Showing papers in "Journal of The American Planning Association in 2010"
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of the built environment-travel literature existing at the end of 2009 is conducted in order to draw generalizable conclusions for practice, and finds that vehicle miles traveled is most strongly related to measures of accessibility to destinations and secondarily to street network design variables.
Abstract: Problem: Localities and states are turning to land planning and urban design for help in reducing automobile use and related social and environmental costs. The effects of such strategies on travel demand have not been generalized in recent years from the multitude of available studies. Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis of the built environment-travel literature existing at the end of 2009 in order to draw generalizable conclusions for practice. We aimed to quantify effect sizes, update earlier work, include additional outcome measures, and address the methodological issue of self-selection. Methods: We computed elasticities for individual studies and pooled them to produce weighted averages. Results and conclusions: Travel variables are generally inelastic with respect to change in measures of the built environment. Of the environmental variables considered here, none has a weighted average travel elasticity of absolute magnitude greater than 0.39, and most are much less. Still, the combined effect o...
3,551 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a policy synthesis of adaptation planning issues, using California as a case study, examining the institutional and regulatory challenges and tradeoffs that climate change poses in six particularly vulnerable areas: water resources, electricity, coastal resources, air quality, public health, and ecosystem resources.
Abstract: Problem: Even if significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions are achieved, some amount of climate change appears to be inevitable. Local, regional, state, and federal planning and regulation should begin to address how to adapt to these changes. Purpose: This article presents a policy synthesis of adaptation planning issues, using California as a case study. We examine the institutional and regulatory challenges and tradeoffs that climate change poses in six particularly vulnerable areas: water resources, electricity, coastal resources, air quality, public health, and ecosystem resources. We discuss obstacles to adaptation planning and successes overcoming these barriers, and suggest how planning can incorporate adaptation. Methods: This article presents a policy synthesis of adaptation planning issues, drawing on our recent research on California's experience and related literature. We summarize the results of six studies that draw on quantitative and qualitative information gathered throug...
444 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a method to adapt to climate change impacts, but this cannot be planned for using the traditional approach based on predictions because of the subject's subject's characteristics.
Abstract: Problem: Human and natural systems will probably have to adapt to climate change impacts, but this cannot be planned for using the traditional approach based on predictions because of the subject's...
261 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed municipal climate action plans to understand both their processes and their products, including the extent to which they represent innovation in planning, and why localities decide to undertake climate action planning and what are the plans' chief drivers and obstacles.
Abstract: Problem: Cities play a fundamental role in the production of greenhouse gases and, as a result, are places where proactive mitigation and adaptation can occur. While increasing numbers of municipalities have revised or developed climate action plans (CAPs), our understanding of the impetus to plan for the climate challenge, processes for creating climate plans, and their resultant form remains limited. Purpose: We analyzed municipal CAPs to understand both their processes and their products, including the extent to which they represent innovation in planning. We ask the following questions: 1) Why do localities decide to undertake climate action planning, and what are the plans’ chief drivers and obstacles? 2) How have localities structured their climate action planning processes? 3) How frequently are particular types of actions included in local CAPs, and how do localities determine which to adopt? Methods: We read and evaluated the content of 20 CAPs from municipalities of a range of sizes and location...
259 citations
TL;DR: In this article, public health researchers have argued that infill development and sprawl reduction may improve respiratory outcomes for urban residents, largely by reducing vehicle travel and it can improve the respiratory outcomes.
Abstract: Problem: Recently, public health researchers have argued that infill development and sprawl reduction may improve respiratory outcomes for urban residents, largely by reducing vehicle travel and it...
162 citations
TL;DR: In this article, negative binomial regression models were used to examine the relationship between several aspects of the built environment and the incidence of crashes involving motorists, and found that crashes may instead be the product of systematic patterns of behavior associated with the characteristics of a built environment.
