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Posted Dec 17, 2013, 3:25 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,421
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Is it this one:
http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story...in-principles/
Quote:
A great city — in principles
Hamilton has made its share of planning mistakes — but they are all fixable
By Jennifer Keesmaat
Jennifer Keesmaat grew up in Hamilton and, just over a year ago, became chief planner for the City of Toronto. Earlier this month, she spoke to the first Ambitious City event, hosted by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Below are her notes for that talk.
I have been thinking and reading a lot about Hamilton, and wondering about the ways it shaped who I am. Interestingly, as I have thought about my experiences of the city, a big part of the story has been how I have moved through the city, from place to place.
I have memories as a child of walking along the streets of Dundas and hanging out in the library as my mother took classes at the Dundas Valley School of Art. I have memories of training and racing on the trails in Spring Valley. I have memories of canoeing in Cootes Paradise, and hiking the Bruce. I have memories of my walk to school, straight down West 5th Street. I have memories of zipping all over this city on the HSR, and most vividly, of waiting for the bus all the time. I have memories of travelling on my $10 garage-sale-special, grey 10-speed bike, whether to my Hamilton Spectator paper route, or to my first ever part-time job at Lime Ridge Mall (I was 11 the week it opened, and it was in the middle of farmers' fields).
But my favourite memory is distinctly Hamiltonian and it involves that 10-speed bike. And it's this: carrying my bike, on my shoulder, back up the Mountain to get home. I remember the agony, that moment of thinking there's no way I can do this, followed by the clear knowledge that … I had no choice.
Hamilton, your future is bright, because it is in your hands. You choose the city that you want to become; you choose whether this is a city for all, or only for some; you choose whether you have a sustainable future.
I know what it is like to stand at the bottom of a mountain (our mountain, anyway), as dusk is falling, with the need to get up to the top. But somehow, through sheer will — I got home.
So maybe the upshot here is that this city, with both its natural beauty, and its Mountain to be climbed, inspired me, but also made me tenacious. Persistent. Determined. Not only was this good training for life, but it was exceptional training for city building — on many, many of levels.
Because creating a great city is far from easy.
So Hamilton, I hear you have some ambitions. Good. But what does it mean to be an ambitious city? What are the ambitions that we share? It is imperative to start here, because it is impossible for a city to move forward in the absence of a shared vision.
The crux of our shared interest can be summed up quite simply: shared prosperity — for all. If we can agree this is the vision that we hold in common, that this is worthy of our most co-ordinated, sophisticated efforts, worthy of our highest intelligence, the key question then becomes: How do we get there?
I would like to suggest that there are some timeless principles of city building that are critical to generating prosperous cities in the 21{+s}t Century.
Principle One: In Great Cities, places and streets are designed for people.
Think about some of the Great Cities of the world — Paris, Rome, Barcelona, even New York — these cities are transforming their streets to be places for people, instead of cars.
Although this is a timeless principle, many of our streets have been designed — through bad planning, really — to be places for moving cars. In doing this, we have taken away the places that are central to community life — streets where people linger, and interact; streets that are the heart of local commerce; streets that are walkable, enjoyable destinations.
Principle Two: Great Cities have neighbourhoods and main streets.
When neighbourhoods have main streets, it is possible to undertake much of your life within walking distance or a short transit ride of where you live. A local main street might provide the option of walking to the doctor, to the hairdresser, or to buy a gift for the birthday party next door. It is a fundamentally different way of life, living in a neighbourhood with a main street, from neighbourhoods that are comprised only of housing.
Principle Three: In Great Cities, people have many options for getting around from place to place.
To provide options for movement, it is essential to embrace complexity, and to design streets and buildings intentionally. By designing buildings to be oriented to pedestrians, and by designing streets to accommodate multimodal use (private vehicles, transit, and bikes), we can provide people with options for getting around, and over time, we will see a diversity of users.
But none of this works — the neighbourhood main streets, or the provision of choice — if you are missing the next principle:
Principle Four: Great Cities bring a critical mix of uses, in proximity.
This principle is about capitalizing on synergies and density, and ensuring that the intensity and complexity of use contributes to the vibrancy of a place.
Building denser, mixed use communities also makes better use of expensive infrastructure — if you think about it, in our single-use suburban communities, most of the infrastructure which we have built is unused all day long.
It is important to note that bringing uses in close does not necessarily mean towers. Some of the densest cities in the world are mid-rise.
Principle Five: In Great Cities, design matters.
Great cities have great public realms, and the quality of our public spaces says something about the places we value. It is a way of making contributions to civic life, by adding inspiration, and it is a way of signalling who belongs in public space.
Principle Six: In Great Cities, heritage preservation and restoration is recognized as adding long-term value.
Heritage buildings are assets that add value in many ways. Heritage preservation contributes to a city's distinct identity, creates character, and can be a key driver of economic development.
Great Cities maintain a connection to their past, adapting heritage buildings for new and innovative uses — as Jane Jacobs wrote, new ideas need old buildings.
Principle Seven: Great Cities value clean land, air and water.
Our cities, increasingly, are our habitat. We know — and this may seem counterintuitive — that the denser our habitat, and the extent to which we have transportation options, the lower our ecological footprint.
Without our habitat that sustains us, we do not have life. It is quite simple. Great Cities remember this, and treat land, air and water as the precious resources that they are.
Principle Eight: Great Cities plan for affordable housing.
This is a catch-22 for cities — you may be affordable now — but that cannot be your greatest asset. As you grow and develop, your affordability will decrease. The market, as you develop a stronger sense of place, will need to be shaped and managed through strong public policy to build affordable housing.
Great Cities must plan for affordable housing options, and affordable housing should be integrated into the most urban, desirable places to live — the same neighbourhoods that provide options for movement and walkable amenity.
With these principles in mind, there are also some hard truths for Hamilton. The first is this. You have made some classic mistakes, and they have hurt you dearly:
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read the rest: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story...in-principles/
__________________
no clever signoff.
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