The Planning Process: Next Steps

David Green
David Green, Associate Principal - Perkins+Will

From David Green – Perkins+Will

As many of you know, we had a very good turnout at the General Membership meeting on March 11. We presented our approach to the continued planning efforts in the LLCC study area, including reviewing past planning documents (primarily the LLCC Blueprints Plan prepared by the Georgia Conservancy in association with the Georgia Tech College of Architecture), preparing a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) database for consolidating existing information and coordinating future efforts. We also discussed our efforts to garner funding through a community led grants application process.

After the presentation, there was lively discussion. The primary topic was the proposal, in the Blueprints, to provide a street (vehicular) connection between Cheshire Bridge Road and Melante Drive, as an extension of Woodland Avenue. Many at the meeting expressed concern over this proposal, especially about the possibility of creating additional vehicular traffic on Melante Drive. There was general agreement that a revision to the Blueprints document excluding this vehicular connection as a recommendation was desired.

There was further discussion about the appropriateness of other proposed connections in the Blueprints document. We described our intention to pull information from the Blueprints document and other planning efforts in the study area, and place it on an easy-to-access database that would allow everyone to comment on these plans.

Though much of the discussion at the meeting addressed issues in previous preliminary plans (primarily the Blueprints document), Perkins+Will has not yet initiated the actual planning process. We are now assisting with the grant application process and setting up the GIS database to allow us to move forward once funding has been identified. As I said several times in the meeting, it is our goal in this process is to protect the quality of life of the residents of the residential neighborhoods in the study area. It is not our policy to propose projects that are not supported by the neighborhoods. Rather, our focus is on determining the vision the neighbors have and assisting in the realization of that vision.

The Georgia Conservancy agreed to develop an addendum to the Blueprints document acknowledging the strong opposition voiced at the March 11 meeting for the conceptual Melante-Cheshire Bridge connection. This addendum has been added to the plan and the revised plan is now the version posted on both the Georgia Conservancy website and the LLCC website.

In closing, I want to reiterate in no uncertain terms that if the neighborhoods do not want a connection from Cheshire Bridge to Melante, we will absolutely not recommend it and provide in the record that this is the case. This is true for this specific situation, and it is true for the planning process in general.

U.S. DOT Embraces Complete Streets Policy!

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announces the department’s recommendations for a Complete Streets policy. LaHood has issued a new policy statement that calls for full inclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists in transportation projects, with particular attention paid to transit riders and people of all ages and abilities – essentially, a Complete Streets policy. In his blog, LaHood stated that “this is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.” Now it is more critical than ever to achieve a federal Complete Streets law. Please continue to use the Advocacy Network to urge your legislators to support Complete Streets legislation.

Good Urbanism 101

Good Urbanites,

Thanks for your support and interest of past Good Urbanism courses and events. Our Spring 2010 course has been scheduled and I hope that you will share this information with your coworkers and contacts. Richard Dagenhart, Doug Allen, and David Green will again be our lecturers and we have some new material which will add to the enjoyment of the class. We have an added focus on density and will be utilizing the classic work of Jane Jacobs as outside reading and a last class discussion topic. Registrants will receive a copy of The Death and Life of Great American Cities as part of the course material package. Please see the information below for more details. Feel free to contact me with any questions. 

I appreciate your help in spreading the word about this spring’s class!

Sincerely,

Katherine

GOOD URBANISM 101: Lessons for Designing Cities
Tuesday and Thursday evenings, April 15-May 4, 2010
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

What is Good Urbanism 101?

Good Urbanism 101 is a six-session course on quality urban design. Learn about the history, principles, and current practices of urban design, including an emphasis on walkability, integration of alternative transportation options, sustainability, and the relationship between urban infrastructure and the urban experience. Join the Georgia Conservancy’s Growth Management Program and Georgia Tech professors David Green, Richard Dagenhart, and Doug Allen to learn about urban design and how different professions can collaborate to improve the city of Atlanta and its region. The professors will be joined by different guests each week who are professionals and experts in their field.

