The Second Law of Thermodynamics states simply that systems have a universal tendency to gravitate towards disorder

Sunday, February 27, 2011

More terms (the last?) for the mid-term

1st, 2nd, 3rd , 4th(or 1st nation) world countries

The problem(s) with developing nations

Dutch Disease

Orientalism

Green Belts/Green Heart metro patterns

Post Colonialism

Issues Confronting Europe

Bugetary, Austerity, Unemployment, Housing Bubble, Immigration, Pensions

How does the U.S. urban pattern differ from the suburban pattern

Transportation, density, settlement, land use, location of activities, space

How did the Federal Govt. contribute to suburban sprawl

Why did the U.S. population largely leave the city for the suburbs?

Gentrification

Production-side theory in gentrification

Consumer-side theory in gentrification

Inclusionary zoning

Rent control

3 waves of immigration in the U.S.

3 types of immigrants and their differences

Legally documented

Undocumented

Refugees

Xenophobia

Nativism

3 reasons why people emigrate

Economist view of immigration

Tragedy of the Commons … explain it

2 general solutions to the tragedy and their limitations

Collective action

Public good

Free rider problem

Mancur Olson’s explanation on why collective groups lose power as they gain in size

Social capital

2 reasons why we use social capital

Minneapolis case study finding

Yonkers case study finding

Stranger Danger

The potential problems with implementing democracy in developing nations

Issues with Foreign Aid

Election example:

Good government

Lie to electors

Scapegoat a minority

Bribery

Intimidation

Restrict the strongest candidates from running

Miscount the votes

Saturday, February 26, 2011

2010 Census Links

On St. Louis Neighborhoods here
and
On Missouri Counties here

A good article on the decline of both the North & South side and what those numbers may really say can be found here.

And another one here.

And there's the question of whether new growth will shift elsewhere. And of how far away can it go from the urban center. That's a tough question to answer, said Todd Swanstrom, a professor with the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Unlike many other major metropolitan areas, St. Louis does not have an ocean, mountain range or desert to stop its growth to the west, he noted.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Population Off Sharply in St. Louis (latest census)

From Malcolm Gay and Campbell Robertson of the NY Times (Feb. 24, 2011)


“This is absolutely bad news. We had thought, given many of the other positive trends, that 50 years of population losses had finally reversed direction,” Mayor Francis G. Slay of St. Louis wrote on his blog. “I believe that this will require an urgent and thorough rethinking of how we do almost everything.”

Demographers said they had expected gentrification to buoy the city’s population, but instead St. Louis posted a decline of 14,000 white residents, compounded by a loss of 21,000 black residents. By contrast, St. Louis County, which rings the city, noted an increase in its black population of 39,000, though that gain was overshadowed by a loss of 84,000 whites, for an overall population loss.

“There seems to be some black suburbanization going on in some of these counties,” said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “Whites appear to be going further out.”

And from the Post Dispatch (Doug Moore):

Dooley (St. Louis County Executive) predicted that such county developments as the massive NorthPark enterprise zone, east of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, would reverse the trend.

He touched on the issue of white flight from north St. Louis County school districts, but could offer no reason for the migration. The Hazelwood School District has had a 30 percent drop in white students from 2000, as has Normandy. Ferguson-Florissant schools saw a 32 percent drop.

....

Maplewood Mayor James White attributed his city's loss of 13 percent of its population to the housing torn down to make way for commercial development east of Hanley Road, including a Walmart, Sam's Club and Lowe's store.

For the rest of the St. Louis region, it was good news. St. Charles County grew by 27 percent. Its largest city, O'Fallon, shot up by nearly 72 percent. It is now the seventh largest city in the state. Even with that impressive growth, it's a slowdown from a nearly 147 percent jump a decade before, when the city moved to 13th from 28th...

St. Charles County, with 360,485 residents, surpasses the city of St. Louis. Lincoln County also grew, by 35 percent. Jefferson County is now the fifth largest county in the state, with 218,733 people, a 10.4 percent increase from 2000...

Rainford (Slay's chief of staff) said that if there was a silver lining, it was that not all parts of the city saw their population drop. Downtown and midtown wards saw growth. But north St. Louis was hit hard. The Hyde Park neighborhood saw a loss of 28 percent of its population. The Ville lost 26 percent. At least seven wards in north St. Louis had double-digit losses.

Rainford said the city had done a decent job attracting empty nesters, young people and gays and lesbians. But it has been unable to hold on to the families that are now presumably moving to the suburbs.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Clubs Decline... Front Page on the Post

Libya conflict, Somali pirates, New Zealand earthquakes, Belgium non-government, and other events notwithstanding... it appears to be a relatively slow news day in St. Louis as the front-page story is an item that has been well documented for well over a decade and is also central to the lecture for this morning. From the article on the decline of club memberships:

The club's demise is part of a nationwide decline in recent years for such local-level service organizations as participants died or scaled back their involvement and fewer and fewer younger people joined.

