Upload
livable-memphis
View
214
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Livable Memphis Winter Newsletter
Citation preview
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
T H R I V E T H R I V E is the newsletter of Livable Memphis, a program of the Community
Development Council of Greater Memphis. Representing over 125 neighborhoods from
across the greater Memphis region, Livable Memphis supports the development and
redevelopment of healthy, vibrant, and economically sustainable communities. We do this
by educating community members, promoting public policies that mitigate urban sprawl
and direct investment to existing neighborhoods; and advocating for public and active
transportation options that are safe, user-friendly, and accessible to all residents.
HOW WE GOT STARTED: In 2005, a diverse group of community developers, environmentalists, transportation activists, financial institutions, and philanthropic foundations convened to explore a community wide response to the effects of sprawl. They shared the common goal of supporting equitable and efficient growth in Shelby County and the greater Memphis region. Livable Memphis was created as an initiative of the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis. Its goals include: building a broad base of support, researching patterns of growth expenditures, providing education on issues that affect community vitality, and offering a grassroots input into policy decisions.
1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis TN 38104 www.livablememphis.org (901) 725-8370
In a city so dependent on a car to get around, how can we encourage
people to walk and bike to nearby destinations? Over the past few
months, Walk Bike Memphis (a Livable Memphis initiative) has been
working to develop inexpensive, yet impactful tactics to encourage
people to use active transit. Inspired by Matt Tomasulo’s wayfinding
campaign in Raleigh, Walk Bike Memphis has installed temporary way
finding signs in strategic places around the city, including Overton
Square, South Memphis and Crosstown. These signs are meant to make
people more aware of their surroundings and to show them how long it
would take to walk or bike to a nearby restaurant or community
amenity. A barcode on the sign brings up a map and directions on a
pedestrian’s cell phone. It’s a simple way to help activate areas, to
address concerns about obesity and to engage urban citizens in a larger
discussion about transportation equality within Memphis. The guerrilla
wayfinding signage, although placed sparingly around the city, has
recently gained attention from the Downtown Memphis Commission.
We are currently exploring the potential of developing these signs
downtown.
(continued on page 6)
1
Guerrilla Wayfinding Signs Help Promote Walking and Biking
By Elizabeth Saba, Livable Memphis Program Coordinator
Walk Bike Memphis signage
1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis, TN 38104 www.livablememphis.org (901) 725-8370
Our Values:
Balanced Development. Growth should be planned and
managed in a way that balances both
private and public interests. Future
growth must address the entire
community’s need for economic
development and healthy, diverse
neighborhoods.
Shared Benefits & Costs. All Shelby County residents must
share in the economic benefits of
growth, as well as its costs. Public
expenditures (tax dollars) should be
spread equitably among both new
and existing neighborhoods.
Access & Choice. All residents deserve equal access to
jobs, schools, shopping,
transportation, and neighborhood
facilities. Citizens also must have
choices in housing type and location,
as well as multiple transportation
options.
Community Input &
Collaboration. All residents should
have a voice in how the community
is developed. Venues for effective
citizen input should be well-
publicized, timely, and accessible.
Environmental Protection. Open space, natural habitats, and
landscapes must be protected and
preserved for the benefits of citizens
and the greater community.
Dear Thrive readers,
It is probably a cliché, but it is hard to believe that 2012 has
come and gone. But as someone who has been a long-time advocate
for Memphis neighborhood (along with many others), this year I am
feeling optimistic for a number of reasons.
First, our advocacy in support of more bicycle infrastructure –
together with key support from the city – is paying major dividends.
Bike lanes seem to be going in everywhere, linking Frayser,
Midtown, Binghampton and many other neighborhoods. Now,
Memphis is studying the feasibility of a bike-share program (page
3), in partnership with Livable Memphis and other stakeholders.
Second, there is a new focus in our community on
neighborhood economic vitality, spearheaded in part by Mayor
Wharton’s Innovation Delivery Team. Through events like the
recent MemFIX Crosstown, and other strategies designed to spur
business development and expansion in targeted areas, long-
neglected commercial strips are seeing renewed focus, activity, and
infrastructure improvement.
Third, we are gaining traction on some of our long-term policy
priorities, such as the design and implementation of a Complete
Streets policy for Memphis and Shelby County. In that effort,
Livable Memphis is working on a policy development team with
Urban Land Institute, Memphis Area Association of Realtors, the
city and county, Shelby County Health Department, and others.
Finally, I continue to be inspired by the hard and often
unheralded work that our member organizations – including CDCs
– are doing to improve Memphis neighborhoods through new and
renovated housing, job training, charter and private
schools, blight eradication, community organizing,
urban agriculture, and many other initiatives.
.
2
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis TN 38104 www.livablememphis.org (901) 725-8370
3
The City of Memphis has witnessed a huge investment in bicycle transportation and has recently been
exploring the potential for a bike share system to operate in the city. With over 300 cities worldwide
implementing bike share programs, including Chattanooga, Miami, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City,
Memphis is hoping to follow suit.
Bike sharing is a system that is structured to operate like an automated rental service, encouraging
shorter, spontaneous trips through membership and usage fees.
In this program a bike can be taken from a station and returned
to any other station in the city. The aim is to provide an
inexpensive and elegant mobility option for trips too far to walk,
but not long enough to take public transit or drive. In the past
these systems have been met with relatively low success, due to
theft and vandalism. In the past five years, however, a new
generation of bike sharing has emerged due to innovations in
technology to increase accountability. Credit card transactions
and RFID chips (radio-frequency identification) allow system
operators accountability and reduce theft and vandalism. The
most recent bike share systems in North America (use solar
panels and wireless communication. Other components of the
bicycles that deter theft and vandalism include bicycles that are upright, uniquely colored and structurally
distinctive, designed for short trips, encourage a slower pace of movement, have puncture-resistant tires, a bell,
and a light that is powered by pedaling.
In addition to being affordable, bike share systems have numerous benefits. The financial benefits
include attracting visitors and tourists, creating “green jobs” with positions for managing and operating the
system and bicycles, providing existing businesses an additional way to get customers to their front door,
providing any size business an opportunity for brand development through bike sponsorship, and the fact that
owning a bicycle can reduce a household’s costly dependence on a vehicle.
Bike sharing also has important health benefits. These are well recognized and include the potential to
reduce heart disease, obesity, and other sedentary lifestyle diseases. According to a study in 2005 by the
Center for Disease Control, more than 25 percent of adults in Shelby County were obese, and an even higher
percentage was overweight. A bike share program would certainly encourage and promote healthier physical
habits for the citizens of Memphis.
The city’s attractions and recreational activities make a bike share program a feasible opportunity for
the City of Memphis. The city has significant political and institutional support, as well as strong investments
in the downtown area. In the past five years, Memphis has gained a supportive Mayor, established a full-time
bicycle and pedestrian staff position, and adopted new bicycling ordinances. Tennessee Congressman Steve
Cohen has said that investments in the bike share program will “improve livability in downtown Memphis,
will increase tourism, will drive economic development and create jobs, make our city more attractive to your
people, and enable people to bike over the historic, scenic Mississippi River.”
Is Bike Share in Memphis’ Future? By Ian Preston, LM intern
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
Bike Sharing Kiosk, Nashville
Photo Source: Capital Bikeshare
4
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
Community Development Council recently presented its annual study of local lending trends at the Benjamin
Hooks Library. The Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action Director and professor at the
University of Memphis, Phyllis Betts, gave an updated report of the new data, challenges, and policy implica-
tions for investor-driven neighborhoods in Memphis and Shelby County. The presentation of the lending
study was supported by the City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
The study examined the conditions of the lending market, finding that the lending market remains in a slump
as investors have been dominating the housing market and the government’s role in lending remains strong.
Purchases are down, while refinance applications and loans continue to increase.
The key findings of the study included:
Racial disparity in lending documented in the 2009 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data was
firmly entrenched in 2010. The study reported that one black borrower originates a loan for very four
white borrowers in a county that is 52 percent African American.
Loan level disparity is translat-
ing into continued and accelerat-
ing neighborhood level disparity.
As a consequence, Census tract
at or below 80 percent of area
median income accessed only 7
percent of originated loans in
Shelby County – even including
borrowing investors.
Neighborhood lending disparity
mirrors and aggravates fallout
from foreclosure in a wide ex-
panse of Memphis neighbor-
hoods. Home ownership is down
over 7 percent in Memphis since
2000, while the vacancy rate
nearly doubled during that same
period of time.
Neighborhood lending disparity and other housing forces are pushing many neighborhoods in the wrong
direction. Two out of three Memphis census tracts have concentrated poverty of at least 20 percent.
The role of investors is growing and the impact on different kinds of neighborhoods is largely unstudied
and unknown. In Memphis, investors now own 25 percent of single-family homes (map above.)
