The 'Devil is in the Distance': Urban planning in N.C.

Came across a blog post on Old Cities, Good Ideas from Howard Kelly Manorville from New York. Howard, a recent architecture grad, is "looking for ways to make the built world a better, healthier, more enjoyable place."

This particular post touches on, as an anecdote, the idea of "urban planning" in North Carolina.

Enjoy, and feel free to discuss.

I spent part of the work day yesterday riding to Home Depot with an extremely nice contractor named Jose. Jose is laying tile at the place where I work and he needed to go pick up some more materials, so my boss sent me with the credit card. Jose is a middle-age Dominican man who has been living in the U.S. for over 20 years - his English is very good, and his three children all know English better than they know Spanish.

We talked about a lot of different things during the fifteen minute ride to Home Depot, but one of the most surprising topics that came up was Jose's view on the urban planning in North Carolina. We were talking about how he spent 2008 in North Carolina doing work because there was not much work here on Long Island. He was going on about how much cheaper it is to rent and buy a house down South, but then he made a very astute observation:

"Everyone there [in North Carolina] tells you that where you have to go 'is close, it's very close'. But it's not close, they just mean that it takes a short time to get there. You always have to get on a highway and go 70 or 80 miles an hour to get to where you want to go. When I lived there it seemed like I spent $40 a day in gas for my work van because everything is so far apart. It's not like here."

Jose's comment is right on, and it reminded me once again that planning effects everyone, and that everyone actually grasps planning's effects on some level.

But Jose's observation also nails down a design flaw intrinsic to sprawl that has a cumulative effect on our lives: distance. When we design low-density, auto-oriented places with little regard for location efficiency, the distance a person must travel every day grows exponentially. Even if the time needed for travel stays the same (10 miles in Charlotte tends to take the same amount of time as 2 miles in Brooklyn), the mileage itself is the problem.

Quick hits: N.C. is fourth-fastest in growth and hog riders can show their love of the Parkway

N.C. is No. 4 on list of fastest-growing states
"Utah is the nation's fastest growing state, knocking Nevada from its usual top spot," according to the Associated Press.

"Utah's population climbed by 2.5 percent from July 2007 to July 2008, according to new population estimates from the Census Bureau. Arizona is the second-fastest growing state, followed by Texas, North Carolina and Colorado.

"Nevada, last year's fastest-growing state, fell to eighth. Nevada had been among the four fastest-growing states each of the last 23 years. ...

"California remained the most populous state, followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois."



State tag lets motorcyclists support Blue Ridge Parkway
"A new North Carolina license tag is set to go into production for motorcycle riders who want to help the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"The Winston-Salem Journal reported Monday that enthusiasts have nearly reached the required threshold of 300 bike owners committed to buying the Blue Ridge Parkway motorcycle tag," again according to the AP.

"The cost is $30 more than the regular license fee. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation would get $20 for its work; another $10 will go to the state's roadside wildflower program. ..."

Quick hits: Good news and bad news about the economy

N.C. keeps 'Top Business Climate' award for fourth year
"North Carolina’s 'business climate' is best in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive year, says Site Selection Magazine.

"The magazine praised Tar Heel policy leaders for the state’s use of incentives, taxes, economic development and work force development in securing new or expanded business opportunities and jobs," says WRAL.com.

"North Carolina has finished first in seven of the past eight years. ..."


Cherokee casino suffers in sour economy
"Brenda Wentz recently made the 2 1/2-hour drive from her home in Lincolnton to try her luck at the machines inside Harrah's Cherokee Casino.

"She brought her 84-year-old mother — who cares nothing about gambling — to see the fall colors and dine at a restaurant in the casino's hotel," writes the Citizen-Times.

"The economy and gas prices didn't keep them away. Instead, it pushed them toward a gambling trip.

" 'It gets our minds off things,' Wentz said.

"Harrah's Cherokee Casino, one of the largest private employers in Western North Carolina, is betting on people like Wentz as it braces for potential losses this year for the first time in its 10-year history. ..."

Plan to save a million acres in N.C. 'falling short'

Not good.

"Rising land values have shoved North Carolina well off track with its drive to set aside 1 million acres for preservation by 2009," says the Asheville Citizen-Times.

"Spending on measures that include buying property, development rights and easements have brought in less than half that amount since work started in 1999.

"Advocates say that’s not likely to change — even with the recent $24 million private and public deal that made Chimney Rock North Carolina’s newest state park. ...

"The lag in the N.C. Million Acre Initiative comes at a time when the South is losing more private land to development than any other region. In North Carolina, the rate of development in 2005 was twice that of conservation efforts. ..."