Transect Based Planning

[Chandra]

What do you envision to be the economic engine that is going to provide the salaries for people to live in these contrived communities?

I don't have the answer to that, but I believe this county has a lot of potential and my understanding is that transect based planning will encourage and provide support for economic development.

I've just got to ask--is the ultimate goal a sales pitch to the county to provide some sort of funding for consultation on "New Urbanist" planning? Or is the goal just to put new zoning in place to accommodate this plan for the future with no cost to the taxpayer.

Again, I don't know the answer to that either. What I do know is that the county is in the process of amending the EAR and a group of concerned citizens have gathered together voluntarily to offer comments and suggestions to the Planning Department about incorporating transect based planning into the Comp. Plan and Land Development Code. The goal was to take this opportunity of down time to plan for the future growth of Walton County. Implementing a transect based plan could be done over a period of time. I have to ask, when would you suggest that the Planning Department begin planning for the future?

Funding marketers, visionaries, architects and consultants to generate story boards, draw plans, and build "gee-whiz" models of these "Transect-Based New Urbanist" towns before there is a sustainable industry to support the folks who are to populate the towns is, in my opinion, putting the cart before the horse and not the best use of taxpayer money at this juncture.

I see it as sort of a chicken and egg thing. Without the infrastructure in place to support public transit, work force housing, and daily needs, why would any industry locate here?

 

[Beach Runner]

If you are looking for "real" places using this concept, Montgomery, AL and Pike Road, AL (just east of Montgomery) have both recently adopted the SmartCode, a particular version of a transect-based code.

What's the plan for Pike Road? All I see happening there lately are a CVS at the corner of Pike and Vaughn, a strip mall just behind it on Vaughn, a road widening at that intersection, and several ranches being turned into subdivisions (essentially large cul-de-sacs).

And the deterioration of Urban Grace.

Oh, and a new windsock at Bartlett International Airport. ;-)

 

[Kurt]

You know, it's kinda funny, long ago when I was growing up...DeFuniak Springs was such a place. There was a town center which had wonderful little shops, a bank, grocery story, hardware store, doctors office and hospital...there was a library and a school, restuarants and (before I was growing up) a grand hotel and a few smaller hotels...there was even a train and train station that worked.
There were houses and a few apts...and all of this was within walking distance!

Then, came interstate highways and shopping malls/strip malls...

interesting how things that used to be, are now being reinvented and called new.

I would love to see small towns like DeFuniak come back--and more towns like that built...I hope this movement has a positive effect on Walton County...and like Shelly I'd like to see the Economic Development section of the plan included.

Very good observations. New urbanists will sometimes say that what they do is really "old urbanism", albeit for modern times. The old small towns have mostly disappeared due to population growth and shifts, but they are still out there, and new ones are being created.

I don't know if the term "new urbanism" can live on because of the association with places like Seaside, but the consepts are true. The recent model of sprawl and consumption can not continue, and population will continue to rise while resources dwindle. There are no easy answers, but there is plenty of good work being done out there by very knowledgeable people.

 

[Sandy Sorlien]

transect based planning and agriculture

2 pages on transect and comprehensive environmental management
http://www.smartcodecomplete.com/documents/article_MiltRhodes.pdf

2 pages on transect as it relates to agriculture at varying scales. From what I?ve heard at recent Planning Commission meetings about the proposed FLUE (Future Land Use Element of Comp Plan) amendment, there is strong and very valid concern in the agricultural areas of Walton County about protecting farms and farmers from incursion, especially by residential development, and the inevitable complaints about spraying, dust, noise, farm odors, night harvesting, etc.
http://www.placemakers.com/library/AgriculturalTransect.pdf

Hi Susan,

The second link in your post goes to an out of date table - it's from 2003. For the latest initiatives on Agriculture see these two links:

Center for Applied Transect Studies (scroll down to bottom preview of ongoing work- enlarge the image and note agriculture sprinkled throughout the community, its form dependent on the character of the Transect Zone)

and here

SmartCode Central (The Module package includes a page called Food Production with a basic correlation to the transect.)

Also, just to respond quickly to a few other comments on the forum, this kind of planning isn't just for new communities. At least half of the projects done by new urbanists are infill. Many of the codes they write are protective of existing character, whether it is rural character or urban character or walkable sub-urban. (We use that hyphen to distinguish between suburban sprawl patterns and a sub-urban but walkable area that is close to mixed use.)

Regarding employment, yes, access to employment is critical. You might want to look at a regional sector plan where a Toyota plant landed in 80 sq miles of ag land in an annexed area of San Antonio. The map shows 48 Community Units to accommodate all the projected growth in that area so it didn't end up as sprawl, gobbling up all the ag land. The communities are located along existing roads and rail lines for the most part. Look for San Antonio City South here:

Center for Applied Transect Studies

There are other Sector plans on that page. Good luck with your efforts! It's a beautiful area- a cousin of mine retired to a pecan farm near DeFuniak Springs.

Cheers,
Sandy

PS The things that are "new" about new urbanism include accommodating the car without destroying the pedestrian public space (not an easy task) and adapting the new zoning codes to energy-efficient technologies, light imprint infrastructure, and more.

