Texas Urban Mixed Use Projects

Mayor of Fort Worth: Autocentric Design “A Mistake”

2010-03-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

FortWorthology
Kevin Buchanan // February 25, 2010

The mayor stated in no uncertain terms that Fort Worth is facing severe transportation challenges, that they stem from too many years of car-first planning, and that Fort Worth can no longer be designed and built in a car-centric fashion.

Commuter Rail, street cars, and other alternative modes of transportation also remain a priority for me and this City Council. Unfortunately, Fort Worth and other major metropolitan areas are finding out the hard way what a mistake it was to design and build cities around automobiles years ago. Friends, we cannot continue to focus solely on building more roads for more vehicles. That’s counter productive at best.

Business as usual is dead!

MORE

Interview With 'Sustainability Czar' Shelley Poticha

2010-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Builder
Jenny Sullivan // February 18, 2010

Poticha, who is director of HUD’s newly created Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, speaks on land use, transit patterns, economic recovery, and the government’s vision for a healthier built environment.

MORE

U.S. driving decline is in reverse

2010-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

USA Today
Larry Copeland // February 23, 2010

The historic drop in driving that began in 2007 and the dramatic decline in gridlock that accompanied it have ended, according to a report today by a firm that tracks congestion in the USA.

Using 12-month averages, the study found that driving increased by 0.3% in September, 0.2% in October, 0.3% in November and 0.2% in December over the same periods a year earlier, according to federal data.

Traffic congestion is still about two-thirds of 2007 peak levels but likely to get worse.

MORE

'Drive 'til You Qualify' Foreclosures on the Rise

2010-03-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

American Public Media - Marketplace
February 25, 2010

There are many reasons why families face foreclosure, like loss of income or rising health care costs. But several new studies show there's another factor closely linked with foreclosure rates: gas prices. Andrea Bernstein reports.

MORE

American Cities Awaken From 35-Year Parking Policy Coma

2010-03-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Planetizen
Nate Berg // February 26, 2010

Planning policies that produce cheap, abundant parking are fundamentally at odds with efforts to promote transit, biking, and walking. A new report from ITDP shows how some cities have started to align parking policies with sustainable transport.

It's been more than 35 years since American cities including New York, Boston, and Portland acknowledged the connection between parking policy and traffic generation by setting limits on downtown parking. Since then, parking innovation has proceeded at a snail's pace.

MORE

The American poor spread to suburbia, but we’re not ready

2010-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

NextAmericanCity
Yonah Freemark // February 25, 2010

Let’s face it: American public policy has yet to respond to or even grasp the profound change in settlement patterns that has been gradually making its mark on the nation’s landscape over the past few decades.

Cities from Detroit to Des Moines have been pushing the gentrification of their downtowns, with generally positive results, and the results are well documented.

But more consequential to a far larger group is the mass out-migration of impoverished people from center cities into the suburbs, often in the same metropolitan areas. According to a recent Brookings Institute Study, the process is accelerating. Between 2000 and 2008, the percent of poor people living in the suburbs increased by 25%, compared to by 5.6% in central cities and 15.4% for the nation as a whole. More of the poor now live in the suburbs than in central cities: 12.5 million versus 11 million.

MORE

Austin - East Riverside Corridor Master Plan

2010-03-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

Austin Contrarian
February 25, 2010

City Council is scheduled to vote today on the East Riverside Corridor Master Plan. Let's hope Council ignores the Planning Commission.

The Plan envisions the redevelopment of East Riverside as a New Urbanist corridor, built around four major transit hubs. The hope, of course, is that the "transit" will someday be a light rail line connecting downtown and the airport. But East Riverside is a natural place for redevelopment of this kind, with or without rail. East Riverside is close to downtown. It is already fairly dense yet (paradoxically) has many low-density or undeveloped tracts suitable for redevelopment. There is proven market demand, as demonstrated by the redevelopment underway on the western end. While there are single family neighborhoods along the route, there are fewer than along, say, Burnett or Lamar. And, finally, the existing development consists largely of decaying strip malls; everyone (including area residents) would like to see a better use of the land.

MORE

A Smarter Planet needs Smarter Buildings

2010-03-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

Sustainable Cities Collective
Adam Christensen // February 22, 2010

Following is a guest post from Florence Hudson, an energy and environment strategy executive from IBM:

Buildings have always been much more than roofs over our heads. Over the last century, as towers of steel reached higher into the sky and homes sprawled farther and farther into the surrounding landscape, our buildings not only housed burgeoning urban populations and growing economies – they also served as symbols of modernity and progress. Unfortunately, today’s offices, factories, stores and homes are also symbols of something else – waste and pollution.

Consider some of the following:

The building sector is responsible for more electricity consumption than any other sector, 42%, and 15% of all Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions.

In the U.S., buildings represent 72% of all energy usage and 39% of Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions (pdf). Yet, up to 50% of that electricity is wasted.

In New York City, buildings account for 80% of NYC’s Carbon Emissions.

By 2025, buildings will be the single largest energy consumers and emitters of greenhouse gas on our planet.

MORE

What criteria should we use to define smart growth locations?

2010-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Sustainable Cities Collective
Kaid Benfield // February 24, 2010

This may be my all-time wonkiest post (tomorrow’s will be easier to digest, promise), so do be warned: In particular, there has been much discussion lately about which criteria policymakers should use to define “smart growth” or “location efficiency” for the application of policy. As all of us who have slaved over LEED-ND for the better part of a decade can attest, this is a very difficult issue.

Basic principles and challenges

This is not because we don’t know what the principles are. We do: They are to (1) avoid sites whose environmental characteristics make them unsuited for intensive development; (2) favor locations within the existing developed area of a region and well-served by existing urban fabric and transportation choices; and (3) ensure that what is built in those locations is consistent with the goals of sustainability.

MORE

Oak Cliff Becomes Cool

2010-03-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

Dallas Observer
Jim Schultze // February 25, 2010

Can an entire city reverse field?

From World War II until now, the beckoning horizon in Dallas has been the cool, air-conditioned neighborhoods north, where houses are new and low-slung, lawns are pool-table smooth and garage doors open by themselves.

But if North Dallas has been the city's field of dreams for decades, then 10 miles south and across the river, what do we call the clanging, potholed automercado of W. Davis Street in North Oak Cliff? The word we're never supposed to use—because it's snobbish, hurtful and has racist overtones—is slum.

But there you have it.

Is it even conceivable, then, that half a century from now, Davis Street could be the city's leading edge—its realm of cool and aspiration, the Seinfeld-land of a post-automobile urban tomorrow?

MORE

Expanded 'urban rail' would run through downtown on both sides of Capitol

2010-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Austin American Statesman
Ben Wear // February 24, 2010

Downtown Austin would have two north-south passenger rail corridors, a more expansive network than previously envisioned, under a recommendation that City of Austin staff will present today to the Austin City Council.

The proposed rail system — which would be in addition to Capital Metro's commuter rail line scheduled to open next month — would link the Mueller development in East Austin to the University of Texas to downtown to the airport.

MORE

Transit Innovation

2010-03-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
February 23, 2010

Expanding the reach of rail transit in North Texas will take progress big and small on multiple fronts. Here are a couple of areas where things are quietly heading the right way:

In Austin – House Speaker Joe Straus officially invited ideas on new ways of paying for transportation projects. The speaker announced special committees last week to study needs and report to him on, among other things, "using alternative funding options at the state and local levels."

In North Texas – A coalition of cities and transportation agencies has stepped up efforts to develop the long-proposed east-west Cotton Belt rail link to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It would connect northern suburbs and North Dallas to the airport and run through downtown Fort Worth. DART owns the Cotton Belt right of way but doesn't have the money to put the project together.

