This document provides an overview of smart growth citizenship and grassroots action transforming communities. It discusses how planners need to lead participants towards answers rather than just taking orders. It then gives a brief history of citizen participation in planning from Jane Jacobs in the 1960s. It outlines current levels of citizen engagement and desire to be involved. It argues that local government is well-positioned to facilitate this due to trust in local government and existing social capital. It discusses strategies that have been successful including emphasis on civic rather than political issues. It argues grassroots action is decentralizing planning and empowering citizens. It outlines how volunteerism, non-profits and crowdfunding can implement plans without public funding. It discusses the Tampa Urban

1. Smart Growth Citizenship

2. Motivations for today’s session
• Planners vs. The Public. “When we ask, “What would you like to
see here?”, we suggest that all ideas have comparable merit. That
they’re all equally worthy of implementation, even though we know
that’s not the case. We lead people to believe that if they ask for a
library, there will be a library, regardless of whether or not one’s
needed. Or budgeted. Or carries with it the necessary political will
to become real. We draw the requested coffee shop or grocery
store, with no consideration of market demand or the fact that the
city plays no role in leasing decisions. We take orders when we
should be leading participants towards answers.” – A blog
published this week
• Stress over constrained public resources. “We don’t want another
plan. We have plenty of them. They all sit on the shelves. We need
an implementation strategy.” – Local officials in communities all
over the country

3. Brief History of a Movement
Cities have the capability of providing
something for everybody, only
because, and only when, they are
created by everybody
1960s -- Jane Jacobs
Behind all the current buzz about
collaboration is a discipline. And with
all due respect to the ancient arts of
governing and diplomacy, the more
recent art of collaboration does
represent something new -- maybe
Copernican. If it contained a silicon
chip, we‟d all be excited.
-- John Gardner
1990s

4. Look @ What‟s Happening Today
• National League of Cities survey of U.S. Cities (2010) - 81
percent use public engagement processes "often" (60
percent) or "sometimes" (21 percent)
• American Planning Association (2012) – “More than 50
percent want to personally be involved in community
planning efforts, including more than half of Democrats,
Republicans, and independents as well as majorities of urban,
suburban, and rural respondents.”
• The Citizen Planner is pervasive, and the intellectual children
of Jane Jacobs are ever-growing. Civil Society rules.

5. Local Government is
Well-Positioned
• Non-Partisan. Over 60 percent of local Govs are
Council-Manager systems.
• Trust in Government. 74 percent trust local
government (as opposed to just 34 percent for
Congress)
• Social Capital Peaking. recent study: 76% trust most
or some of their neighbors, 44% talk to them
frequently and 65% exchange favors.

6. So-called „Secrets‟ to success
• Emphasis on civic, not political
• Vision tied to action
• Community Engagement and Process
• Novel Partnerships
• Extend and Expand Community Investment
• Customization

7. Facilitating Citizen-Led Change
• Democratic wave during last 25 years at the local level
• Decentralization - Neighborhood Council Systems and
Neighborhood Associations
• Aggregation – “there‟s an app for that.” Civic multipliers,
crowdsourcing/crowdfunding ($1.5 billion in 2011)
• Tactical Urbanism – start small, scale up
• Empowerment – over 100 Neighborhood College and Citizen
Academy programs

8. Civic Strategy
• Re-orient government and expand notions
of the public sector to include the public
• Designer Democracy: Orient
design/planning profession to serve the
public interest and be driven by it.

9. “We have no public resources to
implement”
• Volunteerism = $171 billion (only 64 mill people)
• Total Charitable Giving = $298.42 billion.
• Non-profits = $300 billion in investment into local
communities
• Over half of all states have enacted legislation to enable
private-sector participation in infrastructure projects, where
there is an estimated $180 billion to be leveraged
• Crowdfunding - $1.5 billion in 2011 alone

10. So, what does this mean and how
does this happen at the community
scale?
• Joel Mills, American Institute of Architects
• Taryn Sabia, The Urban Charrette, Tampa
• Erin Simmons, American Institute of Architects
• Jim Diers, Neighbor Power

11. The Urban Charrette is a Tampa-
based non-profit organization that
educates and collaborates with
community, business, government,
and education leaders cultivating
knowledge of leading urban design
practices to build vibrant cities.
Smart Growth Citizenship: How Grassroots Action is Transforming Communities, Kansas City
February 09, 2013

12. We are…
designers
activists
urbanists
volunteers
organized by
young professionals
We are Grassroots

13. Our Role in the Community
venue for civic design initiatives
facilitator of the conversation
involve citizens in actively shaping the built environment and
ultimately making their neighborhoods and cities better
places to live.

