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LAND USE by Keith Bartholomew |
In the six months since I wrote my original "High Fives" piece on land use, there has been an enormous increase in the number and quality of Websites on the subject. While retaining two of the selections from last time, I thought it was appropriate to highlight some of the newer offerings.
1. Sprawl Resources Guide
Part of the "Planners Web" site produced by the Planning Commissioners Journal, the Sprawl Resources Guide provides comprehensive information and contacts on an issue that plagues every metropolitan area of the country--sprawl. Includes data on the causes and impacts of sprawl, problems associated with sprawl, and strategies for dealing with sprawl. Also included are pages that provide information on how sprawl is being addressed in communities across the country.
2. World Idea Networks
The World Idea Networks is a "nonprofit clearinghouse of resources on successfully proven ideas for city, town, and neighborhood making; community-building, region-focusing, and civic art." Aimed at a broad audience of professionals, students, government officials, and concerned citizens. Although still in development, the site includes information on how to obtain books, videos, and slides, examples of city and town ordinances that have been adopted in selected communities, and a slide show depicting some examples of "new urbanist" development.
3. Anton Nelesson Associates
Among other things, Anton Nelesson is known as the creator and purveyor of the Visual Preference Survey *TM*, a community building public process that allows citizens to voice their opinions about urban design. Using a carefully selected set of slides, Nelesson asks Survey participants to rate the images on a minus 10 to plus 10 scale. In this way, Nelesson has been remarkably successful in helping communities articulate a consensus on how they want to grow. Nelesson's Website includes information about the Survey, and provides visitors with an opportunity to participate in a limited survey specially constructed for the site.
4. The Boulder County Land Use Department
Boulder County's land use Website provides an excellent example of how a local government can facilitate greater public involvement in land use planning issues. Includes the entire text of the county's land use code and comprehensive plan--both with special search engines to assist in research--maps, GIS data, up-to-date versions of proposed plan amendments, staff reports, and current news relating to planning, growth management, and public involvement.
5. Metro (Portland, Oregon)
Metro is the directly elected regional government in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan region. In 1992, Metro began a precedent-setting planing process for developing a 50-year land use and transportation plan. This process, known as Region 2040, is one of the prime focuses of the Website. Contains abundant information, data, and maps that describe the content, history, and process of Region 2040, as well as other background information on this unique government agency.
Keith Bartholomew is theDirector of the LUTRAQ Project at 1000 Friends of Oregon.