Economic Thinking is Job Number One

Source: Planetizen 

In the midst of this financial crisis, it is doubly important to understand the economic perspective on urban planning and real estate development, argues USC Professor Peter Gordon.

Is it the best of times or is it the worst of times? What do we know?

We know that life expectancies are longer then ever and keep on improving. And we know that humans have been on the planet for about 50,000 years with most living at subsistence levels (about $200 a year in today’s dollars) up until only 200-250 years ago. That’s for 99.5 percent of our existence. The last 0.5 percent has been amazing.

Look at the more recent past. When it comes to appreciating what we routinely consume today versus what was available to us not so long ago, page through an old Sears-Roebuck catalogue (you can get them for as far as 100 years back) or look at a 5-year old electronics catalogue. Who wants to trade places with our ancestors or recent predecessors? One cannot be anything but optimistic when looking at the long sweep of history.

At the same time, we read daily about serious financial and economic crises here and abroad. We are trying to figure out how we got into these -- and how to get out. Let’s come back to that and return to the good news story for a moment.

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Student Members: Submit a Poster Presentation Proposal

Extended Deadline: October 20, 2008
Poster Presentations and Exhibits
Poster presentations, displayed in the APA National Planning Conference exhibit hall Saturday through Tuesday, highlight individual presentations on planning research, case studies, and planning projects. Special time is set aside on Monday for informal discussion with attendees. Submit your proposal today via e-mail to speakerinfo@planning.org. 
Proposals must include three key learning objectives, and a description of your poster project. Descriptions must be between 100 and 300 words. You will receive an e-mail confirmation once we receive your proposal. 
Please e-mail speakerinfo@planning.org with any questions. 

The Bike-Friendly Minneapolis Midtown Greenway

Minneapolis — ranked the No. 2 bicycling city in the country by the U.S. Census Bureau — supports bicycling with a nontraditional bike shop and bike parking facility on the Midtown Greenway. It offers cyclists storage space to park their bikes on a long- or short-term basis, shower facilities, repair and rental services. Follow the link below to see the APA's video feature of this business.

http://myapa.planning.org/nationalconference/about/index.htm

Call for Abstracts

5th International Conference of the Research Network Private Urban
Governance & Gated Communities

Santiago, Chile - March 30th to April 2nd 2009

Deadline: October 31, 2008

Urban design panel: Gated Communities and the Role of Urban Design

This panel aims to investigate the urban design dimension of the
increasingly ubiquitous gated communities. It seeks to define key
aspects that should be defined by public policy in order to ensure a
quality public realm is produced between adjacent communities. The
panel welcomes papers that explore the design of these communities in
different cultural contexts but which generally follow three lines of
inquiry:
— Do the physical features of GCs matter and how? This line of inquiry
intends to examine the relationship between physical characteristics
of GCs and their local and city-wide social-spatial consequences. In
particular, what are the 'segregative characteristics' of different
types of GCs, and how do their design features function and impact on
the public realm? These physical features include morphological
elements, transit stops, community and commercial facilities and
amenities.
— How do the design characteristics of GCs evolve/ materialise through
development processes that involve various players (e.g. politicians,
planners, architects, developers, etc.)? What is the role of public
policy in defining the design parameters of such communities? How can
a mutually beneficial relationship between different communities be
regulated, and the creation of a positive public realm ensured?
Cross-national analysis is welcomed to explore the applicability and
variation of urban design approach in different development contexts.
For instance, what are the differences between low, medium and high
density communities in this regard?
— What is implied by GCs for conventional theories and principles in
urban design, especially for residential neighbourhoods? What happens
to conventional urban design doctrines, for instance crime prevention
through environmental design (CPTED), in the face of a city dominated
by large scale gated communities? How can we evaluate the ongoing
morphological transformation of GCs with respect to the ideals of
sustainable urban form?


For further information, please visit: http://gated-communities.uchilefau.cl/.

Lecture: "Electronic Voting: Danger and Opportunity"

Edward W. Felten, Princeton University

Friday, October 17, 2008

11 a. m., Lecture Center B1

Abstract:
 
Electronic voting machines have made our elections less reliable and  less secure, but recent developments offer hope of a better system in  the future. Current research offers the hope of a future voting  system that is more reliable and more secure than ever before, at  reasonable cost, by combining high-tech and low-tech methods so that  each can compensate for the weaknesses of the other. This talk will  sketch what this future might look like, and will highlight some of the research that may make it possible.

DIFFERENTIAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE MARKET

Great Cities Institute as part of the Great Cities Institute Faculty Scholar Seminar Series is pleased to present

DIFFERENTIAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE MARKET
 Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Great Cities Institute, Suite 400 CUPPA Hall, 412 South Peoria, Chicago, IL 60607

PRESENTER:
PHILIP ASHTON, Faculty Scholar, Great Cities Institute and Assistant Professor, UIC Department of Urban Planning and Policy

Credit risk has been distinctly racialized in the US since its assessment emerged as a "science" in the early 20th century. With the current mortgage crisis as its backdrop, this paper employs a detailed historical analysis of the subprime mortgage market to argue that the racialization of risk has taken on new forms under financial liberalization, producing a dramatic restructuring of citizenship in its wake. It identifies several key moments since the late 1980s where financial crises and situation-specific emergency interventions provided opportunities for federal regulators to isolate toxic (system-threatening) risks, and to roll out new rules governing the formation of markets around different risk segments. These moments segmented minority borrowers into market structures where they were differentially exposed to the perils of high cost lending, reproducing and extending their status as risky investments.

