Landscapes2 Related References

NEW Comments! — Online Public Comment see what others have been saying about the Transportation Policy paper. Keep the conversation going, login and post your comment. If you need assistance please contact Carolyn Oakley at the CCPC.

Summer 2008 CCPC Planning Newsletter is now online.

Chesco housing market doing well — The real estate market in Chester County had mixed results in the first half of 2008.

Traditional Mixed-Use Neighborhoods Protect Home Buyers from Rising Gas Prices — Choice of neighborhood can reduce household driving miles by 10,000 or more, saving hundreds of dollars per month.

Rendell Signs $365M Bridge, Transit Appropriation funding — Repairs of 411 bridges across the state as well as a number of airport and railway items, appropriating $365M in total. Roughly $350M in bond funds and $15M in other state and federal revenues have been allotted to Rebuild Pennsylvania program. Even after bridge repairs are made, over 5,000 bridges in the commonwealth will remain categorized as structurally deficient absent an expenditure of over $11B.

Eating Green — Ten highly effective ways to go greener.

America's Best Places to raise a family, — Raising a happy family requires more than just a good school system. Counties have been ranked using 10 data points: cost of living, graduation rate, standardized scores, home price, property tax rate as a percentage of median home price, percentage of homes occupied by owner, per-capita income, air quality, crime rate and commute time. Chester County ranks 10th nationally.

County Business Patterns 2006 — Has been released by the U. S. Census Bureau. This is an important source of statistics about businesses throughout the nation. Pennsylvania saw an increase of 725 business establishments with paid employees between 2005 and 2006. The total number of paid employees also increased, adding 107,319 employees or a 2.1 percent gain.

County Business Patterns — is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. Businesses use the data for analyzing market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets. Government agencies use the data for administration and planning.

Pennsylvania Assembly Passes First Global Warming Law — Global warming legislation will be enacted for the first time in Pennsylvania when Governor Rendell signs the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act. A coal-rich state, Pennsylvania emits one percent of the world’s greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, more than the emissions of 105 developing countries combined.

Chester County Trauma Center Iniative

2008 Town Tours & Village Walks — Fourteen Years of Celebrating & Sharing Chester County's Heritage. Chester County's series of FREE summer wakling tours of our historic towns, villages, hamlets and countyside. Light refreshments will be searved after each tour.

Planning Related News and References

walk ride shareWalk Ride Share Philadelphia — Mobility package: includes free PhillyCarShare driving, a SEPTA Pass, discounted Amtrak fares, a free bicycle safety check and discounted tune-ups and a chance to win a new Fuji Bike as well as free running shoes. The City of Philadelphia joined PhillyCareShare in 2004 becoming the first government, worldwide, to share cars with local residents and has helped eliminate over 330 municipal vehicles and saving taxpayers over $7M.

A Car-Free Avenue grows in Brooklyn — New York City's car-free "Summer Streets" events are proving to be popular. A three-and-a-half minute video offers a look at Saturday's Williamsburg Walks event on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Philadelphia's own Fishtown is one of America's most fuel-efficient neighborhoods —
For every dollar working families save on housing, it spends nearly $2 on transportation, according to research by the nonpartisan Center for Housing Policy.

CNU Video — Shows How Walkable Urbanism Can Reduce Driving and Slash Carbon Emissions.

West Chester one of the Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

2008 National Planning Excellence Award for Public Outreach Project Region — a public education and outreach effort of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, was undertaken to build public support for long-term capital improvements and community revitalization in and near Pittsburgh. A number of tools and methods were used including on-site meetings, public forums and workshops, region-wide webcasts, and electronic polling. Public support generated by Project Region culminated in approval last June of the "2035 Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania." The plan presents $30B in sustainable growth and development to help strengthen communities and transportation corridors.

AMTRAK Re-launches Regional Service as Northeast Regional — The New Northeast Regional service will features a number of enhancements for passengers including upgraded Café cars positioned in the middle of each train to improve access for coach passengers. Northeast Regional re-launch branding focuses on the key elements that draw customers to the convenience and comfort of rail travel — mostly notably, freedom from traffic congestion, city to city-center trip time, and more recently, higher gas prices.

The Septa R5 will restore mid-service; add late-night trains. A schedule change for the regional rail is scheduled for September 7th. This change will feature two noteworthy enhancements to the R5 service:

  1. SEPTA will have completed construction to switches - 30 minute mid-day service will be restored to Malvern.
  2. Late-night trains on Friday and Saturday nights. Riders will be able to leave Center City after 1 am and return as far west as Malvern. The new schedule should be available by mid-August.

Air Quality Partnership (AQP) — of the Delaware Valley is a coalition dedicated to improving air quality in the Delaware Valley. The Partnership implements the Air Quality Action program to notify the public when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy and to encourage the public to take action to reduce air pollution, especially on Air Quality Action days. The AQP is administered by DVRPC. Forecasts are provided on this website and also by calling the Air Quality Partnership Information Line at 800 872 7261. Check the forecast daily and take the proper actions to reduce pollution and protect your health.

Google announces Walking Directions on Google MapsBETA

Upcoming Events

Tree Tenders Basic Training — As part of TreeVitalize the Pennsylvania horticultural Society in partnership with Penn State Cooperative Extension, will offer nine hours of hands-on tree- care training. The free training will cover tree biology, identification, planting, proper care and working within your community. September 25, 2008, Valley Forge Christian College, Phoenixville, PA.

Pennsylvania Chapter of APA — 2008 Conference Cities of the Past, America’s Places of the Future; October 12-14, 2008. for more information, please email info@planningpa.org.

Greenways and Trails: Your Path to Active Living — The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is holding its 2008 PA Greenways and Trails Summit, September 28–30, 2008 at the Inn at Pocono Manor, in Monroe County, PA. for details and registration please visit PA Recreation & Park Society.

The Master Planner Program combines good planning with continuing educational credits for professionals: Learn About Good Planning by David D. Ward, AICP.

The Pennsylvania Planning Association Southeast Chapter has created the Professional Development Institute. The Institute is designed to present contemporary planning topics and case studies in the Delaware Valley. It also provides professional planners opportunities to gain credits towards AICP certification maintenance. The program is co-sponsored by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the University of Pennsylvania, the Reinvestment Fund, and the William Penn Foundation. The fall 2008 program is entitled: "Building Transit Oriented Developments". The program will look at successful development projects designed with and in proximity to transit stations. The case study of focus will be the Hamilton Station of New Jersey Transit. The program will be held in the afternoon of Friday, September 12th at the Lower Merion Township building in Ardmore, PA. The cost will be $20 for APA members and $30 to all others. For more details contact Graciela Cavicchia.

The Pennsylvania State Data Center invites you to attend the PaSDC's 2008 Census Data Workshops.

The Past, Present and Future of Data — What does it mean for you? 2008 Pennsylvania Data User Conference, Holiday Inn, Harrisburg/Hershey September 11, 2008.

Links

Terminology Corner

Perspectives on terms used in Landscapes2 discussions.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD)