Regional Reports: South
In this issue...
Reclaiming Economics: Local Strategies
For Promoting Community, Ecology and Self-Reliance
Jim Schulman (NC/DC)
A report from the Downtown Planning Office
of Pharr, Texas
Fabio E. Angell, Downtown Planner (TX)
North
Carolina
Reclaiming Economics: Local Strategies For Promoting Community,
Ecology and Self-Reliance
By Jim Schulman, AIA/LEED
The
Reclaiming Economics
Conference has been envisioned as an organizer's conference for
folks interested in and working on non-globalized community-based
economic models. Brad Johnson with Baltimore Hours is one of the organizers.
It takes place on the weekend of June 18-20th 2004 at Earthaven Eco-Village
in North Carolina. The conference will look at economic strategies
for promoting community, ecology and self reliance in our communi
ties. Conference topics will include things like local currency, progressive
credit institutions which invest in their communities, community partnerships
that encourage people to buy local, alternative economic indicators
which measure the health of co mmunities, and the sovereignty of communities
over corporations.
Reclaiming Economics will provide an opportunity for organizers to
network and discuss recent developments in the areas that they are
working. It will also provide a chance for newcomers to learn how
to start similar projects in their own communities.
The event promises to be an energy-building weekend experience in
a picturesque corner of North Carolina. I hope to see you there!
Jim Schulman, Executive Director
Sustainable Community Initiatives &
Vice-President, Community Forklift, LLC
740 7th St., SE, Suite #2
Washington, DC 20003
202/544-0069
fax 202/544-9460
jschulman@igc.org
www.suscomini.org (New!)
Texas
Downtown planning in South Texas
By Fabio E. Angell, Downtown Planner, Pharr, Texas
There are over 25 projects my city is working on that pertain to
downtown redevelopment. Here are details on a few of those in progress.
1. Guiding development with a Preservation Master Plan
The
City of Pharr, Texas is completing its first preservation master plan.
The plan will guide the Cityâ?Ts growth and urban planning policies
regarding the preservation and restoration of historical assets, resources,
and sites, and provide a blueprint for developing standards and incentives
for the private sector to direct development toward existing infrastructure
in the core (e.g., in-fill development, recycling of old buildings,
etc.). In general, it will also help integrate into city planning
a number of "quality of life" issues dealing with resource
conservation, "livability", overlay districts, neighborhood
and downtown planning, mixed uses, compact development, form-based
design, and mixed uses, among others. The plan, made possible in collaboration
with citizen groups, private organizations, and City departments and
boards, is an organizing principle to creating livable communities
and a sustainable downtown with a stronger sense of place. In addition,
over 40 governmental entities including towns, cities, and counties
in the Lower Rio Grande Valley could benefit from this model plan,
the first of its kind in the region.
2. First Lady of the State of Texas visits Pharr
The City of Pharr, Texas was designated a 2004 Texas Main Street
City by the Texas Historical Commission in Austin. This award recognizes
the Cityâ?Ts efforts in downtown planning, neighborhood planning, preservation
planning, and urban planning in 2002 and 2003. During this period,
the Cityâ?Ts revitalization efforts produced a number of milestones
including over $3,250,000 in downtown reinvestments, 21 business starts,
a net gain of 50 jobs, and over $25,000 in citizen volunteer hours.
The Texas First Lady officially kicked off Pharrâ?Ts revitalization
efforts on March 30th, 2004. The City therefore secured official state
sponsorship technical assistance for the next three years—a
total estimated value of $150,000 in architectural, landscaping and
streetscape assistance, economic development reports, design and heritage
tourism assistance, historical preservation, a "Downtown Summit"
(later in the year), and the release of a blueprint for action to
revitalize and preserve the Cityâ?Ts historical district.
3. Developing a vision for redevelopment
Downtown Redevelopment in Pharr connects to the sustainable communities
movement in various ways. In particular, the Cityâ?Ts revitalization
effort emphasizes economic development planning, preservation planning,
neighborhood planning (especially civic engagement through citizen
planning), and, in general, urban planning. Below is the vision statement
we developed to focus our planning efforts.
City of Pharr Downtown Redevelopment Vision Statement
a. Through Economic Development Planning, the Cityâ?¦
...helps enable a stable, sustainable downtown to serve as an incubator
to businesses and a nourishing environment with a balanced mix of
businesses that complement each other and provide for healthy competition.
This in turn creates jobs, develops a critical mass of customers,
shoppers, visitors to the core, and, in the end, help stabilize
the City's property tax base and increase its sales tax base.
b. Through Preservation Planning, the Cityâ?¦
...develops incentives (e.g., tax-based, low interest loan pools,
matching grants, design guidelines, restoration standards, etc.)
to guide, assist and encourage the private sector to invest in downtown
assets including multi-property historical districts and heritage
trail resources. Specific areas may include façade restoration,
interior renovation, recycling and adaptive uses of old buildings
for housing, office space, or small shops, and in-fill development.
c. Through Neighborhood Planning, the Cityâ?¦
...assists citizens in developing a vision for downtown (including
its surrounding residential areas and commercial districts) with
a strong sense of place that reflects community values and priorities.
Strong, local self-governance through asset-based and civic engagement
tools is a key aspect of this strategy. Currently, this includes
a citizen-based committee structure and advisory boards directly
linked to the Cityâ?Ts structure (including the City Commission) and
supported by city staff. Quality of Life areas may include green
space, community indicators, reinforcement of the existing city
grid in all projects, neighborhood clustering, context-sensitive
design, special events, etc.
d. Through Urban Planning, the Cityâ?¦
...works in collaboration with citizens to develop a vision for
downtown via the Cityâ?Ts urban planning system (e.g., overlay districting,
master planning, land use, form-based coding, etc.). The purpose
is to create a built environment that is pedestrian-friendly and
designed with "town-center" principles in mind. The latter
may include walking trails, compact development, human-scale streetscape
design, mixed uses, transit-oriented development, etc.