Thank you for visiting
Please consider supporting our continuing efforts by purchasing our award winning documentary film Sprawling From Grace.
Only $19.95!
Only $19.95!
2008 at the Ballot Box: Continuing the Trend
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/images/sgalogosmall.jpg Smart Growth Around America
The results of November’s Presidential election may have represented a change of direction for our country, but at least one trend at the ballot box remained unchanged from the past few elections: Taxpayers across the country again approved a bevy of ballot measures to conserve land, protect farmland, promote smart growth; and expand public transportation, commuter rail, and bike and pedestrian access.
According to the New York Times‘ op-ed on/summary of the measures, voters across the country approved $7.3 billion in new spending on parks and open space preservation - including farmland protection. “California and Florida said yes to more than $700 million in new spending on open space. In Minnesota, voters increased the sales tax by three-eights of a cent to generate $5.5 billion over the next 25 years for land preservation and environmental protection. It was the largest open-space state referendum in the nation’s history.” Hit the jump for more.
Rhode Island approved $11 million in bonds for open space preservation, California approved no less than three ballot initiatives to protect farmland, build trails, and restore ecological areas and watersheds, and New Jersey voters “approved 14 of 22 county and municipal referendums to increase or extend property taxes dedicated to acquiring or preserving open space.”
According to our partners at the American Farmland Trust, Americans approved
ballot measures to fund more than $525 million worth of state and local measures that include farm and ranch land protection. According to the Trust for Public Land, 74 percent of incentive-based initiatives (34 out of 46) passed. …Thirteen cities and towns in Massachusetts authorized property tax surcharges through the Community Preservation Act, and the Clean Ohio Renewal Bond passed in every single Ohio county with approval by more than 70 percent of voters. In these challenging times, voters demonstrated they understand that farmland protection supports local jobs and economies while providing the food that sustains us.
A notable measure related to accommodating future growth was on the ballot in Santa Monica, California. It would have essentially placed a cap on future commercial growth, giving the anti-any-and-all-development types a victory by locking things in place, thereby steering all growth — good or bad — elsewhere. It would have made new transit-oriented or mixed-use projects difficult due to even slight increases in traffic. Thankfully, the residents of Santa Monica sent it packing.
While their decision doesn’t guarantee that smart growth will be the norm, they understand that simply saying “no growth” does not solve the problem of growth — it just pushes the responsibility off on someone else, and can even result in unaffordable housing as rising demand goes unmet. People from coast to coast are beginning to realize that having a plan to welcome growth in such a way that doesn’t result in overwhelming traffic or paved over farmland is the most reasonable option.
Transportation at the Ballot Box
(prepared in cooperation with Transportation For America)
It’s perhaps most telling that even in a time of brutal economic crises and expensive gas, taxpayers voted for 14 transportation initiatives that will raise their taxes. We seem to be collectively tired of business-as-usual - more highways, all the time, resulting in only more congestion, with no coherent vision for world-class transportation in our cities and communities - and we are willing to pay out of our own pockets for solutions that can get us out of traffic and keep us moving.
At least 23 transportation-related initiatives were approved nationwide, meaning that more than $75 billion will soon be flowing into our transportation networks. There were big victories in California with Measure R in Los Angeles and Proposition 1A statewide that will provide the initial financing for a high-speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
In 2007, Seattle voters gave a collective “thumbs down” to a transit funding package that would have expanded rail and bus service - but also included funding for roads and highways. This year, Sound Transit brought a new proposal to the ballot box that stripped out the road and highway provisions, but added 34 additional miles of light rail, expanded bus service and a 15 year timeline for construction. This time, Seattle voters approved the $17.8 billion sales tax package 58 to 42 percent.
Bill Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, told the Wall Street Journal that this year was perhaps even more telling than the past few elections with transportation ballot measures: “Before the election, we wondered what was going to weigh most on voters,” he said. “…the recent memory of $4 per gallon gas or concerns about the economy. It was pretty clear people voted for the future. The page has turned on transportation in America.”
View the detailed list of ballot measures from the Center for Transportation Excellence.
Employment Up, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 20% of BNSF
I snagged these bits from Railway Age
U.S. Class I railroad employment remained comparatively strong at 164,025 in mid-October, up 1.06% from September 2008 and down only 0.78% from pre-recession October 2007. The numbers in six of the seven employment groups were up in October from September levels. The only decline was in the professional and administrative category, down 0.67%. A major improvement over October 2007 was the year-over-year increase of 1.51% in maintenance of way and structures employment.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. has lost billions in the stock market slump but its faith in BNSF Railway is still strong. According to documents filed on Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bershire Hathaway purchased another, 3.26 million shares of the railroad company on Monday and Tuesday, increasing its ownership position to nearly 20%.
…if I were in Warren Buffet's position, the things I would do with 20% ownership in the railroad, would be a slight bit interesting…
Duany Improves on Thomas Jefferson
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
Planner Andres Duany proposes a plan for Goodbee Square, near Covington, LA, that adds modern light-imprint urbanism to an old Jeffersonian idea.
What’s In A Name Anyway?
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
A lot, according to columnist Linda Robertson who makes the case for renaming the nation’s most prized stadia. After all, she argues, many of them bear the name of the economy’s most troubled corporations bailed out by Terry taxpayer.
Toronto Goes Back to the Tap
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
Toronto is now the biggest city in North America to ban the sale of bottled water on city premises, a victory which advocates hope will spur a reinvestment in public water facilities, including drinking fountains in new buildings.
Friday Funny: Google Maps for Stinkiness
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
At the Japanese website Nioibu.com, visitors are geomapping odd odors, from gasoline fumes to curry.
‘Ready’ Road Projects Could Create 1.8 Million Jobs
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
More than 5,000 road and bridge projects are “ready to go”. They still need funding, but could provide nearly 2 million jobs if Congress approves infrastructure spending.
Census Data Shows How Housing Bubble Burst
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
Figures recently released by the Census Bureau offer a glimpse at the pre-existing economic situation that led to the burst of the housing bubble.
Economic Tremors Felt By New Urbanists
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
“Economic troubles spread from housing to other development sectors, including retail and offices.”
The Green Standard
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/section/NytSectionHeader.gif NYT > Sustainable Development
Even as a green building code is poised to go into effect in Connecticut, building industry officials are calling on the state to turn back.
Go to Source
