Sidewalks Can Make a Town a Neighborhood
We've forgotten the joy of roaming—and that driving our kids everywhere won't keep them safe.
By Carolyn V. Egan
Newsweek
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12333788/site/newsweek/According to my odometer, the grocery store is exactly 1.1 miles down the road from where I live in an emerging suburb that was a stretch of largely uninterrupted tobacco fields a mere 25 years ago. I walked this distance once in a spasm of self-recrimination, only to find my life at risk at every quirky bend along the route where cars are accustomed to their incautious rule.
My adventure yielded this startling revelation: I need a car to safely navigate my town, because—apart from a few new developments that sit like isolated cocoons—it lacks sidewalks. Most of us drive everywhere, no matter how near our destination. But in my childhood during the 1960s and '70s, the world was still accessible to pedestrians.
Some of my earliest memories are of me scurrying to keep pace with my mother as she pushed my sister in her baby carriage along the sidewalks across town. When I was older, I memorized every crack in the half mile of sidewalk linking my home to my grammar school. No school bus stopped traffic at every block to pick up children at their front doors. Nor did a parade of mothers wait in idling automobiles to cart their children home when the school bell sounded.
When I was little, the world was mine. I knew where the rainwater carved rivers in sand beds at the bottom of the hill before roiling to its final plunge down the storm drain. I knew the best street for a running slide in my winter boots. I knew the smell and look of spring as it quickened green upon the front lawns I passed. And I remember my heart quickening with it, in anticipation.
As I grew, I walked farther. I walked to and from more-distant schools. I walked to my first jobs, to my friends' houses, to the movies. Sidewalks enabled these humming, skipping, thoughtful journeys, during which I came to know the corner stores, the old factory buildings, the smiling ladies hunched over their gardens along the meandering paths that twisted toward home. I knew the seasons of the geese that pierced the indigo sky and the seasons of the squirrels that clicked in solemn contest with hungry birds in gray branches. I knew which dogs would greet me and which would bark a warning; the cats that curled sweet tails around my legs; the mailmen who trudged—heads down—from house to house. All these things I knew and counted on.
I am told that nobody really cares about sidewalks; nobody wants to shovel them. Yet sidewalks—those evenly spaced concrete blocks—stitch a town into a neighborhood. They allow a physical experience of community while beckoning children to explore, to discover, to make friends three blocks away. For kids today, geography is understood from the back seat of a car, rather than through the scents and textures of heart-beating, muscle-flexing, self-motivated expeditions that connect one place to another, one person to another. The destination has displaced the journey.
Parents have become slaves to their children's schedules, terrified to let their offspring out of sight. New houses are huge, enclosing all of life. They're connected by technological portals to the outside world, making an abstraction of everything beyond their walls.
We worry about the safety of our children if we let them loose to wander sidewalks, even while we hear more and more stories of predators on the highways and byways of the Internet. We have forgotten that we cannot protect our children by telling them to hop in and buckle up. Our children do not develop the instincts to discern and avoid danger from the back seat of an automobile. We deprive them of self-mastery by insulating them from very cold and very hot temperatures, from rain, from wind. They do not know who they are without a plan, without a ride. While we encourage dependence in our children by chauffeuring them everywhere, we also encourage in them habits of selfishness and parochialism. Adult maturity is rooted in the unstructured roaming of childhood.
Sidewalks are becoming nostalgic artifacts of a time before three- or four-car families. To me, their absence represents disturbing changes in the way we connect to one another—and the habits, values and capacities we bequeath to our children.
It troubles me to wonder where the sidewalk really ends.
Egan lives in South Windsor, Conn.
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.
Latest Harrison County Planner magazine published
Ohio State University published their latest planning newsletter on April 17th 2006
If you have followed the current Harrison County planning process since January, you will be aware that the OSU team publish an occasional newsletter detailing progress and events.
The latest edition was published yesterday.
Headlines include:-
- Henderson Point and Pineville selected to receive planning assistance
- Ohio planning team holds Town Hall Meetings in DeLisle and Saucier
- Harrison County officials visit Ohio
- Modular housing factory tour
- Zoning Team charges forward with plans for implementing the Community Plans
The following
proposed zoning improvements may be of particular interest to readers:-
Dark Skies Ordinance
- Intended to reduce light pollution, preserving visibility of the sky and stars at night
- Light is concentrated where it is needed
- Reduces energy waste
- Does not impair safety
Commercial Zoning
- Distinguish between different intensities of commercial activity
- Create separate zone for big-box retail and other high traffic uses
Modular Housing
- A method of constructing woodframe housing in a controlled environment and assembling it on a desired site.
