On February 7-8 and 9, I attended the 12th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City. Also attending were Vice-Mayor Corky Booze and Sustainability Associate in the City Manager’s Office.

The Local Government Commission is the best source of information for local elected officials anywhere on the subject of smart growth, livable and healthy communities and urbanism.

This annual conference is where I compile my “to do” list for the coming year. Following are summaries of the sessions I attended. Some include hyperlinks to the presenters’ PowerPont presentations.

February 7, Morning Breakout: Building Community While Greening the City : Introduction – The Parklet Revolution. The elements of a parklet – a parking spot transformed into a tiny public relaxation area – can vary, from a patch of grass-like turf and plants to an outdoor patio with seating. At a time when city budgets are severely constrained, parklets have become a popular way for residents and businesses to green their neighborhoods. Parklets got a start in 2005 in San Francisco, when staff of a design firm fed a parking meter with coins, covered the asphalt with sod, and added a potted tree. Their experiment spread like wildfire. The City responded by making parklets legal and setting up an approval process. Today parklets can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the City. The parklet concept has spread beyond SF, with different versions evolving for different climates. This session will feature a professional from the San Francisco Parks Department, a staff member from the Mayor’s Office in the City of Philadelphia, and a representative of Rebar, the design firm that initiated the parklet revolution.

Presentation PowerPoints, Building Community while Greening the City: The Parklet Revolution Thursday, 8:30-10 AM

Bela (PDF 6MB) Ben-Amos (PDF 859KB) Smith (PDF 7MB)

February 7, Morning Breakout: How Municipalities Can Avoid the 20 Most Common Placemaking Mistakes Introduction – In this “get real” session, you will learn about the 20 most common placemaking mistakes that municipalities make, as well as the 10 most effective placemaking tools you should be using. After the speakers outline the mistakes and the tools, participants will split into small groups to discuss their particular issues. The motivation for this session stems from the fact that many municipalities continue to make the same mistakes over and over — all the while hoping for a better result. Oftentimes, their major problem isn’t the execution of a specific tactic or tool, but the incorrect diagnosis of their challenges from the outset. This session will arm you with the techniques and strategies you need to effectively advocate for meaningful improvements to your community. A good reference, the NACTO Urban Street Design Guide. Presentation PowerPoints, How Municipalities Can Avoid the 20 Most Common Place-making Mistakes Thursday, 10:30-12 PM

Emerson & Harris & Norris & Thompson (PDF 24MB)

February 7, Afternoon Breakout: Smart Growth as Economic Development – Helping Communities Find and Create Competitive Advantages. Introduction – The last several years has seen an emphasis on how using smart growth techniques can lead to economic growth. Little attention, however, has been paid to how smart growth approaches can be used for economic reinvention, particularly in smaller communities. This session will focus on how smart growth can be used as an economic development strategy, leading to economic and community revitalization. Integrating smart growth techniques and economic development is proving to be critical for communities who are successfully competition in today economy through utilizing existing assets to reinvent themselves, creating a competitive advantage, and retaining and attracting residents. Speakers will represent local, state and regional level perspectives and provide ample examples.

This had some excellent recommendation pertinent to Richmond. Place-based assets are the key to economic rejuvenation. The competitive advantage lies in leveraging existing place based assets that distinguish a locality from other places. Target the knowledge-based economy while also building on more traditional economic drivers. Some excellent references are available from the National Association of Development Organizations.

Placemaking is an economic development strategy. 64% of college grads 25-34 look for a job after they choose a place to live, and these are the drivers of our economy. Common threads of winning “place” competition are quality places for urban living and recreation, high end talent and capital and a trained workforce. Try to keep wealth local – do not become an economic colony. Try to get headquarters in your community, or at least to ensure the wealth stays in your community through investment or philanthropy.

An active restaurant and bar scene is essential; it won’t save your town, but it is necessary.

For industry retention, focus on making your town a place employees and managers want to be. Look for businesses that are high up on the value chain. High end products can sell in the U.S.

There is a fundamental shift away from single family dwelling towards more dense housing. Presentation PowerPoints, Smart Growth as Economic Development: Helping Communities Find and Create Competitive Advantage(s) Thursday, 1:30-3 PM

Fulton (PDF 249KB) Fulton & Johnson & Nothstine (PDF 247KB) Nothstine (PDF 1004K

February 7, Afternoon Breakout: Good Food for All: The Role of Equity in Strengthening Communities – Introduction – A “good food” system is rooted in strengthening communities. Using innovative approaches to community engagement, infrastructure change, and policy making, local leaders are placing equity at the heart of their work to transform food systems and build stronger communities. This session features representatives from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food & Community program discussing how they’re creating vibrant communities by ensuring the “good food” movement addresses racial and economic inequities. Topics will include Common Market’s new model for connecting local food to institutional customers in Philadelphia, the Detroit Black Community Food and Security Network’s approach to engaging communities of color in transforming their food environments, and the Union of Concerned Scientists’ approach to engaging often-excluded communities in national policymaking.

February 7, Kickoff Plenary. This featured the mayors of Kansa City, MO and Kansa City, KS. One thing I took away from this is that putting more citizens on the streets is cheaper and more effective than putting more cops on the streets.

