Someday Reads..as in someday I will read when…
As the news director for Scaledown, I collect far more articles than I post in my weekly News blog, there is just not enough space! Some of the articles are just to long to post, knowing that people lose interest if they are just browsing for info. So, I came up with the idea of a “not scheduled blog” for some of the other articles that I fine called, Someday Reads, as in Someday I will read that when I have time to read but aren’t in a hurry to read!
This first issue of sorts comes from articles I have collected from Newgeography one of my favourite websites to visit and which I get daily alerts from.
EXURBAN GROWTH GREATER THAN CENTRAL GROWTH: CENSUS BUREAU
The US Bureau of the Census has just released an analysis of suburbanization showing that the nation continues to suburbanize, despite the consistent media “spin” that people are leaving the suburbsto move to core cities.
The report, Population Change in Central and Outlying Counties of Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2000 to 2007, goes further than our previous 2000 to 2008 analysis that showed strong domestic outmigration from central countiesto suburban counties and beyond.
This is a US study with great maps and I am wondering if this is true in Canada.
FARMLAND PRICES: THE COST OF GROWING A SUBURB
Summer in Minnesota – land of 10,000 lakes — is, for many families, about boating, with the Harley the preferred mode of ground transportation. In winter, snow mobiles are popular. Hunting and fishing replace the corner coffee shops as hangouts. Three car garages are considered a minimum – four even better!
So how did it come to pass that out-of-control land prices would destroy the economics of housing in this small-town region? And why was the pattern repeated in markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix?
SPECIAL REPORT: INFILL IN US URBAN AREAS
One of the favored strategies of current urban planning is “infill” development. This is development that occurs within the existing urban footprint, as opposed that taking place on the fringe of the urban footprint (suburbanization). For the first time, the United States Bureau of the Census is producing data that readily reveals infill, as measured by population growth, in the nation’s urban areas.
2000 Urban Footprint Populations
The new 2007 estimates relate to urban areas or urban footprints as defined in 2000 and are produced by the American Community Survey program of the Bureau of the Census. Urban areas are the continuous urbanization that one would observe as the lights of a “city” on a clear night from an airplane. It is the extent of development from one side of the urban form to the other. Further, urban areas are notmetropolitan areas, which are always larger and are defined by work trip travel patterns. Metropolitan areas always include adjacent rural areas, while urban areas never do.
EUROPE: NO LONGER A ROLE MODEL FOR AMERICA
For decades many in the American political and policy establishment–including close supporters of President Obama–have looked enviously at the bureaucratic powerhouse of the European Union. In everything from climate change to civil liberties to land use regulation, Europe long has charmed those visionaries, particularly on the left, who wish to remake America in its image.
“There is much to be said for being a Denmark or Sweden, even a Great Britain, France or Italy,” wrote political scientist Andrew Hacker in his 1971 book The End of the American Era .This refrain has been picked up again more recently by the likes of Washington Postreporter T.R. Reid and economist Jeremy Rifkin. Just last year, international relations scholar Parag Khanna shared his vision of a “shrunken” America lucky to eke out a meager existence between a “triumphant China” and a “retooled Europe.”
THE GEOGRAPHY OF CLASS IN GREATER SEATTLE
Most readers may not be initially very interested in the detailed geography of “class” in Seattle, but it actually matters not only for our area but for the whole debate over the shape of the urban future. Academics, perhaps Americans in general, are loath to admit to class differences, yet they remain very crucial to the understanding of how cities and regions evolve.
Seattle is a great example of the transformation of a 20th century model of the American metropolis to a 21st century-cum-19th century “old World” model of metropolis. It is often held up as one of the role models for other cities, so its experiences should be considered seriously not only for American cities but for regions throughout the advanced world.
Tags: Class structure, Europe, Exurban, farmland, Infill, Jeremy Rifkin, Newgeography, Seattle, Suburbs, urban planning
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My own “someday read” if you will..
I originally stumbled upon ScaleDown after living abroad for a year. When returning to Windsor I found myself questioning a lot of things we take for granted as “the norm”. I must also note that although I still often bemoaned being back in Windsor - as opposed to the scaledown-ish utopia that is pretty much any Japanese city where I’d lived - I also feel that this city has so much potential, and that any city is whatever we - it’s citizens - make of it.
I really would like to share some background with fellow SD’ers about cities in Japan - built around intricate veins of rail networks, narrow streets, and pedestrian-dominated districts that sprout outwards from their respective train/lrt/subway stations.
I’ve come across this article that I think serves as a good first-read from an SD’ers perspective about Japanese urban design, and thought I’d share it with you all:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1462&categoryid=8efaece9-9236-b5fb-398190195400eb5b&fuseaction=topics.events_item_topics&event_id=213928
Thanks for adding your “Someday Read” Tim, an interesting read. I also invite all other readers to add to this list or articles or websites that they find that may be of interest to us at Scaledown and our readers.