making the case for active communities reaching out to potential partners in government, business...
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Making the Case for Active Communities
Reaching out to potential partners in government, business and civic organizations
Building Active Communities InitiativeJanuary 8, 2014
Making the Case for Active Communities
Reaching out to potential partners in government, business and civic organizations
Building Active Communities InitiativeJanuary 8, 2014
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Webinar Agenda
• Trends• Why Plan?• Complete Streets• Your Audience• Organizing and
Outreach
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Smart Growth
Smart growth means building urban, suburban and rural communities with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools.
These strategies support thriving local economies and protect the environment.
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Trends
Riomaggiore, Italy
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The “silver tsunami”Projected Montana Pop. by Age Groupings
215,516215,351
191,309
160,909
192,115
129,243
247,769
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000
220,000
240,000
260,000
280,000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005
0-17
18-33
34-49
50-64
65+
Graph courtesy of Dr. Larry Swanson, O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, U. of Montana
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Cost per fixed route ride (FY 2010)• Bozeman: $2.27• Helena: $5.50• Butte: $5.00
Cost per demand-response ride (FY 2010)• Bozeman: $15.46• Peer group: $26
The “silver tsunami”
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U.S. Housing ProjectionsHousehold 1960 2000 2025
With children 48% 33 28
Without children 52 67 72
Single 13 26 28
U.S. as a whole Supply 2003 Change needed 2025
Attached 27 million 26 million more
Small Lot 22 million 30 million more
Large Lot (>7000 sq. ft.) 57 million 22 million less
Nelson, Arthur “Where Will Everybody Live?” EPA White Paper, Virginia Tech 2007
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Share of growth 2010-2030
• Households with children - 14%
• Households w/o children - 86%– Singles – 32%
Source: Arthur C. Nelson, Presidential Professor & Director, Metropolitan Research Center, University of Utah.Bozeman, MT
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Obesity Trends* Among US Adults
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• Obese men rack up an additional $1,152 a year in medical spending, especially for hospitalizations and prescription drugs
• Obese women account for an extra $3,613 a year
• Among the uninsured: annual medical spending for an obese person was $3,271 compared with $512 for the non-obese
Obesity Trends Among US Adults
Source: Cawley and Chad Meyerhoefer, Lehigh University, Journal of Health Economics
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0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00%
Less than $10,000
$10,000 to $14,999
$15,000 to $24,999
$25,000 to $34,999
$35,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $199,999
$200,000 or more
Housing affordability
About 2/3 of Missoula families can’t afford to buy median priced home
American Community Survey
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What is our children’s inheritance?
• Old?• Fat?• Broke?• Alone?
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Some recent, more hopeful trends
– The younger generation sees cars as a burden not a ticket to freedom
– Aging baby boomers want a more active and less isolated lifestyle
– Large lot housing in suburban areas is overbuilt – Other housing choices in all price brackets are
under-built– People are willing to trade house size for
proximity to key destinations
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Why Plan?
Old City Hall, Bellevue, ID
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Trend is not destiny.
-Lewis Mumford
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Why plan?
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
-Benjamin Franklin
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Why plan?
“Have a plan. Follow the plan and you’ll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don’t have a plan. That’s why it is easy to beat most folks.”
- Paul “Bear” Bryant
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Why plan?
• Respond to an evolving market
• Provide housing and transportation choice
• Make efficient use of infrastructure
• Preserve open space• Protect critical environmental
areas and sensitive land• Reduce urban runoff• Reduce vehicle miles traveled
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The way we design and build our communities has enormous consequences
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1. The market is changing, especially for housing
2. The recipe for economic growth is changing
3. We can no longer afford to use tax money to subsidize inefficiency
We must be aware of 3 important factors affecting the future of our
communities
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THE CHANGING MARKET
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Your community is changing
and preferences and the
market are following.
THE CHANGING MARKET
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Your community is changing
• There are two demographic changes that are driving the market and must drive your decision making.– The rise of the Millenials.– The aging of the Baby Boomers.
THE CHANGING MARKET
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Demographic change and the labor force
Greatest Generation Baby Boomers Gen X Millenials0
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
80,000,000
90,000,000
POPULATIONLABOR FORCE
PROSPERITY
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Your community is changing
1960 2000 20250%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
52%
67%
72%
households with children
households without children
Households with and without children, 1960-2025
THE CHANGING MARKET
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The market: Housing
THE CHANGING MARKET
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How will your community meets the needs of
millennials and aging boomers in order to improve your
competitiveness?
THE CHANGING MARKET
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PROSPERITY
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The nature of the economy is changing and so is the role of
communities in economic growth.
PROSPERITY
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PROSPERITY
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The Network City(city as network)
PROSPERITY
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The rise of the millennials and the global economy
are driving the economy.
PROSPERITY
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The labor force
• Millenials choose where to live before finding a job.– 64% looked for a job after they chose the city
where to live. (Source: U.S. Census)
• How people want to work is changing and where they want to work is changing.
PROSPERITY
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The labor force
From office space….
PROSPERITY
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The labor force
….to office settings.
