Posts about Appearances

As Curt explained, the urban conversation in Indianapolis hasn't come as far as it has here. As a result, Urban Indy plays a large role in introducing Indianans to planning concepts. Curt recounted an instance where the print media came to him about a bike path. He was able to help the reporter (and the readers) to get the terminology right and understand was was at stake.

And that's really how I see the role of Greater Greater Washington. Not as a way of bringing people over to our opinion, but as a way to give people the tools they need to be a productive participant in the conversation.

And while transforming the dialog is a great thing, social media can fill other roles, too. Metro's Nat Bottigheimer mentioned in a panel an idea for a social media network geared toward transit users. It could let transit riders share their experiences, and could help new riders to learn how to get started. While a new social medium may or may not be forthcoming, it is possible to leverage the platforms that already exist.

We heard from representatives of several public sector agencies about the role social media plays in their communication strategies. The Utah Transit Authority has a strong presence in cyberspace; using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare, YouTube, and with three blogs catering to different user groups.

I was impressed with the idea of using Foursquare and blogging to help riders (and potential riders) find things they could use transit to get to. Foursquare has always been one of the social media tools I've not found much use for. But as a spatial tool, it could prove helpful to transit agencies.

UTA's representative, Tauni Everett, also talked about using Twitter to engage the public. A recent spate of hearings about a fare hike drew less than 20 attendees to the 7 meetings held in the six-county UTA service area. But an online public hearing using Twitter generated hundreds of comments, all of which were counted in the public record.

We also heard from people from goDCgo and Nashville's MPO about different initiatives to reach out and use new tools. For planning to be effective, it needs public participation. In today's fast-paced world, it can be difficult to engage people in traditional ways. Using social media is proving to be a way to connect with new voices and regular participants alike.

In our region, agencies are using new strategies for communication as well. Metro, for example, has started to engage riders on Twitter. And the planning department there has started its own blog to help broaden the dialogue.

How do you see the role of social media and blogging as a part of the planning conversation? How could agencies like DDOT and WMATA improve? And what's the next generation of social media?

Most of it focuses on the traditional environmental subjects, like reducing trash, cutting down on rare metals, saving water and home weatherization.

Those are all very important, though in recent years the environmental debate has broadened to include the larger issues of land use and transportation. We use 20-25% of our energy on transportation alone, so no discussion of reducing ecological footprints can be complete without discussing transport.

The article says,

It wasn't long ago that the idea of using "green" and "city" in the same sentence seemed absurd. Cities were considered a blight on the environment: energy-hogging, pollution-spewing, garbage-producing environmental hellholes. But in recent years, they've begun to be seen as models of green virtue. City dwellers tend to walk more and drive less than their suburban counterparts, and dense urban development encourages transit use. Apartment living generally means lower per-household energy use.

This is an important shift. Certainly more pollution and waste are created per square mile in cities, but that's because they have more people; each individual person has lower impact in a city than outside. A fixed set of people is more sustainable the fewer acres they collectively use.

At one point, some viewed the ideal sustainable lifestyle as one where a small bubble of trees and grass surrounds each household. But instead, that just means a lot of heating and cooling energy is wasted to that bubble, and we spend far more energy moving among them.

Not everyone has yet come around to that view. During the Q&A for one of the panels, an audience member criticized a trend in Arlington where some property owners are enlarging their houses, or additional dwelling units or in-law suites to their homes. She said that is creating a less sustainable form of living.

If people just enlarge houses to accommodate a separate media room, that certainly doesn't make the home greener, though the effect is probably small. However, if the change allows for more residents, such as more children, family members, or a second family, it's one of the greenest things we can do.

In his talk, Chris Zimmerman noted that Arlington residents drive about 25-50% less per person on average than residents of Montgomery, Prince George's, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William. I suspect that's largely because they start their days much closer to their jobs, and also are far more likely to have transit options.

The day's conversations included plenty of talk about improving stormwater treatment, weatherizing homes, and even the ways the Smithsonian cuts down on energy use by allowing more temperature variation in its exhibits where that won't damage the artifacts, but the biggest focus looked at the overall shape of our region, its cities and towns, and the agricultural areas which are or aren't preserved. The way we grow in the future is likely to be the most significant factor in how sustainable a region we have for generations to come.

After I speak, the event will continue with a series of great panels throughout the day, featuring such GGW friends as Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, DC and Montgomery County planning directors Harriet Tregoning and Rollin Stanley, Brookings scholar and author Christopher Leinberger, and Councilmember Tommy Wells.

The above video will show the live stream from the seminar all day. Afterward, the Smithsonian will create an archived video, and I'll post it in place of the stream.

Other panels will follow, with many great people including Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, DC and Montgomery County planning directors Harriet Tregoning and Rollin Stanley, Councilmember Tommy Wells, and Brookings scholar and author Christopher Leinberger.

Hack Day: Saturday is also the Mobility Lab's Hack Day for coders interested in working on projects that help people better understand their transportation choices or otherwise using open transit data and open geo data to make better tools.

Next week are several interesting forums that explore key issues in our region.

Redefining security (Monday): NCPC is conducting a forum on September 12 about redefining security a decade after 9/11. How can the federal government balance its security needs with the responsibility of creating useful and accessible public spaces?

The forum is 6:30-8 pm at the US Department of Commerce Auditorium, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW (enter through the main doors on 14th Street). RSVP here. And in advance of the forum, NCPC has a page where you can submit examples of great or examplary or abhorrent security facilities in the region.

Maryland transportation funding (Tuesday): This month's Action Committee for Transit meeting, on September 13, will focus on Maryland's transportation funding challenges.

WABA regional stakeholder meetings (Tuesday): WABA also kicks off a series of regional discussions with stakeholders, to set its priorities and lead up to a big November 3 summit. The first one, on September 13, is in Greenbelt, followed in successive weeks by Kensington, Shirlington, Alexandria, DC Ward 7 and Vienna.

Historic preservation plan (Tuesday): DC's historic preservation office is updating their 5-year historic preservation plan, and wants public input. You can read draft goals created by HPO and bring your input.

Park(ing) Day (Friday): Park(ing) Day started as a guerrilla street project to temporarily turn a street parking space into a little park. Efforts to legally bring it to DC encountered ridiculous bureaucracy, but this year Casey Trees is organizing their own little park at New Hampshire and Q, NW from 8 am to 5 pm on September 16.

Go car-free, try transit: The following Friday is Car-Free Day, where people pledge to go car free for the day of September 22. You can sign the pledge even if you already won't use a car that day.

In case you read this blog but haven't tried transit, the entire week is Try Transit Week with its own pledge; a lucky pledger could win a year of free transit or free trips on Amtrak.

And...: Other events next week include book talk on Brooklyn gentrification (Tuesday, $18), and a public meeting on the Virginia Avenue tunnel (Thursday).

Parsons was a co-author of the transportation priority study I criticized and has started a new organization to lobby on transportation. He and Bob Chase touted the study on TBD last week, so Bruce DePuyt had Stewart and me on to discuss the issue further.

Which arguments did you find most persuasive, on either side of the issue?

Also, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton appeared in the second half of the hour to discuss the recent Walmart ruling, Congressional budget riders that affect DC, and rallies at the White House.

Listen live here. Call in with questions to 800-433-8850 or tweet them to @kojoshow.

Update: The archived audio is here.