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The Planetizen News Brief

22 May 2008 - 4:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

You may have heard the economy is not doing too well right now. The downturn is showing its effects in many ways, not least of which is in the closing of many retail stores across the country. And communities are understandably worried about the idea of having a graveyard of huge big box stores spotting their landscapes. In an effort to counteract this possibility, officials in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, approved a measure in 2005 that charges developers an additional fee that would pay for the demolition of big box stores should their businesses go bust. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the measure creates a fund that the city can pull from to demolish any big box building that has sit empty for more than a year. Some officials have been hesitant to support the measure, which they say drives business away. But with the economy struggling, many are coming around to the idea of the demolition fund as they expect it may need to be used soon.

And while dealing with the decline of big box stores is no small task, dealing with the decline of entire city populations is monumental. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, more people are dying every year than are being born. This shift in demographics has been a long time coming for the Rust Belt city, where the disintegration of industrial jobs has caused thousands to flee over the last few decades. A recent article in The New York Times looks at how the city is adjusting to its rapidly diminishing population. More than 60,000 people have left the metropolitan area since 2000, and the sharp drop is forcing officials to rethink how they operate such facilities as public schools and hospitals. A scholarship fund directed at high school graduates who have attended public school in Pittsburgh from at least the ninth grade is one incentive officials are trying to keep people from leaving. And though the number of kids is low, the area is packed with older people, which has caused a boom in medical treatment facilities and health care providers. And as they age, business has also been good for funeral homes.

The reason cities like Pittsburgh die is often due to a lack of jobs. But another major factor in the decline of cities is the lack of lively places – places that encourage economic activity. Researchers from the University of Connecticut recently released a study that shows how on-street parking is essential to keep shopping areas vibrant, used, and alive. An article in The Hartford Courant looks at the research, which says that the availability of on-street parking creates a livelier pedestrian environment, safer streets, and encourages a better and more efficient use of land. These ingredients, the study says, combine to create shopping areas that are successful. This success gives them the capability to survive in the long term.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

Coping With Vacant Big Boxes

More Cities Face Naturally Decreasing Population

The Importance Of Street Parking

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