Urban Issues Essay Topics
1. How can conflict between urbanists (who are essentially positivists with an anthropological need to shape the environment around them) and nimby'ites (not-in-my-back-yard'itis), enviros or bananas (build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything'ists) be resolved, avoided or ameliorated? Give an example of nimby'ite behaviour and what could have been done to address it.
2. Should town planning authorities be allowed to ban 'undesirable' land uses on a moral or other basis within their jurisdictions? Uses such as rooming houses, video game parlors, massage parlors, basement apartments, escort services, prisons, liquor stores, adult video stores, exotic dance clubs, rooming houses, casinos, horse tracks, group homes, co-ops, cultists, dog tracks, jai alai, needle parks, needle exchanges, housing for the homeless, half way houses, funeral homes, crematorium, red light districts come to mind. Is there such a thing as victimless crime? How does one reconcile civic order and personal freedom? What rules are appropriate and what processes should apply?
3. Why does it appear that conflict between the developer and the architect, on the one hand, and neighbors, planning authorities and enviros on the other hand is inevitable? What are some of the underlying causes of this discord?
4. Have zoning rules, in common use since the beginning of the 20th Century and now a world wide phenomenon, helped create better urban spaces or have they hindered town morphology? On what basis can one evaluate comparative urban designs?
5. Is higher density in a city a positive force for city design and development?
6. Why do town planners, community associations and municipal politicians resist projects that will increase urban density?
7. Does increased density increase or decrease neighboring property values?
8. It is said by some that town planning today is based on greed and fear'. Discuss.
9. Application of Broken Windows Syndrome' in New York City by Mayor Rudolf Guillianni in the 1990s has been credited with reducing vandalism, street crime and even the murder rate there. It is also said to be responsible for violations of human rights including the rights of the homeless, vagrants, passers-by and unconventional residents and businesses in NYC. How can the goals of civic order be reconciled with freedom of expression, freedom of the person and the right to use private property for unconventional purposes?
10. Before 1900, the growth of villages, towns and cities was often the subject of an explicit or implicit consensus about what constitutes civic art. Complaints about rampant goats or smells and effluent from the tannery or reserving pride of place for important civic buildings (the town hall, the school, the hospital, the theatre, ...) were subject to discussion and resolution at citizen meetings where complainants were required to come forward in person. Today a great deal of bylaw enforcement is based on anonymous tipster traffic and 'rat' lines. Discuss how this coarsens and weakens the social fabric and undermines respect for municipal processes.
11. Over 50% of new suburban growth in the United States is said to be inside gated communities. While taking up residence in a gated community may be a rational decision for an individual or family given the social disorder in many US cities, but the implications for the social fabric of the USA may be parlous. Discuss.
12. Should governments subsidize professional sports franchises and their arenas? Do these franchises and their stadia contribute to the development of city-states? Do they add value or take value from a community? Does their economic contribution depend on the size of their cities with smaller economies benefiting proportionately more from the spin offs including name recognition and international marketing than larger centres?
13. Developer charges have been introduced everywhere since the 1980s. They are unfair, inequitable and inefficient. They raise intergenerational equity considerations and represent a transfer of wealth from the younger (and poorer) generation to an older one. It may be that new infrastructure is being paid for over and over- first in general property taxes, next in DCs, next in utility payments and lastly in at-no-cost subdivision agreements. The 'dispossessed' have no voice in the matter- future homeowners and voters don't vote in elections that create or extend DCs. DCs give sitting owners a one time increase in their home prices. DCs invoke an obvious human trait- "Since I paid them," says the new home owner, "why shouldn't the next guy." Money is power and governments rely on DCs to generate a lot of cash. DCs are often levied in multiple for multiple unit dwellings even though they may place the same burden on the public infrastructure as a single family home. This discourages the construction of multiple dwelling units and affordable housing. Once in effect, DCs are hard to get rid of: new home costs would fall; sitting owners don't like the idea of decreasing prices; politicians don't like to see a tax get away from them. How would a city-state go about getting rid of DCs?
14. Iconic architecture has created landmarks in cities around the world. The Eiffel Tower, among others, was initially frowned on by the general public as a blight upon the cityscape. Georges Eiffel obtained approval for his landmark structure by calling it a "temporary" structure. A century later, the Eiffel Tower is perhaps the defining monument for the City of Lights, Paris. It certainly would be considered a sacrosanct heritage piece which could never be demolished. The recently completed London Eye, the largest ferris wheel ever constructed, was approved by the British Parliament on the basis that it too is a temporary structure. The term of operation is five years. Interestingly, the specifications for the structure require components of the London Eye to have a lifetime expectancy of 50 years. The London Eye is sited in the most historic part of London and dwarfs the structures around it. Discuss how projects such as these are approved under a guise; is this the only way to get these projects approved? Is this a 'bait and switch' approach? What are the ethics of this? Does the end justify the means? Is the London Eye likely to become another icon in the City of London on a par with the Eiffel Tower? Is the public fickle? Should the elites decide what is built knowing public opinion will or may change? Do we want the public approval process to be participatory democracy or is it democratic abuse? ) Read an essay by student Tommy Ong, "s u s t a i n i n g o u r u r b a n i c o n s").
15. Governments are unlikely to contribute to the development of city icons in the future. We are perhaps less likely to see mega projects such as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument, L'Arc de Triomphe or, for that matter, the Egyptian Pyramids again. What is the proper role for governments in producing large scale public art, if any? Producing large scale public art is perhaps only possible today with private funding. This leaves two alternatives- a) public art becomes the exclusive realm of wealthy foundations and individuals (eg., the Millennium Gate proposal for Washington D.C.) or b) public art is funded by commercializing the art. Examples of the latter are the London Eye and the proposed Kanata Media Tower where the "Media" part is needed to get the "Tower" part of the equation. Is this crass commercialism or is this "necessity is the mother of invention"?