1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis TN 38104 www.livablememphis.org (901) 725-8370
Annual Study Examines Impacts of Investors in Memphis Neighborhoods
1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis TN 38104 www.livablememphis.org (901) 725-8370
Holiday Bike Recycle Educates Youth By Ian Preston, LM Intern
5
Thanks to the Holiday Bike Recycle program, the holiday season will
be merrier for 30 Memphis kids. Spearheaded by Matt Farr,
Manager of Education and Outreach at Shelby Farms Park
Conservancy, the children are treated to a bicycle and a bicycle
education, in partnership with Kyle Wagenschutz, Director of
Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop, Peddler Bike Shop, Mid-
South Trails Association, YMCA of Memphis, and others. The kids
meet four times over a week to learn about the benefits of riding a
bicycle. The first meeting takes place at Revolutions, where kids
learn about the importance of cycling and community. At the next
meeting, also at Revolutions, kids are taught certain skills of riding
such as the “look back” and balancing techniques. The third meeting
teaches kids proper bicycle maintenance such as appropriate tire
pressure and safety instruction. The final meeting, which is at
Shelby Farms Park, is the bicycle giveaway, where the kids who
have been working hard and actively learning, are each handed a
bicycle to keep.
The program has served about 300 children to date. December
2012 marked the 7th annual Holiday Bicycle Recycle giveaway, a
program which has proven to be so successful in educating youth
about the healthy and sustainable habits of the city’s biking culture.
“All the bikes are being reused and donated from the community to Revolutions. The program is teaching the
next generation of cyclists for tomorrow’s Memphis,” says Farr.
Greenline Gardens Project to Promote Business Skills and Sustainability
This spring will see the kick off of a new bicycle-oriented program with a twist called Greenline Gardens. The
program will take place during the first or second week of spring break and serve 50 students from East High
School. The students will meet at Revolutions Community Bike Shop and build their own bicycles. Next there
is a Farm-to-Fork Fellowship (F2FF) segment, in which the students are paid a stipend to come to the farm at
the end of the Greenline and grow their own produce. The food they grow will then be given back to the
Memphis City Schools, where it can be prepared and served to the students again at lunchtime. “It will really
be something for a student to point at a bunch of broccoli and tell a peer, ‘I grew that,’” says Matt Farr, of
Shelby Farms Park, who is leading the program. “This holistic program will teach the students entrepreneurial
and leadership skills, as well as the benefits of healthy eating and sustainable living. Reaching out to the folks
who need it most is the challenge because we’re geographically all over the place. That’s why we think the
bikes are a great fit,” says Farr. For more information on Greenline Gardens, please contact
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
Matt Farr, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy
Manager of Education and Outreach
Name
Organization or Neighborhood
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Email
This project falls within the larger concept of tactical urbanism, which encourages citizens to make the
changes to their city that they’d like to see. Hailed by the urban planning news site Planetizen as one of
the top planning trends for 2011-2012, these projects consist of temporary, low-cost, low-risk actions that offer
immediate value to neighborhoods and cities. Examples of tactical urbanism include National Park(ing) Day,
food truck rodeos and pop-up retail and art installations. The MEMFIX Crosstown event this past November,
inspired by New Face for an Old Broad in 2010, highlights a series of tactical urbanism techniques deployed
simultaneously across an entire neighborhood. This MEMFIX escapade, spearhead by Mayor Wharton’s
Innovation Team and carried out by citizen groups, utilized temporary bike lanes, street art, pop-up retail and
plazas, wayfinding signage, benches, street trees and bike parking to paint a picture of what the neighborhood
could be. It is hoped that MEMFIX Crosstown will prompt urban redevelopment and revitalization, just a
New Face for an Old Broad leveraged millions of dollars in capital investments along Broad Avenue and
inspired the development of the Overton-Broad Connector. And that’s a desired side-effect, to leverage larger
investment in permanent, long-term improvements.
We live in a city of enormous potential where some of our proudest moments have occurred when citizens
bucked the system, tried something a little differently. Let’s work together to embrace the power we have as
citizens to make our city more livable through small, tactical changes.
6
LIVABLE MEMPHIS Winter 2012 Promoting Healthy Growth in the Memphis Region
Contact Us: 1548 Poplar Avenue Memphis TN 38104 Phone: (901) 725-8370 Online: www.livablememphis.org Email: [email protected]
Community Development Council &
Livable Memphis Membership Indicate Areas of Interest
blight eradication
expanded transportation options
increased facilities for walking
and biking
neighborhood economic vitality
safe, affordable, and quality
housing
safe and sound lending practices
sustainable and efficient
development patterns
Individual Memberships
$15. Grassroots/Student Member
$35. Individual Member
$65. Family Member
$100. Supporting Member
$500 and up. Sustaining Member
$50. Community Associations or Nonprofits with
budgets less than $25,000.
$250 to $499. Other Nonprofits and Small
Businesses.
(continued from page 1)