Why live in cities, anyway?

You might as well ask why we have brain cells that are different from heart cells that are different from colon cells that are, well, you get the idea.

People living together for mutual benefit and security - that is the ultimate purpose of a City. Why else would we go through all the rest of the stuff that comes along with living so close to someone you can't stand?!? :-)

But living in this proximity has inherent difficulties. Some of these range from minor inconveniences to the outright removal of inalienable rights. City governance has grown up in response to grievances by people whose rights have been infringed.

So what do you do in the case of two conflicting property interests? Whose rights are more important? How does a city make the Solomon-like decision to grant someone's property rights at the diminution of someone else's? There's no way to cut this proverbial baby - either action encroaches and offends someone, one who usually has a valid legal claim on recourse.

This is something I have been struggling with for the last few days. I don't know the answer. Ultimately, it is not left to me to make the decision - that's in the hands of appointed and elected officials. But these officials will (hopefully) listen to my professional opinion. So I better get it right.

You're going to hear a lot more of this...

NPR has (just this morning) highlighted a concern that I have noted before. More than once. Here's a link to their report:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93842128

Now, maybe it seems superfluous to say, but our current model of housing doesn't work. We build homes in ever increasing numbers at distances that are also increasing from our places of business and shopping and school and everything. The only thing that exists out where we are is us.

This presents a burden on infrastructure in our cities, pushing service demands further and further away from where they can most efficiently be handled. Roads, water and sewer, drainage, even garbage pick up services are all being stretched to the limit. As property values decrease, the burden on these services becomes greater. It is further exacerbated by rising energy costs.

So what's the answer? I propose that one solution may be a return to the "nuclear city" - a city which looks a lot like the old diagram of the atom. Remember that from high school physics? It turns out that it is wrong, but the diagram is intriguing. Imagine a city that has a central core surrounded by a gradually decreasing density of residences and services...

Instead of the current "plum pudding" model, with it's various and varied random places of density and services, with an overall low density demand taxing the services and infrastructure, the nuclear model would make logical sense. We could expand such a model to it's logical limits (say around 30,000 people) and then move on to the next space. This kind of model has been tried before, with varied success.

The main problem with this way of thinking is just that - thinking. It's a psychological exercise to imagine such a world - where one piece of land is not inherently more valuable than others. But there have always been areas which are more desirable - better access to water, farming, services, shopping, shipping, or salt domes, for example. In order for this kind of thing to work, we would have to abandon these kinds of land valuations and move to a more egalitarian ideal.

I know, it's the ideal again. But hey, if no one is dreaming, how will innovation ever take place?

WHY NOT?

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

I know that there are several of you who read this blog who are not in Southeast Texas. Since I am from Utah, I am amazed consistently by the rain here. Last night I barely fell asleep when I woke to the sound of rain. Pounding rain. Incessant, thunderous buckets dumping on my roof. In the space of an hour, we had 2 inches of rain. Not to mention the thunder and lightning - bright enough and constant enough to read a newspaper by, provided you could focus while jumping every 3 seconds from the huge rolls of thunder...

All of this is really quite lovely. So different from what I experienced growing up.

I only wish it would let me sleep.

All of this leads me to another point: the City Engineer, Dan Williams, has been with the City for about 3 years or so. He reviewed the drainage for many of the newer subdivisions in the City, including the one I live in. I am not exagerating when I say that I am able to sleep better at night knowing that he reviewed the drainage scheme and calculations for my home. I know that come high water, I will be dry and secure in my home.

So thanks, Dan. And keep up the good work!

City Hall

So, I work at City Hall.

I am sure that's a real shocker (where else would they put me?!?). I work on the second floor and my window overlooks the parking lot and therefor the main entrance to City Hall. I have my computer monitors situated such that I can see people coming and going.

Today is the first day of school registration. People in the Barber's Hill ISD must prove they are residents in the school district boundaries in order to register their children for school. So in order to prove that they live here, they come to get copies of their water statements from the City. Connie, the all around great receptionist/billing specialist/scheduler/whatever, is fabulous at helping out with these things. She even helped me out earlier (I didn't have to come to the window, though).

I impressed with who is driving up. People in big trucks. People in small trucks. People with new, shiny vehicles. People with vehicles that have no business being on the road. People with kids, people without. Typical soccer moms in minivans. Tough looking men with big mustaches and bellies and diesels I can hear rumbling from here. People in flip-flops. People in boots. People in shorts (so far I am the only one I have seen in a tie - I am presenting tonight at the Council meeting, and although I don't think it would matter very much if I didn't wear a tie, there's just some things I can't avoid). People in tank tops, tee-shirts, coveralls, institutional-looking polo shirts, and one guy in bib overalls. Fat people. Skinny people. Tall people. Short people. Young people. Old people. People with red hair. People with blond hair with some dyed pink. People with drinks or cigarettes or papers or kids or keys in their hands. All walking by my window like a parade of humanity.

And it's humbling to be the planner for these wonderful, beautiful people. How am I supposed to do what's best for all of them? How can I possibly put forth ideas that will be meaningful for them?

I suppose I could ask...

Hurricanes and Preparedness

So, I know this was not a "real" hurricane.

Tropical Storm Edouard came on land about 30 miles west of us. It was predicted to be worse than it was, but still wasn't expected to be too bad. We weathered the storm at home. Couple of thoughts about this experience, though:

1. Our neighbors made sure that we were all ready for what could have happened. They gave us advice on how to store water and make sure we had enough to drink and eat for the days ahead. There is always a potential for the power to go out, so we made plans to be without water. It's good to know that people care about each other and are there to help.
2. We have been preparing (as a family) for a few months. Every time we went to the store we picked up some items that we could use in case of a hurricane. We have 60 gallons of water in our garage. We have a 72 hour kit ready to go. We still need to get our documents, pictures, etc. together. But we are fully prepared for a "shelter in place" storm. In contrast to that are the procrastinators. The bread shelves were empty, as were the shelves for bottled water. It was a little strange to see store shelves completely empty. It also made me grateful for the preparations we had made - we weren't scrambling. And imagine if the water had gone out and we weren't able to get any drinking water...
3. The City has an emergency plan, in coordination with the County, State, and Federal governments. It is a cool thing to see first hand the machine kick into gear. This is being considered a good dry run (although it was a wet day). There is an unspeakable peace of mind that comes from being in a community that has planned how to respond in an emergency.

Of course, I am a part of the emergency response team. I am not sure what particular skills I bring to the table, but I am ready and willing to participate in any and every way possible. It's good to be surrounded by professionals who know what and how to do in the case of a real crisis.

Hurricanes and other natural disasters are not the only things that we need to be concerned about here in Mont Belvieu. We are located near many chemical plants, refineries, and gas and oil storage facilities that may pose a threat. As we consider all the ways that accidents can (and have) happened, it is good to be prepared. Good preparation makes the difference between a crisis and an inconvenience.