Citiwire.net: Neal Peirce on Washington-state Land Conservation, Roberta Brandes Gratz on Syracuse's Revival

Regional Growth Futures: Getting It Right

By Neal Peirce

For Release Sunday, July 18th, 2010
© 2010 Washington Post Writers Group

Does it always take adversity to get an American region to “get its act together” in planning future growth?

The Puget Sound area anchored by Seattle suggests “no.” Geology and modern economics have blessed the region in astounding ways. There’s the natural legacy of glistening snow-capped mountain peaks and lush Douglas fir beside sparking watersides. Economically, the region’s had such world-renowned economic treasures as Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon.com, excellent ports and vibrant international trade.

Yet there’s been a dark underside to the region’s exuberant growth — to 4.7 million people — over the last decades. I vividly recall a 1989 helicopter ride marked by spectacular views of Mount Rainier, a rainbow at Snoqualmie Falls and picturesque villages. But I could also see bulldozed “progress” — a plethora of scarred hilltops, deep cuts into the magnificent evergreen tapestry.

Redeveloping an Old City the Right (Thoughtful) Way

By Roberta Brandes Gratz

For Release Sunday, July 18, 2010
Citiwire.net

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — “Rightsizing the city” has a different meaning here than in cities where the demolition of vacant homes is the primary but historically fruitless solution. In this upstate post-industrial city, an extraordinary coalition has come together around a multi-faceted policy of regeneration by adding the positive rather than straining to remove the negative.

No one seems left out of the loose partnership among the mayor, university chancellor, assorted neighborhood groups and business associations. The positive spirit is palpable just talking to local residents and activists and viewing reviving rundown areas spread around town.

“There is a ‘can do’ sense throughout the city,” says designer and preservation activist Beth Crawford, “a sense that neighborhoods can fight for what they need and want, oppose demolitions, achieve good planning and needed enforcement.”