 

[Susan Horn]

Sandy,

Thanks for bringing out the newer information. There's so much out there, it's hard to keep up, especially when one is doing all this in one's "spare time" (that would be Yours Truly). But I'm not complaining. I love it that there is so much information about this at our fingertips, just for the googling.

 

[ASH]

Perhaps I need to do more homework to better understand all the intents of New urban design and its relationship to Transect Based Planning or perhaps it is because of what I have seen in this particular area. I cannot help but feel that these concepts target a wealthy, second home or vacation neighborhood versus common people primary residence.

Shelly, could this be where you are going with your questions about where will the people inhabiting these communities get their income. I sense that people cannot afford to live in these communities until their income is well into 6 figures and this isn't the mean income of most families. You're not going to make six figures selling candles or ice-cream.

I think my Wife and I might enjoy living in one of these communities, but I'd need to know it actually wasn't just a vacation destination, because a continued party atmosphere would get old. I'd want to know there will be many quiet evenings to sit out on the porch and enjoy the weather or to go for a stroll.

 

[SHELLY]

Shelly, could this be where you are going with your questions about where will the people inhabiting these communities get their income. I sense that people cannot afford to live in these communities until their income is well into 6 figures and this isn't the mean income of most families. You're not going to make six figures selling candles or ice-cream.

I think my Wife and I might enjoy living in one of these communities, but I'd need to know it actually wasn't just a vacation destination, because a continued party atmosphere would get old. I'd want to know there will be many quiet evenings to sit out on the porch and enjoy the weather or to go for a stroll.

I'm just trying to nail down the aims of this latest "New Urbanist" movement.

I believe the volunteer group's heart is in the right place--they're trying to establish a working-living town, with a town center, schools and jobs--a place where the teachers and shopkeepers can afford to buy a home and raise their kids, as well as the doctor, lawyer and injun chief (in larger homes with GCT & SSA of course)...and none have to drive a car to shop, work or play if they don't want to.

Sadly, what begins as a dream of average folks--with the backing of larger groups who like to use lots of mumbo-jumbo verbiage in describing their "vision"--turns into a sales pitch to counties to extract taxpayer dollars. The money goes to pay out-of-work architects and "consultants" to produce whiz-bang presentations of toon-town villages whose only means of revenue generation is (a) some pie-in-the-sky dream of a major industry relocating to the panhandle of Florida; or (b) the very same bunch of rich people that every other Toon-Town visionary is pulling out of their arses.

There appears to be an entire industry whose purpose is to provide workshops, books, training and consulting services for "Urbanism" and "Placemaking," and pitching these concepts to cities and towns across the US. Although I believe in theory their concepts are sound, in practice and especially in light of the new global economy, they are merely a revenue generator for the "Ism-industry."

The county already has more than its share of "contrived" communities, with faux downtowns and villages. Instead of thowing time and money away developing and producing a stack of brand new zoning regulations that will end up gathering dust on the shelf waiting for Microsoft to relocate to the coastal area of Florida :roll:--the money and time could be better used to fix the problems that we've got NOW.

Until the people who are pitching this dream can express their aim in a single sentence or two--AND in simple words so that the average person can grasp the concept and relative successful outcome of such a plan--I'll remain skeptical.

 

[Chandra]

Shelly, I can appreciate your skepticism. Perhaps there is a way for Walton County to plan for future growth (or prolonged contraction) of rural areas and towns where people can afford to live and have easy access to jobs, schools, etc., without using taxpayer money to pay out-of-work architects and consultants, while simultaneously creating diverse local economies.

I would like to extend an invitation to you and the lurkers of this thread, who have great ideas and problem solving skills, to please come out and get involved in any number of community organizations or grass roots efforts underway to create this place we dream of. There probably won?t be a Toyota, a Microsoft, or any other mega-employer moving to the Gulf Coast. We simply have to change the way we live and the sooner we get on with it, the better life will be.

 

[SHELLY]

I would like to extend an invitation to you and the lurkers of this thread, who have great ideas and problem solving skills, to please come out and get involved in any number of community organizations or grass roots efforts underway to create this place we dream of.

...what if the place that you dream of isn't the place that I dream of?

.

 

[Chandra]

...what if the place that you dream of isn't the place that I dream of?

.

Well, I see that once again my idealistic self went posting on SoWal, without consulting my realistic self. Thanks for pointing that out because you're question is of course valid. I'm reminded that not everyone dreams of living in or near a place that offers a diverse economy, easily accessible live/ work options, community, and access to preserved or agricultural land. Fair enough.

Going back to the idea of implementing a transect based plan in Walton County, without all the mumbo-jumbo industry speak. A transect based plan is simply a way to reduce compatability issues and plan for future growth by putting in place the structure to allow a region to grow organically in a way that will reduce sprawl and preserve green spaces and farm land among other things listed previously by other posters. It doesn't mean that everyone lives in a "contrived" toon town. The county doesn't even have to spend any more time or money than they are already allotted for amending the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Use Development Code. No need to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of examples of these plans out there, just pick one and implement.