"Our society has changed," said John White, 65, a St. Charles County councilman who helped set up the Harvester group about 30 years ago. "People network on the Internet rather than in person."


Briggs Social Capital Notes:

Social capital is crucial to making devolution work

Businesses have never thrived, nor economies flourished, without social capital

We use it to:

A.) Get by (for social support)

B.) To get ahead (for social leverage)

Social capital works on the:

- individual level

- organization level

- systems of organizations

Cities that have affordable housing systems rich in social capital will win… grant money

But…

1.) social capital that benefits me may not benefit my neighbors.

i. Need to be strategic … not shattershot… who is invited at the table is key

2.) Social Capital is built through repeated exchanges over time.

3.) As a resource or means it has no right or wrong to it until some judgment is made about the ends which we put it. – devil in the details

4.) Social capital is organized, whether we like it or not, along “fault lines” social more important than place… (race, ethnicity, religion, social participation than property lines or zip codes)

Minneapolis Case study

Difference in social capital Co-op at small level and large level

2 groups diverge despite influx of federal money (or perhaps because of it)

Importance of defining “community” who falls inside and outside

Yonkers study

Stayers and movers…. What is lost or gained in the study?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Mid-Term 'Terms'

This is an on-going list of terms that we have covered (or will cover) that may appear on the mid-term. They are either from the book or the lectures:

1st Semester Terms:


Urban – rural Continuum

Economies of Scale

Economies of Agglomeration

How do we define a city?

NIMBY

Environmental Racism

HUD

Block Grants vs Categorical Grants

Predatory lending

Eminent Domain

The Tinkerbell Effect and examples

Framing and examples

Episodic Vs. Thematic framing

Thin Slicing

Externalities and examples

Positive and Negative Externalities

Systems Theory

Systems thinking examples

Factors increasing systems thinking

Feedback – positive and negative

Complex Adaptive Systems

The importance of numbers

Regulator trap

Political implications of counting

Unemployment rate and counting

Under and overreporting of welfare recipients

Hawthorne Effect

How does counting stimulate public demands for change

Thorngate’s Postulate of Commensurate Complexity”

Paradigm

The two urban paradigms and at least two thinkers influential in that paradigm

Urban Ecology and Urban Political Economy explanation of each and limitations of each

Explain traditional Concentric Zone Model

Quantitative methodology in urban areas

Qualitative methodology in urban areas

The postmodern approach

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

What shapes a city

Core and Peripheral countries difference

Occam’s Razor

Why did Rome fall – from a complexity standpoint

Law of diminishing returns

Why did the Byzantine Empire succeed?

Commercial Cities

Industrial Cities

Corporate Cities

Urban Ecological Pattern Explanation of cities

Urban Political Economic Pattern Explanation of cities

Creative Destruction

How to explain urban patterns

Developers, local government, major industry role in shaping urban area

Leveraging

Speculators

Zoning

Agglomeration

TIF

Impact of local vs distant corporation on urban area

Replacement birth rate


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Delmar Loop

The Delmar Loop was named to the list of 10 great streets of America by the American Planning Association. But nobody wants to pay for its upkeep. From the Post Dispatch 2/09/2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

S.W.O.T. Analysis Suggestions

Strengths

  1. For the strength section, examine your city's internal processes, capabilities and amenities. These include human resources, physical resources, finances and programs. For example, in its strategic plan, the city of Lewisville, Texas listed its park funding program, excellent customer service rankings, strong school system and geographic location as strengths. If you have trouble determining your strengths, start by simply listing your community's attributes (e.g. location, size, parks, recreational opportunities).

Weaknesses

  1. The weakness section should look at internal problem areas. These include the same human resources, physical resources, finances and programs as strengths. For instance, the Northwest Initiative of Indiana found their weaknesses in a lack of corporate headquarters, limited broadband Internet connections, lack of urban planning and a disconnect with the state government. External output from community members is key to identifying problem areas in the community.

Opportunities

  1. Opportunities are the external factors that offer potential for your city. Possibilities include trends, economy, environment and legislation. Lewisville discovered the redevelopment of its Old Town section, civic center/arts complex, volunteer utilization, visitor bureau marketing efforts and energy conservation programs all offered opportunities for the city. Consider ways that your community can take advantage of trends, features or the economy to improve its economic stability.

Threats

  1. Cities do not face direct competition as do businesses. Instead, threats come from competition for funding, changes in citizenry and restrictive legislation. The Northwest Initiative determined that racial issues, loss of businesses and citizen perception all presented threats to their economic development planning. You may discover decreasing population, limited business development and a restrictive tax structure when you analyze your threats, among other things.

Considerations

  1. Planning using SWOT analysis is only as effective as the information the report contains. By specifically identifying each topic in the analysis, using statistics and location information if possible, you can develop more detailed, actionable plans. For example, instead of saying roads are generally in poor condition, identify the particular streets that need improvement. Then, use your city SWOT analysis to craft a comprehensive strategic plan, and define your priorities and adjust your decisions along the way.