EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

“When you think of just the economic piece—the town of Paradise lost their tax base in a day,” said Barry J. Long, Jr., AIA, LEED AP,  principal and president of Urban Design Associates (UDA).

“They had to get outside funding to backfill their tax roll to 2055.

They had naturally occurring affordable housing in a three-county region—but much of that will be lost because of the high cost of rebuilding.”

Long said building back affordably is a higher priority for disaster survivors than building back to be fire resistant.

He said many cities push back on building codes that require more than the International Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code, which sets minimum regulations for safeguarding life and property from the intrusion of wildfires.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Barry J. Long, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, is principal and president of Urban Design Associates (UDA), a Pittsburgh-based firm that has a national practice of helping communities recover from disaster.

UDA worked to rebuild Paradise, Calif., where a 2018 fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures, including over 14,000 homes, and killed 85 people.

Long noted that more than six years after the fire, Paradise is only about 25 percent built back.

Businesses have been slow to come back, because there’s not enough population to support them.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

“Even before the fires, a shortage of affordable housing in Los Angeles created a pall on overall economic growth …

Renters in Los Angeles County need to earn $48.04 per hour—nearly triple the minimum wage—to afford the average monthly asking rent of about $2,500, according to the California Housing Partnership.

That average is about 45 percent higher than national rents …” stated the report by Costar.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Costar, a real estate data and analytics company reported “the most destructive wildfires in California history are expected to send insurance rates surging, adding another headwind for owners of multifamily properties in Los Angeles and potentially hindering affordable housing goals.”

The report notes that The American Property Casualty Insurance Association has lobbied Congress to pass more laws to address wildfire risks—such as the Fix Our Forests Act that seeks to increase the pace and scale of forest management and establishes a program to better coordinate federal agencies to reduce wildfire damage to properties.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Areas devastated by flooding and windstorms are looking to the nature-based resiliency and self-sufficient sustainability of Florida’s Babcock Ranch—which has survived a hurricane that virtually destroyed nearby Gulf Coast communities.

When communities rebuild after wildfires and other disasters, the president elect of the American Institute of Architects and a leading Disability/Aging in Place/Environment advocate, Illya Azaroff, champions the benefits of Universal Design.

Residential and commercial space that is designed to accommodate all ages and abilities adds flexibility, durability and cost efficiency—similar to green building.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Today, more brutal (in terms of loss of life and billions in property) natural disasters are happening more frequently.

Wildfires, hurricanes, floods and other disasters threaten all that we hold dear.

Planners, architects, builders, developers, REALTORS® and even insurance companies are rallying to get a handle on resilient design.

From protecting individual buildings to entire communities, the professions that shape our built environment and way of life are searching for best practices that will prepare us for and protect us from extreme-weather impacts.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

For centuries, vernacular building techniques used local materials and a knowledge of local conditions to create buildings that were naturally resistant to disastrous weather.

Somewhere in the mid-20th century, conventional building was reflected in suburban sprawl building patterns and mass production with materials sourced from far away.

When LEED was introduced in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council, sustainable building and the long-term financial rewards of investing in sustainable building became part of our vocabulary.

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

“I want to be aware of those underlying stories. It helps me figure out if a community has gatekeepers you need to win over and build trust with,” said Sara Schooley, a project planner at Toole Design Group, noting that trust is built when planners sincerely want to listen and put that input into the plan.

Schooley said technology is great, but it has pitfalls.

She noted that some online survey platforms have auto generated translations.

But those translations are nowhere near as accurate and inclusive as having a native speaker create a survey in Spanish, or whatever language other than English is spoken in an impacted community.

“We also do not enter a project expecting everyone to come to us. In Bloomington, Ind., we went to 15 different sites to gather inclusive input,” she said.

“And it’s not just dividing by geographic areas, it is going where people are: pickleball courts for active seniors, the University of Indiana main parking lot for students, the main bus station for transit riders — including people with disabilities.”