14. What we are up against…
• No hierarchy to channel growth
• Decentralized districts/region
• People LIVE in Tampa, but LOVE where they
“came from”

15. In other words
• Sprawl Centric
• Developer Driven
• Automobile Dependent
• Lack of a STRONG Identity (vision)

16. What we are doing about it…
Serve the community as citizen urban
designers in a Frontier Town

17. The approach…
solve the problems through DESIGN
Design Process
• Create a Shared Vision
• Establish Hierarchy

18. The approach…
• Omni-Present
• Building a Network
• Entertaining Education
• Tactile Urbanism
• Idea Farming

19. Be everywhere, all of the time…
The organization is more powerful as an IDEA
rather than individual personalities or a single
entity.

20. Momentum Drivers
• Saturday morning workshops
• Coffee shop gatherings
• Participated on committees (many)
• Attended farmers’ markets
• Spoke at City Council hearings and public
presentations

21. Silo-Busting: redefine the roles of professionals
in the community
Bridging the Gap: connecting community
groups and resources

22. Mind Your Planners:
Social Networking for
Better Urban Design
“To stir the pot, Fritz, 33, a graduate of USF's School of
Architecture, and fellow architect Taryn Sabia, 28,
founded a group called Urban Charrette earlier this
year. Their goal, in a nutshell, is to make urban planning
accessible -- even cool and fun -- to a crowd
comprised not just of architects and designers but
citizens at large.” - Megan Voeller Creative Loafing Tampa Published 08.29.2007

23. • Create a forum for communication through venues
and social media (face-to-face is still the way to go)
• Establish key community partnerships and nurture
relationships between the good, the bad, and the
ugly

24. Successes…
Downtown Festivals
Small Businesses and organizations
Community Gardens
Neighborhood leaders and City Council members
and SDAT: Connecting Tampa

25. What is the SDAT program?
The SDAT program is a
community assistance program
that focuses on the principles of
sustainability. SDATs bring teams
of volunteer professionals (such
as architects, urban designers,
landscape architects, planners,
hydrologists, economists,
attorneys, and others) to work
with community decision-makers
and stakeholders to help them
develop a vision and framework
for a sustainable future.

26. SDAT brought together…
Municipal Leaders
County Officials
Planning Commission
Elected Officials
Community Leaders
Organizations
Citizens
Students
Business Leaders
Many of these groups had
never talked to each other
before and those that did
tended to be injurious

27. connecting tampa
the components of SDAT Tampa
how does a cash strapped non-profit pull off an SDAT?
 Open Mic Discussions
 Planning Commission Presentations
 Tampa Downtown Partnership
Presentations
 AIA Emerging Leaders
 Pecha Kucha
 Community Radio
 Neighborhood Group Presentations
 Local News Media (Creative Loafing,
Tampa Bay
Business Journal, St. Pete Times)
 Public Events
 Ybor Market
 Downtown Market
 Neighborhood Group Presentations
-Fundraisers

28. connecting tampa
project partners
silver sponsors
bronze sponsors

29. connecting tampa
Long Term Recommendations
 sustainability first
 light rail focus
 environmental / economic
 more than museums
 community planning
 education and empower

30. connecting tampa
What came out of Tampa’s
SDAT…
5 focus areas that will build
on the goals of making
Tampa more sustainable

31. Reaching the community at large through fun,
interactive events which inform consensus
building efforts
Open Mic Night
Urbanism on Tap
Transit Talk
Water Taxi Charrette

32. The Urban Charrette’s Open
Mic Night series is designed
as a forum where the
community can openly
interact with experts on a
particular topic and
provides the opportunity for
dialog on issues that face
our city.

33. The Urban Charrette is
teaming with CNU Tampa to
host discussions on “Us, Them,
and the City: A Serious
Discussion Calls for Serious
Drinks.
Engaging young
professionals where they go,
the bar.

35. Project Overview Tampa Watertaxi
Vision
Celebrating Tampa‟s waterfront by Charrette
giving people an enjoyable transit
experience that connects the City‟s
natural and urban environments.
Tampa Downtown
Partnership
A major feasibility study had
been finished by Hillsborough
County – but what would it look
and feel like?