Again, innovation is called for. The North Central Texas Council of Governments is finishing a report on ways the six cities on the east side of the airport can team up with property owners and DART to start the new line.

MORE

Why Dallas's Streetcars Got the Feds' Transportation Funds, Not Fort Worth's

2010-03-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

Dallas Observer

Robert Wilonsky // February 17, 2010

As mentioned below, the North Central Texas Council of Governments is indeed "seeking clarification" from the U.S. Department of Transportation concerning today's announcement that Dallas is getting $23 million to fund the downtown streetcar project. NCTCOG wants to know if Fort Worth is supposed to be getting a piece of that pie -- since, after all, NCTCOG made the request on behalf of both cities in its $96 million joint grant application.

Michael Morris is supposed to respond upon his return to the office, but Cathy St. Denis at the USDOT finally responded to Unfair Park's request for a clarification. In short, she says, "Fort Worth is not a part of this. The money is just for Dallas." And why's that?

"The typical awardee averaged about one-third of their request," St. Denis says. "So we couldn't completely fund the Dallas-Fort Worth streetcar project at the requested level. And, we were impressed by how well Dallas had lined up its local match and the other requirements necessary to get the project under way."

Dallas CM Linda Koop shares thoughts on street car grant

2010-03-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News

Rudolph Bush // February 17, 2010

Dallas council member Linda Koop, a key transportation advocate in North Texas, said she was "delightfully surprised" the city won a piece of the highly competitive TIGER grants.

The grant of $23 million was a little less than half the $48 million Dallas sought for its street cars, but it will go a long way toward helping plan construction of the city's first street car circulator.

Recession rattles Carrollton's plans for transit development

2010-03-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

Dallas Morning News

Dianne Solis // February 17, 2010

The city of Carrollton hoped some zip in downtown development would emerge with the arrival of a rapid transit station from DART.

The historic plaza with its gazebo and cluster of shops and restaurants provides the building blocks, they reasoned.

But Tuesday night, they gave a second amendment to developer High Street Development unit of Trammel Crow, due to the steep slump in the economy.

Start-up of construction will be moved back eight months to June 1, 2011, for a project that includes 170 residential units and retail in the first phase and 125 more residential units in the second phase. A previous contract amendment split the development into two phases back in October.

Cap Metro Turns Toward a 2020 Vision

2010-03-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Austin Chronicle

Lee Nichols // February 19, 2010

What will Austin look like in 10 years? If history is any guide, its population will be about 50% larger, and the area will need a transit system to accommodate that.

On Monday, the Capital Metro board of directors will consider Service Plan 2020, a 370-page analysis of the Cap Metro system and recommendations on how to improve it.

Southwestern Medical District Area Plan

2010-03-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Dallas Observer

Robert Wilonsky // February 15, 2010

Actually, it's the "Stemmons Corridor-Southwest Medical District Plan," which has been simmering since 2008 as officials from UT Southwestern, Love Field, Crow Holdings, Parkland and so forth worked with area residents to hash out the (transit-oriented) development details. Nothing's final yet -- that's a few months-plus off -- but tomorrow, the council's Economic Development Committee will be briefed on what's what thus far. In short, the city wants to turn Stemmons into the "signature gateway corridor into Central Dallas" while transforming the rest of the area into some mixed-use combination of Victory Park and the West Village, if I read my briefings right.

Urban planners envision West Dallas after Trinity bridge

2010-03-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News

Roy Appleton // February 15, 2010

The opening of the signature Margaret Hunt Hill bridge across the Trinity River will bring attention, energy and changes to West Dallas.

That's what property owners such as Larry "Butch" McGregor and his partners in West Dallas Investments are banking on.

It's also an assumption at City Hall, one underlying a new mission to transform a time-worn core of town.

The Dallas CityDesign Studio plans to be a creative force in development and redevelopment along the Trinity in the years to come. Its concerns will include the look, layout and blending of buildings, streets and open space.

And its first project is taking on a 480-acre river gateway bounded by the levee, Interstate 30 and Sylvan Avenue.

Creating “A Better Tomorrow” in America with Sustainable Transportation

2010-03-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Check out this video from America 2050, as part of its “A Better Tomorrow” project to create a “positive vision for the future of America built around investments in sustainable transportation and livable communities.”

Let's Talk Honestly About a VMT Tax

2010-02-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Micheal Lindenberger // February 10, 2010

As vehicles get more efficient, they will travel further on each gallon of gas. So each year, each driver will pay less in gas taxes, even as they drive as much or more on the roads that must be kept up. TxDOT chief Amadeo Saenz likes to say his old Suburban got 12 miles to the gallon and his newer one gets 24.

The big idea:So what to do it about? Increasingly, what we're told is that the future should include a tax on miles driven. There are lots of ways to do this, but none are simple.

So what to do? Easy enough: If the politicians believe more revenue is needed to pay for transportation, index the rate to keep up with both construction costs increases. If they believe it's being eroded by efficiency, simply index it to the increase in miles per gallon of the average car in Texas. Lawmakers could simply establish a baseline for the average fuel efficiency of the Texas fleet. The feds already track this here, and lawmakers could set the gas tax rate to increase every couple of years by an amount that is equal to the average increase in fuel efficiency.

MORE

The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?

2010-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // February 10, 2010

The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesiasasserting that "a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes" and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel tax revenues mean that tax rates need to go even higher.

That absence of a "direct nexus to road use" is a concept not easily understood by many Americans, especially drivers long inundated with misleading claims that the gas tax constitutes a user fee. As Ryan Avent has explained on this page, a user fee assumes that everyone on the road pays for the time they spend and the burden they place on it.

But while 25 gallons of taxed gas will last for an estimated 725 miles in a 2010 Ford Escape hybrid SUV (at a combined 29 miles per gallon), the lighter 2010 Ford Mustang (estimated at 19 miles per gallon) would go just 425 miles while paying the same amount of gas tax. The heavier car ends up putting more stress on the road while paying less for it. Is that an equitable system of maintaining the transportation network?

“Smaller homes, urban lifestyles and sustainable communities will shape development”

2010-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // February 9, 2010

Younger generations looking for smaller homes, urban lifestyles and sustainable communities are among the forces that will shape the future of real estate development.” Frampton continued: “Some of the shifts in demand are related to demographics and were emerging before the economy sank, the speakers said. Others are results of new, post-recession values.

MORE

Vehicle Miles Travelled Tax??

2010-02-14T11:26:00.001-08:00

The Washington Post
Ashley Halsey III
February 7, 2010

Within a few years, a driver who pulls up to the gas pump may pay two bills with a single swipe of the credit card: one for the gas and the other for each mile driven since the last fill-up.

That may be the result of what many transportation experts see as an inevitable revolution in the way Americans pay for their highways.

MORE

Update on Urban Projects Around the Trinity River

2010-02-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Rudolph Bush // February 8, 2010

Here they are in a nutshell.

West Dallas Plan - Brent Brown's CityDesign Studio has largely completed a development plan for West Dallas aimed at reawakening forgotten parts of the city while preserving important neighborhoods like La Bajada.

Continental Bridge - The design process for the pedestrian transformation is just underway, architect Don Raines said.

Texas Horse Park - Almost all of the land for the 500-acre Horse Park near the Trinity River Audubon Center has been acquired.

Trinity River Audubon Center - Open for some 18 months, the center is one of the biggest attractions related to the Trinity. 50,000 people have been through the doors but efforts are aimed toward bringing in many more.

Dallas in IMAX

2010-02-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Dallas IMAX Aerial Showcase

HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities

2010-02-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

HUD’s new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities

Ffighting Words about Sprawl

2010-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // February 4, 2010

“The biggest fight I think we’ll see in the next ten years is the fight between people in cities who are trying to transform them into ‘bright green’ cities and those economic interests in the [outer-ring] suburbs who see that as a threat to their livelihoods, and in some cases just despise it on ideological grounds.”

