| 8. An Eclectic Mix:
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In our introductory comments to this guide to online resources, we noted the explosion in information on the Web. Perhaps no web site better reflects this than the U.S. Census Bureau. There is a profusion of information. Fortunately, the site is well-organized, and you can narrow your searches to information related to your state, county, or community.
The best starting point for citizen planners will likely be the American FactFinder page. And just to quickly test things out, click the link to street address in the search box (on the left column) and then enter your own home address. See what you can find out. For detailed housing information -- something often of interest to planning commissioners -- go to the Housing section of American FactFinder. It won't take you too long to realize that this is a site where you can spend too much time!
While its focus is largely on its home state (with the notable exception of its "Elm Street Writers Group" mentioned below), we would be totally remiss if we didn't alert you to the Michigan Land Use Institute web site. Why? Simply because its one of the best designed, most informative, sites you'll find anywhere on the Web dealing with a range of land use, transportation, and environmental issues. Even if you're from California, Arkansas, Florida, or [name your state], we can guarantee you'll find some interesting article or publication here that relates to something you're dealing with in your own state. Two areas of the MLUI site we've found especially useful deal with Transportation and Growth Management. Within the Growth Management section, you'll find a number of excellent articles with a national perspective by writers in the "Elm Street" group. Also, take a look at the MLUI's Activist Toolkit.
When we did a random survey of Planning Commissioners Journal subscribers a couple of years ago, we asked what other "related" publications people read. Many told us Governing Magazine. Governing.com (their web site) covers a broad range of issues of interest to elected and appointed officials (not to mention government employees). This often includes topics related to land use planning and zoning. You can easily search the text of all Governing Magazine articles since 1987, and pull up the article. Governing Online also runs Otis White's "Urban Notebook" column, which we mention under Distinctive Voices.
We were surprised to only learn of the Smart City Radio Show several months ago. Somehow we had missed this excellent resource. As is stated on the site: "Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues." Guess what, that's not false advertising. We've listed to several of the radio broadcasts (conveniently archived), and they HAVE been penetrating discussions. Since there are well over 100 shows archived on the Smart City Radio web site, there are still many we're going to listen to during our lunch breaks. After you've tuned in to a couple of the Smart City shows archived on their site, you might want to encourage your local public radio station to carry them live.
The Orton Family Foundation is a highly innovative non-profit organization, that is focusing increasingly on community planning. Three of their key programs are Community Mapping, CommunityViz, and Community Video -- all of which are fully described on their web site. We've seen several of the community videos, which have great potential for bringing a town together to explore its past and present. If you're not familiar with the work of the Orton Family Foundation, their web site provides a good introduction.
One of the few web sites that provides information on land use law that would be of value to citizen planners is Professor Daniel R. Mandelker's Land Use Law site. While the site is primarily designed to supplement Mandelker's land use law course at the Washington University School of Law, citizen planners may still find information they can digest among the articles & videos available.
There is a rapidly growing interest among planners and public health professionals about the health impacts of our pattern of land development. These concerns center on sprawl and on our heavy dependence on automobiles (at the expense of walking and bicycling). A good starting point is the Designing & Building Healthy Places section of the Centers for Disease Control web site. You'll find links to current research and findings. For more sites that focus on pedestrian issues, go to our Transportation page.
OldHouses.com is a new Web resource for old house lovers buying or selling historic real estate. It provides listings of historic homes for sale, and includes other information, such as a guide to various house styles. We hope this site succeeds, as it offers an innovative service -- and a market-oriented way of fostering historic preservation.
Note from Wayne Senville, Editor of the Planning Comm'rs Journal: Allow me to take just a bit of liberty with the planning focus of this guide to highly recommend the following two sites. The first, Roadside Online, focuses on one of America's most important contributions to the culinary arts, the diner. Editor Randy Garbin offers a wonderful assortment of information, news, and features about diners. I've used his print publication, By the Way, (archived online) before heading out on the Interstates of New England, with great results. The RoadsideAmerica.com web site has an even broader objective -- providing information on all sorts off-beat destinations across the country. This is an especially enjoyable web site to visit when you're stuck at home on a cold & rainy day! |
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