Tools for Community Design and Decision Making III
Stuart, Florida
November 30
B December 2, 2000
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Produced By:
The Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development
4600 Beneva Rd. South
Sarasota, FL 34233
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Graphic Conference Proceedings_
Notes from Next Steps Discussion (Including Formation of Association for Better Community Design and Decision Making (ABCD2)_
Participant List_
Presentation Materials:I. INTRODUCTION
A
Every day I’m asked to make major decisions based on incomplete information.@ (Crockett)A
The problem is not that we are moving out from cities into the country – it’s how we are doing it. A new development pattern will require principles and the ability to say ‘no’ to some types of development." (Point made during New Urbanism lunch panel discussion)A
I spend my life getting variances to build the kinds of towns that people acknowledge they love because they are illegal under existing codes.@ (Duany)A
These words of frustration are too common. Computer tools can help county commissioners, planners, and builders "fill in the gaps" and make better land use decisions. The tools discussed in the series of TCDDM meetings assist decision makers in visioning, designing and planning sustainable communities. This document constitutes the proceedings from the third TCDDM (Tools for Community Design and Decision Making) meeting.
The meeting occurred in Stuart, Florida on November 30 December 1, 2000. It was sponsored by:
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The Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development_
The U.S. Department of Energy_
The U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyThe meeting was attended by over 90 individuals involved in the development and use of decision making tools to support sustainable community development. (A list of participants is included in the attachments.)
The purpose of the meeting was two-fold:
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To continue to share information about the tools available for community decision making; and_
To explore ways in which the participants might be interested in longer term collaboration on both tool development and use.The meeting involved over 25 presentations, as well as extensive sessions for group discussion and dialogue. It is impossible to capture the full complexity of this kind of information in a written document. Therefore, the purpose of these proceedings is to give readers a glimpse of the key themes discussed, and access to information sources for more in-depth exploration. This documentation involves the following:
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Highlights of presentations. A set of bulleted highlights is provided from each of the key presentations, summarizing the points made._
Summary of next steps. The last half-day was dedicated to a discussion of what steps the group wanted to take next. The notes from this session are shared in their entirety._
Graphic notes. Bryan Coffman and Jay Smethurst of the Sente Company developed an extensive set of graphic notes from the full conference. Printed versions of these are included in the attachments, and will be available shortly in a web version._
Presentation materials. Where available, copies of overhead presentations are attached. Many of the presentations included animations, video and other interactive utilities that makes paper representations impossible.II. SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
A brief set of bullets is presented below for each of the conference presentations. These are designed to highlight key points, not to summarize all of the details. Additional insights are available in the graphic proceedings created by the Sente Corporation in the attachments.
SETTING THE CONTEXT:
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Dave Crockett from Chattanooga described the history of the TCDDM group and its focus on integration of environmental, economic and social issues in urban design._
Randy Reid of Martin County welcomed the conference attendees and described their efforts to use GIS and citizen engagement tools to organize a community sustainable development planning process, and the development of their Civic Learning Center at Indian Riverside Park._
John Lambie of the Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development shared a taxonomy model of four system layers B natural, built, economic and social B as a framework for understanding whole systems, as well as a framework for organizing various decision-support tools. He also shared a model of local planning that integrates all four layers into a comprehensive process that allows citizens to Aget clear about the future they want@ and organize community design processes to make it happen._
Bill Miller of ESRI shared his insights into the changing nature of GIS as a tool for decision-making. (See attachment of Bill=s presentation.)FEDERAL RESOURCES:
The federal government collects, analyzes and models data on demographic trends (including economic, labor, population, and land use) as well as environmental, energy, and transportation related information on a local, regional and national level. Lack of adequate information is one of the biggest impediments to adoption of Alivable@ policies and investments. Because federal agencies are the single largest repository of such data and the biggest user and developer of analytical tools, it is uniquely suited to provide the information needed to overcome this impediment. The Conference had several presentations about federal resources.
Dan Allen B US Army Corp of Engineers (See Attachment)
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The Corp is working on the development of several different kinds of tools for planning and visualization:o
A Landscape Simulation Tool (LST) that allows depiction, animation and simulation of landscape changes.o
A Flood Impact Support Tool (FIST) that utilizes algorithms and hydrological modeling to model the impact of flood damage.o
An Ecosystem Management and Restoration Information System (EMRIS) that will be an on-line tool to assist in integrated ecosystem management.o
A process for Shared Vision Planning that utilizes computer-based decision models to help communities make choices about their futures._
The Corp has an R&D unit focused on the issue of Alivabilitiy.@ It is utilizing existing tools and seeking to integrate them into a practice base that can be used in partnership with other federal agencies and NGO=s.Dave Holder, US Department of Agriculture and Bo Beaulieu, Director of the Southern Rural Development Center (See Attachment)
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There are four Regional Rural Development Centers in the U.S. They are focused on applied research on key rural issues._
They are active in:o
Community capacity buildingo
Leadership developmento
Economic developmento
Workforce developmento
Agriculture and natural resources_
They are creating a depository of Rural Development Educational Resources, and can be a useful partner in bringing federal resources for community decision-making to rural communities.Dave Nystrom
B US HUD_
Their strategic plan can be viewed at www.NCPC.gov_
There is a critical need for more federal coordination around data resources._
HUD is in the process of letting a contract to manage and integrate their own data resources. They are creating an Empowerment Information System (EIS) designed to integrate views across multiple data sets; standardize meta data; and provide for spatial display._
HUD has also developed Community 2020, a CD-based GIS planning process.
