A Few Links Found While Cleaning Out My Inbox

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On communities having more input. Not sure I’m down with the program advocated in all – or even most – cases.  But important for particularly important locations and projects, e.g., civic buildings and open spaces.

An example of the grassroots process advocated above that did work:  Paint Your Faith.

Paint Your Faith Video

On artists taking to the streets. But what isn’t more fun in Rome?

Share something in your local park. This is what the right to assembly is all about – knowledge pursued in public spaces.

Last, as if Rybczynski didn’t explain why our cities aren’t like Europe’s well enough – we’re still experimenting with ways to integrate bike transportation.

Rethink Blogger Panel

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Straight Line Blog Post

The Planning Department’s Rethink effort started last night with a blogger panel featuring David Alpert of Greater, Greater Washington; Dan Reed of Just Up the Pike; Barnaby Zall of Friends of White Flint; Cynthia Cotte Griffiths of RockvilleCentral.com; and Eric Robbins of ThayerAvenue.com.

Two ideas in the discussion struck me. The first was Dan Reed’s passion for his community and the sense of justice that prompted him to start blogging. His reporting recounted Maryam Balbed’s some success in connecting the Silver Spring skater kids to the planning process through his blog. This is the kind of outreach planners know that must do to create a valid plan, but don’t always achieve.

Connecting to a larger … Continue reading

New CR Zones

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Last week, the County Council approved a new kind of hybrid zoning — the Commercial Residential (CR) zones. Combining traditional zoning provisions, such as use and dimensional standards and form-based provisions, such as street façade requirements and angular plane setbacks, these zones have been created to ensure : • Better predictability of allowed use, density, and height • More integrated services, residential opportunities, and public amenities • More sustainable growth patterns concentrated in existing commercial areas

The CR zones are a family of zones based on a combination of use, density, mix, and height. A zone combines these factors and will be seen on the zoning map as, for example: CR2 C1 R1.5 H60. This sequence means that any … Continue reading

Urban Life

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Before moving to the DC area two years ago, I had lived in New York City for the previous 18 . Never owned a car there (or a local driver’s license!),and it wasn’t until I relocated here that I realized how effortless it was to live a pedestrian life there…Stores were abundant and usually well stocked; restaurants, museums, and galleries were everywhere (…mostly frequented by tourists that we locals had to put up with); and in general whatever you needed ), was at your disposal 24 hours a day.

It’s been a bit of a struggle for me to sustain a similar pedestrian life here. I am still coming to terms with giving up an almost zero carbon footprint … Continue reading