16. Governments can play an important role in the development of our city-states. We have also seen that an inappropriate regulatory regime can choke growth and change; it can produce suburban blight and urban design that is 'dreck' as well as limiting options for residents by, for example, outlawing small flats, granny flats, duplexes and other forms of affordable housing. Governments can, however, socialize risk; they can act when others will not to offset boom and bust cycles. They can promote or provide 'mega' projects such as subway construction, bridge construction and other public goods that the private sector will not supply. They can view a new road or other public infrastructure as unlocking development, jobs and tax assessment or they can view it as an unwanted cost with negative fiscal impacts that should be borne by the development industry through development charges, special assessments or at-no-cost rules. Discuss the appropriate role for governments in city-state development in terms of their involvement in regulatory, infrastructure, counter cyclical programs.
17. Why does it seem impossible to build towns and cities like we used to do? How come we can't just copy what everyone seems to recoginze as great urban development (like say Nantucket Island or the Byward Market in Ottawa)? Isn't it just a matter of measuring those developments and replicating them?
18. People often recall their high school days as the best of their lives and that is usally wrapped up in belonging to a team or some type of club. Being part of a team, something bigger than yourself, seems to give people great satisfaction. How can we design the built form of a city-- both its private space and the public room to better nurture "Team Spirit" amongst citizens? Discuss how 'software' (i.e., the programming of towns and cites-- things like festivals, street parties and public events) can add to this objective.
19. If you were the undisputed leader of a town and could command all things urban, how would you organize your city? Would you use: a) command and control (where you exercise absolute control over the built form of the city), b) anything people want to build is OK-- total anarchy, c) zoning and master planning rules, d) hierarchical rules (basically, your friends get the best sites), e) some kind of performance zoing where you keep dangerous uses out (like say a fireworks factory or ammunition plant) but allow pretty much everything else, f) some other kind of system?
20. The 'highest and best use rule' means that land is treated as a scarce resource and its use is rationed by maximizing the returns from its development. Should this be the most important factor in determining what goes on a site or are there other factors that should be brought into the equation? You may have heard the expression that 'Dollars are Democrats'; what this means is that money doesn't discriminate and is the most efficient form of organizing society yet found. Should anyone with money or, at least, access to money be allowed to develop a piece of real estate?
21. Do people really want to work from home or do they need the separation of home and work?
22. What is the difference between densification and intensification, give examples of each and whether you consider these to improve the urban fabric and the living experience or not?
23. Do North American cities suffer from a density deficit? How does it affect city investment in structures and infrastructure?
24. Should developers care about anything other than the profit motive? Under what circumstances can investment in the public room be justified to a private developer?
25. Can value exist in urban spaces without public safety? If not, what can be done to improve public safey? How can the public room be designed to improve public safety?
26. Prima facie, additional density increases proerpty values. For example, a home with a granny flat in the back yard or a home with an attic or basement apartment probably will sell first and for more than a neighboring proeprty without any of these. Why? Also, address the question of why more cities and towns don't encourage or won't permit this type of development?
27. Aging in place means finding ways to keep elders in their existing communities longer. Explain some of the ways in which this might be done.
28. Technical or technological progress in buidling specs and building methods are likely to lead to improvements in energy efficiency. Explain how changes in urban form and zoning codes can also contribute to energy efficiency and greater sustainability.
29. Governments can intervene in urban development in both positive and negative ways. Such interventions must be judicious otherwise the law of unitended consequences may prevail. Show how some zoning ordinances or by-laws have backfired and caused harm to urban spaces. Can you think of other ways in which governments have intervened successfully such as density bonusing to encourage residential development in primarily commercial areas?
30. Urban sprawl is a despised result of urban development. But it remains unlcear whether low density, mono-cultured suburbs are a result of zoning codes or the profit seeking activity of developers. Is it possible that millions of acres of suburban homes, as far as the eye can see, is the result of well intentioned but misguided attempts by urban planners and local politicians to protect home values from the supposed negative effects of densification and intensification that might also add some life and interest to these developments as well as value?Urban sprawl is a despised result of urban development. But it remains unlcear whether low density, mono-cultured suburbs are a result of zoning codes or the profit seeking activity of developers. Is it possible that millions of acres of suburban homes, as far as the eye can see, is the result of well intentioned but misguided attempts by urban planners and local politicians to protect home values from the supposed negative effects of densification and intensification that might also add some life and interest to these developments as well?Urban sprawl is a despised result of urban development. But it remains unlcear whether low density, mono-cultured suburbs are a result of zoning codes or the profit seeking activity of developers. Is it possible that millions of acres of suburban homes, as far as the eye can see, is the result of well intentioned but misguided attempts by urban planners and local politicians to protect home values from the supposed negative effects of densification and intensification that might also add some life and interest to these developments as well as value?
31. Why can't we build cities and towns like we used to? North American cities and towns separate out all uses so that practically every trip to the store, work place, school, Church, playground, what have you, requires a car trip. There is nowhere to walk to. Anyone without a car (such as, say, kids) is practically disenfranchised. Maybe we should follow James Howard Kuntsler's adivce (Home from Nowhere) and 'burn all the zoning codes'... Discuss.
32. Other questions relevant to design economics, urban design, urban economics and real estate development will be accepted with the prior approval of the lecturer.