National Planning Excellence Awards
Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan

City of San Diego General Plan
San Diego, California

The City of San Diego General Plan (2008) sets out a long-range vision and policy framework for how the city should plan for growth, provide public services, and maintain the qualities that define San Diego. It was structured to work in concert with the city’s 40-plus community plans and is part of a regional and statewide smart growth strategy.

The plan includes the City of Villages smart growth strategy to focus growth into mixed-use villages that are pedestrian-friendly districts, of different scales, and linked to the transit system. The plan addresses protections for industrial lands, provisions for urban parks, “toolboxes” to implement mobility strategies, and policies to further the preservation of San Diego’s historical resources. It also reaffirms the city’s long history of protecting open space lands.

Duration : 0:2:14

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National Planning Leadership Award for a Distinguished Contribution

William E. Borah

Land use planning in New Orleans has traditionally been described as “planning by surprise.” Citizens and neighborhood organizations have attempted to change the city’s planning processes for years, but have had limited success. Inspiration for change came from one of the country’s most significant natural disasters, Hurricane Katrina. The damage from the hurricane and its aftermath was the necessary catalyst to motivate the city’s citizens. On November 4, 2008, voters approved the Home Rule Charter Amendments, which require the city to prepare a master plan with the force of law.

One of the major forces advocating for this change was William E. Borah, a New Orleans-based land use attorney and member of Smart Growth for Louisiana. Borah drafted the initial proposed charter amendment, sought comment from planning experts around the country, and organized a support campaign. Colleagues from around the country attribute the passage of the amendment to Borah’s unwavering persistence.

Duration : 0:2:21

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American Makeover is a six-part web series on new urbanism, the antidote to sprawl. More info and content at www.americanmakeover.tv. Produced by First+Main Media.
Episode 1 was filmed on location in Atlanta, Georgia and Glenwood Park, a new urbanist influenced neighborhood near downtown Atlanta.
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Directed/Shot/Edited: John Paget | PagetFilms.com
Animation/Graphics: Kerry Brogan
Producer: Chris Elisara
Creative: Drew Ward
Location Producer: Joanna Pritchard

Duration : 0:9:48

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Duration : 0:3:17

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The Zoning Revisions Committee of Northampton, MA discusses changing zoning in core urban neighborhoods so that more of the existing homes becoming “conforming”. Most multi-family homes in zoning district “URC” do not conform to current zoning. A zoning change might have the effect of enabling developers to increase the overall density of these neighborhoods. Video recorded by Adam Cohen on 4/21/10. Learn more at www.northassoc.org.

Duration : 0:7:5

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Interviews with key participants in the second of three “urban labs” in Atlanta leading into the May 19-22, 2010 conference of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). For more information: www.cnu18.org

Duration : 0:6:43

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Plaza Business Park is a 350,000 Square Foot mixed use project in Visalia, CA located at the intersection of Highways 99 and 198 in the South Central San Joaquin Valley. It includes retail services, restaurants, offices, pedestrian/bicycle amenities, and progressive use of LEED environmental design principles throughout.

The buildings provide excellent flexibility in accommodating both large and smaller size tenants. Office building sizes range from 10,000 to 100,000 square feet with individual occupancies from 2,500 SF.

For information on sales, leasing and design features call (559)732-2200 or go to www.manganoco.com.

Duration : 0:1:51

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On Thursday, April 16, 2009, TriMet’s afternoon 12 Barbur Blvd. bus suffers a door interlock malfunction, and the following bus was operating at crush load. This resulted in poor service to TriMet’s riders and an up-to-45 minute wait for potential riders downline.

Duration : 0:7:40

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Dave Hopley of Living Planet T-Shirts talks about his experience as a business owner in downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland. He says pedestrian-friendly streets and our unique sense of community are keys to success for retailers downtown.

Duration : 0:3:5

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The Senate is considering adding an additional $50 BILLION to highway expansion in the latest stimulus package.

If the new Democratic leadership wants to be ‘green’, they’ll recognize that highways aren’t the answer- transit and smart growth are the 21st century solutions.

To show that, I remixed of the 70’s ‘Crying Indian’ PSA. Originally for showing that litter was bad for the environment, it’s clear today that highways, through pollution and urban sprawl, do far more damage than any amount of personal litter.

For more on how to stop the highway expansion see:
www.streetsblog.org
www.t4america.org

Duration : 0:0:59

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