Comment 74547

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted February 19, 2012 at 10:33:46 in reply to Comment 74546

I don't think successful urban planning necessarily requires an autocratic mayor.

You'll notice Strasbourg city council voted unanimously to support the pedestrian friendly changes.

Vancouver

http://raisethehammer.org/article/1427/a...

is a good Canadian example of a city that decided on a long-term rational and progressive urban planning strategy and has stuck to it for over 40 years, despite highly polarized municipal politics.

One necessary condition for success is to take day to day planning decisions out of the hands of council and ensure the urban designers and traffic engineers follow the policies agreed by council. It helps to have a top-rate director of planning, as Vancouver had in Larry Beasley.

Council should not be micromanaging and over-turning staff on every zoning issue, from placing stop signs to rezoning lots.

They should, however, decide the strategy and solicit the best advice on how to implement the strategy from staff and residents. Council should then decide which tactics to implement based on respect for expert and community advice.

Of course, urban planning works best if the fundamental strategy is not overturned every four years!

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2012-02-19 10:34:23

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