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Sara Schooley, a project planner at Toole Design Group, has refined public engagement techniques working for city, county and regional government and now for a female-founded firm that serves them.

She said too often, Toole sees a planning scope of work that only asks for three public meetings, all on weeknights after work.

That approach will not generate diverse input.

“Those types of meetings serve the sorts of residents who are going to get heard no matter what,” Schooley said.

To reach diverse audiences, planners need to get outside their comfort zone

“Thankfully, I work for a firm that works with clients to be creative in reaching all voices.”

Schooley said sometimes a simple Google search can give insights into underlying issues.

She said searching the name of the city and “controversy” or “racism” could generate news stories and online posts about unresolved issues in marginalized communities.

 

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

“What stymies being able to get broad public support is not doing the work before you tell the public you want to build something at Broad and 50th streets,” said Dr. Tiffany Manuel, president & founder of TheCase Made.

“That creates a sense of ‘you want my tax dollars, but what does this have to do with me?’

Engage all members of the community so they are respected, so they feel a stake in what you are trying to do and that they will have some benefit — even if they are not the primary beneficiaries.”

To reach diverse audiences, planners need to get outside their comfort zone.

Manuel said that means going to where people meet, getting invited to the kitchen table, meeting people at times beyond nine to five.

“We live in a pluralistic society.

Americans, no matter where they are, are saying they don’t trust the people who [should] be there to help them — their decisionmakers,” she said.

“I lead an organization that helps everyday people across the country to make a strong and powerful case for the highest and best aspirations for the community they like,” Manuel said.

“[A city official] has to deliver what you promised would happen. Trust is a currency that can do a great many things.”

 

 

 

 

 

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Dr. Tiffany Manuel, president & founder of TheCase Made, specializes in social justice and authored a book about how to build public support for initiatives.

 “Case making, from my vantage point, is building that sense of ‘we,’ before you get to the planning table,” she said.

“[Government agencies] must think about who will have access; whose priorities will inform our planning process.

Planning is inclusive when we are thinking about the needs of everybody, not just some.

Casemaking establishes the feeling that all people are rockin’ in the same boat.”

Manuel said too many planning workshops or hearings are focused on a specific zoning change or neighborhood project.

She said plans get buy-in when there is a sense of legacy — that the city wants to create something “that will outlive us in the community.”

 

 

 

 

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Darin Watkins, government affairs director at Spokane Association of REALTORS®, said the Corps’ expertise was easily worth a half million dollars but cost only a minimal amount of funding through NAR and local grants plus some local partnerships.

“It was funny to finally see support on both ends of the political spectrum,” he said.

“For those who wanted to build more affordable housing as a social issue, the streamlined permitting; getting code aligned with housing goals; and removal of single-family-only zoning was great.

For people concerned about property rights, they saw they could do more with their land, so that was a great idea.”

In addition to the Transforming Neighborhoods program, NAR has funded placemaking, smart growth and housing opportunity grants in hundreds of communities.

The association also publishes Placemaking, Smart Growth and Housing Opportunity Toolkits, along with the better block guide “to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

“The Placemaking Toolkit offers REALTORS® and state and local association staff details of placemaking, the kinds of projects placemaking entails, how to organize them, and where to go for assistance and resources.”

 

 

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

In Spokane, where housing prices were spiraling, the Corps helped lead the community to zoning changes that allowed two-, three-, four- and six-plexes within single family zones.

That created affordable housing without disrupting the urban fabric.

“In four years, we went from one of the most affordable housing cities, to one where only about 60 percent of the population could afford housing,” said Darin Watkins, government affairs director at Spokane Association of REALTORS®.

“One of the CRE Corps’ first recommendations was to get a planning director, and we found a progressive planning director who implemented CRE recommendations immediately.

The highest impact one was you could now build up to a six-plex anywhere in the city.”

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

“The Corps team came in and performed a thorough assessment of the needs, hurts and challenges that our community was facing,” said Aubrey Pruis, association executive of the Paradise Association of REALTORS®.

