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Vol. 14 No. 31…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 1, 2011
Intuit's Vibe
A Legacy in Rust
By TC Leonard
Behold the urban donut
With its empty, vanquished core
And the plywood laden doorway
Of the local hardware store,
The windows are all covered
In a world full of woes,
With boards and screws and hammer
From the freshly
opened Lowe's
Yes, the donut keeps on growing,
And herein lies the pity-
It's a black hole, maybe in reverse
That's spit out half the city
Complete with smoke and dust
That slices through the side of town
Where the mall went bust
The outlet stores sell foreign junk
For pennies on the
dollar
The middle-class moved farther out;
The suburbs lie in squalor
The wrecking ball stands ready
On the wrong side of the tracks...
The police force just grew smaller,
For there's no one
left to tax
But that's life in the rust belt,
With pit bulls inside fences
That make sure would-be burglars
All keep coming to their senses
The Christmas lights are up year 'round;
The weeds are growing higher
The arsonists all run amok
And light the funeral
pyre
The grass grows in the sidewalk,
Through the cracks and in between,
And the vomit and malt liquor
Serve to keep it growing green
The yonder school is closing,
To the parents' grim frustration;
It's all part of the dumbing down
We call consolidation
One forward step, two backward
At progress's beck and call
Some call the paint graffiti-
Others, writing on the wall
This American
Lost its heart and slowly bled
And left behind a carcass
Where the rust is
running red
Metropolitan Planning
Organization or Council of Government
Advocating
for regional cooperation as the most effective way to address a variety of
community planning and development opportunities, as well as problems, has not
always been a 
function
of national, state or local government. This changed following WW II as
federal, state and local governments were faced with new social dynamics, most
prominent was growing demands for equality and access to a booming economy from
African Americans.
By
the end of 1946 one aspect of this changing social dynamic was 10 million men
and women were discharged from the armed services and new families hit a record
high 1.4 million per year. The need for new housing to accommodate them reached
near-crisis proportions. The federal government estimated that five million new
housing units were needed immediately and 12.5 million would be needed over the
next decade.
Private
developers using pre-fabricated materials, "cookie-cutter" plans and
standardized construction techniques sought to fill this demand with cheap
"tract" housing developments, primarily for veterans with generous GI
mortgages and white middle class urban dwellers desiring to escape to suburbia.
However, there were major problems with this picture. Many of these returning
veterans were blacks who believed after serving their country they were
entitled to better homes, jobs, education and access to the American dream. The
US Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education outlawing
segregation delivered an earth shattering boost to black Americans agitating
for change.
Unwilling to change its racist character by ending racism and discrimination, the
The federal government devised a strategy that helped whites in the suburbs maintain control of federal dollars based on the concept of "regionalism." This concept of "regionalism" mandated the establishment of unelected boards that would oversee the spending of federal funds in urban areas. Federal legislation contained guidelines that transferred the power to control federal dollars coming into urban areas to metropolitan planning organizations or councils of government.
These
unelected MPOs or COGs were justified as a means to advance regional
cooperation through effective interaction and advocacy with Congress, Federal
officials and other related agencies and interest groups. Originally, their
agenda only included transportation, community and economic development, but
now they encompass the environment, homeland security and regional
preparedness, as well as a variety of community issues. These boards are
constituted so that suburban and rural communities have more votes than urban
areas, thereby controlling all decisions about federal funds.
MPOs
and COGs came into prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s following Brown
v. Board of Education. Their function was to shape the changing dynamics in
federal, state and local government actions once integration became a fact of
life. Government on all levels recognized that the region was the arena where
outnumbered white rural communities could exercise overarching control over
denser populated urban social, economic, workforce, transportation and
environmental development. Additionally, under the guise of regionalism
unelected bodies dominated by suburban and rural politicians could overrule the
actions and plans of elected urban governmental bodies.
Today,
there are more than 500 regional councils throughout the country. Created to
maintain the 3/5 Compromise advantage whites have held over blacks since
slavery, these regional commissions were the tip of the spear in the fight
against integration. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 is an example of how
MPOs were given control over urban transportation planning. The federal
government claimed the change was necessary to facilitate construction of the
Interstate Highway System and the planning of routes through and around urban
areas. It attached as a condition for receiving federal financial assistance
the condition that transportation projects in urbanized areas of 50,000 or more
in population be based on a continuing, comprehensive, urban transportation
planning process, undertaken cooperatively by the states and local governments.
This was the birth of the so-called 3C, "continuing, comprehensive and
cooperative planning process."
