Fort Mac Redevelpment Community Working Group

On Tuesday, there will be a Transportation working committee meeting at 7:00PM - This will be a conference call. If you're interested in dialing in, just hit me up.

Thanks,

City Planners Meeting on Saturday 11/21/2009

The timeline was accelerated and the Planners will have the Community Benefits and related zoning wrapped up by the end of December 2009. So much to do; so little time. Up until yesterday, November 18th, most Community Members thought we had until March 31st to complete the associated tasks. Let's see what Saturday brings - until then.

Community Benefits Agreement

What are community benefits agreements? Well, according to Amy Levine,a staff attorney at the Government Law Center of Albany Law School,
"A community benefits agreement, or CBA, is a private contract between a developer and a community coalition that sets forth the benefits that the community will receive from the development. Common benefits include living wages, local hiring and training programs, affordable housing, environmental remediation and funds for community programs. CBAs ensure that development is equitable and benefits all members of the community, eventually contributing to stronger local economies, livable neighborhoods and increased public participation in the planning process."

I'm mentioning CBA's because this week our Community will have to turn over one to the Planners this Saturday. All of the Committee Chairs will be involved in pulling this together:
Education and Culture
Public Health
Environment
Transportation
Jobs and Economic Development
Public Safety
Land Use and Zoning
Housing

It's our Community, we have a responsibility for its' direction.

Clean-tech research and development center vs. Bio Tech Center: which do you think would be better for the area?

Atlanta has several medical schools and the CDC - so, do we really need and bio tech research center to serve as the hub of the proposed Fort Mac Redevelopment project? Where did this idea originate? When we first heard of the plan, it was for a Retail / Residential development that would be like Atlantic Station. Now, it’s being planned as a Bio Medical Research Center.

How about developing something we don’t have already – A Clean Technology Research and Development Center. What a draw!!! This could be a place in the center of Atlanta that attracts younger, educated residents that are technology and information workers and researchers. It can also serve as a center to draw researchers from around the nation and the world working on and implementing technologies that would improve our lives, preserve and heal our environment and provide a future for generations to come.

There's Gonna Be a New Mayor in Town

So, there wasn't a decision made on who would be the Mayor of Atlanta. In any event, whoever it is will have to give a bit of their time and energy to the Southwest corner of the City of Atlanta where smart city planning in the form re-engineering could put our city on the map. Because of the large upcoming Fort Mac Redevelopment, this is a prime opportunity for us to become a model for sustainable urbanism.

Alternatives To Automobiles in In-Town Neighborhoods

Personal Transportation Devices.
Now I don't expect everyone to take up jogging/speed-walking/bicycling. It just might not be practical all of the time. There is the time factor and what I like to call the southern sweat factor. Not to mention that it may be a while before people will feel confident using the standardized methods of people powered alternative transportation after sunset and before sunrise. But here are a few new things to consider.


Toyota
Is introducing a personal transportation device that is powered by electricity and can operate in bike lanes and sidewalks. Not bulking and obtrusive like the eary entries by Segway into the personal transportation market.
According to a recent article in Best Gadget Gifts "The Toyota Winglet is being touted as the Segway killer. It could indeed accomplish this if the functionality is better and the price lower than the $5000 Segway. Prototype versions were recently shown in Tokyo, but they are still in the development stages. Rumor has it that Toyots has targeted 2010 for a product launch."


Honda
I've seen a demonstration of the contender from Honda and according to GizMag "A self-balancing unicycle experimental vehicle from Honda to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show next month might just be history in the making. Weighing less than 10kg, the 24 by 12 by 6-inch U3-X experimental vehicle runs for an hour, is small enough to be carried onto an airplane as hand luggage, has a wheel which spins in two planes and is set to challenge, perhaps even change, society’s concept of personal mobility.

Little more than a century after mass market personal transport became a reality, it seems we’re set to have a mobility renaissance thanks to the need for zero emission vehicles, better electric motors, rapidly improving battery technology and the exploding field of material science." This is a fascinating piece of machinery I'd like to try myself.



Nissan
Gizmag also reports that "Now Nissan is getting in on the act with its own prototype developed in partnership with Japan’s National Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST).

The device consists of two footboards, which balance upon two wheels – a main wheel and a smaller wheel on the outer side. Each footboard features a ski-pole-like handlebar to help the user maintain balance while in motion and a motor to drive the device at around 5kmh. When joined together tilt sensors inside the footboards detect the user’s shift in weight to turn. Sensors can also detect nearby obstacles allowing the possibility of the device being used to carry luggage that follows its owner around.

When the footboards are separated the device’s movement is limited to forward and reverse with turning accomplished in the same way as a stilt walker – lifting each leg and device and turning before placing it back on the ground.

There’s no indication of if or when it will enter production, but the AIST and Nissan say they will continue to develop the device."


What's missing here America?