“The final report provided by the Corps team gave a clear vision moving forward and served as a ‘road map’ to recovery for our local government.

The report has also served as a blueprint to the many com munities that, tragically, have also experienced natural and man-made disasters and provides great insights on how we can redevelop smarter and safer and better serve our community in the immediate future and beyond.”

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

“In the wake of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., our association brought in the CRE Consulting Corps, which proved to be a necessary and invaluable component as our community began the recovery and rebuilding process,” said Aubrey Pruis, association executive of the Paradise Association of REALTORS®.

Demonstration projects are a great way to engage with people as they experience a new design in their community.

The Consulting Corps rebuild report for Paradise, Calif.

https://cre.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Paradise-Final-Report.pdf

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

The Paradise Association of REALTORS® brought in the Corps in 2021, when it was alarmed at the slow pace of rebuilding from the 2018 California wildfire that burned down nearly 20,000 structures in the area.

One recommendation was to bring in a dealmaker from the private sector, someone who could cut through red tape and get things done with streamlined permitting.

Another issue was to focus on affordable housing.

Homeowners tended to have insurance settlements that allowed them to rebuild. Renters were uninsured or underinsured, plus very little affordable housing was being rebuilt in an area that was fairly affordable compared to many areas in the Golden State.

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

A verbal presentation is given at the end of the week’s work by CRE’s Consulting Corps (Corps). It is followed up with a longer, written version of expert advice.

Along with intense engagement with a broad base of stakeholders, the value of the Corps’ work is it can create strategies based more in economic realities. Sometimes cities get stuck on an unrealistic redevelopment plan.

“City staff might say ‘we want this land to be industrial and we want to have this company develop it.’

When the market reality might be that the land doesn’t have the infrastructure for industry or the market realities preclude a firm from locating to the site,” Dekoven said.

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Samantha Dekoven, director of Public Service Initiatives at The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), helps communities with planning expertise from industry leaders, such as developers, appraisers, economists, asset managers and advisors to pension funds, that invest in real estate.

Through its affiliation with the NATIONAL ASSOCI ATION OF REALTORS® (NAR), CRE’s Consulting Corps (Corps) is able to give an outside opinion from experts and is funded by NAR’s Transforming Neighborhoods program.

The Corps does several projects per year, focusing on communities with a problem complex enough to need a team of experts, but narrow enough that the team can create solutions from about a week onsite.

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Jessica Garrow, principal at Design Workshop,  underscored the importance of nuance, within various marginalized groups.

She recalled an online meeting specifically for individuals and organizations who represent people with disabilities.

“One participant was visually impaired, and we were using a lot of visuals for the discussion.

We had to slow down and explain each concept to them because they were not able to see the screen.

This was a good reminder that it’s important to provide opportunities for community input that are accessible to people from all walks of life.”

Garrow also reminds planners to connect with everyday people by avoiding “planner-speak.”

She recalled a time when a member of the community had received a public notice and was flummoxed by its mention of “FAR in a PUD to be heard by the PC.”

The point is not so much to spell out Floor Area Ratio, Planned Unit Development and Planning Commission — but to break down jargon into wording everyday people can understand.

 

 

 

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITY INPUT

TOOLKITS, TECHNIQUES, HIGH-TECH AND NON-TRADITIONAL/DIVERSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HELPS TO MAKE PLANNING ABOUT PEOPLE

Jessica Garrow, principal at Design Workshop, said online surveys are great for people who cannot attend a physical meeting, but noted not everyone is signed up for a city’s website or newsletter, so they may not know about the survey.

“Using yard signs, social media channels, flyers at a busy coffee shop, newspaper ads or radio ads helps increase engagement,” she said.

“I also like to pair surveys within person engagement so you can get the folks who might be rushing through their day.

It is also important to always provide hard copy options.

There are some people who do not have access to a smart phone so having surveys available at the library, community center, senior center or other high-traffic locations is important.”