Notes on “A Better Way to Zone”.

For thesis, I’ve picked up Donald Elliott’s ‘A Better Way to Zone’. This has served as a useful counterpart to many of the overly saccharine articles I find praising form based codes. Elliot’s point is that many types of zoning codes (and there is a huge variety out there) are broken in very similar ways. They,

• Actually prevent many types of development that cities would like to approve

• Do not provide housing at prices that citizens can afford

• Adjust poorly to changed circumstances

• Encourage poor systems of city governance.

More specifically tied to my thesis, which is investigating the intrinsic flexibility of a traditional neighborhood, he calls out form based zoning as being overly tied to a snapshot of the present.

“Even if you manage to get a very good snapshot of the present, that picture is static. In contrast, real estate markets are dynamic.”

The value of a neighborhood is in its growth process and its ability to respond to changing demographics. At its best, zoning is reflective of community values. As the people within it change, the codes too should be flexible enough to change. However, Elliot recognizes the need for codes remain predictable enough to inspire confidence in potential developers and home buyers. What he’s questioning is whether the rules need to be static, in order to be predictable.

“We need to think in terms of zoning standards that change automatically, in predictable ways, as plans change and real estate markets evolve.”

On N. Golden Gate Ave. and Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, over the course of ninety years, the neighborhood development around the growing Micheltorena Elementary School and the St. Francis Assisi Church (marked in blue) changed from primarily single family (light yellow), to one of mixed densities (orange and brown) and uses (red):

Neighborhood Block Evolution in Silver Lake

Another issue I’m looking into as a driver of zoning code evolution for neighborhoods is the issue of housing availability, choice and affordability. As we can see from the current economic downturn, housing attainability is a huge part of the US economy and future zoning codes should include better tools to address it. Elliot offers three suggestions for this:

• To look for greater land efficiency, so that more units can be built per acre of land and to better integrate those units into the urban fabric.

• To be to remove restrictions that limit creativity in the types of housing that are built.

• To create development approval systems that better integrate citywide needs for attainable housing into review of individual projects.

My thesis project uses the Silver Lake community as a case study which is helpful because it was built largely pre-zoning or the advent of the automobile, yet it has an excellent street grid and access. It also has a great variety in its community make-up, and even though prices remain high in this highly desirable Southern California neighborhood, there is a wide range of housing types and ownership situations and therefore, price points. The fact that this very desirable and well functioning neighborhood was built prior to existing, heavy handed zoning adds further fuel to the fire that developmental controls should be lifted to inspire creativity in lot arrangements, clustering densities and parking situations.

In the closing comments of his historical analysis section, Elliot writes,

“Life seldom turns out like the picture you envisioned, and that is true both for the city and for private developers. It is a mistake to think of zoning as a fixed model of uses and standards and forms. The only sure thing about zoning is that we need it to adapt well over time.”

The book, published last year, also has an associated blog with it.

Another review, with a more critical opinion.

 

400M Hurdle Theory

Easily since the mid point of my second to last semester, I’ve felt pretty overwhelmed. The sheer volume of “Important Things To Do” that take up my day to day existence in order to get through everything that comes with being in grad school is just ridiculous. It got rough enough that at the end of December, when I should have been in a kind of ‘full throttle’ mode, that one day, I just sat. Literally. I was on a couch for a few hours just staring at the wall when I made the only semi-conscious choice to just stop. Everything. No studio, no thesis, no working, no job hunting. Obviously, this was a bad choice. I’m still hurting for it now. It took many more weeks to pick up the pieces when I did get rolling again than it would have been to keep some wheels spinning all along.

It seems like every couple of days I’ve got another big ‘can’t miss it!’, ‘don’t stop!’, ‘full speed ahead!’, ‘keep going!’, ‘watch out!’, ‘you’re gonna crash and the world is going to end!’ kind of deadline. Frequently, they seem to fall on the same days. And granted, some of this is just nested in my personality to always be scanning the horizon and trying to predict the future. But on the other hand, I’m coming to the end of a long process that has a lot of loose ends to tie up (grad school) at the same time that others are beginning to unravel for the first time (job hunting). My approach to this transition can be best summed up in the 400-Meter Hurdle theory.

The 400m hurdle race is arguably the most demanding of all events in the sprint-hurdle group. It requires a combination of speed + endurance (fixed semester length, way too many things to fit in) and hurdling skill (project deadlines) along with a unique awareness of stride pattern between hurdles (dedication in the face of exhaustion / tying to make the unsustainable, sustainable) which requires special concentration throughout the race. This is definitely the definition of grad school.

