YouTube - Videos from this emailDowntown LA Without Cars (VIDEO)
Three architecture students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo teamed to make this video which aims to show what an auto-free downtown LA could be.
National Debt and Debt Limits
We currently have a great deal of angst about our growing national debt. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed but it is not quite as great a problem as the doomsday folks think it is. The link below shows the debt of nations relative to their GDP (Gross Development Product).
Japan is by far the worst with debt of 225% of their GDP. Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom are all worse then the US. The US is rated 36 among the nations and is less then the median among all countrues. Our debt was 59% of our GDP. But is is growing very rapidly.
The graph below shows that our problems are much less then Japan and about on par with Germany.
This is still a serious problem that needs to be addressed, but not before we get our economy working well again. Cutting government expenditures now would be similar to what we did in the early years of the Great Depression, which only served to make our economy worse.
But after the economy is working well again we must limit the growth of expenditures and raise taxes. It is of course very difficult to gain consensus on this action. Raising taxes is a good way to lose your elected office. But eventually it must be done. We have to keep our government solvent.
The Republicans are running a campaign of cutting government cost. But what did they do while they were in complete power? Very little - they kept spending. It is not that easy to do and requires cuts to major entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security. And no elected official who wants to keep his job wants to do that.
The Democrats are also now calling for tax increases. But what did they do when they were in complete power? Very little - they did not raise taxes, just kept raising expenditures. Very hard to raise taxes if you want to keep your elected position.
So what will happen? Well, what should happen is that we increase taxes and lower benefits. And probably all of Congress needs to jump together. But since it means the end of their elected career, the decision keeps getting put off for the future.
The National Debt limit increase forces some action. We must increase it - the outfall for a default is to great and would really damage the economy. So our elected officials will increase the debt. But whether their will be a benefit cut / tax increase involved is not clear. Raising taxes in the midst of a bad economy is not a good idea.
Tough time for the country and an elected official. What will they do? I bet they raise the debt limits and do a little tax hike / spending cuts, and kick the major decision down the road. But who knows? Stay tuned.
Japan is by far the worst with debt of 225% of their GDP. Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom are all worse then the US. The US is rated 36 among the nations and is less then the median among all countrues. Our debt was 59% of our GDP. But is is growing very rapidly.
The graph below shows that our problems are much less then Japan and about on par with Germany.
This is still a serious problem that needs to be addressed, but not before we get our economy working well again. Cutting government expenditures now would be similar to what we did in the early years of the Great Depression, which only served to make our economy worse.
But after the economy is working well again we must limit the growth of expenditures and raise taxes. It is of course very difficult to gain consensus on this action. Raising taxes is a good way to lose your elected office. But eventually it must be done. We have to keep our government solvent.
The Republicans are running a campaign of cutting government cost. But what did they do while they were in complete power? Very little - they kept spending. It is not that easy to do and requires cuts to major entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security. And no elected official who wants to keep his job wants to do that.
The Democrats are also now calling for tax increases. But what did they do when they were in complete power? Very little - they did not raise taxes, just kept raising expenditures. Very hard to raise taxes if you want to keep your elected position.
So what will happen? Well, what should happen is that we increase taxes and lower benefits. And probably all of Congress needs to jump together. But since it means the end of their elected career, the decision keeps getting put off for the future.
The National Debt limit increase forces some action. We must increase it - the outfall for a default is to great and would really damage the economy. So our elected officials will increase the debt. But whether their will be a benefit cut / tax increase involved is not clear. Raising taxes in the midst of a bad economy is not a good idea.
Tough time for the country and an elected official. What will they do? I bet they raise the debt limits and do a little tax hike / spending cuts, and kick the major decision down the road. But who knows? Stay tuned.
Artist Relocation Program
An interesting way to promote the economic redevelopment of an older city is to create an artist relocation program. The City of Paducah has one of the oldest and most successful programs, summarized on the web site below:
The following is a possible program that a city could implement. Please feel free to use it for your program.
______________________
Our city is looking for a few good artists. The city is developing an Artist Relocation Program. We want artists to move into our great community, and help us redevelop our new avante garde neighborhoods near our thriving downtown. We want quality artists everywhere, creating a lovely dynamic creative neighborhood designed by artists for artists.
We have some great redeveloping neighborhoods where an artist can find a work-live loft at an affordable cost. We have programs that provide help for artists to purchase and rehabilitate old warehouses. And we have developers who are rehabbing space designed to house artist studios and residences.
Take a look at:
All our programs http://www.peoriaed.blogspot.com/
Renaissance Park http://www.renaissanceparkpeoria.com/
Outdoor Sculpture http://www.artspartners.net/
Home buying assistance http://www.reachillinois.org/employers.asp?id=187
Affordable Homes http://www.eppraisal.com/NationalMSA.aspx
Great Rentals http://zerlaproperties.com/
______________________________________
Check out the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sculpture program at:
http://www.peoriariverfront.com/
http://www.peoriamagazines.com/
http://www.fineartssociety.net/
http://www.cityofeastpeoria.com/
http://www.wpamurals.com/
http://www.peoriareads.org/
http://www.teamdanceillinois.org/
http://www.artsalliance.org/
http://www.photolinks.com/
http://www.discoverourtown.com/
http://www.peoriahistoricalsociety.org/
http://www.peoriaprogress.com/
http://www.peorianext.org/
http://www.artic.edu/
http://www.artsalliance/
http://www.peoriamagazines.com/
http://www.fineartssociety.net/
http://www.cityofeastpeoria.com/
http://www.wpamurals.com/
http://www.peoriareads.org/
http://www.teamdanceillinois.org/
http://www.artsalliance.org/
http://www.photolinks.com/
http://www.discoverourtown.com/
http://www.peoriahistoricalsociety.org/
http://www.peoriaprogress.com/
http://www.peorianext.org/
http://www.artic.edu/
http://www.artsalliance/
Technology for Sustainability
Providing wifi on public transit and encouraging people to Check In with their smart phones are two of the three examples cities could implement to bring people closer together.
"Though urbanist Peter Calthorpe explains that "'Technology matters, but I don’t think it’s a substitute for fundamental urban design,'" Mashable writer Chris Taylor gives examples to try and bridge the gap between technology and urban design:"
"So you want to increase your city’s walk score? Then give people more reasons to walk around, using the tools they already have in their pockets. Indeed, get them addicted to it. That dovetails nicely with the purpose of location-based checkin services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Merchants could get a small tax break for being active participants on these services, especially if their checkins came with information on where you can walk next."
Full Story: 3 Simple Ways Tech Can Grow Greener Cities
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This blog was created to Plan the Planet. It is a work in progress - please click here if you wish to propose changes or additions or ask q...
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This blog was created to Plan the Planet. It is a work in progress - please click here if you wish to propose changes or additions or ask q...
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Major European cities overlaid on North America, corrected for the identical latitude ( click to view full sized ): North American cities,...
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Pete Pointner FAICP, ALA, ITE is publishing a new blog. A wealth of material for planners. Click to view the blog: www.petepointner.com NEED...