- Currently permitted by right in the R-3 district and allowed with a conditional use permit in the A-1, E-1 and R-2 districts.
- Zoning team is determining options for permitting modular housing in other zoning districts.
This and previous editions of the newsletter can be accessed from the links on the right of this page, under the heading "NEWS - Harrison County Planner".
Clintonville Farmer's Market
Here's how one new Farmer's Market in Ohio is flourishing
Planning for The Clintonville Farmers’ Market began in the winter and spring of 2003, by a group of Clintonville residents who were eager to obtain local produce and have a personal connection with the farmers/producers who grow it. Since the first Clintonville Farm Market day in 2003, thousands have patronized the Market and experienced the wonderful flavors and colors of locally produced fruits, vegetables, baked goods, beef and poultry.
Farmers at The Clintonville Farmers’ Market are “niche” farmers. This means they don’t produce everything the cook requires but every product they produce is top quality. Produce sold at the Market is truly fresh! It is picked less than 24 hours before the opening moments of the Market. Participating farmers live and grow their products within 15-75 miles of Columbus. The produce at a farmers’ market is grown for flavor, taste and nutrition—not for travel.
The way I see it, it makes sense to spend money on wholesome good food now, instead of medical bills due to poor nutrition later. When I encounter someone who expresses concern about the cost of good food, I remind them that they are worth it!! Your body knows the difference between quality food and junk food…so nourish yourself well.
Thank you for patronizing the Clintonville Farmers’ Market. We are grateful to be a part of this vibrant community!
Eat Well & Prosper,
Lynne Genter
Farm Market Manager
New urbanism plan brings award to OSU
Posted in today's Lantern
Trey-Tyler Harte
Issue date: 4/17/06 Section: Campus
Ohio State's Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture's city and regional planning program won the 2006 Excellence in Economic Development Planning award for its work on plans to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Saucier area of Harrison County, Miss.
The community plan for Saucier, Miss., incorporates suggestions from residents with "principles of new urbranism," said Amelia Costanzo, graduate student and Saucier planning team member.
Costanzo said one extraordinary feature of the plan is an incubator facility, where a business such as a small bakery could get started, then move into a more permanent storefront after becoming successful.
Residents attended town meetings to voice their opinions and vote on what is important for their own community.
"Some communities are interested in getting back to the way it was before the hurricanes," program manager Jennifer Evans-Cowley said. "The residents (of Saucier) wanted more economic opportunity and growth in identified areas, reflecting the wants of the community rather than the wants of developers."
New urbanism integrates the components of a traditional community into a diverse, condensed area that is distinct, stylish and functional. Businesses, schools and offices are all within walking distance. Streets are pedestrian friendly and are tree-lined with hidden parking garages. Homes, apartments and condominiums are mixed in size and price to be affordable to a wide range of people with different backgrounds and incomes. An example of new urbanism that is recognizable to most Central Ohioans, although on a larger scale, is Easton Town Center.
Evans-Cowley said the Saucier Community Improvement Association has already begun to actively implement the plan, which is important.
"National recognition brings attention which brings support," she said. " It makes citizens more excited in participating (in the process)."
When asked about the award, Harrison County Director of Zoning Patrick Bonck said he is excited for OSU and Saucier.
Two members of the OSU planning team, Costanzo and Justin Goodwin, will accept the award during the annual American Planning Association conference in San Antonio, Texas April 24. The award comes with a $1,000 prize that the team will use to distribute more printed versions of the plan to residents and for newsletters that will be handed out in the community, Evans-Cowley said.
Graduate students in any major interested in participating in the city and regional planning program, which will be working in two other areas of Harrison County this fall, should apply by May 15. Accepted students will be registered for a 10-credit-hour class and will have the opportunity to visit the area in September and December. Contact Jennifer Evans-Cowely via email at cowley.11@osu.edu for more details.
