Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/03/2011

Home

Coastal Hazards and mart Growth ByJohn Jacob and Tommy Pacello Peirce Lewis, author of New Orleans: The Making of an Urban Landscape, called New Orleans the "inevitable city in the impossible place," INEVITABLE COMMUNITIES Every coastal city or town to one degree or another faces the dilemma of having to be in a place that no city should be in. Ac- cording to Richard Campanella in Bienville's Dilemma: A Historical Geography of New Orleans, if Bienville—the person who origi- nally sited and laid out New Orleans in the early 17oos—had followed environmental planning prescriptions in use today, New Or- leans would have been placed far upstream, in a much better location, but in a far worse situation. New Orleans would have been on much higher ground and subject to much less flooding (the better location), but it would have had much less access to coastal traffic (a far worse situation). Bienville sited New Orleans in just about the best available location to take advantage of the premier situation on the Gulf Coast: the mouth of the largest river in North America. Every coastal city faces Bienville's dilemma as they con- sider where and how to grow. After Katrina it was common to hear calls for the abandonment of New Orleans. Why should we spend public money on resuscitating a city in such a wretched loca- tion? Good planning, after all, would avoid such places from the get -go. The problem is there is no avoiding a place like the mouth of the Mississippi. There is going to be a city there no matter what: The question is what kind of city. And the same goes for most coastal cities to one degree or another. They are by necessity in a hazardous loca- tion. That is the starting point when thinking about planning for coastal cities. New Orleans is a city on its way back, in part because of its situation and in part because of the unique evolution of culture and landscape that resulted in one of the great cities of the world. It is a place worth defending, but perhaps not every inch. Per- haps there are parts more defendable than Mix land uses, including water de- pendent uses. Take advantage of compact building design that enhances, preserves, and provides access to waterfront resources. .3 Create a range of housing opportuni- ties and choices to meet the needs of both seasonal and permanent residents. 4 Create walkable neighborhoods with physical and visual access to and along the waterfront for public use. 5 Foster distinctive, attractive commu- nities with a strong sense of place that capitalizes on the waterfront's heritage. Preserve open space, farmland, natu- ral beauty, and critical environmental areas that characterize and support coastal and waterfront communities. 7 Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities and encourage waterfront revitalization. 8 Provide a variety of land- and water - based transportation choices. 9 Make coastal development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective through consistent policies and coor- dinated permitting processes. 20 Encourage community and stake- holder collaboration in development decisions, ensuring that public inter- ests in and rights of access to the wa- terfront and coastal waters are upheld. THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF COASTAL SMART GROWTH 1 2 6 From the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's zoo9 report, Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities (EPA-231-K-o9-ooi). http://coastalsmart- growth.noaa.govireport.html others. The neighborhoods of New Orleans that are in some ways most representative of its character are for the most part in the best locations —on the highest ground, low though it is. The character of these places is defined by a unique architecture and urban pattern, a pattern defined first and foremost by walkability and by a compact mix of resi- dential and commercial uses. This pattern is what defines smart growth today: compact form, mixed uses, and a distinctive and vibrant urban character. We argue here that this compact urban pattern conveys not only character to a city but that it also endows coastal cities with a certain amount of resil- ience to coastal hazards. THE COASTAL HAZARDS WE FACE Tropical storms are the preeminent coastal hazard along the Gulf of Mexico, where most of our experience as authors is. All tropical storms bring a strong risk of flooding on the flat coastal plain that extends inland from the Gulf from less 25 to more than 75 miles, and hurricanes bring the devastating force of storm surges to the near -shore areas. In fact, this flooding and surging, including tsu- namis, represents the primary hazard to all coastal communities, regardless of location. In addition to the "acute" issues of storms and surges, flat -lying areas like the Gulf Coast are also subject to more "chronic" issues such as subsidence, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. For the most part the same planning principles apply. DURABILITY AND SENSE OF PLACE —SMART GROWTH ON THE COAST Smart growth is about vibrant places that use less energy and materials. It is about de- signing for people and then accommodating cars, a hierarchy ignored by most postwar community planning in the United States until quite recently. ZONINGPRACTICE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 2