Abstract: Problem: While design solutions aimed at enhancing the safety of pedestrians are viewed as being incompatible with those intended to improve the safety of motorists, there has been little meaningful evaluation of the issue. Instead, this disagreement is based largely on the theoretical assertion that traffic crashes are the result of random driver error, and that the only certain means for addressing safety is to design roadways to be forgiving of these errors when they occur. This perspective overlooks the possibility that crashes may instead be the product of systematic patterns of behavior associated with the characteristics of the built environment. Purpose: This study sought to discover whether urban crash incidence is the product of random error, or whether it may be influenced by characteristics of the built environment. Methods: We used negative binomial regression models to examine the relationship between several aspects of the built environment and the incidence of crashes involving motorists, ...
161 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore what forest land use planning, forestry management practices, and land preservation strategies would be required to integrate forest carbon seques-tration into a cap-and-trade program, and explain the role planning and planners can play in promoting forest carbon sequestration.
Abstract: Problem: Most research on planning to mitigate climate change has focused on reducing CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants or the transportation sector. The contribution of forests to lowering net CO2 emissions has largely been overlooked. U.S. forests already offset about one eighth of the nation's annual CO2 emissions and have the potential to offset more, all at a relatively low cost. It will not be easy to integrate forest carbon sequestration into a cap-and-trade program to reduce net CO2 emissions, however. Purpose: I explore what forest land use planning, forestry management practices, and land preservation strategies would be required to integrate forest carbon seques-tration into a cap-and- trade program, and explain the role planning and planners can play in promoting forest carbon seques-tration. Methods: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a 10-state cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants in the northeastern United States. It provides ...
152 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors aim to help planners prepare to deal appropriately with community benefits claims in their communities by closely examining four urban redevelopment projects in which CBAs have been negotiated by stakeholder organizations, legislators, developers, and government agencies.
Abstract: Problem: As community benefits agreements or community benefits arrangements (CBAs) become more common in redevelopment practice they are generating conceptual confusion and political controversy. Much of the literature on CBAs is focused on local organizing coalitions’ inclusivity and political strategies, or on the legal aspects of the agreements, providing only limited information to planners who encounter advocacy for CBAs. Purpose: I aim to help planners prepare to deal appropriately with community benefits claims in their communities by closely examining four urban redevelopment projects in which CBAs have been negotiated by stakeholder organizations, legislators, developers, and government agencies. Methods: I characterize the 27 CBAs in effect in the United States as of June 30, 2009, based on their participants and structures. I then examine four of these CBAs in detail using the semistructured interviews I conducted with individuals involved in crafting, advocating, and implementing them and cov...
114 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the trends, summarize the research evaluating the performance of these programs, and suggest steps to make them more effective and connected to each other, and identify a set of best principles and practices.
Abstract: Problem: Federal housing policy is made up of disparate programs that a) promote homeownership; b) assist low-income renters’ access to good-quality, affordable housing; and c) enforce the Fair Housing Act by combating residential discrimination. Some of these programs are ineffective, others have drifted from their initial purpose, and none are well coordinated with each other. Purpose: We examine the trends, summarize the research evaluating the performance of these programs, and suggest steps to make them more effective and connected to each other. Methods: We review the history of housing policy and programs and empirical studies of program effectiveness to identify a set of best principles and practices. Results and conclusions: In the area of homeownership, we recommend that the federal government help the nation's housing markets quickly find bottom, privatize aspects of the secondary mortgage market, and move to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and replace it with a 10-year homeownership ...
110 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that the FLN nurtures expertise in ecological fire restoration and collaborative planning by linking multi-stakeholder collaboratives to regional communities of practice, which creates and sustains a network of collaboratives that amplify the potential for fundamental change in the culture and practice of fire management.