CRP students receive award from American Planning Association
Ohio State Student team who worked on the Saucier Community Plan win award against professional teams
From KSA News, 4th April 2006
The Economic Development Division of the American Planning Association announced that The Ohio State University City and Regional Planning Program has been selected to receive the 2006 Excellence in Economic Development Planning for its Community Plan for Saucier, Mississippi.
The OSU planning team traveled to Mississippi in January and March to work with the citizens of Saucier to create a community plan to guide their growth over the next twenty years. While this community received wind damage from Hurricane Katrina, it was outside of the storm surge zone and is already housing many people who fled the water-ravaged areas.
The Community Plan recognizes the need for job creation in Saucier, while protecting its rural character. More than 60 percent of the residents of Saucier commute more than 30 minutes to work each way, based on the 2000 Census. The plan calls for an increase in development in the town center, along with specific areas of development along transportation corridors. The plan calls attention to the numerous planned transportation highway projects including State Highway 67, the upgrading of US Highway 49, and the planned Route 601 corridor. Transportation access is a key element in economic development.
Jennifer Evans-Cowley, project manager stated, “The citizens of Saucier recognize growth is coming, especially with the new highways that will be coming through the community, we have asked them to make hard choices about where growth is appropriate.” Citizens most recently voted on their preferences for areas of growth at a March 21st town hall meeting in Saucier. Following the meeting, the planning team returned to Ohio to complete the final plan. The plan will be presented to Saucier and the County later this month.
Steve Howard, Vice-President of the newly formed Saucier Community Improvement Association (SCIA) stated, “It’s wonderful to see OSU is getting the recognition it deserves. They have done a wonderful job in helping the Saucier community.” The SCIA was created at the recommendation of the community plan to assist in the implementation of the plan recommendations.
The presentation of this award will take place at the Economic Development Division's Annual Meeting at the American Planning Association Conference in San Antonio on Monday, April 24th. Amelia Costanzo and Justin Goodwin, two members of the Saucier planning team will be accepting the award in San Antonio.
To date, OSU has been working with the communities of DeLisle and Saucier to create community plans that reflect the communities’ visions for their future. “The volunteer effort of the faculty and students at OSU has provided desperately needed planning assistance to this County. Their efforts have helped extend the planning efforts of the Mississippi Renewal Forum into the unincorporated areas of Harrison County. I am so pleased to see their work recognized at the national level,” Patrick Bonck Zoning Administrator for Harrison County.
The OSU team will return to Harrison County, Mississippi later this year to work with the communities of Henderson Point and Pineville to create community plans. The teams’ ongoing efforts are funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Universities Rebuilding American Partnership Program.
More information about the Saucier Community Plan and OSU’s efforts in Harrison County can be found at
http://www.co.harrison.ms.us/departments/zoning/downloads.asp
Gulfport's Opposition to Raised Highway Meets Resistance
"Don't be blinded by Wayne Brown's lack of vision"
From Today's Sun Herald
Wayne Brown has yet again made it crystal clear to South Mississippians that when it comes to building roads, it's MDOT's way or no highway.
In response to overwhelming opposition to an elevated roadway slicing through the west side of downtown Gulfport, Brown has said, in effect:
• Well, you can't please everybody.
• The west side of downtown Gulfport isn't all that much to look at now, so why not bury the area under a high-rise highway.
• There's no need to bother considering the economic and cultural consequences of such a project because MDOT's mission is to improve traffic, not lives.
• There's no need to consider building a less expensive road that would enrich a community when you've got the tax money to build an extravagant road - even if building it would cheapen a community.
Brown is the elected representative from South Mississippi on the state Transportation Commission, which oversees the Mississippi Department of Transportation. It would be hard to overstate his importance in rebuilding this hurricane-ravaged area. And it would be hard to overstate how misguided he has been in meeting that responsibility.
Brown, himself an engineer, is unwilling or unable to see beyond the widest swath of concrete or asphalt that MDOT can slap down on the face of this state. But more and more South Mississippians are starting to see Brown's lack of vision for what it is - an obstacle to their recovery that must be removed.
Latest version of the Saucier Community Plan available for download
Jennifer Evans Cowley of Ohio State University yesterday announced...
...that the latest version of the
Saucier Community Plan is available from download from the
Harrison County Zoning web site.
Please note that the file is a 13 Mb download, so it will taks some time to download, especially if you are on dialup!
Click here to view the report, or right-click this text and select Save Target As to download it to your computer.
