Mar

2

Father knows best?

Filed Under Neighborhoods, Politics, The Bottom Line, Uncategorized, Zoning | 1 Comment

Friday night some friends and I went out to dinner to one of our favorite local spots.  The talk turned, inevitably, to the economy and to housing prices.  This dinner was kind of a goodbye to a friend who was making a career change brought on by recent economic changes.  Part of the changes included how to deal with paying her mortgage she acquired a year ago.

About two years ago I was trying to convince my dad, a renter almost his entire 64 years, that buying would be a good idea.  Twenty some years from now, I told him, you might want to move into a top of the line assited living set up.  Selling off that house would guarantee enough cash to live well until the end.

All my dad would say is “neither a borrower or lender be.” Was he right all along?

The national debate has turned to saving the American dream.  Some people including my friend are very frustrated with the idea that people who couldn’t afford mortgages in the first place are now the focus of another in a seemingly endless series of bailouts.  The Santelli rant certainly reflects the frustration of people still making payments on an asset that isn’t worth what it was.

American’s have about $10 trillion in mortgage debt.  It was only about 2 months ago that I suggested to someone that the best stimulus for the economy would be to pay off everyone’s mortgage–until I saw that figure.  But whose mortgages would we pay?

On the other hand some, like Richard Florida, suggest that we are seeing a silver lining in the darkening clouds.  Perhaps we will see the end of the suburb.  As experts like Nouriel Robuini (or Dr. Doom) continue to issue even more dire predictions about the economy one wonders if we might not see what we have been hoping for: a return to urban life.

There is a really great movie called Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse.   Its the story of Mr. Blandings (played by Cary Grant) who moves his family from their cramped Manhattan apartment to Connecticut.  The scenes of them struggling over space (modern cliff dwellers!) remind me of my own home–minus the maid, fireplace, kids and big closets.  But we can always dream.

Put it on your Netflix list and watch it.  Then watch it backwards.

Feb

13

“Leftover” places at the center of things

Filed Under Development, Environment, Neighborhoods, Sustainability, Transit, Wildlife, Zoning | Leave a Comment

For those dismayed that some forgotten areas of our region were overlooked in the last round of revitalizing investments, fear not.  Some bold plans are outlined in two articles today on Seattle’s gritty Interbay and the Eastside’s Bel-Red neighborhood. Read more

Feb

13

The climate change samba

Filed Under Development, Environment, Neighborhoods, Streets For People, Sustainability, Transit, Transportation, Uncategorized, Zoning | Leave a Comment

When I worked in Olympia for a statewide advocacy organization my boss at the time would occasionally deride (accurately) someone as “a one note samba.”  Often this would apply to people who were our allies. The term referred to a person or group that could not see the bigger picture and would hit the same note over and over again with legislators sometimes to their own detriment.

I have since gained a deep love and respect for both Tom Jobim and Joao Gilberto who have changed my views about One Note Sambas.

But I think the latest row over House Bill 1490 between the Displacement Coalition and Futurewise could become dueling one note sambas.  On the one side is the never ending arguments the Displacement Coalition makes about not tearing down a single unit of existing housing and one for one replacement of each and every unit that is torn down.  John Fox, the leader of the coalition, has said, explicitly, that he thinks we should have a moratorium on growth.  His view is insupportable when we consider the realities of our future.

I think House Bill 1490, which would amend the Growth Management Act, is a good piece of legislation.  It is especially timely now that Sound Transit is coming on line.  But its reliance on climate change has been the focus of the debate.  Some have started gathering ammo to fight Fox’s assertions about whether the bill really reduces climate impacts or not.  Battling this kind of minutiae leads to either gridlock or simply sticking your fingers in your ears.

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that climate change is one aspect of the importance of compact communities or–to use the dirty word–density.  One example is drainage.  All the data tells us that compact communities allow better drainage options that can reduce the impact the development has on our streams and Puget Sound.

So it would be nice (I realize it may be too late) to have included more elements about drainage in the bill, especially incentivizing alternative drainage schemes, swales and alternative methods of paving and sidewalks.

The legislation is good and should pass.  But I hope that we don’t damage the overall credibility of pro-growth arguments by becoming a ‘one note samba.’  Unless we’re talking about Jobim.

Transit Oriented Development in San Jose California

Jan

23

shovel ready?

Filed Under Alaskan Way Viaduct, Community, Environment, From A to Green, Innovation, Neighborhoods, Parks, Pedestrians, Spokane St. Viaduct project, Streets For People, Transit, Transportation, Zoning | 3 Comments

Is anyone else sick of hearing the phrase ‘shovel ready’ in reference to stimulating the economy and rehabilitating our infrastructure? Most projects that are truly shovel ready (drawings, check. permits, check. fire up the bulldozer!) aren’t what will truly aid the regeneration of 21st century cities. They are very likely to be things like road widenings and interchanges that fuel sprawl and shred urban fabric. Some estimates suggest that three quarters of infrastructure stimulus funding will be for roads. The other quarter will be used to buy the silence of all us bike, tree, transit, urbanism, art, ped, waterfront, etc. advocates. We’ll all get in line and try to get a few good things done with the crumbs from the stimulus table, but can’t we HOPE for more?

Republicans are already rallying around giving more money to rich people instead because even the shovel ready projects can’t get started until 2010. I saw a CNN interviewer chew out a mayor that requested money for parks and trails in his city’s stimulus package. She asked him if he was ashamed of himself since everyone knows those aren’t ‘real’ infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. Frankly, i’d rather leave our economy a little less stimulated than waste the resources of many generations on the shovel ready road projects cluttering the shelves our our state highway departments.

Eighty years ago the united states stimulated itself out of a depression, but also made civic art of our public works. will a random-ass extra lane to redmond be viewed as such eighty years from now? And don’t forget that after this splurge funding of all types, perhaps for decades, will be diminished to pay for this bump. Whether we get it right or wrong now, we’ll be paying for it for a long time to come. So it is time for all urban and environmental minded folks to remind our politicians that great projects in this day and age-reconnecting seattle to a healthy puget sound, mass transit and mobility options, vibrant neighborhoods, and a robust network of green infrastructure-are complex in a good way. They will need talented artists, NGOs, designers, engineers, lawyers (yes, even them), inventors, community organizers, legislators, and developers to make sure the bulldozers and shovels are headed in the right direction on the right projects. If we want to strengthen the economic and environmental foundations of cities for the long-term, we don’t want to waste this opportunity on what happened to be shovel ready in the panic of 2008. we need pencil ready, people ready, carbon ready, future ready!

I’d be interested in your thoughts on how we can shift the messaging on this subject.

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