Using such mandates, the
Next
came the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 which authorized grants to
"...organizations composed of public officials within a metropolitan or
urban region..." for the purposes of comprehensive planning. The planning
process was to be self-certified by the states and MPOs as to its conformance
to "equal opportunity." Essentially, only the end products were
specified while the details of the process were left to the states and MPOs.
This allowed discrimination, disparate treatment, racism and hostile work
environments to be swept under the rug, leaving the 3/5 Compromise intact.
(Sources: www.ampo.org,www.njtpa.org,www.narc.org, and www.abag.ca.gov)
Meet the Obscure
Unelected Agencies Strangling
By Angie Schmitt
Angie
Schmitt (7/21/11) posted this article on http://dc.streetblog.org; it describes
the current dilemma hamstringing economic and transportation improvements in
and around 
"Led
by unelected boards, MPOs and COGs are a special breed among government
agencies. Crossing city and county lines, they disperse hundreds of millions of
federal transportation dollars annually. They lack the authority to impose
taxes or enact laws but their direct impact goes largely unknown outside of the
wonkiest circles. Most importantly, the low profile of MPOs and COGs belies
their strangle hold on communities, because many of them are structured in a
way that favors sprawl and undermines cities.
Profoundly undemocratic, MPOs and COGs are governed by boards of public
officeholders, but there is no requirement that they be in any way
representative of the region's population. In fact, the general rule that
governs the composition of MPO boards is "one place, one vote,"
rather than the more traditional "one person, one vote." This often
produces decisions dramatically skewed to further suburban and rural interests.
Classic examples abound and greater Milwaukee's MPO, known by the unwieldy
acronym SEWRPC is characteristic of the nation. It is governed by a board of 21
members, three from each of the counties that make up the planning region,
which means the city of Milwaukee - population nearly 600,000 - has zero
representatives on the commission that distributes millions of dollars for
transportation throughout the region. It is not guaranteed any votes. The
city's only voting power comes from the three seats given to Milwaukee County -
and those must be spread between the central city and many suburban areas.
Meanwhile, rural Walworth County - population 100,000 - is guaranteed three
votes.
For Milwaukee
residents, this is an especially egregious case, but the general pattern is
more the norm for the nation than the exception. A 1999 Brookings Institution
study found that central cities were under-represented in as many as 92 percent
of MPOs and COGs. Further research has shown that this bias has a strong impact
on policy. A 2003 study by researchers at Virginia Tech found that for each
additional suburban member on an MPO board, there was a 1 to 9 percent decrease
in funding for transit - with highways being the favored alternative.
Researchers
examined three regions where boards were unrepresentative and three regions
where they were proportional to population. They found significant differences:
Transit investment varied from a low of 3.2 percent in Detroit
(unrepresentative) to 50 percent in Seattle (proportional). Across the country,
the composition of MPO boards varies wildly. The only federal requirement is
that at least 75 percent of the region be represented in some capacity, said
Delania Hardy, director of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Agencies.
Portland,
Oregon is the only place in the country where the MPO board is not only
representative of the region's population, but also directly elected by the
local population. In late 2009, Myron Orfield, author of "American
Metropolitics," set out to determine which metro areas had the most
effective regional planning agencies. He evaluated the country's 25 largest
metro regions on indicators such as sprawl, segregation, growth and fiscal
equity. Portland was the runaway standout.
During the last round of negotiations over the federal transportation bill, in
2009, Orfield joined the National Association of City Transportation Officials
in lobbying for MPO reform. His legislation would have required proportional
representation for directly-elected MPO boards. The reforms were adopted into
the transportation reauthorization bill put forward by Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN)
but never became law.
Some
communities are making progress toward important sustainability and equity
goals on their own. Orfield pointed to Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, San
Diego, and even Raleigh, North Carolina. "Regions with more proportional
representation tend to do a better job," he said."
Update on the Transportation
Investment Act
By John Burl Smith
Since beginning a comprehensive review of the Transportation Investment Act of
2010 (HB 277), which began with a thorough reading of the bill, I have
conducted interviews, participated in a telephone town hall meeting, discussion
forums, visited two regional commissions outside of Atlanta and attended a
sundry of other gatherings to learn as much as 
possible
about what politicians are packaging as projects to be approved by voters in
July 2012. This odyssey has revealed a wide gulf between what politicians are
putting forth as priorities and what voters are saying they want. Not only are
there questions about the need for the one-cent sales tax that will be imposed
if the measure passes, there is outrage over the fact that legislators wrote
into the bill penalties against any region that fails to pass the bill.
