Sunday, June 8, 2014

#009 - Patrick Sweeney - Urban Planning and Green Meatballs

Nathan Koskovich, AIA sits down with Patrick Sweeney, a Landscape Architect and Urban Planner who has just completed a stint working for the Atlanta Beltline. Patrick talks extensively about planning strategies and the advantages and greater freedom of well planned communities.


With over 23 years of extensive experience in transit, transportation and land use planning, Patrick Sweeney is a professional urban planner with expertise in making the connection between communities and neighborhoods and their mobility needs. Patrick was a Senior Project Manager for Transit and Transportation at Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., one of the country’s best comprehensive urban redevelopment programs. Patrick was the project manager for the Atlanta BeltLine/Atlanta Streetcar System Plan, the blueprint for advancing the citywide expansion of the Atlanta Streetcar. Patrick was also manager of the Atlanta BeltLine Sustainability Action Plan, a project that will result in an actionable framework for integrating sustainability into all aspects of Atlanta BeltLine’s identity and will improve the function, profitability, and community benefits of ABI’s organization, partnerships, and projects. Formerly a Senior Transit Planner with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, he was in charge of the development of the first modern streetcar system plan for the City of Portland, Oregon. His experience includes 16 years as a consultant working on transportation, land use, urban design and TOD planning projects around the country. Patrick is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, is a LEED Accredited Professional with the US Green Building Council and is a licensed Landscape Architect.

Links
We spend a lot of time talking about Urban Growth Boundaries, a kind of city planing strategy in which a boundary is drawn, within which high density development is allowed, and outside of which only low density development is allowed. 

To learn more about the roots of zoning like this, see David Green's article. 




Pictures
A picture showing Portland's Urban Growth Boundary

Google Earth view of Portland. You can see a pretty clear relationship between the Urban Growth Boundary and the location of urban development and the preservation of agriculture land and undeveloped natural environments.
Detail image of Portland showing the impact of the Urban Growth Boundary


Detail of Portland showing the impact of the Urban Growth Boundary


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