36. Tampa Watertaxi
Charrette
The “HYDRO” is a water
borne commuting system
which connects the
Tampa community along
the Hillsborough River by
providing an alternative
transportation choice to
residents and visitors that
is accessible, visible, and
marketable.

37. Tampa Watertaxi
Charrette
• Unify our urban waterfront neighborhoods.
• Create stronger links between the riverfront and adjacent neighborhoods.
• Connect the network of cultural venues.
• Educate the public about our Estuary.
• Activate the Tampa Riverwalk from the river’s edge.
• Enhance the quality of life for local residents and visitors.
• Increase public use of the riverfront.
• Celebrate place at each designated stop through heritage markers,
imagery, and public art.

38. Tampa Watertaxi
Charrette

39. Tampa Watertaxi
Charrette

40. Active Learning through EXPERIENCE
• Mobility Market
• Conceptual Kiley
• ECO.lution

41. Urban Charrette can seem like
a guerrilla movement in its
approach to influencing urban
development, compared to
the usual process of meetings,
hearings and deals between
politicians, officials and
developers that often take
place in paneled and
upholstered chambers. -83 Degrees

42. Mobility Market
Transformation of a downtown  Feature local agencies,
street into a COMPLETE STREET businesses, and organizations
with informative exhibits
 Promote good design and
improved mobility in
Downtown
 Support alternative modes of
transportation (electric cars,
transit, bike, pedestrian, etc.)
 Create a sensory experience
through a live complete street
demonstration

43. Mobility Market

44. Mobility Market
 Sidewalks
 Bike lanes
What is a Complete Street?
 Wide shoulders
 Plenty of crossing opportunities
 Bus shelters & crossings
 Sidewalks bulb-outs
 Café Seating
 Representatives from four agencies: TBARTA, HART,
Hillsborough MPO and the City of Tampa

45. Mobility Market

46. Mobility Market

47. Mobility Market

48. Mobility Market

49. Conceptual Kiley

50. Conceptual Kiley

52. Conceptual Kiley

53. Conceptual Kiley

54. The purpose of ECO.lution is to reach a
tipping point, said City Council member
Linda Saul-Sena, who has been
supportive of the effort. "Once a critical
mass has this vision for a sustainable
community, then the vision is possible."

56. Why is this approach important?

57. VISION
+
VALUES

58. Because we are working to overcome
apathy by making it fun and interesting
In order it to build…
CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE
• Build a framework for people to get
invested
• Value community, value place

59. Why Civic Infrastructure Matters…
Tampa population in 2011, 346,037
• 25% under age 18
• 10% 18-24
• 32% 25-44 young professionals
• 20% 45-64
• 12% 65 and older
32% of people 25+ have a Bachelors Degree or higher
Mayoral Election in 2011
• 190,629 registered voters in the City
• Voter turnout 22% (42,486)
• Less than 5% were age 25-44 (young professionals)

60. How do we know it’s working?
IDEA Farming…
The issues are big and require a lot of partners,
community consensus, and actions.
New groups approach the Urban Charrette as a
resource, the seeds are planted - we now help
grow IDEAS from the community, for the
community!

62. • Since 1967…Collectively the DAT program,
a public service of the AIA, represents over
1000 professionals from more than 30
disciplines providing millions of dollars in
professional pro bono services to more than
200 communities across the country.

63. R/UDATs & SDATs

64. A 3-5 day event…
In communities that range from
Guemes Island, WA to Miami, FL…
With multi-disciplinary teams
tailored to each community…
Engaging and empowering the
community to define their own
process and vision.

65. DAT Principles
• Multi-Disciplinary
Team
• Objective Outsiders
• Community
Participation

66. Port Angeles, WA
SDAT (2009)

67. Port Angeles asked SDAT looked at:
for:
• An outside eye on community • Views, Viewsheds and
needs Natural Systems
• Ideas to enhance • Sustainable Transportation
Tourism/International Corridor • Downtown Gateway
• Improvements for Residents Corridor
AND Visitors • Downtown Parking
• Economic Development
• Short term easy items • Urban Design
• Long term costly items • Signage & Urban Design

69. Immediate Implementation
1. Parking study in the downtown area.
2. Increase housing opportunity and multi‐use buildings in
downtown.
3. Institute the use of form based codes rather than conventional
zoning.
4. Remove the parking regulations in downtown and let the market
drive parking.
5. Return the Farmer's Market to the downtown area.
6. Signage and wayfinding system for pedestrian and vehicles.
7. Improve existing buildings (appearance, facades, etc. in downtown
and elsewhere).
8. Provide visitor information kiosks.
9. Create an entryway monument.
10. Create nodes / centers of key intersections.