Abstract: Problem: As planners grow increasingly confident that they have settled on the right concepts and methods to conduct stakeholder-based collaboration, they are not considering what can be achieved through other collaborative approaches. Purpose: We aimed to explore how creating a network of place- and stakeholder-based collaboratives using communities of practice could strengthen individual collaboratives and achieve network synergies. Methods: Using a case study approach, we draw out lessons for collaborative planning from our research on the U.S. Fire Learning Network (FLN), a collaborative initiative to restore ecosystems that depend on fire. We analyzed data from over 140 interviews, hundreds of documents including restoration plans, newsletters, meeting summaries, maps, and various other reports, and observations at more than a dozen regional and national meetings. Results and conclusions: We conclude that the FLN nurtures expertise in ecological fire restoration and collaborative planning by linking ...
98 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate potential governance strategies for megaregions and identify strategies that allow such processes to have some success in planning and managing resources, adapting to unique conditions, and mobilizing key stakeholders.
Abstract: Problem: Metropolitan areas in the United States are increasingly growing together into megaregions with many linkages and interdependencies in their economies, infrastructure, and natural resources, but they are not linked well in terms of governance. Hundreds of jurisdictions, federal and state sectoral agencies, and regulatory bodies make independent and conflicting decisions with no entity focusing on the region's overall welfare. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to investigate potential governance strategies for such megaregions. Collaborative and networked processes can do many of the needed tasks for regional governance, as they fill gaps where government fails to operate, cross jurisdictional and functional boundaries, engage public and private sector actors on common tasks, and focus on the collective welfare of a region. Our goal is to identify strategies that allow such processes to have some success in planning and managing resources, adapting to unique conditions, and mobilizing key pl...
TL;DR: This paper examined public attitudes toward compact development, and assessed the relative influence of a variety of individual characteristics on these attitudes using logistic regression, and illustrate their degree of influence using results from two large-scale, randomized telephone surveys, conducted in California in 2002 and the other in four other southwestern states in 2007.
Abstract: Problem: The future of compact development depends in part on understanding and shaping the public's attitudes toward it. Previous studies have suggested life cycle, socioeconomic, attitudinal, and ideological dimensions to preferences regarding development patterns, but rarely have all of these factors been examined systematically across a broad, generalizable sample of respondents. Purpose: To examine public attitudes toward compact development, we asked survey respondents to weigh four important tradeoffs between compact and sprawling growth. We assess the relative influence of a variety of individual characteristics on these attitudes. Methods: We use results from two large-scale, randomized telephone surveys, one conducted in California in 2002 and the other in four other southwestern states in 2007. Using logistic regression, we assess which personal characteristics are associated with stated preferences regarding compact development, and illustrate their degree of influence. Results and conclusions...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify elements and assumptions in emissions inventories that have important policy implications for climate action plan formulation, aiming to help planners make informed, defensible choices, and to refine future GHG emissions inventory protocols and climate action planning methods.
Abstract: Problem: Basing local climate action plans on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories has become standard practice for communities that want to address the problem of climate change. Communities use GHG emissions inventories to develop policy despite the fact that there has been little theoretical work on the implications of the assumptions embedded within them. Purpose: We identify elements and assumptions in emissions inventories that have important policy implications for climate action plan formulation, aiming to help planners make informed, defensible choices, and to refine future GHG emissions inventory protocols and climate action planning methods. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of 30 city climate action plans selected as a stratified random sample. We collected data on 70 different factors and used summary and trend statements, typologies, and descriptive statistics to link our findings to our research questions. Results and conclusions: Climate action plans obviously vary in many det...
TL;DR: The potential of GIS as a planning tool is not being fully exploited as discussed by the authors, despite the widespread availability of geographic information systems (GIS) in local government, despite the fact that there is some evidence that GIS can be used for planning applications.
Abstract: Problem: Despite the widespread availability of geographic information systems (GIS) in local government, there is some evidence that the potential of GIS as a planning tool is not being fully exploited. While obstacles to GIS implementation in local government have been investigated, most of these investigations are either dated or do not focus on planning applications. Purpose: We aim to add to the limited literature on the current barriers hindering GIS use in public planning agencies. We also offer some insights into how to mitigate these barriers and help planning agencies move beyond using GIS simply for routine tasks of data access and mapmaking. Methods: We analyzed responses to a 2007 web-based survey of 265 practitioners in Wisconsin's public planning agencies and follow-up interviews with 20 practitioners we conducted in 2008. Results and conclusions: Planning departments still face a range of technological, organizational, and institutional barriers in using GIS. Training, funding, and data is...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline issues related to cemeteries and burial, describe a number of alternatives to traditional cemeters, and explain how planners might usefully contribute.