So says “bright green” advocate Alex Steffen, executive editor of WorldChanging, in an interview with Grist’s Jonathan Hiskes.

Climate Change is All About Land Use

2010-02-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

At Lincoln House
February 3, 2010

A recent report has some timely advice for local government officials -- take steps in land use planning, linking development and transportation and energy efficiency, that are appealing because they save money. The fact that the measures also address climate change is best left as an unheralded bonus.

The report, Planning for Climate Change in the West, by Rebecca Carter and Susan Culp, acknowledges the critical role of local planners in confronting challenges posed by climate change. It also addresses the region’s many political, cultural, demographic, and geographic factors that can be barriers to innovation and effectiveness.

MORE

The First Urban Decade

2010-02-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

New Urban News
Robert Steuteville

The last half of the 20th Century was dominated by suburbia, but cities made a comeback in the first decade of the new millennium.

MORE

Suburban Poverty and the Transit Connection

2010-02-14T07:16:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Sarah Goodyear // January 22, 2010

Today on the Streetsblog Network, Yonah Freemark of The Transport Politic looks at the new Brookings Institution report on suburban poverty levels and the connection to future transportation planning in those regions. Freemark, who recently wrote about how the city of Paris is extending its transit infrastructure to its traditionally lower-income suburbs, points out that the challenges to transit in American suburbs are greater. The infrastructure of American suburbs, as well as the governmental planning mechanisms, present significant challenges to reducing automobile dependence -- a dependence that weighs especially heavily on people with low incomes.

MORE

U.S. DOT Previews How New Transit Rules Could Define ‘Livability’

2010-02-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // January 21, 2010

Addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors, assistant transport secretary for policy Polly Trottenberg was asked by the mayor of Clearwater, Florida, to outline how the agency might "quantify livability" in its upcoming rulemaking.

Trottenberg said U.S. DOT learned decision-making lessons from the TIGER grants, a $1.5 billion competitive program in the stimulus law that she said called for extra sets of hands from the EPA and HUD.

Though Trottenberg was careful not to predict the content of still-unwritten regulations, she described some livability questions that came into play last year and could be a factor as the agency writes its new transit funding rules.

"Is this project going to include all modes?" she said. "[Will the project] help boost businesses on Main Street?"

MORE

Big Boxes vs. Local Retail

2010-02-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

Birmingham News
MIchael Tomberlin // January 20, 2010

MANY OF THE LARGEST Birmingham area retail centers are feeling the pain as the industry's big-box era moves into retreat, a closely watched real estate survey shows.

Retail space in the area is stinging from the large number of anchor, or so-called "big box," vacancies at high-profile centers. The small "neighborhood" centers, typically featuring a supermarket and small retailers, actually saw occupancy rise in 2009.

MORE

The War Against Suburbia

2010-02-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

The American
Joel Kotkin // January 21, 2010

A year into the Obama administration, America’s dominant geography, suburbia, is now in open revolt against an urban-centric regime that many perceive threatens their way of life, values, and economic future. Scott Brown’s huge upset victory by 5 percent in Massachusetts, which supported Obama by 26 percentage points in 2008, largely was propelled by a wave of support from middle-income suburbs all around Boston. The contrast with 2008 could not be plainer.

Browns’s triumph followed similar wins by Republican gubernatorial contenders last November in Virginia and New Jersey. In those races suburban voters in places like Middlesex County, New Jersey and Loudoun County, Virginia—which had support President Obama just a year earlier—deserted the Democats in droves. Also in November, voters in Nassau County, New York upset Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, an attractive Democrat who had carefully cultivated suburban voters.

The lesson here is that political movements ignore suburbanites at their peril. For the better part of a century, Americans have been voting with their feet, moving inexorably away from the central cities and towards the suburban periphery. Today a solid majority of Americans live in suburbs and exurbs, more than countryside residents and urbanites combined.

Dallas Downtown Plan - Paved with Good Intentions?

2010-02-14T06:55:00.000-08:00

Dallas Observer
Robert Willonsky // January 21, 2010

The real issue that plagues real downtown redevelopment: "the inner ring highway loop."

"The city of districts is alive and well in Dallas," and insisted Downtown Dallas 360 would be about connecting those districts into one "seamless" city. How? Transit-oriented developments, of course, as evidenced by its 179-page presentation on the subject.

MORE

Suburbia vs. the Planet

2010-02-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

Huffington Post
Seth Bauer // January 18, 2010

A really good rant takes a rare combination of passion, knowledge, wit, and intelligence. Recently, in a long phone conversation with Andres Duany, the architect and urban planner, I was privy to one of the best I've ever heard.

The origin of global warming. The cause of American cultural malaise. The inanity of our planning, zoning, transportation, political, and community processes. Duany has a lot to rant about. Ostensibly our conversation was about the carefully distilled, practical advice contained handbook-style in his new release, The Smart Growth Manual, published by McGraw Hill. But our conversation about the book showed why Duany and his coauthors, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon, had to pare down to core concepts: Otherwise, Duany was just going to explode with it all.

Duany began by identifying three concurrent crises that he traced directly to the American lifestyle: Peak oil (the likelihood that we've already consumed more than half the planet's petroleum in barely 100 years), the housing bubble, and global climate change. "It's where we live, the size of our houses, the distances we drive for work, commerce, play--everything."

Dallas May Get Subway Downtown

2010-02-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

WiredPRNews.com
February 2, 2010

Dallas city planners are considering plans for further developments in the area that may include a subway station downtown. As reported by NBC DFW News, the subway plans of Dallas Area Rapid Transit are being considered as a possible means to relieve congestion in the downtown area.

MORE

How to Create Livable & Sustainable Communities

2010-02-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

Greg Lindsay has a new column in Fast Company entitled "The Master Plan" explaining how we can create more livable and environmentally sustainable communities.

Urbanist bloggers who make me think

2010-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

Kaid Benfield at NRDC Switchboard suggests some urban bloggers to follow

Urbanist bloggers who make me think

North TX Leaders to Take Another Stab at Local Transit Option Bill

2010-02-04T12:35:00.001-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Michael Lindenberger // February 2, 2010

The Star-Telegram reports that after the hearing North Texas leaders laid out their plans for another run at the local-option tax bill that would allow local communities to vote to raise their own fees or taxes to pay for additional transportation investment.

MORE

Pentagon: ‘Climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked’

2010-02-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

grist.org
Brad Johnson / February 1, 2010

Climate change and energy are two key issues that will play a significant role in shaping the future security environment. Although they produce distinct types of challenges, climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked.

MORE

Cities versus Suburbs Political Conflict

2010-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

grist.org
Jonathan Hiskes // January 29, 2010

Alex Steffen—futurist, Worldchanging editor, tallperson—makes the provocative argument that there’s really no way to make outer-ring suburbs sustainable. He thinks cities vs. suburbs is the political conflict that will define the next decade.

MORE

The Obama Urban Vision - How Can We Make it Come to Pass?

2010-02-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

citiwire.net
William Hudnut // February 1, 2010

How do we get the region’s top players on the same page when it comes to such critical issues as land use, transportation and housing?

Some are willing to take the lead to create new ways of approaching regional problems–quite far ahead of most political leaders, I might add, who too often are little more than self-protecting institutionalists, or so rigidly ideological that pragmatism has fled them.

MORE

Downtown Dallas Plan Hinges on Public Space & Transportation

2010-02-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Rudolph Bush // February 1, 2010

Theresa O'Donnell, director of Dallas' development department, said there's also focus on really capitalizing on Union Station, which she said could be a catalyst project for redevelopment.

The trick will be developing around rail stations and building up public spaces and public amenities or 'animating the public realm.'