Research Triangle Park, Raleigh, NC
Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
PROSPERITY
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Businesses respond to changing preferences
• Across the country corporations are responding to employee preferences and moving to the talent.
• They are choosing to relocate from suburban offices to downtown locations.
PROSPERITY
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Businesses respond to changing preferences
Zappos, Las Vegas, NV
Hillshire, Chicago, IL
PROSPERITY
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How can your community take advantage of the
changing nature of the economy in order to create
jobs and wealth?
FISCAL HEALTH
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FISCAL HEALTH
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How communities
develop affects
costs and revenue.
FISCAL HEALTH
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Municipal budgets
• Municipal budgets are feeling pressure• State and federal funds are disappearing• Costs are escalating• Tax bases have shrunk
FISCAL HEALTH
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Municipal budgets
• A large portion of municipal budgets go to infrastructure and services. – building and maintaining roads, bridges,
sewer and water lines, etc– providing fire and police services, trash
removal, paratransit, etc
FISCAL HEALTH
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Municipal budgets
• Costs are not just infrastructure related but also operations and maintenance.
• Burden usually falls on taxpayers.
FISCAL HEALTH
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Municipal budgets
• You have to spend on these things.
• You need to ensure that you are spending those funds in the most effective and efficient manner.
• Budgets are not just financial documents – they reveal our goals and what we value.
FISCAL HEALTH
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Development affects costs
• When it comes to infrastructure costs…– Compact development development is the
best deal.– Low-density suburban development rarely
pays for itself.– It makes sense to reuse existing
infrastructure.
FISCAL HEALTH
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Development affects costs
FISCAL HEALTH
Building infrastructure to serve new development on the fringe can cost the city up to three times more per acre than urban infill development.
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Development affects costs
• Compact development offers efficiencies in regards to services as well.– Police and fire
departments have less area to cover.
– Fewer miles of road to cover for snow removal and trash pickup.
FISCAL HEALTH
Aspen, CO (photo courtesy City of Aspen)
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Development affects revenue
FISCAL HEALTH
• When it comes to revenue…– Compact development is the best deal.– Low-density suburban development generates
much less per acre revenue.– You can increase your property tax base
significantly simply by bringing back areas that already exist
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Development affects revenue
FISCAL HEALTH
• The revenue side of things is affected as well.
Multifamily housing in near an area’s center can generate nine times more revenue per acre than traditional large-lot, single-family housing on the fringe.
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Development affects costs
FISCAL HEALTH
Building infrastructure to serve new development on the fringe can cost the city up to three times more per acre than urban infill development.
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Development affects revenue
FISCAL HEALTH
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,000
Municipal property tax yield (per acre) 2011 Raleigh, NC
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Development affects revenue
FISCAL HEALTH
Denser development can carry an entire city financially
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Can your community continue to
subsidize inefficiencies ofdevelopment patterns, while not reaping the
potential reward?
FISCAL HEALTH
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Complete Streets
Wilkinsburg, PA
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We know how to build right
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We know how to build right
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Yet too many roads still turn out like this:
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or this:
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or this:
Smart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide.
www.smartgrowthamerica.org
1707 L St. NW Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-207-3355
The Solution:
Complete Streets Policies
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Complete Streets policies
A Complete Streets policy ensures that the entire right of way is planned, designed, operated and maintained to provide safe access for all users.
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Many Types: Rural to Urban
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Policy adoption accelerates
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Policies adopted in all types of communities
State Complete Streets policies
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www.completestreets.org/atlas
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Streets Can Benefit Communities
• Improve safety• Provide choices• Better health• Support economic dev.
• Reduce costs• Manage congestion• Smarter growth• Conserve resources
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Complete Streets means:
• A policy approach
• A change to the everyday decision-making processes and systems
• Long-term changes to built environment N. Higgins, Missoula, MT (photo courtesy WGM Group)
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Complete Streets doesn’t mean:
• One ‘special’ street project
• A design prescription
• A mandate for immediate retrofit
• A silver bullet; other issues must be addressed:– Land use (proximity, mixed-use)
– Environmental concerns
– Transportation Demand Management
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What about funding?
• Complete streets is about using existing resources differently
• While retrofit funding is important, it is not necessary to get started
• Additional funding is not needed
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Think Ahead, Think Smart
• Complete Streets can save money
• Narrower travel lanes require less land, less pavement
• Provide more options = reduce need for widening some intersections
• Do it right the first time, not when forced to later – at a higher price
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Complete Streets Resources
• Fact sheets, photos, brochures
• Policy tracking & examples
• Information on technical assistance & workshops
• Complete Streets blog and monthly newsletter
• Links to research & publications
• Complete Streets Best Practices
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Mesa Verde, CO
Your Audience
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There are three kinds of people when it comes to sustainable communities
• The friendly people who agree with you and want to work with you
• The undecided who can be and need to be persuaded
• The hardcore opponents who will never agree with you and are trying to derail you
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The undecided
• The people in the middle. • The people you need to focus on with your
message. • They may be elected officials or engaged
community members• You need to be talking with them, calming any
fears they have and responding to their questions. • Get your message to the undecideds FIRST
before the third type of person (hardcore opposition) has a chance to.