Abstract: Problem: Concurrent with the dramatic increase in the nation's elderly population expected in coming decades will be a need to dispose of larger numbers of our dead. This issue has religious, cultural, and economic salience, but is not typically considered a planning problem. Although cremation rates are rising, burial is projected to remain the preferred alternative for the majority of the U.S. population, and urban space for cemeteries is limited in many communities. Purpose: We outline issues related to cemeteries and burial, describe a number of alternatives to traditional cemeteries, and explain how planners might usefully contribute. Methods: This work is based on a literature review. Results and conclusions: Alternatives to the cemetery are emerging, but remain limited. Some require changes to laws or public perceptions. Planning practice could be advanced by case studies showing how to integrate burial grounds into existing communities and how to alter public policy to permit alternatives to buria...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the evolution of school siting standards, explain the factors currently influencing school facility location decisions, and identify what local and regional planners could contribute to school sitings decisions.
Abstract: Problem: The United States is embarking on an unprecedented era of school construction even as debate continues over where schools should be located and how much land they should occupy. Purpose: My three goals for this study were to trace the evolution of school siting standards, to explain the factors currently influencing school facility location decisions, and to identify what local and regional planners could contribute to school siting decisions. Methods: I reviewed the land use planning and educational facilities literatures on school siting and conducted in-depth interviews with school facility planners from 10 counties in Maryland and northern Virginia to assess their perspectives on the school planning process. Results and conclusions: I discovered that different groups use very different definitions of community school. Smart growth proponents advocate community schools that are small and intimately linked to neighborhoods, while school facility planners expect community schools to meet the nee...
TL;DR: In the absence of U.S. federal action to address the problem of climate change, a diverse array of non-federal policy entrepreneurs and climate action planners have produced an impressive body of plans and policies to fight climate change at the regional, state, and local levels.
Abstract: Problem: In the absence of U.S. federal action to address the problem of climate change, a diverse array of nonfederal policy entrepreneurs and climate action planners has produced an impressive body of plans and policies to fight climate change at the regional, state, and local levels. Their actions are highly laudable, but have they actually reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Purpose: This article evaluates the work of a group of innovative state-level policy entre-preneurs whose actions were chronicled by Barry Rabe, and a set of 29 state climate action plans systematically analyzed by Stephen Wheeler. It compares states with and without climate policy entrepreneurs and states with and without climate action plans, asks if either plans or entrepreneurs have been successful in reducing CO2 emissions, and identifies the elements within plans that are associated with the greatest reductions. Methods: The analysis uses multiple regression models to explain changes in per capita CO2 emissions attributa...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify factors that explain differences in the spending of federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects across metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in six metropolitan regions and consider whether federal support for bicycle-pedestrian projects has led to increased attention to these modes within the transportation planning process.
Abstract: Problem: The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) gave metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) the opportunity to spend federal funds on pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Their responses vary dramatically, however, contributing to significant differences in the quality of the walking and bicycling environment across regions. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to identify factors that explain differences in the spending of federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects across MPOs. In addition, we consider whether federal support for bicycle and pedestrian projects has led to increased attention to these modes within the transportation planning process. With the next federal transportation authorization bill now under consideration, understanding the efficacy of federal funding for nonmotorized modes is of critical importance. Methods: This article explores these questions through case studies of bicycle and pedestrian spending and policies in six metropolitan region...
Abstract: Problem: What lessons on street design can professional planners take from recent English home zone initiatives?