Ken Snyder, Department of Energy
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DOE is focusing on the development of Regional Resource Centers to support community design and decision-making._
Resource Centers would combine a number of different functions and services:o
Networking between community memberso
Organization of large-scale community input (process tools)o
Modeling and impact analysiso
Visualization techniqueso
Links to virtual resources on the web_
For more detail on the concept of Regional Resource Centers, see the TCDDM web site at: www.ncat.org/comtoolTom Gunther, US Department of Interior and the Aurora Partnership (See Attachment)
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The federal government invests over $20 billion in the development of data resources, but almost nothing in supporting intelligent decision-making based on the data._
The technology often exceeds technical capabilities in the community._
Many of the tools are single-purpose; what users really need is an integrated >suite= of applications._
There are multiple overlapping local, regional and national efforts._
There is a lot of emphasis on natural systems and data, but very little on social and economic systems and data._
The Aurora Partnership is an effort to stimulate the development and application of place-based, integrated decision support tools. It is structured as a public/private partnership, linking demonstration projects with a national forum for information._
Challenges include:o
Linking values-based and scientific indicators.o
Integrating scientific understanding of systems.o
Getting tool suppliers to work together to integrate their products._
For more detail, see www.aurorapartnership.comScott Bernstein
B Partnership for Regional Livability_
The Partnership for Regional Livability is an initiative to create high-value regional projects utilizing regional leadership teams composed of business, government and community leaders working in partnership with the federal government._
The four pilot regions are: Chicago, Denver, Atlanta and the Bay Area._
One of the strategies of the PRL is to help regions utilize community decision support tools for planning, visioning and analysis._
The PRL welcomes the opportunity to partner with others on the prototyping of the decision support tool process._
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PRL has developed a concept paper on the role of information and decision support tools in community decision making. View it on the I4SD website:_
http://www.i4sd.org/articles_and_white_papers.htmPliny Fisk
B Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (See Attachment)_
CMPBS is developing Baseline Green, an input/output tool to assess the impact of alternative materials and building methods. The model graphically connects all major facets of buildings and support utilities with the baseline environmental and economic impacts of their sources._
A more detailed description of Baseline Green is included in the attachments. For more information see: www.cmpbs.org.Steve Hodge B Florida Geographic Information Board
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There is a huge gap in knowledge about GIS data and its availability in the state. The Geographic Information Board was created to fill some of that gap. The GIB focuses on:o
Creating standard base mapso
Creating Adigital ortho quads@ B arial photography rectified to land coordinateso
A Florida Data Directory with 600 B 700 data setso
Working on data stewardship B clearly identifying who is the steward for a particular data set. (For example, only 20% of the roads in Florida are managed by the Department of Transportation.)_
For more information, see www.labins.org.als.dms.state.fl.usKyle Campbell B Florida Center for Community Design and Research, University of South Florida
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There is a need for regional GIS data centers, as well as a state organization such as the GIB._
The Center is working on developing a GIS-based interface for comprehensive plan maps. This will include a standard repertoire of 60+ maps for each community, accessible through standardized software -- Citizen Internet Mapping System (CIMS)._
For more information, see www.ficus.usf.eduTOOL PRESENTATIONS:
Day two of the conference was Apacked full@ with presentations on tools and approaches for community decision-making. Because the of depth of the presentations, only highlights are provided below. Detail on many of these tools can be found at the following web sites: www.sustainable.doe.gov/toolkit/development.htm and www.I4SD.org/TCDDM
Elliot Allen B Criterion Planners and Engineers (INDEX) (See Attachment)
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INDEX uses GIS mapping to track over 85 livability indicators at the scale of a single neighborhood or an entire region. The indicators allow local citizens and planners to assess the impact of alternative development patterns._
INDEX is working on creating greater depth in its social indicators._
Use of INDEX requires up-front investment in GIS and staff expertise._
Smart Growth INDEX is a GIS-based software that calculates the impact of development decisions._
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For more information, see www.crit.comPeter Haas B Center for Neighborhood Technology
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CNT has developed a Neighborhood Early Warning System (NEWS) for citizens to use in predicting and stopping housing abandonment. It provides citizens with access to all the information they need on buildings within their neighborhoods._