The transportation element is major. DART's new lines are expected to work in concert with an as yet unfunded streetcar system.

In the long run, the most important transportation element, though, will be feet and how downtown accommodates them.

MORE

Transit-oriented development requires more than transit and development

2010-02-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // January 25, 2010

Mr. Benfield makes the argument that that we have really defined only transit-served development locations. The design process of orienting the development to transit requires more. For instance, there must be adequate density and a walkable environment; the densest, most walkable portions of the development should be placed closest to the transit stop; commercial and mixed-use buildings should also be close to the stop, with their primary entrances highly accessible to transit passengers, to facilitate multi-purpose trips; buildings and public spaces should be designed to make the area around the transit station or stop feel inviting, comfortable, and secure; design should make it easy for transit and bicycle transfers and vehicle drop-offs; single-family residences may be placed a bit farther away; and so forth

MORE

New EPA rules may aid proposed transit projects

2010-02-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

Fort Worth Business Press
Leslie Wimmer // January 25, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed lowering of ozone emission standards may put a stronger focus on North Texas transportation projects as a way to improve air quality across the region.

Area transportation officials expect the EPA’s proposal to focus attention on speeding up transportation efforts, including highway expansion and public transportation projects, as a way to keep traffic moving and to help meet the proposed new, lower ozone standard.

MORE

Urban Core as Regional Economic Indicator

2010-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Sarah Goodyear / January 25, 2010

The importance of core urban areas to a region's economy is the subject of a post today from the always thoughtful Aaron Renn, who blogs at The Urbanophile. Renn examines data that suggest job growth (or decline) in a metro region's core counties is a good indicator for the overall health of those regions. Renn argues that it's important to keep a close eye on what's happening in the urban core in order to forestall the kind of catastrophic decline we've seen in places like Detroit and Cleveland.

MORE

A Shot Across the Bow for Transport Equity?

2010-02-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // January 27, 2010

The Obama administration's warning that the Bay Area has jeopardized federal stimulus funding for its Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project could have national consequences for other urban transit proposals that risk harming low-income riders, civil rights and transit advocates predicted yesterday.

Several Bay Area advocacy groups briefed the media on the civil-rights complaint they filed against the OAC, which the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) heeded last week in a letter [PDF] that threatened to yank $70 million in stimulus money from the project unless planners comply with federal equity rules.

Stuart Cohen, executive director of TransForm, said advocates' victorious bid to push Bay Area's transit planners to examine more cost-effective and equitable alternatives to the OAC would "have a ripple effect" as other cities re-examine how their transit plans would affect lower-income and minority riders.

MORE

New Report Links Homeowners’ Auto Dependence With Foreclosure Risk

2010-02-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

DCStreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // January 28, 2010

Homeowners in car-dependent areas without access to alternative transportation are at greater risk of foreclosure, according to a report released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) that calls for mortgage underwriting standards to begin taking so-called "location-efficiency" into account.

MORE

The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity

2010-02-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Not really a Texas mixed use deal, but I worked two years on this project -- so have to share news of the Grand Opening!!!

15-story, $600-million development combines on a single L-shaped site the W's hotel and condominium towers with a 375-unit apartment block called 1600 Vine.

The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity

Commuter Rail Success Stories

2010-02-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

Empire Report
Jack C. Swearengen // January 28, 2010

Dallas’ DART light-rail system, which has an average weekday ridership of 70,000 trips, registered an increase of more than 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and more than 10 percent for the year. "People who were used to driving did the math and figured they could buy a monthly pass ($50) for less than a tank of gas," said Morgan Lyons, a spokesman for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit. As gasoline prices fell, other benefits became more apparent. Instead of traffic-clogged drives that could take up to an hour, riders could be on the train for 35 to 40 minutes and do work or relax. "When you have to start making decisions about all the little things, other little things become equally important," he said.

MORE

DART, TRE land FRA funds for double-track project

2010-02-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

ProgressiveRailroading.com
January 29, 2010

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) announced they will receive about $7.2 million in federal funds to help fund the construction of a five-mile section of double track between the West Irving and CentrePort/DFW Airport stations.

MORE

Congress & Transportation Reform - Is Anyone Listening?

2010-02-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

citiwire.net
Neal Pierce // January 16, 2010

Most everyone agrees that efficient roads, rails and air service are vital for our economy and our quality of life. Most of us see that without them, America will have a hard time competing against rising powers worldwide.

So why is Congress stalling? Representatives and senators know well that the federal transportation program expired last September. They keep passing temporary extensions without facing up to core issues–for example the federal gas tax stuck at 18.4 cents a gallon, unchanged for 17 years, despite escalating asphalt and concrete prices.

MORE

Impact of Pollution on Student Attendance

2010-02-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Fort Worth Star Telegram
Mike Lee // January 18, 2010

Children in Texas are more likely to miss school when certain types of air pollution increase — even when the levels are below the limit set by the federal government, a new study says.

The research also shows that absences decrease significantly when pollution decreases.

The study is unusual because it tracks the impact on a large group: 39 of the biggest school districts in Texas, including Dallas and Fort Worth. In El Paso, which has some of the state’s worst air pollution, the reduction in carbon monoxide levels resulted in a 0.8 percent decrease in the rate of absences.

MORE

How Can We Promote Zero Car Households

2010-02-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

DCStreetsBlog.org
Sarah Goodyear // January 20, 2010

Today on the Streetsblog Network, a fascinating look at the top 50 "low-car cities" in the United States -- that is, cities in which a high proportion of households do not own a car at all. Human Transit's Jarrett Walker digs into a list (from Wikipedia) of the US cities with populations over 100,000 with the highest percentage of zero-car households.

New York City, unsurprisingly, ranks first, with 55.7 percent. Seattle is number 50, with 16.32. Looking at the entire list, Walker comes to the conclusion that each municipality on it has at least one of three factors in play: age (older cities were in great part designed before automobiles came into use); poverty; and/or the presence of a large university.

Walker poses an important question: for those of us who see a "low-car" future as something to strive for, what conditions need to come into play in communities without those big three factors? He writes:

So here's the question: How long will it take for a city that lacks age, poverty, or dominant universities to achieve the kind of low car ownership that these 50 demonstrate? How soon, for example, will a city be able to create a combination of density, design, and mixture of uses that yields the same performance as an old city that naturally has those features?

MORE

Experts Weigh In -- Are New Transit Guidelines An Improvement?

2010-01-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

National Journal Expert Blogs Transportation

January 19, 2010

Last week Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed new livability-based funding guidelines for major transit projects and rescinded Bush administration requirements that based funding decisions on how much a project shortened commute times compared to its cost. The criteria determine which projects get funded under the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts and Small Starts programs.

"We're going to free our flagship transit capital program from long-standing requirements that have allowed us only to green-light projects that meet very narrow cost and performance criteria," LaHood told the Transportation Research Board annual meeting on Jan. 13. "Instead, as we evaluate major transit projects going forward, we'll consider all the factors that help communities reduce their carbon footprint, spur economic activity and relieve congestion. To put it simply, we will take livability into account."

Experts Reply on: What do you think of the new criteria that Secretary LaHood proposed?

EPA Report on Incorporating Climate Change Information Into Land Protection Planning

2010-01-25T02:44:00.000-08:00

From the Report -- Land protection decisions are long-term, hard to reverse, and resource intensive. Therefore these decisions are important to consider in the context of climate change, because climate change may directly affect the services intended for protection and because parcel selection can exacerbate or ameliorate certain impacts. This research examined the decision-making processes of selected programs that protect land to assess the feasibility of incorporating climate-change impacts into the evaluation of land protection programs. The research focused on a sample of the LandVote database, which documents land protection ballot initiatives that sought to protect wildlife and watersheds. Of this sample, we reviewed the decision-making frameworks of 19 programs. Most programs use quantitative evaluation criteria and a bottom-up process for selecting parcels. Almost all programs have one or more advisory committees. The analysis revealed that strategies that might be useful for incorporating climate change into decision making include new decision-support tools for advisory committees, promulgation of different land protection models, and educational outreach for elected officials. As jurisdictions learn more about possible climate change impacts, certain land protection strategies may become more desirable and feasible as part of a portfolio of adaptation strategies that ameliorate impacts on watersheds and wildlife.