Each of the six sessions will explore a different theme and set of issues that are crucial to the development of the built environment today. These themes include platting and subdivision, street design and transportation, zoning, and urban design. The course contextualizes urban issues in the history of urban design while paying special attention to the specific challenges facing Atlanta.

The courses will be presented in informal PowerPoint lectures with questions welcomed at any time.

Sessions will include handouts and time for questions and discussion. Every session will include a midway break with light snacks available. However, meals are not provided and attendees are encouraged to brown bag, given the evening time of the classes.

Who should attend?

Anyone interested in planning, designing and building a better Atlanta – neighborhood residents, government officials, engineers, non-profit advocacy and advisory groups, architects, landscape architects, planners, attorneys, financial professionals, developers, and real estate brokers.

Register Now! – Space is Limited

Instructors:

Richard Dagenhart is associate professor of architecture and urban design at Georgia Tech, where he teaches urban design seminars and studios in both the Architecture and City and Regional Planning programs and heads the master’s of science-Urban Design Program. He is an architect and city planner with more than 35 years’ experience in teaching, practicing and learning about urban design in the United States and across the globe.

David Green is an architect and professor of practice in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech, teaching urban design and architecture studios while also being involved in an emerging national and international urban design practice as associate principal with Perkins+Will in Atlanta. He has been involved in all stages of urban design practice from urban design visions, neighborhood participation, zoning and subdivision processes and building design.

Doug Allen is professor and associate dean of the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech where he teaches the most popular course in the college, The History of Urban Form. His teaching focuses on the American City and American Landscape and includes undergraduate, master’s degree and Ph.D. students in architecture and city and regional planning. Prior to becoming associate dean, he maintained a landscape architecture practice, winning numerous awards in Atlanta and across the Southeast.

Continuing Education Credit:

In the past, we have been able to offer continuing education credits for some professions. We have been able to offer twelve (12) AIA Health, Safety, and Welfare and Sustainable Design Continuing Education Credits and twelve (12) AICP Certificate Maintenance Credits. For Professional Engineers and other fields that are self reporting, the Georgia Conservancy is happy to provide assistance. Our credits are still pending approval for Spring 2010, and we will update the website and inform registrants as we learn more.

Additional Information: Good Urbanism 101 is sponsored by the Georgia Conservancy in partnership with the Urban Design faculty in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech.

ALL PROCEEDS from Good Urbanism 101 support urban design education by giving scholarships or research assistantships to Georgia Tech urban design graduate students! Registration: Register Now!- Space is Limited General registration is $200, and registration for those seeking professional education credits will be $300.

Class Scholarships: We may be able to offer a limited number of scholarships for Good Urbanism 101. To be considered for a scholarship, you must be an employee or volunteer of a non-profit organization whose work involves transportation, urban design, housing, or related issues; a citizen member of a civic association, neighborhood planning unit, or planning or zoning commission; or be otherwise clearly involved in volunteer activities that involve the built environment. To apply, please provide a 500 word statement describing your interest in the class, how you will utilize the class lessons in your professional or personal life, and how you are involved in urban design issues. Application statements should be emailed to Katherine Moore, Georgia Conservancy, kmoore@gaconservancy.orgby March 31. You will be notified one week prior to the first class regarding your application, if the scholarship positions become available.

Location: 75 5th Street NW , Atlanta 30308 (Centergy Building at Tech Square in Midtown). Classes on April 15, 27, and 29 will be held in the 10th Floor conference room. Classes on April 20, 22 and May 4 will be held in the Hodges Conference Room of Suite 380.

Katherine Moore, AICP
Growth Management/Blueprints Program Manager
The Biltmore
Georgia Conservancy
817 West Peachtree Street, Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
404-876-2900 ext. 106
KMoore@gaconservancy.org