key urban planning terms/concepts

notes from each lecture

history of planning in america

colonial planning

• privatism: land grants to individuals/groups

• government regulations: strong powers to control land use and economic activity

post-revolution planning

• power of governance given to states

• municipalities had power over land use, gave in to interest of private property rights

romanticism + progressivism in planning

• romanticism: utopian ideals

• progressivism: activism, wanted to reduce poverty

industrial era planning

• sanitary reform: sewer systems, sanitation + integrated design

• urban open space: parklands for ventilation

• housing reform: Tenement Housing Act, building codes, government should have limited role for providing housing

urban public health

• benjamin ward richardson: “Hygeia, City of Health”

  • air pollution control, sewage/water systems, health inspectors, etc.

  • motivated the Parks Movement

The Parks Movement

• landscape architecture + garden design (private to public)

Frederick Law Olmstead

• Central Park

• “naturalistic/organic” form of design

• Environmental Determinism: address psycho-social impacts of crowding/urban density

Settlement house movement

• Jane Addams, Hull House

  • educate, elevate the poor

  • gathered data for better planning

Garden City Movement

• Ebenezer Howard, “Garden Cities of To-morrow”

  • “three magnets”

    • town (high wage, opportunity, amusement)

    • country (natural beauty, low rent, fresh air)

    • town-country (best of both)

• self contained, separated from central city by greenbelt

• economic + cultural advantages of town and country

• prevent sprawl or industrial centralization

• socialist elements: community land ownership

• legacy

  • open layout influenced modern planning

  • satellite towns failed—individually owned homes in suburbs

  • not enough work, people need to commute to central city

Daniel Burnham;s Chicago plan

• long term plan, ignored social issues, little public participation

Birth of Land Use Zoning

• Standard Zoning Enabling Act (1924): authorized local zoning laws

Depression Era Planning

• The New Deal:

  • Federal Housing Administration: provides federal mortgage insurance

  • Public Housing Program (1937)

  • Urban Renewal Program (1949-73)

  • Interstate Highway System, preperation/response to WWII, planning and financing

Post-WWII Planning

• Federal Environmental regulations

  • clean air act, EPA, etc

• Urban Sprawl, growth management and smart growth

  • Smart Growth: anti-sprawl development plan—encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and community engagement.

  • goal:

    • create environmentally sustainable, economically stable, and livable communities.

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)

• TDR: a program that allows landowners to transfer the right to develop one parcel of land to another—direct growth away from protected areas to places with more development

manages urban growth by:

1. Preserving Valuable Land

2. Directing Development

3. Flexibility

4. Financial Incentives

5. Community Goals

Edge City

• Edge cities have the following 5 requirements:

  1. 5 million+ sqft of leasable office space (about 250 square feet per worker)

  2. 600,000 sqft of leasable retail space

  3. more jobs than bedrooms

  4. perceived by the population as one place. It is a regional end destination for mixed use—not a starting point—that “has it all,” from jobs to shopping to entertainment.

  5. Was nothing like a “city” as recently as 30 years ago.

Legal Basis for Planning

Dillon’s Rule vs Home Rule—US Constitution is source of legal authority

• Dillon’s Rule: Substates only have powers expressly granted to it by the state, or directly and unarguably implied by those powers expressly granted to it by the state.

  • created by Judge John F. Dillon (1868)

• Home Rule: substate governments have any power that is not forbidden by the state and not in conflict with the state constitution or other state legislation

Powers and Limitations—Police Powers are source of legal authority

• Police Powers: the right of the community to regulate the activities of private parties to protect the interests of the public

  • “health, safety, and public welfare”

• Eminent Domain: the government has the ability to control private property for the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The owner must be compensated.

LIMITATIONS

• 4th amendment

  • “unreasonable searches and seizures”—can’t be taken for trivial purposes

• 5th amendment

  • “just compensation”—compensation award is a necessity

• 14th amendment

  • “life, liberty, or property without due process of law”—judicial procedure

Takings

• can’t confiscate property of some and give it to others

• just compensation required

regulatory taking: regulation that restricts use of property

possessory taking: government confiscation or physical occupation of a property

comprehensive planning

Goals of Comprehensive Planning—health, safety, welfare

1. health

2. public safety

3. circulation (system of flow of traffic)