The full report may be downloaded HERE

Reforesting Cities

2010-01-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

UrbanOmnibus
Venessa Keith // January 13, 2010

Retrofitting our urban building stock to address climate change need not be limited exclusively to increasing their energy efficiency. If “one of the primary causes of global environmental change is tropical deforestation” (Geist & Lambin, 143), then we should approach the adaptation of our buildings as an exercise in reforestation. Deforestation is too often divorced from urban discourse around climate change. In an attempt to redress that, my investigation into sustainable retrofits has included research into some causes of and solutions to deforestation, including a list of interventions already being implemented in the developing world (click here to read more). We must learn from both the causes of climate change and attempts to combat it as we attempt to reforest the city.

MORE

DART to Dallas: Help Fund Rail by Convention Center Hotel

2010-01-25T02:39:00.001-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Micheal A. Lindenberger // January 18, 2010

If the Dallas City Council wants the new downtown rail line to run by the convention center hotel, it might have to help Dallas Area Rapid Transit pay for the $824 million project, DART leaders say.

MORE

Cultural Explosion in Dallas

2010-01-25T02:35:00.000-08:00

The Texas Observer
Michael May // January 8, 2010

As I approached the heart of the arts district, a few signs of life appeared. A couple paused by a fountain. A group of bikers in spandex flew past like a flock of rare birds. The new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House rose from behind the fountain, with a soaring glass façade and glossy red dome, and across the street stood the new shimmering, metallic Dee and Charles Wyly Theater. By the front door was the person I’d come to meet, Mark Nerenhausen, the president of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. He giddily pointed out the few folks strolling around the plaza. “You know, usually Performing Arts Centers are set apart,” he said. “You walk by them. But to walk through them is pretty cool.”

MORE

Rule Change Could Boost Light Rail Plans in Houston

2010-01-25T02:33:00.000-08:00

Houston Chronicle
January 15, 2010

Metro's University light rail line and other local public transportation projects stand to benefit from revised federal rules for funding new rapid transit systems, officials said.

The new rules could put Houston in a stronger competitive position because the planned expansion of its light rail system focuses on moving people among major urban activity centers — such as downtown, Uptown and the Texas Medical Center — rather than on commuter trips from urban workplaces to suburban homes, transportation experts said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said this week that the Obama administration would consider “livability issues,” such as environmental benefits or economic development, in its evaluations of requests for federal money for new rail or bus rapid-transit systems.

The formula used by the Bush administration, LaHood said, essentially weighed the costs of new projects against time saved and distance traveled for commuters.

MORE

EPA Air Chief: We Need to Do More to Reduce VMT

2010-01-25T02:29:00.000-08:00

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // January 14, 2010

Obama administration officials "need to align together" to work on reducing the nation's total vehicle miles traveled -- work that should go beyond a pending congressional climate bill -- the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air-quality chief said today.

McCarthy called for federal agencies to work together on a coordinated approach to transportation policy that makes economic and environmental factors an essential part of the mix.

"When we say transportation, everybody thinks 'car'," McCarthy said. "That's a challenge for us as individuals, as a society -- and clearly it's a challenge for me, as someone who's supposed to deliver clean air to breathe."

McCarthy described lowering VMT as the third leg of the EPA's transport stool. The other two, she explained, are encouraging vehicle technology to reduce emissions and promoting cleaner-burning fuels.

MORE

Feds announce change to consider livability in funding transit projects

2010-01-25T02:25:00.000-08:00

Transportation for America
Stephen Lee Davis // January 13, 2010

Following through on a policy change hinted at for much of 2009, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced this morning that federal transit officials would begin considering expanded criteria as they select which transit projects to fund, bringing a new focus on improving livability and sustainability.

“Our new policy for selecting major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it,” he said. “We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live.”

MORE

Of Ethnicity & DART Ridership

2010-01-25T02:19:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News Transportation Blog
Rodger Jones // January 12, 2010

Interesting talk with DART VP Todd Plesko and spokesman Morgan Lyons on the subject of ethnicity, ridership and equity, stemming from my post on a lawsuit out of Chicago that touches on these issues.

DART's data on ridership, Plesko said, is based on surveys of riders by Austin consultant NuStats. From 2007, here's an ethnic breakdown of how DART's riders described themselves (different methodology from national study):

Rail only - 23 % black, 57 % white, 15 % Hispanic, 5 % other
Bus & rail - 61 % black, 22 % white, 11 % Hispanic, 6 % other
Bus only - 55 % black, 24 % white, 15 % Hispanic, 6 % other

Systemwide ridership: 49 % black, 31 % white, 14 % Hispanic, 6 % other

Taxing Density

2010-01-25T02:13:00.000-08:00

Austin Contrarian
January 11, 2010

ROMA, the outfit charged with developing a plan for downtown Austin, has proposed a density bonus ordinance for downtown residential development. ROMA would allow commercial and hotel developments an automatic bonus if they comply with "gatekeeper" requirements, which mainly means complying with the city's urban design guidelines and submitting a detailed site plan for review and approval. ROMA and its economics consultant concluded that the market for office and hotel space will not support a density bonus program.

The big change is for residential. Residential properties seeking an increase from the district's base zoning must not only comply with the gatekeeper requirements but also must pay a bonus on the extra square footage. Half the bonus must be satisfied by providing on-site affordable housing or an in-lieu fee of $10/sf. The other half must be satisfied by providing a "community benefit.

A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot.

MORE

Taxing Density

2010-01-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

Austin Contrarian
January 11, 2010

A density bonus is a tax on marginal increases in density. Don't be confused by the rhetoric. It is a tax. The plan raises the cost of that last square foot. The claim that it does not raise the price because no one is entitled to an increase in density is a bit of misdirection. The fact is that the city has an unwritten policy allowing increases in base square footage. A property owner who wants more square footage can reasonably expect to get it for the payment of a nominal amount. And it is expectations that determine property values, not the words written in the code. Raising that cost -- frustrating those expectations -- reduces the incentive to build that last square foot.

The density bonus program is a bad idea because extra space downtown is an unmitigated good. We shouldn't tax economic goods; we should tax economic bads.

More space means room for more people. And more is better, at least for downtown. More people means more demand for downtown businesses, a livelier streetscape, more eyes on the street. We should encourage the clustering of people downtown. Density bonuses shunt people elsewhere.

MORE

Clean Energy Business Zones: A tool for economic growth

2010-01-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

Grist.org
Josh Freed // January 8, 2010

Whether it was steel, the railroad, the automobile, or the Internet, America’s leadership in technological innovation has made it the world’s economic power for the last 100 years. Today, we’re on the brink of the next revolution with the transition to clean energy. Of course, new technologies inevitably push old ones aside—personal computers, for example, killed typewriter industry in the 1980s.

The transition to clean energy will inevitably have the same effect. While many communities will immediately prosper from new solar and wind plants or advanced battery production, others will initially lose jobs and even businesses or industries. Yet these same communities that might suffer during the transition, particularly those in the industrial Northeast and Midwest and rural South and Plains, could capitalize on clean energy. They just don’t have access to the economic tools to do it on their own. That is why Third Way worked with Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) to develop Clean Energy Business Zones (CBiZ).

