that calculate various spatial indices useful for planners that will be used along with GIS programs to draw more rigorous and quantifiable deductions from their data.
Abstract: With the increasing use of GIS by planners, statistics routines are needed that quantify relationships taking into account spatial location. Spatial statistics is a branch of statistics that includes measures of spatial distribution, spatial autocorrelation, and spatial association. Five statistics packages are described here that calculate various spatial indices useful for planners. In the future, planners will use these methods along with GIS programs to draw more rigorous and quantifiable deductions from their data.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a normative vision and planning framework for protecting landscapes and ecosystems, and suggest that good planning of residential environments requires that planners re-examine priorities and regulations from the point of view of sustaining landscape processes and functions.
Abstract: The authors present a normative vision and planning framework for protecting landscapes and ecosystems. They suggest that good planning of residential environments requires that planners re-examine priorities and regulations from the point of view of sustaining landscape processes and functions. The health and prosperity of communities over the long term depends upon natural processes and landscape function. Without a healthy environment, human communities face uncertain futures. Planning to sustain landscapes implies not only a new philosophy but also different land-use practices within communities.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the theoretical and empirical limitations of the elasticity hypothesis and concluded that the potential benefits of expanded central city control over regional development to be less significant than the hypothesis implies than the theoretical limitations and weak empirical support show.
Abstract: This paper critically analyzes the elasticity hypothesis proposed by David Rusk in his book Cities Without Suburbs. Rusk argues that cities that can expand their borders to capture vacant land for new development are associated with higher levels of economic growth and development. This paper points out the theoretical and empirical limitations of Rusk's analysis. Systematic empirical evidence from 117 central cities revealed necessary but not sufficient evidence in support of the elasticity hypothesis. Although indicators of metropolitan growth appear to support the hypothesis, indicators of metropolitan economic welfare are not consistent with it. The paper concludes that theoretical limitations and weak empirical support show the potential benefits of expanded central city control over regional development to be less significant than the elasticity hypothesis implies.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study adds to our knowledge of error in small-area forecasts by evaluating forecasts of census tract population that are developed from a spatial interaction land-use modeling system.
Abstract: As a result of the ISTEA and Clean Air Act legislation, more agencies are using or will be required to use spatial interaction land-use models to develop small-area (subcounty) population forecasts. Little is known about the magnitude or characteristics of the error generated from these models or in small-area forecasts in general. This case study adds to our knowledge of error in small-area forecasts by evaluating forecasts of census tract population that are developed from a spatial interaction land-use modeling system. The study also illustrates measures that can examine forecast error more comprehensively.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the pivotal relationship between the computing technology and its organizational context is explored by demonstrating how differing assumptions alter one's understanding of the underlying processes and thus influence expectations about the ease of implementation and the role of computer technology in planning.
Abstract: The rapid increase in the availability of information technology to planning agencies has raised important questions about the likely effects of these systems on planning practice. Much of this debate has centred around geographic information systems (GIS); yet, for planning practitioners attempting to apply and to derive benefits from this technology, the literature undoubtedly has limitations. This discussion argues that the pivotal relationship is that between the computing technology and its organizational context. This relationship is explored by demonstrating how differing assumptions alter one's understanding of the underlying processes and thus influence expectations about the ease of implementation and the role of computer technology in planning. These differences in assumptions are summarized in three perspectives on implementation: technological determinism, managerial rationalism, and social interactionism. The discussion concludes by examining the implications of the social interacti...
TL;DR: A survey of California city planning directors found about half to be supportive of regional government as mentioned in this paper, with support higher in the San Francisco Bay area than in the Los Angeles area, and the predictors of support for regional government involve perceived self-interest and a willingness to give up local control.
Abstract: A survey of California city planning directors finds about half to be supportive of regional government. Support is higher in the San Francisco Bay area than in the Los Angeles area. Planning directors strongly favor a role for regional government in “system-maintenance” functions and in environmental protection, but most oppose its involvement in “life-style” services and local growth regulations. Many question the ability of regional governments to solve problems or respond effectively to local issues. As in studies of citizens' preferences, the predictors of support for regional government involve perceived self-interest and a willingness to give up local control. The article points out the implications for states seeking to include regional governance in growth management.