Information provided includes: code violations; water arrears; fire records; tax delinquencies; real estate sales; etc. Buildings are tagged with a green/yellow/red indicator, depending on how much at risk of abandonment they are._
The system is used by tenant organizers; housing rehabilitation organizations; and community planners and organizers._
It is not yet GIS-based on-line, but they are headed in that direction._
For more information, see www.cnt.orgMichael Kwartler, Environmental Simulation Center (CommunityWorks) (See Attachment)
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CommunityViz is decision-support software that provides a suite of applications for visualization, alternative analysis and policy analysis. It is built off of ESRI=s ArcView platform and runs on Windows NT._
CommunityViz has three components:o
Townbuilder is a 3D virtual reality interface that allows users to navigate through proposed design scenarios in real time.o
Scenario Constructor combines user-determined parameters to analyze the impacts of a proposed scenario in action.o
Policy Simulator predicts probable land-use, demographic and economic changes in a community resulting from alternative policies._
CommunityViz is a project of the Orton Family Foundation. See www.orton.org for more information.Bill Miller and Susan Crow
B ESRI (Model Builder)_
Model Builder uses natural resource data and socio-economic data to simulate the impact of development alternatives on ecologies. It enables users to ask questions and answer strategic planning questions. It has been in Yellowstone National Park to determine areas in need of conservation efforts.Darrell Danner
B GeoStat, Inc. (InfraCycle) (See Attachment)_
InfraCycle software is a spread sheet application that allows municipalities to analyze the balance between costs and revenues for different infrastructure patterns. It allows analysis of the life cycle cost of infrastructure spending, including an analysis of the cost per residential unit over time._
InfraLinks software links together several different InfraCycle spread sheets to provide a summary of costs and revenues for a larger area._
For more information, see the web site at: www.infracycle.comRoice Nelson
B Continuum (3D Imaging Technology)_
Three dimensional data allows the user to Aget in the middle of the data@ and experience it spatially rather than just graphically and numerically._
Computer Aided Visual Environments (CAVE=s) turn data into 3D experiences that allow high levels of user interaction with them._
For more information, see: www.walden3d.comLenny Lind
B CoVision (GroupWare software) (See Attachment)_
CoVision provides Agroup ware@ to allow large numbers of citizens to interact on complex issues at one time. It can be used with groups ranging from 10 to 600 in size._
The tools were used recently to facilitate a Mayor=s summit in Washington DC that involved 2500 citizens. There were 250 tables with ten people, one laptop to a table, with several key pads. The process used a Apolling@ system to get immediate ideas and feedback. Over 300 pages of information were generated in 6 hours B all of it immediately available to participants._
For more information, see www.covision.comJuan Ayala
B Looney Ricks Kiss (Visual Preference Tools) (See Attachment)_
These visual preference tools allow citizens to register their preferences for different kinds of community designs. They can be done on-line, at kiosks, or at free-standing computers. They allow feedback on streetscapes, materials, park designs, and other features. They also allow feedback on what citizens are willing to pay for different design features.LUNCH PANEL ON NEW URBANISM
The lunch time panel discussion focused on the integration of new urbanism design principles in community planning processes. Panelists included Peter Katz; Andres Duany; Eric Valle; and Victor Dover. Some highlights of the discussion include:
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Zoning is incapable of proactively regulating urban form, because it focuses on use and density, rather than by type._
Planners lack disciplined standards of language that are commonly accepted in their work. The purpose of the Lexicon of the New Urbanism is to establish a vocabulary and set of standards for urban form for planners, developers and citizen activists to use in the creation of traditional neighborhoods._
Zoning processes are naturally biased towards large projects and big developers with Adeep pockets.@ A different kind of code would allow a wide range of projects with different levels of affordability in the same area, creating market access for many different kinds of entrepreneurs._
The problem is not that we are moving out from cities into the country B the problem is how we are doing it. A new development pattern will require principles and the ability to say to some kinds of development: ANo, we don=t do that.@_
The Lexicon develops design principles for land use, building type, frontage, streetscape, and open spaces that vary depending on where the location is (core; center; general; edge; rural; preserve)._
For more information, see www.dpz.com and www.doverkohl.comDISCUSSION ON NEXT STEPS
The conference ended with a smaller group discussing what they were willing to pursue as the next steps. These discussions are summarized in the attached document on the proposed Association for Better Community Design and Decision Making.
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Graphic Conference Proceedings_
Notes from Next Steps Discussion (Including Formation of Association for Better Community Design and Decision Making (ABCD2)_
Participant List_
Presentation Materials:
Graphic Conference Proceedings
Notes From Next Steps Discussion
See next 2 attached files in the e-mail entitled:
FL-Dec2 mtng
&