70. Prioritization
• Staff picked through
and identified
implementation
items
• Survey at Public
Meeting
• Committee Review
and Prioritization

71. Façade Improvements

72. Wayfinding & Signage

73. PA Today: $75 Million in New Investments

74. Newport, VT R/UDAT
(2009)

75. Newport asked R/UDAT looked
for: at:
• Strategies for adaptive reuse. • Housing
• Enhanced ties to the • Economic Development
waterfront. • Tourism
• Multimodal circulation and • Downtown & Historic
linkage throughout all nodes of Preservation
Newport. • Natural Environment &
• Conceptual designs for an Community Open Space
inviting streetscape. • Civic Health
• Alternatives to existing land • Vision of the City
use regulation constraints.

77. Key Recommendations
1. Pool collective talent and resources across the
community to address critical issues.
2. Implement a new wayfinding and signage system.
3. Engage the Community in the Design, Creation, and
Maintenance of a Community Garden.
4. Convene Stakeholders to Address Loitering Concerns in
the Downtown.
5. Create a youth Commission or Youth Advisory Council.
6. Write and implement a new form based code.
7. “Vestpocket” Park Downtown.
8. Take full advantage of the Rail Corridor at the
Waterfront.
9. Visual Repair with Recreation Potential.
10. Increase Environmental Art.

78. Wayfinding &
Signage

79. Community
Garden

80. Form Based Code

81. Newport 2.0: $250 Million in New Investments
• 2011 – Newport receives Foreign Trade Zone status
• 2011 – Canadian manufacturing firm co-locates here
• 2011 – 2012 – Vermont biotech firm re-locates here
• 2012 – 2013 – South Korean biotech firm co-locates
here
• 2012 – 2013 – Senior residential resort is built
• 2013 – 2 014 – Waterfront resort conference center
opens
• 2013 – 2014 – Re-development of blighted block on
Newport’s Main St.

82. Lessons Learned- Broad Community
Participation

83. Lessons Learned- Transparent Process

84. Lessons Learned- Form Partnerships

85. GROWTH ISN’T SMART
UNLESS IT GROWS COMMUNITY

86. Christchurch, New Zealand

94. Blue Pallet Pavilion

99. St. Luke’s Labyrinth

102. Dance-O-Mat

106. Cycle-Powered Cinema

109. Think Differently Book Exchange

112. Urban Poetica

117. POWER OF COMMUNITY
• Respond to Disaster
• Prevent Crime
• Promote Health
• Care for One Another
• Care for the Earth
• Strengthen Democracy
• Advance Social Justice
• Create Great Places

118. STEPS GOVERNMENT AND PROFESSIONALS
MUST TAKE
TO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY

119. Move from Siloed Thinking

120. To Focusing on Whole Places

121. Department of

122. Little City Halls

123. Move from Starting with Needs

124. To Starting with Strengths

125. Neighborhood Matching Fund

126. Ballard Neighbourhood

139. Carkeek Park

142. Eastlake Neighbourhood, Seattle

145. Phinney Neighborhood

148. Uptown Neighborhood
Restore paradise, garden a parking lot

152. Belltown Neighborhood

155. Beacon Hill Neighbourhood

156. Eritrean Community

157. Columbia City

163. International District

164. Fremont Neighborhood

171. Move from Top-Down

172. To Community-Driven

173. Neighborhood Planning

174. Washington State’s
Growth
Management Act
Requires local
governments in urban
areas to accept and plan
for the bulk of the
state’s population
growth.

175. City’s Comprehensive Plan

176. Delridge Neighborhoods

204. Value of Community-Driven Development
•Builds on local knowledge, character and culture
•Multiplies available resources
•Results in more holistic and innovative projects
•Creates ownership that leads to less vandalism and
greater maintenance, programming and use by
community
•Builds stronger sense of community
•Creates support for growth in a way that is truly
smart

205. jimdiers@comcast.net