Purpose: This article is a comparative evaluation of English home zones, or streets shared by vehicles and pedestrians based on the Dutch woonerf concept. This approach to street design is intended to improve livability.
Methods: I used monitoring data on 14 home zone projects to draw generalizable lessons from the initiatives.
Results and conclusions: Although the concept of the home zone has not been fully implemented in all cases, these projects exhibited lower traffic speeds and continued low or reduced numbers of traffic accidents compared to conditions before the home zones were implemented, and residents report that they now feel their streets are safer for their children. Residents also report finding the home zone streets to be more attractive than they were previously, and some of those in high crime areas experienced reduced levels of crime and antisocial behavior, although these results were not obtained everywhere. Evidence that the treatments resulted in more socializing among adults is less convincing. In general the projects are very well received by residents, demonstrating that this approach to street design improves livability. However, the evidence suggests that similar effects might be realized with less comprehensive and expensive solutions.
Takeaway for practice: The introduction of home zone design qualities has contributed to improved livability in established residential streets.
Research support: None.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a special issue on planning for climate change in urban planning, arguing that planners lack knowledge and experience about the efficacy of particular responses and that, without collective efforts, responses by individual municipalities, states, and even countries are likely to be ineffective.
Abstract: Problem: The planet appears to be warming in a complex, highly unpredictable, unplanned-for pattern. Purpose: We briefly describe the seven articles and survey the topic of this special issue, framing it using both climate science and policy analysis. Methods: We review definitions and discuss known explanations and planning strategies. Results and conclusions: Planning for climate change differs from traditional urban planning in that we lack knowledge and experience about the efficacy of particular responses and that, without collective efforts, responses by individual municipalities, states, and even countries are likely to be ineffective. This combination of uncertainty and interdependency makes climate change a wicked problem. Takeaway for practice: Planners are relatively uninformed about whether and how particular climate change mitigation and adaptation responses are likely to work. Given this, we argue that planners’ experiences in dealing with uncertainty and contingent and collective actions po...
TL;DR: In this article, an approach to evaluate market demand for industrial land, applied here to Prince George's County, MD, in order to determine which industrial areas could be rezoned to alternate uses without causing major employment and tax losses to the county.
Abstract: Problem: Many metropolitan jurisdictions face contests over industrial land because growth in the industrial sector is slow while the office and retail sectors and population grow more rapidly. This article presents a methodology for planning and setting priorities for industrial land use under these circumstances. Purpose: This article describes an approach to evaluating market demand for industrial land, applied here to Prince George's County, MD, in order to determine which industrial areas could be rezoned to alternate uses without causing major employment and tax losses to the county. Methods: I led a team that included an urban planning colleague and graduate students in identifying three types of industrial land: economically healthy industrial districts; industrially zoned areas where there was evidence of conflict between industry and alternative residential, commercial, and office land uses; and areas zoned for industry where demand for industrial space and land was weak or nonexistent. The proj...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the process of foreclosures as a process and describe how to use publicly available data to study foreclosure and inform outreach efforts, showing how a collaborative effort among researchers and practitioners can produce useful data and analysis to reduce incidences of foreclosure.
Abstract: Problem: While mortgage foreclosures are devastating communities across the United States, few planners know how to access the data necessary to document the number of foreclosures, where they are located, how the problem has changed over time, or how many households are affected, in order to assess how foreclosures affect borrowers, renters, and communities. There is no national dataset with foreclosure information, and in many communities, this information is buried in county property records, state legal files, and property auction lists. Purpose: This article explains foreclosure as a process and describes how to use publicly available data to study foreclosure and inform outreach efforts. It shows how a collaborative effort among researchers and practitioners can produce useful data and analysis to reduce incidences of foreclosure. It concludes with suggestions for improving data access and quality. Methods: The main foreclosure data used in the illustrative examples in this article were gathered fro...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed groundwater flow models for two subdivisions in southern Wisconsin, analyzed the results, and disseminated them to local officials, developers, and residents to evaluate strategies for additional drinking-water protection in unsewered residential subdivisions.
