PUBLIC MARKS from jds1pdx with tag opinions

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Randal O'Toole is an economist and has been director of the Oregon-based Thoreau Institute since 1975. He has also been an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute since 1995. His recent research and policy interests have centered on regional planning and growth management in Portland, Oregon and, more generally, on the New Urbanism. Among his more recent publications is The Vanishing Automobile and Other Urban Myths (Thoreau Institute, 1996) a critical appraisal of growth management and regional planning in Portland.

A different view on urban planning, smart growth and public trans, might be worth a read

Video on MITWorld about former lead planner for New Orleans about the planning issues facing the city after Katrina. One hour long. From the site: In the case of New Orleans, a city Ford reveres for its vibrant, distinctively diverse culture, urban planning never took into account how people actually lived -- in tight-knit neighborhoods, relying on an underground economy and spotty transportation. So after Hurricane Katrina, it is essential, believes Ford, that rebuilding plans embrace reality. Real urban recovery would mean luring back New Orleans residents, currently dispersed all over the country, with jobs. “With big contracts coming in, 25% must go to native New Orleanians,” says Ford. “If they don’t have skills, they should be taught.” When one family member returns, it “creates a toehold for the whole family to return.” Ultimately, “words for planning are gimmicks,” says Ford. Planners must stop “tinkering at the margins,” but step right into the politics of their communities, and “invite ways to measure their own effectiveness.”