Phil Ashton is Assistant Professor of Urban Planning & Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on financial restructuring, inner city markets, and the financialization of urban policy. His recent publications include "Advantage or disadvantage? The changing institutional landscape of underserved mortgage markets" in Urban Affairs Review (2008), and "An appetite for yield: The anatomy of the subprime mortgage crisis" forthcoming in Environment and Planning A.

Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Great Cities Institute, 4th Floor CUPPA Hall
412 South Peoria, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60607
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Great Cities Institute                                                               .
412 S. Peoria, Suite 400
Chicago, Illinois 60607

World Habitat Day 2008

Source: http://www.unhabitat.org

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
The global observance of the occasion this year will be led from the Angolan capital, Luanda. The celebrations in Angola will show the world, how the country, after years of conflict, is progressing in the establishment of harmonious cities through improvements in urban infrastructure and services, and a new urban development strategy.
The United Nations chose the theme of Harmonious Cities for 2008 to raise awareness about the problems of rapid urbanization, its impact on the environment, the growth of slums, and the urbanisation of poverty as more and more people teem into towns and cities looking for a better life.

To read more about the World Habitat Awards:

http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=564&cid=5945

Bill Paves Way for a Third Term for Bloomberg

Source: The New York Times

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn said on Thursday that legislation to alter the city’s term limits law would be introduced on Tuesday, paving the way for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Ms. Quinn and more than 40 other elected officials to stay in office four more years.

The Council’s vote on the measure — which Mr. Bloomberg has pushed for behind the scenes — could come later this month, Ms. Quinn told reporters at a news conference. And while she declined to reveal her position on the legislation, she said she would meet with other members of the Council to discuss the bill and “move forward in the process after that.”

Ms. Quinn’s remarks came on a dramatic day at City Hall, as Mr. Bloomberg for the first time explained why he wanted to run for another term. Her comments, and the rapid timetable she described, immediately set off criticism that a deal had already been struck between the mayor and Ms. Quinn, who has been his close ally, to overhaul the term limits law, which restricts citywide elected officials to two four-year terms.

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Spend Spring 2009 at University College Dublin!

The UIC Office of International Affairs is proud to announce a new international partnership with University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland.  Through this partnership, we will be able to exchange graduate-level students in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs with University College Dublin through the UIC Exchange Program.  UCD is currently offering three UIC CUPPA graduate students the chance to take courses at UCD for spring semester 2009.  In return, UIC will be hosting three UCD graduate students in CUPPA during spring semester.
 
UCD’s spring semester begins on the 3^rd Monday in January and final exams end on the 3^rd Saturday in May.  Courses will be offered in the UCD School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy.  Courses taken at UCD will be applied to participants’ UIC transcripts and grades will count toward his/her GPA.  
 
Through the exchange program, participants need only pay their UIC tuition and fees, accommodation in Ireland, plane ticket fee, international health insurance, and food/entertainment costs.  There are no additional program fees associated with the exchange program.  
 
The deadline to apply is October 24, 2008.  Please contact Kristin Kutella in the Office of International Affairs at kkutella@uic.edu or 312-996-5455 for more information or to request an application.  
 
To visit University College Dublin’s Website please click here: http://www.ucd.ie/
For specific information regarding UCD’s School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy, please click here:  http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/gpepinfo/index.html
For more information regarding international student life at UCD, please click here: http://www.ucd.ie/international/

Tips from Working Planners

Source: APA Website

Dale Medearis, Ph.D.
Senior Environmental PlannerNorthern Virginia Regional Commission


What I Do:
Among other things, I coordinate the commission's energy, climate, and sustainability initiatives. I also assist in the management of the organization's international cooperation that now extends to approximately 20 other regional councils in Europe.

How I Got Where I Am Today:
I spent 20 years at the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of International Affairs, mostly coordinating its work with urban environmental planning and Europe. I also had the privilege of spending a lot of time in Germany studying "green" buildings, land use, brownfields, watershed management, and local climate initiatives. Even after a short while in European cities, it is easy to see that there is lots to learn and apply to the benefit of our own local and regional sustainability initiatives. Last year I decided to leave my job at EPA and work in Northern Virginia to apply much of the innovation from Europe that I encountered while in Germany and at EPA.

What I Look for When Hiring:
We are a small office — six within the environmental planning division. I would say that the skill that invariably characterizes our office is a collection of great people who thoughtfully balance understanding of the technical and policy-making aspects of the environmental issues affecting the region. The team here is highly motivated by a strong passion to explore new approaches and strategies that will advance sustainable development in northern Virginia and beyond. There is a creative enthusiasm that permeates the work of my colleagues.

Advice for New Planners:
I have to encourage environmental planners to consider the importance of classes or courses that deal with energy (supply and consumption) in general but renewable energies and their integration with climate change in particular. There are many well-intentioned local/regional initiatives that sincerely try to deal with climate change. Unfortunately, they lack integration with actionable energy plans.

Posted by: ValBona Kokoshi