PUBLIC MARKS from jds1pdx with tags urbanplanning & landuse

Our core services include environmental, planning, management consulting, design/engineering, construction management, operations & maintenance, e-business and e-media, and—integrating all of the above—program management.

We apply our creative planning, research, communications and analytical skills to: * Study and resolve complex land use, environmental, transportation and growth management issues * Provide leadership in sustainability issues and public policy development * Resolve controversial public issues * Prepare comprehensive plans, land use studies, zoning ordinances and development regulations * Manage federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects and state environmental permitting processes * Develop intergovernmental agreements * Train business and professional people in effective communications techniques

We specialize in comprehensive planning, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, land-use ordinances, implementation strategies, and innovative public involvement programs and materials.

Geosimulation is a catch-all phrase that can be used to represent a new wave of spatial simulation modeling that has come to the fore in very recent years. Besides traditional urban modeling and simulation, the intellectual roots of geosimulation derive from recent developments in computer science and geographic information science. The geosimulation approach draws together a diversity of theories and techniques, offering a unique perspective that traditional simulation has commonly lacked: a view of urban phenomena as a result of the collective dynamics of interacting objects, often represented at the scale of individual households, people, and units of real estate and at time-scales approaching "real time".

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.”