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Some people will pick apart the project if it appears predetermined
• Organized groups show up at meetings and make themselves heard.
• They are calm people with legitimate sounding concerns.
• As long as people want to have a constructive conversation about their concerns, they ABSOLUTELY should be listened to and addressed
• These people are in the middle – they need to be persuaded
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The role of “fear” in today’s discourse
• Be prepared to hear some opposition that includes fears and being afraid of change.
• RESPECT people’s fears, don’t disregard them.
• Offer solutions to allay those fears, and reassure people that they are in charge of their own community
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Messaging Vulnerabilities
• Indications of a predetermined outcome or preference
• Outsiders/federal government
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Positive Messaging: the talking points YOU WANT to deliver
Be proactive.
You want to consistently reinforce: “This is a community driven process in which we decide what our future should look like.”
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Positive Messaging: the talking points YOU WANT to deliver
Role of Government
• “The government is going to spend my tax dollars no matter what, I’m here to get a say in how they’re spent.”
• “This is a democratic process, driven by the community, so we can decide what we want our future to look like.”
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Positive Messaging: the talking points YOU WANT to deliver
Property Rights
• “When you make decisions that increase congestion, raise my taxes, and increase the school load, then you impact my property rights.”
• “We have always been a land of rights AND responsibilities.”
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Positive Messaging: the talking points YOU WANT to deliver
Community’s Future• “A community that fails to plan will face more
congestion, traffic and higher taxes.”• “I want my children and grandchildren to be
able to live here.”• “Making our community attractive and
preparing for growth allows businesses to know what to expect and plan for their future.”
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Positive Messaging: the talking points YOU WANT to deliver
Personal Stories
• Why you love your town/city/area
• Why sustainability is important to you
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What is the opposition to Sustainable Communities?
• Organized opposition– American Policy Center– John Birch Society– The Antiplanner– Freedom 21
• Agenda 21 conspiracy– UN– ICLEA
• Against– Planning– Anything “green”– Facilitated meetings– Conservation easements– Preservation– Consensus
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Opposition’s Messaging
– United Nation’s Agenda 21, New World Order,
– The three “E”s: Environment, Equity, Economy
– “Sustainability”, climate change is a hoax– Federal government coming in and taking
your land away– Social engineering designed to make us all
live in dense city apartments, get rid of cars
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Why the attacks?
• Primary Reasons:– Audience is very skeptical of government and
is responsive to an anti-smart growth message
– Organizational and messaging failures by coalitions
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Anticipating the OppositionThem on Them Them on You
You on Them You on You
Your main message.
Their criticism.Their main message.
Your response to get back to your message.
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Opposition Messaging
• “I’m here to stick up for my property rights and to maintain my freedoms.”
• “I want to be able to live the lifestyle I want without anyone coming and telling me how to change to meet their ideals.”
Them on Them Them on You
You on Them You on You
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Opposition Messaging• “You want to change the zoning to take away
my property rights so it will be impossible for me to sell my land later.”
• “Government has no place in making decisions like this.”
• “This is an illegitimate process, driven by socialists at the U.N.”
Them on Them Them on You
You on Them You on You
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Opposition Messaging
Them on Them Them on You
You on Them You on You
• “We can use this process to make decisions to protect our property rights and control our destiny.” • “This will help our businesses and our economy.” • “Disrupting this process means that others don’t get the freedom to participate in our local process.”
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Opposition Messaging
Them on Them Them on You
You on Them You on You
• “This is our community’s planning process, and we all deserve the right to be heard.”• “We need to plan for our future. This is an opportunity for everyone to share their ideas and priorities for our community.”• “I want to be a part of this to make sure my great community is there for my kids and grandkids.”
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Organizing and Outreach
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Organizational Failures
• Lack of friendly audience participants
• No strong moderator
• Weak coalition
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Organizing and Outreach
• Develop working groups for your project
• Meet regularly with closest partners
• Offer resources, ideas, materials to partners (don’t always ask, offer as well)
• Have ONE point of contact
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Before the meeting…
Who are the Participants?
What is the Format?
What is the Venue?
Possible Questions?
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Planning for conflict
Prepare LearnAlignNegotiate
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Planning for conflict
Prepare LearnAlignNegotiate
Prepare appropriately
Lean about attendees and listen for potential conflicts
Align with others
Negotiate with those who might raise concerns or surface conflicts
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Planning for conflict
• Break into groups
• Have people write down thoughts individually
• Tell people they can have host their own meeting if they do not want to participate productively in yours
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Next steps and practical application
• Make your websites and public documents in plain language, not planner or engineer industry terms.
• If you received a funding grant from the federal gov’t, don’t just post the grant docs and think that equals outreach.
• KNOW if opposition is organizing• Plan ahead to anticipate challenges
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Webinar Agenda
• Trends• Complete Streets• Your audience• Organizing and
outreach
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We have the freedom to make informed, humane, and intelligent choices about the kind of world we want to leave for our children and grandchildren. We also have the freedom to make uninformed, selfish, and stupid choices. Which will it be? - Greg Pahl
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Thank you!
www.smartgrowthamerica.org