HB 277 got off to a rocky start in DeKalb and Fulton Counties when the
legislature chose not to address the equity issue related to the Metropolitan
Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) one-cent sales tax, which is
collected only in DeKalb and Fulton Counties. Moreover, HB 277 does not address
the State of Georgia's constitutional amendment prohibiting state funding of
MARTA operations. Adding injury to insult, under HB 277 DeKalb and Fulton Counties
will end up paying two cents for transportation, while every other county in Georgia
will pay only one cent.
Nevertheless,
most black DeKalb County residents were willing to listen to hear what benefits
HB 277 offered that may outweigh the lack of equity and the obvious distrust
toward the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) going back to the early 1960s,
when it was an ardent supporter of segregation. More importantly, the ARC led
the fight against creating MARTA prior to its establishment in 1971. But to get
HB 277 passed, the ARC has made an about face and is now talking in terms of
MARTA becoming a regional transportation system. DeKalb and Fulton County
residents remember this same ploy was used by former Gov. Roy Barnes to get the
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) passed.
I attended two forums last week. "A Citizen Conversation on
Transportation, Growth and the Future of Metro Atlanta" (7-23-11) brought
citizens together to talk among themselves about what they hoped would come out
of HB 277 if it passes. Polling data was also collected in an effort to build
support for the kinds of projects the ARC hopes to put before voters in the
2012 referendum. The weakness of this effort was it did not allow participants
to ask question directly of those selecting projects voters must choose.
The
second meeting, "Outreach to DeKalb County Local Elected Officials,"
hosted by DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis and Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, both
members of the Regional Roundtable (7-27-11),was not a citizen forum. It was
designed to gauge support among elected officials for passage of HB 277 and to
see if a consensus could be developed around 
particular
projects, while excluding others from consideration.
Most
legislators in attendance were like Rep. Rahn Mayo of District 91, who voted against
passage of HB 277 for many of the reasons stated above, and remained
unconvinced of the benefits being claimed. Moreover, they said the equity
issue, coupled with the fact that there seemed to be nothing to benefit
Southwest DeKalb economically on the list, especially since at present there is
not an I-20 light rail project on the list, they do not believe their
constituents will vote for it.
Those
officials supporting HB 277 participating in these meetings said repeatedly
that "nothing has been decided yet," but they keep pushing the same
projects as the ones that will have the greatest benefit to "the
region," while offering negative assessments of projects not on their wish
list. I will agree that this process is a long way from over, but presently, in
my opinion, what has been produced is not about the future. Currently, the vast
majority of the projects on which the ARC/Regional Roundtable is considering
spending 6.2 billion dollars involve road construction. That sounds like a
future of more crowded roads leading to suburbia.
The future is in rapid transit. Trains moving more people and connecting
communities will fuel economic growth. An I-20 train will began to develop the
potential economic growth of Southwest DeKalb which has more cheap land for
development than any other area. If this bill is about reducing pollution,
impacting congestion and paving the way for future economic growth, an I-20
train is a "no brainer."
Transportation Projects Should Improve Air Quality
By Rebecca Watts Hull
As representatives of the health community in metro Atlanta, we are urging
members of the Atlanta Transportation Roundtable to prioritize transportation
investments that will contribute to better public health when selecting
projects for the Transportation Investment Act list to be put before voters in
2012.
We
support investment in transportation projects and safe bicycle and pedestrian
routes to expand opportunities for exercise, provide alternatives to car trips,
and reduce unhealthy concentrations of ozone and fine particulate matter in our
region.
Metro Atlanta has failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for
ground-level ozone since 1978 and for fine particulate matter since 2004.
According to Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, emissions from
Atlanta's roadways account for more than half of the nitrogen oxides that
combine with other compounds in summer sunlight to form ozone, and about
one-third of the region's fine particulate matter concentrations.
Traffic-based
air pollution is linked to many serious health problems, including respiratory
and heart diseases, cancer, premature death, and reduced lung function and
development in children. Despite widespread vehicle emissions inspections,
mandated use of cleaner gasoline during smog season and cleaner-burning
vehicles, Atlanta continues to experience many "bad air" days every
year as a result, at least in part, of transportation investments focused on
car commuting and limited state investment in public transit options. This summer,
Atlanta already had experienced 18 "code orange" ozone days and two
violations of the fine particle standard by the end of June, with several
months of smog season still remaining.
A
car-dependent lifestyle also is associated with obesity, a growing problem in Georgia.
Studies show that although increased daily time spent in a car is associated
with a higher body mass index, the use of public transportation can result in
daily physical activity with significant health benefits.