February 8, Morning Breakout – Innovative Municipal Approaches to Equitable Reinvestment and Revitalization. Introduction – Code enforcement, nuisance abatement and the legal systems they work within directly impact the quality of life, reinvestment opportunities and long-term sustainability and affordability of neighborhoods. At its core, the goal of a code enforcement program is to encourage responsible property ownership. Code enforcement is property regulatory system and that helps prevent vacancy, abandonment and disinvestment. As communities seek to protect neighborhoods and individuals from the negative impacts of substandard or vacant properties and negligent landowners and landlords – problems often disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income residents – it’s more important than ever to create strategic approaches and partnerships to achieve positive and equitable outcomes. This interactive discussion among some of the country’s most thoughtful and innovative problem-solvers will explore how code enforcement departments, the courts and redevelopment authorities are working together to hold negligent property owners accountable, eliminate blight, and drive development opportunities in disinvested neighborhoods.

This session focused on code enforcement as an economic development tool. Richmond pales compared to the statistics from some cities from the last recession. Baltimore, for example, lost 300,000 people over the last several years. New Orleans had similar problems following Katrina.

Cleveland has a special “housing court” where an assigned judge focuses exclusively on code enforcement issues, particularly foreclosed and abandoned properties. Here is a link to the Vacant Properties Conference in 2010.

Presentation PowerPoints, Innovative Municipal approaches to Equitable Reinvestment and Revitalization Friday, 10-11:30 AM

Braverman (PDF 2MB) Hebert (PDF 2MB) Pianka (PDF 4MB)

February 8, Afternoon Breakout – Leveraging Smart Growth Solutions to Build a Political Base – Introduction: Smart growth is ultimately implemented at the local level by leaders committed to improving the quality of life in their urban, suburban or rural communities. It is the politician’s job to present a compelling vision while moving forward effective policies, and many leaders have realized the power of the smart growth brand, which espouses increasing transportation and affordable housing choices near jobs, shops and schools. Today, hear from elected leaders who are leveraging smart growth principles to inspire their constituents and reinforce their base of support as they strive to strengthen their municipalities. The discussion will also focus on how building a strong political foundation is critical to moving a greater smart growth agenda.

One of the panelists was Anu Nataragan, Fremont City Council member and one of LGC’s newest board members.

Presentation PowerPoints, Leveraging Smart Growth Solutions to Build Political Base Friday, 1:30-3 PM

Natarajan (PDF 7MB) Strickland (PDF 512KB)

February 9 – Morning Plenary – Smart Growth and Your Tax Dollar, Making Sense of it All – Introduction: The density of smart growth places contain lots of land development and transportation efficiencies that can lead to more change in everyone’s pocket. A road that’s rich with people and buildings creates the best value for investors. It also benefits residents by providing tax revenue for community maintenance — roads and sidewalks. Want to learn how you as a taxpayer can support community growth that will lead to a better economic future? This plenary will bring you a local government leader and fiscal economic experts who know the score as they make sense of it all with real life examples and a little bit of laughter.

Some tidbits:

Base progress on income levels, not on number of rooftops or factories. In a knowledge based economy, the smart people win. Where do the smart people want to live? Productive growth results in jobs, not the other way around. Historic tax credits are a bucket of gold in the basements of our old buildings.

February 9, Implementation Workshop – Smart Growth Citizenship: How Grassroots Action is Transforming Communities. Introduction: Is smart growth becoming a grassroots civic movement now? Across the country, interventions ranging from individualized expression to collective action are transforming communities. The rebirth of active citizenship is bringing new vitality to the smart growth movement, and communities that find ways to leverage that energy are realizing incredible outcomes. This session will explore a variety of perspectives on this phenomena, and introduce a range of examples involving interventions at the neighborhood and community scale, tactical urbanism, the rise of the citizen planner, and the extraordinary results that this grassroots energy is bringing forth, including substantial new investment, revitalized community spirit, and novel partnerships that are achieving real results. Presentation PowerPoint: Smart Growth Citizenship: How Grassroots Action Is Transforming Communities Saturday, 10:15-12:15 PM

Mills & Sabia & Simmons & Diers (PDF 13MB)

February 9 – Afternoon Breakout – New Approaches in Engaging Industrial Neighbors in Community Planning and Smart Growth Development. Introduction – The smart growth field has traditionally overlooked issues related to the planning and siting of industrial facilities. However, these facilities have significant impacts on communities, both positive and negative – they contribute to local economies, employ residents, and bring potential environmental and health concerns. Where they are located, how they are operated, and how the neighborhoods around them are designed have important implications for air and water quality, residents’ wellbeing, economic development, and job accessibility. As communities work to create places that are healthy, equitable and prosperous, they should consider how industrial facilities fit in. This session explores innovative approaches local governments, community-based organizations, and businesses and industries are using to plan and develop facilities and surrounding neighborhoods while pursuing smart growth and health goals.

Closing Plenary – Sustainable Communities – Learning from the Past and Looking Toward the Future. Introduction – As our nation strives to rebound from distressing economic times, smart growth can be pivotal in moving forward in the journey to recovery. Hear from local elected leaders governing very diverse communities, large and small, about how they are building on community assets, reinvigorating the core, and increasing the resiliency and quality of neighborhoods. This bipartisan panel of speakers will highlight how they have tailored a smart growth approach for their cities to stabilize and grow the local economy while making great places.

Quotes:

Getting crime under control is the smartest smart growth strategy we can undertake. Next are schools.

Presentation PowerPoint: Building New Community Partnerships to Achieve Economically Sustainable Communities – Learning from the Past and Looking Toward the Future Friday, 3:30-5:30 PM

Bergstrom (PDF 1MB)