So, several tips for the big race:

Without question, the ideal stride pattern is a consistent pattern of steps between all hurdles.

What does this mean? Know yourself. Know your most productive times and try to arrange that you are available to work during those hours, whether they be late or early. Keep it even throughout the week. Even if you work/school schedule varies try to get up at the same time each day. Waking up at 7am, I workout on the days I don’t have to be somewhere immediately. Perfect fit.

The hurdler should strive to accelerate the last few strides into the hurdle.

At the same time, relax a little between hurdles. Try to exercise, cook decently balanced meals, and see your friends. Catch up on co-worker gossip, network and revamp portfolios. Because yes, you will exhaust yourself immediately preceding deadlines and have no time to do any of this. It is unavoidable. So try to remain as healthy and balanced for as long as possible before the bottom drops out.

Leading with the knee is the single most important fundamental of efficient hurdle technique.

For me, this means that in order to get somewhere, you’ve got to know where you’re going, which takes lots and lots of planning. I’m constantly thinking of the next day and how I can make it go smoother; packing lunches, gym bags, organizing pick up and drop offs, scheduling for larger time chunks to better focus on assignments. And big picture too of course, set clear goals and come up with simple, daily tasks that will help you achieve them.

It is very important to be able to make any of these adjustments well in advance of the hurdle, instead of trying to rush an adjustment in the last few strides before the hurdle.

However, there are always last minute kinks. Sometimes, I’ve tended to ignore these and plow ahead with my schedule anyways. This is bad. I never get where I intended on going this way. And sometimes, I fall spectacularly. While this would have to be funny to watch from the side lines, in order to prevent actually living through the fall (more than I already have anyways) re-evaluation is almost as important as initial planning.

 

Blog updates and evolution

silver lake reservoir

Two summer internships, two new cities, one urban design charette, and a gothic tower later, I’m finally ready to re-start the blog.  I’ve swapped the layout of the blog to something I hope will be cleaner to navigate and updated the “About” page to better reflect where I am in grad school.  Which, is both a good and a bad place to be.  One the one hand, I’m only four months from graduation and have completed 11 studios during the course of my seven year degree program.  On the other, I’ve only got four more months of what is supposed to be a 10 month thesis, but I’m not anywhere near the point of production that might suggest.

So here’s to restarting the blog for a distraction and an outlet to better understand my interests as I mix thesis research, Atlanta-rediscovery (being away for 4 months and then tucked into studio for another 4 really makes you loose touch where you came from), and job hunting this semester.

The new blog header photo is an aerial view of the SilverLake community I’m using for thesis research.  My thesis statement goes as follows:

Building multifamily housing side by side singe family housing in singularly zoned neighborhoods contributes to neighborhood richness by promoting sustainable urbanism. A mix of housing choices increases a neighborhoods density, diversity and affordability.

The Silver Lake community typifies this largely because it was built pre-Euclidian zoning, allowing apartments to co-exist with single family homes.  Its density is one of the highest in the city of Los Angeles, yet its one of the most prosperous.   This is due to the variety of housing choices available within the community that allows individuals in all stages of life to find affordable housing options suited to their needs.

 

around hillard street

While returning to the site today to retake some photos for our site study collage, I drove around the Sweet Auburn area that’s just north of our site. Hillard Street in particular had some really great views of the city’s skyline, being almost exactly perpendicular of the Peachtree ridge. So I wove my way through the one-way grid, trying to get the perfect angle for a photograph. The area is perfectly sited for these grand views, and yet the area is economically depressed.

However, there are a few projects slated for the neighborhood. Several plan to be financed by the Eastside TAD, which plans to provide funding to reconnect the Sweet Auburn neighborhood with the area around the new Georgia Aquarium, hopefully improving its economic impact and improving the long-standing neighborhoods around Sweet Auburn. Notably, the Grant Park neighborhood association has a redevelopment plan for the MLK Marta parking lot. And the notorious public housing project, Grady Homes, has been demolished to make way for a mixed-income, HOPE VI community. It’s a really gorgeous area of Atlanta, with a lot of potential, sitting on one of the highest elevation points in the city. Its a shame it’s currently being under utilized.

The other thing that really struck me, was the enormous presence of I-75/85 there. It’s elevated, approximately two stories above ground level, and the void it creates under its immense road width is incredible. The structure is so stoic and regularized, yet there were people walking all through it, talking, buying-selling, and just getting out of the heat. It’s being used right now as a for profit parking lot, but with all that foot traffic, I could easily see it being changed into a temporary market of some kind. Something that would gently weave around the enormous columns of the highway support structure to reconnect the pedestrian oriented retail on either side of the split.