MOREhttp://www.grist.org/article/clean-energy-business-zones-a-tool-for-economic-growth/

Street Corners vs Cul de Sacs

2010-01-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

CEOs for Cities
January 10, 2010

"Walking the Walk" and "Driven to the Brink." Hint: Good urbanism -- strong core cities and mixed-use neighborhoods -- works.

Bright Green Action as Economic Development Strategy

2010-01-16T04:58:00.000-08:00

World Changing
Alex Steffen // January 10, 2010

Throughout much of the developed world, but especially in North America, the debate about sustainability is routinely framed as a trade-off between the environment and the economy. The problem is, no such trade-off exists.

Certainly, there are big industries (like coal, oil, manufacture of cheap disposable consumer goods, fast food franchises, auto manufacturing) that will take a big hit as we move into a low-energy, low-carbon, zero-waste future. Many people will lose their jobs, and places that remain deeply committed to those industries are in for decades of suffering.

If we could filter their propaganda and influence out of our public debate for a day, we'd have a series of national epiphanies: our economic futures are not dependent on these guys, and the quicker we leave these industries behind, the better of we are; in fact, bright green action's not only not a hit to competitiveness, it's the new definition of competitive advantage.

By slashing emissions, developing clean energy, investing in bright green cities, changing agriculture, spurring design and technological innovation and embracing new models of prosperity, we don't just meet our ethical obligations not to destroy the ecological foundations of civilization; we also create the kind of economy that is clearly going to lead the way in the 21st century.

MORE

Deep Walkability

2010-01-16T04:56:00.000-08:00

World Changing
Alex Steffen // January 10, 2010

Several pieces of Net flotsam today (local columnist Danny Westneat's clueless call for more parking lots around Seattle's new light rail stations; a NYT articleon findings that walkable density appears to increase property values and buffer against real estate crashes), got me pondering again the nature of "walkability."

Walkability is clearly critical to bright green cities. You can't advocate for car-free or car-sharing lives if people need cars to get around, and the enticement to walk is key to making density wonderful, to providing realistic transit options, to making smaller greener homes compelling and to growing the kind of digitally-suffused walksheds that post-ownership ideas seem to demand. So knowing how to define "walkable" is important.

MORE

Of Race & Transit Policy

2010-01-16T04:51:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Rodger Jones // January 11, 2010

An item on TransportPolitic picks up on a theme you hear around Dallas and elsewhere -- that commuter-friendly trains to the suburbs get the cash and bus service for the masses gets the shaft.

This undercurrent may be one reason that some southern Dallas state reps have been decidedly cool toward the regional push to expand rail transit through some kind of new taxes or fees.

MORE

Millennials' Judgments About Recent Trends Not So Differen

2010-01-16T04:44:00.000-08:00

Pew Research Center Publications
January 7, 2010

Members of the Millennial generation also give generally high marks to societal changes such as the greater availability of green products and more racial and ethnic diversity. But, as was true of technological innovations, in many cases their views are not much different from those of the age groups that precede them. For example, roughly equal numbers of the youngest age group and those ages 30-49 say that growing acceptance of gays and lesbians has been a change for the better.

The availability of green products is seen as a good thing by most Americans (68%) -- with strong majorities among those ages 18-29 (77%), 30-49 (73%) and 50-64 (70%) saying it is a change for the better. A much smaller percentage of those ages 65 and older agree (45%).

MORE

Austin shows off its new Capital Metro rail cars

2010-01-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Micheal Lindenberger

The Cap Metro passenger rail expansion in Austinhasn't been with its significant setbacks, but last night it showed off a gleaming new rail car that should soon besnaking along the city's 32-mile track.

The cars will remind Dallas riders more of the TRE vehicles than the light rail trains they are used to. That's true in part because the CapMetro tracks are used for both passenger rail and freight rail services

MORE

Rethinking Public Participation for Smart Growth

2010-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

The City Fix
David Daddio // January 5, 2010

In an interview conducted by Builder Magazine (via CityCaucus.com), American New Urbanist Andrés Duany, co-author of the recently released Smart Growth Manual, argues that public participation is one of the greatest impediments to smart growth. From the interview:

If you ask people what they want, they don’t want density. They don’t want mixed-use. They don’t want transit. They don’t even want a bike path in their back yard. They don’t want a grid that connects, they want cul-de-sacs. They can’t see the long term benefits of walkable neighborhoods with a greater diversity of housing types. This book is a quick read and is dedicated explicitly to them. It’s for the people, not for planning professionals

U.S. car ownership shifts into reverse

2010-01-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Globe & Mail
Martin Mittelstaedt // January 4, 2010

Americans' infatuation with their cars has endured through booms and busts, but last year something rare happened in the United States: The number of automobiles actually fell.

The size of the U.S. car fleet dropped by a hefty four million vehicles to 246 million, the only large decline since the U.S. Department of Transportation began modern recordkeeping in 1960. Americans bought only 10 million cars – and sent 14 million to the scrapyard.

MORE

Texas May Enact VMT Tax

2010-01-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

Houston Chronicle
Peggy Fikac // January 3, 2010

If you don't like gasoline taxes, here's an alternative: a tax on the number of miles you drive in a year.

The Texas Transportation Commission has directed a fresh study of the idea, and it is not alone. There are pilot projects in other states and nationally to gauge how such a tax would work.

Texas transportation officials say the study is meant to help give lawmakers information on options ahead of their next regular session in 2011, when they confront a funding squeeze that is expected to drain the highway fund of money for new construction contracts by 2012.

“We need to think differently about how we fund transportation,” Texas Transportation Commission Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said at a Texas Taxpayers and Research Association forum in November.

Delisi said the vehicle-miles-traveled tax idea is controversial, but should be discussed because revenue from the state's main source of transportation funding, the motor fuels tax, is declining. The gasoline tax has not been raised since 1991.

10 things to watch in Dallas for 2010

2010-01-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Pegasus News
Shawn Williams of Dallas South News // January 4, 2010

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Dallas Black Dance Theatre at Wyly Theatre
Continued Main Street resurgence
511 Akard
Victory Park
Empty Southern Dallas promises
Oak Cliff streetcars

MORE

Spire Realty adds to its land holdings near the Arts District

2010-01-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Steve Brown // January 4, 2010

Investor Spire Realty Group has bought almost two acres of land in downtown Dallas near the Arts District.

MORE

Hopes are high for a hipper Las Colinas

2010-01-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Brandon Formby // January 4, 2010

Las Colinas' Urban Center sees plenty of daytime traffic as thousands of North Texans make their way to and from work in its skyscrapers.

But nightlife? Not so much.

Irving leaders are betting a number of developments – many built with millions in public money – will soon change all that. They anticipate concerts, restaurants and shops will draw people to the area. They hope more businesses will then follow.

So how is this different from previous plans to turn the Urban Center into a bustling hub of tourists and locals eating and shopping around waterways and on restaurant patios? And what's to set it apart from developments at Victory Park and around Cowboys Stadium that have fallen far short of expectations?

MORE

Andy Sarwal - Austin Mixed Use Developer

2010-01-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

AustinAmericanStatesman
January 2, 2010

Andy Sarwal

A virtual unknown in the local real estate community, Sarwal is overseeing one of the few large mixed-use projects still going forward in the region: University Park, a $750 million complex that is transforming the former Concordia University campus north of downtown into apartments, townhomes, a hotel, a movie theater, offices and retail space.

Last year, Sarwal and his mystery investors raised $39 million to finance the first office building, now home to Texas Monthly magazine and an Aveda Institute salon training school.

Financing for major real estate developments remains unusually difficult to obtain, but Sarwal said recently that funding is in place for the hotel, a Hyatt concept called Andaz, and a planned 450,000-square-foot building that will include a Premiere Cinema Corp. theater and about 340 apartments.