Investing
in a comprehensive public transportation system for metro Atlanta and safe
pedestrian and bicycle routes will be costly. But continued failure to invest
in car alternatives could prove even more expensive.
The
economic costs of living and commuting in a region that fails to meet federal
air quality standards have been estimated in the billions. An analysis that
considers all the costs associated with air pollution and car-dependent
lifestyles -- hospitalizations, medical treatments and lost school and workdays
associated with preventable disease resulting from air pollution exposure --
makes transportation investment a bargain. (Source:
(www.ajc.com/opinion/transportation-projects-should-help-999664.html)
Why Conservatives Hate High-Speed Rail?
By Sarah Jaffe
High-speed
rail is one of the rare areas where business, labor, and environmental
activists are often in agreement. Republican transportation secretary Ray
LaHood is a fan, as are, of course, President Obama and Vice-President Biden.
But
Tea Party-supported governors like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in
Ohio and Rick Scott in Florida have made headlines by refusing billions in
federal stimulus dollars aimed at creating new high-speed train lines between
major cities.
The
trains would be electric-powered, providing comparable travel times to regional
plane flights but cheaper, running on cleaner energy, and without the same
security concerns. Real estate developers and other business types saw new rail
lines as an opportunity to invest in new places, and the rail projects would
create both construction jobs and permanent jobs operating and maintaining the
new trains.
So
what's the problem? Why do conservatives hate high-speed rail so much? They
claim it's all about money, but handing back billions in federal dollars while
claiming to be broke doesn't seem to make much fiscal sense. We did a little
research, and here's what we found:
1.
Big infrastructure projects leave a big legacy--and this one would belong to
President Obama. It's no secret that the GOP's number one goal is to shoot down
anything that Obama wants, even at the expense of their own constituents. It's
also no secret that they hate government spending ideologically, and hate it
even more when it actually accomplishes something positive--and visible.
2. Union
jobs... Union construction jobs would pay good wages and provide benefits as
well. And union transit workers would be new, permanently employed workers in
areas of the country, like Ohio, that have been hurting for work for years
before the current recession.
So
why are governors, who were elected to put their constituents back to work, so
opposed to money going into projects that would create that very work? It would
strengthen the unions, who support other policies that conservatives
hate--Social Security and Medicare, universal health care, job protections, and
other progressive policies. It's ideological opposition to unions as much as it
is the continued war on the working class.
3. Collectivism! Socialism! George Will thinks that trains are pernicious
behavior modification: "Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the
world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail
for many reasons -- to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance
national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of
the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the
real reason for progressives' passion for trains is their goal of diminishing
Americans' individualism in order to make them more amenable to
collectivism."
4. Urban vs. rural. People of color vs. white people. Public investment of any
kind has been branded by conservatives as a way for the government to take away
money from hardworking, independent (white) people and give handouts to
freeloaders, usually seen as nonwhite people.
5. High-speed rail will change our lifestyles--and we like them! Conservatives
who fear changes brought about by high-speed rail aren't wrong, of course, that
transportation will change us. The shape of our cities and suburbs for the past
50 years or more has been largely because of transportation. Without cars, we'd
never have had suburbs, let alone exurbs. (Read the entire article at
www.alternet.org/story/151748/why_do_conservatives_hate_high-speed_rail_5_reasons_right-wingers_are_sabotaging_public_transportation_projects)
Atlanta at Heart of Area's Transit Issues
By Ernie Suggs
Every
day, Atlanta's population more than doubles to more than 1.2 million people as
workers, shoppers and entertainment seekers pour into the city in cars or via
mass transit, according to city officials.
In
many ways, Atlanta -- where three major interstates and two major railroad
networks converge -- lies at the heart of the region's traffic grid. It has
always struggled to maintain and expand interstate and transit systems that
link the metro counties and move their residents.
Officials
in the capital city are banking on the money raised by the 2012 transportation
referendum's 1-cent tax, if the 10-county region passes it, to pump millions of
dollars into the MARTA system, to fix bridges and roads, to accelerate the
completion of the Atlanta Beltline. Of course, how many of Atlanta's
suggestions make it to a final project list has yet to be seen.
Other people question whether Atlanta voters who already are paying a 1-cent
MARTA tax will want to spend more. Atlanta has an 8 percent sales tax, one of
the highest in the state. If the referendum passes, that would jump to 9
percent.
The entire metro Atlanta region will have to pass the referendum for it to
become law. Michael Adams, 31, a small-business owner living in southwest Atlanta,
is convinced that Atlanta voters are "savvy" enough to support a
referendum that improves traffic conditions, while making access to the city
easier for people coming from the suburbs to work and play.
