The Sustainable Northampton Plan presents Smart Growth (compact, transit-oriented development) as if it’s good for everyone. The problem is, different environments suit different living situations. In addition, mass transit has a troubled record outside of a handful of large, older dense cities. Let’s hear from the blog Asymmetrical Information (9/27/04): Smart growth is great if you are an upscale […]
Continue reading Smart Growth Winners (Rich People) and Losers (Other People)
Today’s Gazette reports that Northampton’s Planning Board approved the Sustainable Northampton Plan (PDF) last night. The Cecil Group, a consultant engaged to work on the Plan, provided this memo (PDF) to highlight the latest changes since last month. These changes include: The Sustainable Northampton Plan will be reviewed on an annual basis utilizing a methodology […]
Continue reading Planning Board Adopts Sustainable Northampton Plan
Dense urban living works for some people, but not for many others. Planners need to balance their visions with a respect for the core wants and needs of today’s families.It is true that cars can lead to pollution and other problems. Many Smart Growth planners have tried to discourage driving by making it hard to park and drive. […]
Today’s Gazette relays the following reports from AP: State home sales post double-digit declineHome sales in Massachusetts are down by a double-digit percentage for the third month in a row……a 15 percent drop in single-family home sales in November compared with the same month a year ago…Condominium sales fell 23 percent in November.Condo prices are […]
Continue reading AP: Massachusetts home sales post double-digit decline
Robert H. Kuehn Jr., a champion of affordable housing and mixed-use developments, contributed “Thinking Like a Developer” to Preserving and Enhancing Communities: A Guide for Citizens, Planners and Policymakers (2007). Kuehn discusses brownfields revitalization, avoiding acrimony, and a common developer mistake that drives density (p.42-51): A key issue is whether the property to be developed […]
Continue reading Robert H. Kuehn Jr.: “Thinking Like a Developer”
Here are pictures taken yesterday from the bike path and roads surrounding the woods behind North Street. Kohl Construction proposes to build 26 condo units in and around these woods. As observed in Preserving and Enhancing Communities: A Guide for Citizens, Planners, and Policymakers, Protecting open space is often about protecting what makes a community special […]
Home prices need to fall substantially to bring them into alignment with incomes, writes Paul Krugman for The New York Times (12/14/07). This process will jeopardize an enormous number of homeowners and lenders alike: After the Money’s GoneTo restore a historically normal ratio of housing prices to rents or incomes, average home prices would have […]
Continue reading Krugman, NY Times: Home Prices Have Plenty of Room on the Downside
We are not in favor of unsustainable living, but identifying and implementing sustainable practices is more complex than it might appear… It is common knowledge among pollsters that what people say may differ from what they do. This is particularly the case when a question has a “politically correct” answer (see “spiral of silence”).In the case of […]
Continue reading Smart Growth: When Polls and Reality Diverge
We are relaying this announcement from the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association: WARD 3 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONin conjunction with the Northampton Fire Department, Northampton Police Department, Massachusetts State Fire Marshall’s Office, Mayor Mary Clare Higgins and City Councilor Marilyn Richards and Councilor Elect Bob Reckman invite you to aNEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGTuesday, December 18th7:30 PMHAMPSHIRE EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE (HEC)CONFERENCE ROOM97 HAWLEY […]
Continue reading Neighborhood Meeting on Hawley Street Suspicious Fires – Dec 18, 7:30pm
An implicit assumption in many of the briefs for Smart Growth is that multi-unit dwellings are more resource-efficient than single-family homes. However, Department of Energy Tables show that this is not true, at least not on the basis of energy per square foot of living space. Table 8c. U.S. Residential Energy Intensity Using Weather-Adjusted Primary […]
Continue reading Energy Intensity Less in Single-Family Homes Than High-Rises