'I just know I'll drive longer distances and to all the ends of the Earth to accomplish something,' Sarwal said. 'I will get a deal done.'

MORE on "Whom to Watch in Business in Austin This Year"

DFW 2020

2010-01-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

nbcDFW.com

How Will the Arts Develop?

What Will We Build?

How Will DFW Airport Change?

Lessons from the Development Boom

2010-01-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

Seattle City Brights
Chuck Wolfe

Infill development, or redevelopment of existing development, is among the key land use focal points in Washington State's urbanized areas. As entrenched land use and environmental professionals, we have long advised clients on the broad range of due diligence, compliance and related issues which arise as infill development proceeds from planning to implementation. This advice has been practical by nature, not the stuff of daily dialogue. But suddenly, our entrenched professional dialogue is mainstream.

But have we lost a practical, implementation-based perspective?

"Green", "sustainable" and "shovel ready"--and their older cousin, "smart growth"--have arrived with a vengeance, albeit often more as separate silos of ideas and inspiration than as interrelated elements of societal change. Even in a now slow real estate market, we now hear often from their advocates and thoughtful critics. How and where should we grow? Will the new residents of our region live, work and travel in a more sustainable way?

help with learning more about TOD Part 2

2010-01-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

myurbanist
November 8, 2009

Here is an additional resource, a Powerpoint summary presented in Olympia about a month ago, which outlines findings after investigation of top barriers to vibrant urban centers and TOD in the University of Washington/Quality Growth Alliance “From Barriers to Solutions and Best Practices” report.

As also noted in the post, the recently released Futurewise/GGLO “Transit Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State”, provides an applied analysis of what makes for successful development around transit stations and general guidance for future legislation.

MORE

help with learning more about TOD

2010-01-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

myurbanist
November 2, 2009

Moving forward, our region will benefit from two recently released research reports, both of which document the pitfalls and potential for transit oriented development. The first, of which I was the lead author, is entitled “TOD and Urban Centers: From Barriers to Solutions and Best Practices”, and was prepared by the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies in collaboration with the Quality Growth Alliance (QGA). The report and companion bibliography are available on the QGA website. The report was recently summarized in a seattlepi.comarticle. The second, the recently released Futurewise/GGLO “Transit Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State.

MORE

U.S. to unleash millions for streetcar, bus projects to reduce pollution

2010-01-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Oregonian
Dylan Rivera // December 1, 2009

The Obama administration today announced it wants to spend $280 million on urban neighborhood mass transit projects, such as streetcars and bus facilities, in an effort to make more livable communities that reduce pollution.

The news marks the first batch of money for a new Livability Initiative, which U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has characterized as a way to make cities more like the Portland area, where the streetcars, light rail lines and local land use policies promote walkable urban neighborhoods.

The money amounts to pocket change in the context of the billions of federal spending on transportation each year. It makes use of money Congress designated for mass transit projects, but which the Bush administration did not spend. It could help Portland's efforts to grow with streetcar lines beyond the downtown area and grow business for Clackamas-based United Streetcar, the only U.S.-based maker of modern streetcars.

"This represents a significant effort to promote livable communities, improve the quality of life for more Americans and create more transportation choices that serve the needs of individual communities," LaHood said. "Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects will stimulate America's neighborhoods to become safer, healthier and more vibrant."

MORE

the Green Top 10 for 2010

2010-01-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

the Original Green
December 29, 2009

10 the Offshoring Reversal
9 the Sustainability of Preservation
8 Gizmo Green Gets Exposed
7 the Meltdown Vacuum
6 the Return of the Garden
5 the Re-Coding of the City
4 the Return of Durability
3 the Emergence of the Live-Work
2 the Big Convergence
1 the New City

MORE

Mayor Speaks on Dallas' Strong Foundation of Can Do Spirit

2010-01-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News Op-Ed
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert // December 31, 2009

The coming of a new year and moving into a new decade provides an opportunity to reflect on where we have been and what lies ahead. In the face of this economy, Dallas has moved forward like no other city, and we have laid the foundation for even more progress in the decade ahead. The "can-do spirit," that belief in tomorrow, is again alive in Dallas. In fact, I believe at the next decade change, in 2020, people here will look back on this period as a historic point in our city's timeline that reshaped our image in a positive way, putting Big D on a world stage.

Through actions like comprehensive green building standards and the purchase of renewable energy, we are now recognized nationally as one of the leaders in addressing environmental challenges.

We'll also look back on this period as the time when downtown Dallas finally turned a corner. We welcomed AT&T, Tenet and more than 50 other companies into the city core, and major firms like Oncor and Deloitte renewed their commitments to downtown. Thousands of residents also chose downtown as home.

And we provided compassionate support for the homeless at the Bridge and, in doing so, enhanced the investments we have made in downtown.

Through strategic investments and the commitment of this community, we have built a foundation that will ensure a strong, vibrant economy in the future. And this was the time we invested in our future with the Dallas Convention Center hotel.

I also believe we'll look back at this period as the launch of southern Dallas investment – a time when businesses, developers and investors saw the future in this part of the city. In the last few years, the foundation has been laid for more investment in this area than at any time in the past. DART light rail, the Inland Port, UNT-Dallas and other investments in the southern half of the city have created the impetus for a new economic engine to benefit the entire region.

New Year’s Resolutions for Cities: 10 Keys to Sustainability Planning Success

2010-01-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

The City Fix

Don Knapp // December 30, 2009

Any serious New Year’s resolution requires a plan. But a mayor’s pledge to make his city more sustainable takes a lot more planning effort than your vow to drop 10 pounds. Crafting a comprehensive sustainability plan, even without procrastination, can take a full year for a city, and involve close coordination among dozens of individuals.

Trailblazers like New York City and Minneapolis have already shown that the end product is worth the effort: a detailed blueprint to combat climate change, save energy and taxpayer dollars, nurture solid economic development, renew infrastructure, and improve public health and education for all.

The planning lessons from these leaders were distilled in a Sustainability Planning Toolkit, released last month by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA to its 600 U.S. local government members. Boil down those lessons even further and you get 10 keys to sustainability planning success, listed below. They’re worth a read for urban planners, plumbers, lawyers—anyone who lives in a community that values sustainability and is beginning its sustainability planning process.
It may encourage you to know that such communities are becoming more common. A 2009 Living Cities survey found that four in five of the 40 largest U.S. cities consider sustainability among their top five priorities. Approximately one-half are either currently creating sustainability plans or have finished one within the past year, and another one-quarter finished their plans earlier. For cities, towns, and counties, the keys to sustainability planning success are the same.

Downtown Dallas' bustling success yet to come, but Uptown is already booming

2010-01-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
David Flick // December 27, 2009

Downtown Dallas has yet to become the bustling success story that was hoped for a decade ago. But boosters remain undeterred.

"What we had was a little bit too much optimism and a little bit too much recession," said John Crawford, president of the nonprofit DowntownDallas

The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened in October to international fanfare, capping a decade that saw corporate relocations, the opening of new retail stores and the introduction of high-end restaurants

The most encouraging development, Crawford said, has been the growth in the downtown population.

MORE

How cities can foster demand for electric car

2010-01-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

Grist.com
Ben Holland / December 28, 2009

Still in its infancy, the electric car has a future that is both promising and uncertain. It is often cited as an antidote to U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and for good reason—a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory study claims that if 73 percent of the country’s light-duty vehicle fleet were electrified, oil consumption would fall by 6.2 million barrels a day. That would eliminate nearly 53 percent of our current oil imports.

Electric vehicles aren’t likely to pour into car lots next year. Our current economy will make sure of that. Nevertheless, many cities can position themselves to benefit from the technology. In doing so, they very well may play the most vital role in the success of these cars.

