Issue #54 / February 2011

Roles of the Street in Community Development

with Mel King

Thurs, March 3, 7:00-9:00 pm
@ LivableStreets office, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge [map... ]

Open to the public. Suggested $5-$10 donation. Beverages served.

How would you describe the spirit and rhythm of your street? In a city where each neighborhood and street has its own character and history behind it, what story would your street tell? 

Join Mel King's discussion on what role streets play in community development. Mel's book Streets, creatively illustrates how streets are a vital ingredient in the community building process. King explains the street's importance in community building using Boston's South End neighborhood, where King grew up. Streets explains why we need to create livable streetscapes which encourage people to be outside interacting with their neighbors in order to build a strong sense of community and place. 

Mel King is a social activist, community developer, author and past politician and MIT professor. He has been a vital part of Boston's development over the past fifty years. Author of Chain of Change: Struggles for Black Community Development, King wrote about the struggles of Boston's Black community during urban renewal and the fight for Tent City. He also created the Community Fellows Program in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and founded the South End Technology Center, a computer youth program which keeps participants on the front end of emerging technology.

> For more info, click here >>> 

> Invite your friends and RSVP through facebook here >>> 

> Questions? E-mail kara@livablestreets.info / call 617.621.1746

How is Boston completing its streets?  

with Vineet Gupta, Transportation Planning Director, City of Boston

Tonight, Thurs, Feb 17, 7:00-9:00 pm (postponed from Wed, Jan 12)
@ LivableStreets office, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge [map... ]

Open to the public. $5-$10 suggested donation.

Mayor Menino has told us, "The car is no longer king in Boston." Is a new wave of urban planning upon us? Boston is ready to put pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users on equal footing with drivers and promote a vision of streets which are safe, attractive and conducive to healthy, active transportation. What would you do to make Boston's streets more livable, safe and accessible?

In 2003, a coalition of national advocates coined the phrase "Complete Streets" as a way to better communicate the inclusion of bicycles in everyday transportation planning to government officials and the general public. Today, the movement has grown more powerful than just the accommodation of bicycles and has been adopted in more than 200 Complete Streets policies across the U.S, including Boston! ...

... For more info, click here >>>

> Invite your friends and RSVP through facebook here >>> 

 Seeking board members to help grow LivableStreets

Apply, or nominate someone, today

apply today to fill one of these seats

We have grown from a volunteer-led organization to a staff-led organization with substantial influence in just five short years. Now we're ready to grow to the next level!

Seeking smart, enthusiastic, resourceful people who have organizational development experience in one or more of the following areas: strategic planning, business development and sponsorship, grant writing and fundraising, marketing and PR, membership development, treasurer, certified accountant, and law. Responsibilities include: 

• Provide organizational governance, strategy, and decision making
• Inform and be responsible for budget, vision, and operations
• Participate in a project or working subcommittee
• Promote and advocate for LivableStreets mission and programs
• Fundraising and a Board donation required
• Attendance at monthly Board meetings, annual board retreat and special events.

Deadline to apply: on-going   

Target Start Date: April 17, 2011

Board terms are one year, with the opportunity to stay on for multiple terms. People of all ages, races, and professions are encouraged to apply. 

Apply online, or nominate someone you know, with this short form: http://livablestreets.info/help-us-make-livable-streets-reality, and please send a resume highlighting relevant experience and a statement of interest including what you would bring to LivableStreets to board@livablestreets.info.

For more information about LivableStreets Alliance, visit www.LivableStreets.info.

A new study from UMass found that "pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million of spending while road projects create approximately 7." 

The main reason for this difference is the labor intensity of each type of project. "Projects such as footway repairs and bike lane signing and painting are labor intensive - they use a high ratio of labor to materials in comparison to projects such as road repairs, which spend a greater proportion of their total project budget on materials." As a result, in proportionally material-heavy projects, fewer of the dollars spent go to construction workers.

A similar effect is also present in the cost of engineering for a project. Engineering involves low material costs when compared to construction, so projects that have a high ratio of engineering costs to construction costs will spend more of their total budget on salaries rather than materials. Since the percentage of the total budget paid to engineers is larger in bicycle and pedestrian projects than in road infrastructure projects, the former produce more jobs.

> To see the full report, click here >>>

European cities are leading the way in using innovative parking policies as a tool to promote more sustainable transportation options, reduce car use, lower air pollution, and increase the quality of urban life, as reported by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy. Here are two examples we find particularly relevant to the Boston region: 

Parking policies adjust when near public transit. The Dutch use an "A, B, C" policy, which requires that new developments close to transit (at A locations) are required to minimize parking spaces, while those with no access to transit (at C locations) are encouraged to build more parking.  

Some cities earmark revenue from increased parking charges to be spent specifically on sustainable transportation projects. In Barcelona, 100% of parking revenue is used to finance Bicing, the city's bike sharing program. This kind of policy can also be an effective way to get political support for parking charges. The public is able to see the connection between the charges and the use of those funds.

> To view full report, click here >>>

Some US cities are catching on

San Francisco is on the verge on implementing a new system that will make it easier to find parking and reduce traffic congestion. Currently, 30% of the city's traffic congestion comes from cars circling to find parking. Wireless parking sensors will assess whether a space is occupied, and this information will be made available to drivers in real time via a free smartphone application. Integrated signage throughout the city will also indicate to drivers where to find parking. Hopefully, these measures will allow the city to be less congested with cars and allow the public buses to run smoother.

Here in Boston

In most US cities, parking policy is an underutilized tool that can be used to revitalize our cities and make our communities healthier and more sustainable. Charlie Denison, LivableStreets advocacy chair and board member, wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Herald, explaining that the main benefit of raised parking meter rates in Boston is that it incentivizes drivers to leave their cars parked for less time thereby making parking more readily available for other drivers. To view the letter, click here >>>

The Public Way: Transportation, Health, and Livable Communities Blog

Each month Steve Miller e-mails out one selection from his weekly blog entries. 

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