4. provision of services and facilities

5. fiscal health

6. economic goals

7. environmental protection

8. redistributive goals

characteristics

• physical development

• long range

• comprehensive

• general

• relate basic policy + value judgement

stages of comprehensive planning process

1. research

2. clarification of goals/objectives

3. plan formulation

4. plan implementation

5. review + revision

2 methods for comp plans

land use controls:

• subdivision regulations, zoning, site plan/architectural review, historical preservation

public capital investments (PCI)

• public expenditure on infrastructure and community facilities

land-use planning

land use controls:

• subdivision regulations, zoning, site plan/architectural review, historical preservation

subdivision regulations: division of lot land into two or more lots for sale or development

• govern land division for building

• shape quality/character of a community

zoning: separation of land into districts, sorts land by compatibility

• regulates type, location, bulk, and density of development

• various limitations, methods of increasing zoning flexibility

inclusionary zoning

• creates more affordable housing, access to opportunities, affordable units, growth benefits for all residents

urban renewal

urban renewal program—Housing Act of 1949

goals:

• slum clearance, eliminate substandard housing, create good housing

• reduce “de facto” segregation

• revitalize economy

key elements

• power of eminent domain over large lots of land

• public funding for land acquisition and clearance

• “federal bulldozer”

problems of urban renewal

• federal intention: housing program

• local intention: economic/commercial development

• competing expectations

impacts

• displacement of people

• broken social networks

• loss of low-cost housing

• smaller housing supply = higher cost

• increased segregation through

community development

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974

• replaced urban renewal

• created Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs)

• national objectives:

  1. benefits low-moderate income people

  2. prevent/eliminate slums

  3. meet urgent community needs

Community Development

• comprehensive 5 year plan—required for funds

• involves local organizations—Community Development Corporations (CDCs)

Carter’s Legacy

• Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG)—reorient social issues to economic growth

Reagan’s Legacy fuck reagan like genuinely i hope he rots in hell

• Enterprise Zone’s, goals:

  1. economic improvement of poor neighborhoods

  2. community crucial to economic development

  3. small business favored

housing

physical challenges:

• supply and demand

• preserve/improve quality

• housing mix

• affordability

social challenges:

• community opposition

• segregation (socioeconomic)

• preservation of character

• gentrification

affordable housing

• no more than 30% annual income on housing

  • most affected are those with incomes at or below 80% AMI

policies

• Federal government

  • Grants and Subsidies

• State and Local Government

  • Laws, regulations and subsidies

Subsidies

• Supply Side: Affordable housing grants, Low interest loans, Public housing

• Demand Side: Housing vouchers, Down payment assistance, Low-interest loans

Land Use Controls for Affordable Housing

• inclusionary zoning, density requirements/bonuses/incentives, cluster development, mixed use development, flexible zoning laws

Gentrification

• gentrification: transformation of a poor-quality/working class area into middle class residential or commercial use

• pros

  • revitalization, economic growth, more opportunities and access

• cons

  • displacement of residents, loss of affordable housing, loss of small business, reduced diversity

Public Health

the built environment and obesity

• food desert: limited access to healthy foods in a low income neighborhood

Urban Planning and Public Health

• research, zoning and permitting, Health Impact Assessments (HIA)

Built Environment and Physical Activity

• Urban Design—creation of public spaces

• Land use and transportation system (travel behavior)

• Dimensions related to physical activity

  • density

  • land use mix

  • street connectivity

  • scale

  • aesthetics

• New Urbanism

  • mixed land use, high density, pedestrian oriented

Food Systems

food desert vs food swamp

• neighborhoods without grocery stores or supermarkets = food desert

• unhealthy food needs to be limited in ADDITION to increasing access to healthy foods

Local Trap

• desires of food system—not always found at local Scale

  • sustainability

  • social justice

  • better nutrients and quality

• The Local Trap

  • localization of food against capitalization of food system

  • ends up being localization against globalization (not necessarily bad)

urban design

urban design: process of shaping urban spaces—bridges gap between arch (micro) and planning (macro)

• focus:

  • long term

  • many variables

• scale: organization of buildings and spaces between, parts of a city

• process:

  1. analysis—gather info, visual survey, hard/soft areas, functional analysis

  2. synthesis—design concepts

  3. evaluation

  4. implementation—financing, zoning

• good urban design—improves quality of life, eliminates barriers

New Urbanism

started by Andres Duany in 1980s

supports following principles:

• compact development

• diverse neighborhoods

• walkable, pedestrian oriented

• accessible public spaces and institutions

• physical design celebrates locality