"Until Atlanta takes a serious look at the issue of transportation,
businesses and families will continue to suffer because of the congestion,
gridlock and structural dilapidation," Adams said. "Atlanta is long
overdue in the conversation regarding new transit options."
Each county and Atlanta have drawn up their own wish lists of projects that
would be included on the referendum vote. Those lists will be pared down by a
21-member regional roundtable. If the referendum passes, those projects would
get funded by the new tax revenue.
One
thing Atlanta wants to do, if the project makes the final list, is pump $861
million into MARTA to bring the "system into a state of good repair."
Tom Weyandt, Atlanta's senior policy adviser for transportation, said MARTA
currently has a $1.6 billion backlog on repair projects.
The
wish list also includes $452 million to address deferred bridge, roadway and
sidewalk maintenance. The city, which has no money in the regular fiscal budget
for routine bridge and road maintenance, has estimated that it would cost more
than $900 million to catch up.
Weyandt
said the city is still compiling the list of the highest priority bridges, but
the upgrades would include everything from structural maintenance to falling
paint and materials.
Critics argue that not enough information is going out to voters. Yet others
are convinced that while Atlanta has the most to give if the bill is passed,
the rewards don't equate. Atlanta's initial wish list would cost $3.3 billion,
but most of that would be consumed by three major sets of projects.
Mayor Kasim Reed is the only member of the roundtable who represents Atlanta.
"When you look at the roundtable, everything is stacked against us, yet
most of the money will come from Atlanta," said C.T. Martin, chairman of
the Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee. "Voters are going to
be told a lot of reasons why they should vote for this. But they are not being
told how this is really going to benefit them in the long run. The public may
or may not be tired of gimmicks."
The city of Atlanta raised $125 million in 2008 from a 1 percent sales tax,
compared with more than $700 million raised in the 10-county area.
Ultimately, the final project list for the transportation referendum will have
to impress voters. (Note: Read this article in its entirety on the Atlanta
Journal Constitution website at www.ajc.com, where you can search projects,
leave your comments on the transportation improvement act at
ajc.com/go/transportation and visit the Atlanta Regional Commission/Roundtable
at http://www.atlantaregionalroundtable.com/to see the list of projects by
county and an interactive map of proposed projects.)
Mailbox: E- Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email
www.ajc.com...A Cobb County mother has opted for a new trial to defend herself
against accusations that she was 
responsible
for the death of her 4-year-old son, her attorney said. Raquel Nelson,
convicted on three charges after A.J. Nelson was killed by a hit-and-run driver,
was sentenced Tuesday to 40 hours of community service and 12 months' probation
-- and then offered a new trial. The judge's unusual decision was announced at
a sentencing hearing Tuesday in Cobb County State Court. Judge Katherine
Tanksley sentenced Nelson to 12 months probation for the first two counts and
12 months probation for the third count, to be served concurrently. Tanksley
also suspended $1,000 fines that could be levied for each misdemeanor count. If
Nelson is acquitted in a new trial, her record would be cleared. Nelson, 30,
was convicted earlier this month of homicide by vehicle in the second degree,
crossing roadway elsewhere than at crosswalk and reckless conduct in the April
10, 2010 incident. She and her three children were trying to cross four-lane Austell
Road to their apartment after getting off a Cobb Community Transit bus. A.J.
was struck by a car and killed. The mother and her younger daughter suffered
minor injuries, while her older daughter was not hurt. Jerry L. Guy, the driver
who admitted hitting A.J. when he pleaded guilty to hit-and-run, served six
months in jail, despite having been convicted in 1997 of a similar offense. He
was released in October and will serve the remainder of his five-year sentence
on probation.
Email
http://travel.iafrica.com...The mega-city that works...By Frank Zeller...On a
satellite image of the Earth at night, there is no brighter spot. Greater Tokyo,
home to an astonishing 35 million people, is by far the biggest urban area on
the planet. The most amazing thing about it, say its many fans, is that it
works. Although Tokyo dwarfs the other top megacities of Mumbai, Mexico City, Sao
Paulo and New York, it has less air pollution, noise, traffic jams, litter or
crime, lots of green space and a humming public transport system. American
writer Donald Richie, who first came to Tokyo in 1947 and recently published
the coffee table book "Tokyo Megacity", has dubbed Japan's massive
capital and primary city the "livable megalopolis". Many visitors
marvel at the politeness and civility that, along with the nation's wealth,
have helped Tokyo avoid the pitfalls of other big cities that have become
polluted, noisy and dangerous urban nightmares.