Cities and engaged citizens want to create better places; so why is it so difficult to get a project approved, built, and installed? Reforming the permitting process could unlock the creative powers of citizens and designers to improve their cities.
"Outdated permitting processes are keeping a large swath of promising projects in art, design, technology, and other modes of expression from ever becoming part of the urban landscape," says Jake Levitas. "Along the way, cities are missing opportunities to add economic and cultural value in a time of constrained resources."
"The entire tactical urbanism movement exists largely as a band-aid solution for citizens who lack the resources, time, or patience to navigate this complex approval system, and prefer taking matters into their own hands to create local change. A key question moving forward is how this process can be opened up to look less like rocket science, and more like the DIY science kits that turn kids everywhere into excited, engaged brainstormers. How can we make the permitting process sexier to better engage the average citizen?"
Levitas looks at five principal barriers to reforming the permitting process, and offer some suggestions for how to overcome them.
FULL STORY: Better Permits, Better Cities
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research