Abstract: Problem: Groundwater contamination is a concern in rural residential subdivisions where numerous septic systems and private wells are sited in close proximity. Although most state codes regulate the construction and location of private wells, these regulations do not usually account for site-specific conditions that may impact drinking-water quality. Purpose: Groundwater models provide a technical basis for delineating groundwater flow to domestic wells. Despite their widespread use in the hydrologic sciences, planners and developers rarely have access to such models. We aimed to assess existing regulations for domestic wells and septic systems and illustrate how groundwater models can be used to evaluate strategies for additional drinking-water protection in unsewered residential subdivisions. Methods: We developed groundwater flow models for two subdivisions in southern Wisconsin, analyzed the results, and disseminated them to local officials, developers, and residents. Results and conclusions: Models o...
TL;DR: In his "Competitive advantages of the inner city" papers, Michael Porter maintained that comparative advantages of inner-city economies, once recognized, would lure profit-motivated investors.
Abstract: Problem: In his “Competitive Advantages of the Inner City” papers, Michael Porter maintained that comparative advantages of inner-city economies, once recognized, would lure profit-motivated invest...
TL;DR: In this paper, residential subdivisions of 10 acres or more exert detectable priming effects and influence the rate of subsequent development in the vicinity, and they use parcel-level data to test whether unilateral development decisions have spillover effects across both space and time.
Abstract: Problem: Most previous research on land use change has been conducted at coarse scales with aggregated data, and there are relatively few studies that attempt to establish and examine these linkages at a disaggregate level. In addition, the cumulative effects of large residential developments have been little investigated as potential drivers of land use change. Purpose: We hypothesize that residential subdivisions of 10 acres or more exert detectable priming effects and influence the rate of subsequent development in the vicinity. We use parcel-level data to test whether unilateral development decisions have spillover effects across both space and time. Methods: We analyze parcel changes and then conduct a spatially explicit hazard analysis of land use change in Mecklenburg County, NC, to identify a set of factors that predict which vacant land parcels are most likely to experience a subdivision event (be subdivided) during a given one-year time period. We also perform a sensitivity analysis to assess ho...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified the research needed to inform planning practice on the relationship between transportation and climate change, and highlighted the questions of greatest importance to planning in transportation planning.
Abstract: Problem: Mitigating the production of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and developing strategies to prepare for changes in climate is an important challenge to the transportation planning profession Purpose: This article identifies the research needed to inform planning practice on the relationship between transportation and climate change Methods: I chaired the panel that prepared a recent Transportation Research Board special report on research needs related to reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector and adapting transportation systems to climate change The report considered needs both for short-term policy guidance and for longer-term research into fundamental relationships between GHG emissions, climate change, and transportation Here, I review those findings and highlight the questions of greatest importance to planning Results and conclusions: Additional research is needed on: the range of GHG impacts; how and whether to consider indirect GHG impacts; the sensitivity of GHG emission
TL;DR: In this article, the case method is used as a preferred teaching strategy for Building the Local Economy (BLE) curriculum, which is a very useful and valuable addition to their instructional tool kit.
Abstract: Those who embrace the case method as a preferred teaching strategy will find Building the Local Economy a very useful and valuable addition to their instructional tool kit. The cases included in th...
TL;DR: From Sprawl to Sustainability as discussed by the authors is the most recent work by the authors of this paper, who are considered among the nation's leading planning attorneys and legal scholars, so it is no surprise that they have teamed up together to write From Sprawl-to-Sustainability.
Abstract: The authors are considered among the nation's leading planning attorneys and legal scholars, so it is no surprise that they have teamed up together to write From Sprawl to Sustainability. Although ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive textbook takes the reader through the various steps of community and economic development from theory to practice, and twenty-four chapters are organized into four major categories:
Abstract: This comprehensive textbook takes the reader through the various steps of community and economic development from theory to practice. Twenty-four chapters are organized into four major categories: ...