TL;DR: The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is an environmental protection act that governs the review and approval process of all large developments in the state, both public and private, and is implemented primarily by local governments as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This paper describes the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and its importance to local planning in California. More than an environmental protection act, CEQA governs the review and approval process of all large developments in the state, both public and private, and is implemented primarily by local governments. CEQA has spawned a multi-million dollar industry, producing approximately 25,000 environmental documents per year. To understand CEQA is to understand how planning has evolved in California, how it might change in the future, and how it differs from planning systems in other states. This research found that local planning directors are in remarkable agreement that CEQA has improved planning practice in California, and that CEQA is nearly as important as General Plans. The research also confirmed that planning decisions are of ten made piecemeal, rather than comprehensively. Several factors contribute to that pattern, and CEQA may be one. On balance, however, CEQA adds intellige...
TL;DR: This article proposed a taxonomy of infrastructure access indicators, demonstrating how the costs and benefits of service availability and use correspond to the range of conventional indices, making consistent distinctions between descriptive and behavioral measures, supply and demand factors, and community and household detail.
Abstract: There is little comparative research on access to basic services by the urban poor of the developing world. Rarer still are consistent definitions of “access,” an indicator traditionally used to simultaneously reflect costs as well as consumption. The policy fallout is that the status quo is both obscure and inconsistently measured. In practice, neither evaluation nor improvement of access is straightforward. Our study proposes a new taxonomy of infrastructure access indicators, demonstrating how the costs and benefits of service availability and use correspond to the range of conventional indices. Consistent distinctions are made between descriptive and behavioral measures, supply and demand factors, and community and household detail. These measures provide complementary data on a range of policy needs. We apply them to original survey data from Bangkok and Jakarta to explore the adequacy of urban services.
TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive guide to the takings issue, outlining the rights of the government (federal, state, and local) and owners, and discussing at length the issue of substantive fairness from a non-extremist point of view, is presented.
Abstract: The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution ensures, in part, that "private property [shall not] be taken for public use without just compensation." This article is a comprehensive guide to the takings issue, outlining the rights of the government (federal, state, and local) and owners, and discussing at length the issue of substantive fairness from a non-extremist point of view. Planning and plan adoption are the best prerequisites for land use control and a valuable precursor to regulatory enactment. The authors invite planners to lead an effort to reform the regulatory system, as they have an enormous stake in the credible and effective operation of the land-use control system. Further, planners should ensure that effective remedies are available to landowners subjected to unfair or arbitrary regulation, far short of the level of the United States Supreme Court.
TL;DR: In the mid-1990s, Congress has proposed shifting to the states some of what we have seen for decades as fundamental federal responsibilities, such as welfare reform, and there may be more to come.
Abstract: Devolution—surely that term will appear frequently in the political histories of America in the mid-1990s. Congress has proposed shifting to the states some of what we have seen for decades as fundamental federal responsibilities. The President's action on welfare was a major step in that direction. And there may be more to come. One of the best known observers of the field, Richard P. Nathan (1996), said recently, “Since the 1994 election, this 'Devolution Revolution' for American federalism has entered an accelerated phase. A new activism of the states is under way. Whatever happens as a result of the headline-level policy disputes, budget bargaining, and the elections of 1996, this is a power shift that is not likely to be reversed soon” (5).
TL;DR: In this paper, a discussion of the solid waste indicators suggested for the United Nations' Habitat II Conference, including the shortcomings and potential biases associated with their use, is presented along with an expanded set of indicators along with a methodology for their application.
Abstract: Solid waste planning is a multi-disciplinary field requiring information about the physical, environmental, social, and economic implications of a system. Current environmental indicators for solid waste do not adequately inform decision-makers about all of these attributes. Therefore, the indicators do not facilitate a holistic approach to environmental planning and policymaking. As a result, a number of biases exist in their use. This paper begins with a discussion of the solid waste indicators suggested for the United Nations' Habitat II Conference, including the shortcomings and potential biases associated with their use. Then, drawing upon experiences with complex solid waste systems, the paper presents an expanded set of indicators along with a methodology for their application.
