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Smart Growth Leadership Forum
October 27, 2000
Executive Summary
"The beauty of smart growth is that it does engender common ground."
On Wednesday, May 3 the ULI Los Angeles District Council conducted a Smart Growth Leadership Forum at the Hotel Intercontinental in downtown Los Angeles. The purpose of the event was to bring together community leaders from various backgrounds and interests to provide their input and offer their thoughts and opinions on what it will take to move the Los Angeles region toward a better future.
The forum, which was principally sponsored by the Bank of America, was co-chaired by Daniel Garcia, senior vice president of Worldwide Corporate Real Estate with Warner Bros., and Dr. Dan Silver, coordinator of the Endangered Habitats League, both valued leaders in the business and environmental communities respectively. Moderating the day-long forum was Edmund D. Edelman who is currently a fellow at The RAND Corporation and a former council member for the City of Los Angeles and supervisor of the County of Los Angeles.
Themes
- Considerable Agreement on Smart Growth Issues and Solutions. Throughout the course of the day's conversation, considerable agreement was found on a series of smart growth issues. Those issues included the recognition that growth is inevitable in the region, greenspace and environmentally sensitive lands must be protected, and affordable housing should be a key element of a smart growth strategy. The group also agreed that a greater public education effort is necessary and that successful case studies should be catalogued.
- Timing is Right to Address Issues. Beginning with the co-chairs opening statements and echoed throughout the day was the realization that the timing is right to forge strategic partnerships to address these issues in the region. There was a general sense that groups that were once adversarial to one another recognize the value of working together to achieve shared objectives.
- The Region Can Learn From Others. Participants of the forum expressed an interest in learning from organizations and governments who have undertaken steps to address the unintended consequences of rapid growth and development. Carl Guardino's presentation on Silicon Valley's efforts to provide affordable housing underscored the value in learning from others' experiences.
- Address Local Issues in the Context of a Regional Strategy. The scale at which to address various smart growth issues was a central debate throughout the course of the day. Should the focus of a smart growth strategy be on the regional level or at the local level? How can issues such as transportation and environment be addressed without looking at it from a regional perspective? Will anything ultimately be implemented if we don't work at the local level? The group debated these issues and, in the end, agreed that a smart growth strategy must address local issues, but in the context of a regional strategy. Therefore, a parallel track of regional planning and local programs must be undertaken.
- Continue the Dialogue. Through these forums, a greater understanding of the key smart growth issues and the position taken by various interest groups can be distilled. Overwhelming support to continue the dialogue was voiced by participants of the forum.
Possible of Next Steps- Summarize and Distribute Meeting Results.
- Consider the Formation of a Smart Growth Partnership/Coalition.
- Identify appropriate participants.
- Define its guiding principles/vision and consider its structure.
- Conduct Educational Programming.
- Identify successful policy and best practice examples. - Prepare case studies on these successes and distribute to a broad audience.
- Conduct tours of smart growth projects. Organize tours to showcase examples of projects that reflect the principles of smart growth.
- Seek Media Involvement and Support.
- Organize meetings with editorial boards and others to present a balanced perspective on the issues surrounding rapid growth and development.
- Encourage the active involvement of the media in educating various interest groups.
- Sponsor Mayors Forum
- Invite the candidates for Mayor of Los Angeles to debate issues of smart growth and regional collaboration.
- Organize a forum of mayors from throughout the region to discuss strategies to accommodate rapid population growth and development within a smart growth context.
Full Article [PDF], 70 K
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