One such city, Denver, has already begun this work.

Year's Top Smart Growth Stories

2010-01-10T06:52:00.001-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // December 29, 2009

(10) Despite robust ridership, transit service and quality continued to decline.
(9) Smart growth and sustainable communities were largely missing from the federal stimulus.
(8) Exciting developments in GIS- and web-based technology advanced walkability and smart communities
(7) Local agriculture emerged as a component of green development.
(6) Congress, nonprofits and other parties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(5) Land use solutions continued to get short shrift in climate discussions that matter. ties geared up for reauthorization of federal transportation law.
(4) The Obama administration stepped up for sustainable communities.
(3) Street design became a major smart-growth issue.
(2) LEED-ND was completed and approved for implementation.
(1) The recession hurt smart development somewhat, but sent sprawl into a virtual coma.

MORE

Supportive housing development for homeless opens downtown

2010-01-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Rudolph Bush // December 28, 2009

The city's first mixed-use permanent supportive housing development with units set aside for the homeless is set to begin taking in residents.

The Citywalk development at 511 N. Akard will provide 206 residences, 50 of which will be set aside for formerly homeless people.

Favorite New Urbanism Posts for 2009

2010-01-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield

Transforming the Market for Development Location
In sustainable communities, architecture and preservation, does beauty matter? Should it?
Virginia adopts innovative smart streets rules
Walmart, McCain forge new alliance to fight sprawl
Considering the role of density in smart growth
Smart growth must become more demanding, more community-oriented, and greener
“If you don’t have safe streets, all the light rail lines in the world aren’t going to save your city”

Eco Architecture: Project Green – A sustainable mixed-use development for Austin

2010-01-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

EcoFriend.org
December 28, 2009

Architects all over the world are busy designing developments that are sustainable and have minimal impact on the delicate ecosystem. Designers over at Mithun Architects have unveiled the design of a stunning mixed-use development for downtown Austin, Texas, that represents a comprehensive approach to sustainability.

MORE

Effect of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments on Residential Property Values

2010-01-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

Mineta Transporation Institute Report

The development of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) is increasingly being used to increase transit ridership. TOD, apart from providing the transit ridership, has also gained popularity as a “smart growth” tool that addresses the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and other ills of auto-oriented sprawl-like development. TOD’s increasing popularity is evidenced in efforts at all levels of government to promote the coordination of transportation and land use.

MORE OF THIS REPORT

Irving exemplifies the troubles faced by inner-ring suburbs

2009-12-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Brandon Formby // December 27, 2009

In many ways, Irving is the poster child for the issues typical to inner-ring suburbs over the past decade. Its growing pains come not from population booms, but from shifting demographics and attempts at reinvention.

Irving has served as the backdrop for the national debate on illegal immigration. And it has decided the balance of political power in the Texas House. The Dallas Cowboys are gone, a convention center's going up and a light-rail line is being laid.

"In the last decade, we've actually become a world-class city," said longtime City Council member Lewis Patrick.

Representation

Hispanics remain the largest racial or ethnic group in the city. Their ranks between 2000 and 2008 grew at five times the rate of the city's overall population. Still, Hispanics often criticize the all-white City Council for not representing their needs or dealing with claims that police racially profile residents.

MORE

Cliche that Downtown Dallas is Dead Needs to Die

2009-12-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News
Rudolph Bush // December 23, 2009

Back in the 90s, when I was in college here, it was just a fact that downtown was shutdown after dark.

Passing Central from Deep Ellum was like coming into another world.

As plan commissioner Michael Davis points out on his blog today, some people are still holding on to that idea of downtown.

But it really doesn't reflect the changes in downtown that you can almost watch week to week, particularly along Main Street.

As Davis writes today: Even on a Tuesday night, several places were popping. I went to PM Lounge in the basement of the Joule for a party. At 9pm, it was already full. People were lounging on the patio of Charlie Palmer. A few student-aged kids were walking around taking pictures and surveying the scene.

Lake Dallas mulls TIF zone

2009-12-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

LakeCitiesSun.com
Anthony Scott // December 17, 2009

Lake Dallas City Council is considering implementing a Tax Increment Finance Zone to help boost development dollars and secure money for a Denton County Transportation Authority membership.

City Attorney David Berman presented an explanation of what Tax Increment Finance districts are to Lake Dallas City Council last Thursday night. The city is looking at the possibility of creating a TIF district about 60-square aces near the intersection of Swisher Road and Interstate Highway 35E.

"The TIF will help with the funding of public projects and perhaps grants for private development," said City Manager Earl Berner. "The TIF promise, that is increased tax revenues can be used to borrow funds for capital expenditures up front just like we do with other large capital projects in the City although the annual debt service will be paid from TIF funds."

Council talked about getting an A-train rail station along Interstate Highway 35E and possibly using the money for grants to developers to bring the city transit-oriented development.

MORE

Area transportation needs face financial hurdle

2009-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

Fort Worth Business Press
Leslie Wimmer // December 21, 2009

Funding will be the major hurdle for North Texas to begin a regionwide transportation overhaul.
Officials from area businesses, governments and community organizations gathered at the Fort Worth Sheraton on Dec. 11 to listen to speakers discuss economic development, transportation plans and funding challenges during the “Tracks to the Future: Rail and Economic Development in North Texas” event.

About 300 people attended the day-long event which was hosted by a number of area organizations. Speakers included State Sen. Wendy Davis; members of Fort Worth’s City Council; Mayor Mike Moncrief; representatives from the Fort Worth Transportation Authority; Dallas Area Rapid Transit; the Denton County Transportation Authority; the Texas Department of Transportation; the cities of San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and Portland; and other area business and government leaders.

Vision North Texas Project Manager Karen Walz told the event’s crowd that the Dallas-Fort Worth region is expected to hit a population of 12 million by 2050.

“Think about what that means if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing and taking care of growth the way we have been,” she said.

MORE

Texas (!) becomes first state to adopt new smart street rules

2009-12-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

NRDC Switchboard
Kaid Benfield // December 10, 2009

Texans are going to get more walkable, transit- and bike-friendly streets in their cities, towns and neighborhoods, thanks to an important new decision by the state’s Department of Transportation.

In particular, Texas has become the first state officially to adopt a new, comprehensive set of progressive street design guidelines written by the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The new manual,Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities, which has been years in the making, advances the successful use of appropriate and thoughtful solutions in the planning and design of urban roadways for walkable communities.

In a story published in New Urban News and reported by David Crossley on theHouston Tomorrow website, Fort Worth planner Scott Polikov writes that the state DOT has revised its project development process to require that context sensitive design be considered in all project evaluations. This is a pretty big deal: traditional street planning and design has focused almost exclusively on the function of the roadway in transporting vehicles efficiently from one place to another, even in the midst of neighborhoods whose character and hospitality to walkers, cyclists and transit users can be profoundly compromised in the process.

MORE

Dallas Design District's second redo takes shape

2009-12-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dallas Urban Core
December 11, 2009

ustin Tamayo did a double take as he was driving through the Dallas Design District a few months ago."I was amazed to see the all apartments they had built," Tamayo said. "I didn't know all of that was there."

Tamayo was so taken with the neighborhood that he moved there. "I bring my friends down there, and they're surprised at what's here," he said.

Indeed, if you haven't taken a recent spin down Hi Line Drive – or don't even know where it is – the trip will be eye-popping.

Developers have built three big apartment communities just west of Stemmons Freeway, and hundreds of residents have moved in.

Restaurants and shops are on the way.

"Obviously having 1,000 apartment units with a lot of people makes it more of a 24-hour environment," said Mike Ablon of Pegasus Ablon Properties, which is marketing the redevelopment. "There's a lot of excitement about the overall Design District."

MORE