TL;DR: The Dutch development of Integrated Environmental Zoning is an advanced effort to account cumulatively for several environmental spillovers from manufacturing, and to manage their impacts on surrounding residential areas as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Dutch development of Integrated Environmental Zoning is an advanced effort to account cumulatively for several environmental spillovers from manufacturing, and to manage their impacts on surrounding residential areas. This national policy initiative involves mapping the spatial patterns of pollution within urban areas, information that informs the development of abatement programs and of land-use regulations to locate manufacturing activities and housing in a sustainable manner. In eleven pilot projects testing this system, it has met with enthusiasm but also aroused public concern over identified cases of acute pollution, and political controversy over the required mitigation measures.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed how two interurban competitions for MOCs emerged and evolved, the factors in MOC location decisions, and how the cities negotiated and packaged their offers.
Abstract: This paper analyzes how two interurban competitions for MOCs emerged and evolved, the factors in MOC location decisions, and how the cities negotiated and packaged their offers. The analysis shows that the airlines strategically manipulated governments to extract locational incentives and to further other corporate agendas. We also examine how operational considerations affected the MOC site selection, by using a gravity model to identify the most efficient locations for the United and American facilities (sites that did not correspond exactly with the sites they finally chose). The findings suggest that planners should (1) assemble better intelligence about the locational requirements for facilities they seek, (2) evaluate the fiscal impacts of incentive packages before offering them to corporations, and (3) plan strategically when engaged in these interurban contests.
TL;DR: The authors discusses the role of indicators in planning, using planning currently underway in India's National Capital Region (Delhi and its hinterland) as a case in point, and argues that judicious use of indicators can indeed make the planning process better informed.
Abstract: This paper discusses the role of indicators in planning, using planning currently underway in India's National Capital Region (Delhi and its hinterland) as a case in point. It argues that judicious use of indicators can indeed make the planning process better informed. The paper demonstrates how various indicators based on data easily obtained can offer useful intelligence in making strategic choices for directing and managing future growth. The paper has three parts: (a) a discussion of the background of the NCR (National Capital Region) planning efforts, and the particular assumptions driving the planning for this mega-city region; (b) an analysis of the dynamics and implications of population change in the NCR system of cities, and the effectiveness of established indicators; and (c) a case for using indicators of infrastructure stress when evaluating the capacity of individual settlements to absorb future growth.
TL;DR: In the United States, cities are the great democratizers of American society, where people of different cultures and languages meet, mix, and work together as discussed by the authors. And America's great cities harbor and nurture this nation's innovative genius.
Abstract: America's metropolitan regions are the engines of our national economy. Today, eight out often Americans live in one of 330 metropolitan areas, and more than half live in the 39 metropolitan areas with populations of one million or more.1 Urban economies account for 83 percent of national income and virtually all employment in the advanced technical and service sectors of the future. Cities are the great democratizers of American society, where people of different cultures and languages meet, mix, and work together. They provide opportunities for young people entering the labor market and the larger society for the first time, for immigrants from other countries, and for people moving from one part of the country to another. And America's great cities harbor and nurture this nation's innovative genius. Science and technology, art and fashion, entertainment, banking and finance, research and higher education—these activities all flourish in the creative and intellectual ferment that characterizes ...
TL;DR: In this article, a comparison of model social housing and housing allowance programs by the number of people helped over time, effects on economic integration, and program stability suggests that the choice between these programs depends primarily on alternative expectations for the future.
Abstract: Analysis of the policy choice between social housing and housing allowances has been obscured by the older housing policy debate between proponents of supply subsidies and proponents of demand subsidies. Social housing uses capital grants both to reduce monthly housing costs to below-market rates and to take existing or newly constructed housing out of the market, so that ownership is nonprofit and use is allocated according to need rather than ability to pay. Housing allowances, on the other hand, enable poor tenants to pay market rents for housing. During the past 15 years, even as housing allowances became the dominant mode of Federal assistance, social housing programs grew at the local level. Comparison of model social housing and housing allowance programs by the number of people helped over time, effects on economic integration, and program stability suggests that the choice between these programs depends primarily on alternative expectations for the future. The most active local constitue...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed to regulate land use at sale as a way to coordinate private investments that create public improvements, illustrated by a requirement that landowners plant street trees before they sell their properties.
Abstract: Coordinated private investments create many neighborhood public improvements. This paper proposes regulating land use at sale as a way to coordinate private investments that create public improvements. The proposal is illustrated by a requirement that landowners plant street trees before they sell their properties. Census data and the Los Angeles County Assessor's records show that about half of all properties are sold within ten years, so regulation at sale should affect about half of a city per decade. Regulation at sale offers a pragmatic, low-cost method to improve older neighborhoods and stimulate local economic development.