I. Introduction

Everyone seems to have an idea for creating livable communities--the question is how to get past the pretty pictures and implement them.

People know what conditions they want to live, work, and raise their families in. That's what developers want to bring to market. The problem is that livable communities can't just be plopped down and be successful.

Livable communities evolve out of a wealth of existing resources--good schools, safe and convenient shopping areas, neighborhood services, health and fitness facilities, transit services among others. Unfortunately developers shy away from projects within established communities because of opposition due to traffic and other environmental impacts.

II. The Ped-GRiD Solution

Through our Urban Information Technology solutions, we have developed a new, quantifiable method to identify the best places for building livable communities.

Pedestrian are the key measure of a livable community. When the pedestrian potential of a place is maximized, development projects become more market viable, potential traffic and environmental impacts are addressed, and each project becomes a community asset.

The way we do this is through our Pedestrian Geographic Resources Database or Ped-GRiD which digitally compiles, analyzes and maps information contained in data sets.

III. Southern California Model

To demonstrate the power of Ped-GRiD, we created a Pedestrian Framework Plan for a three-county area of Southern California: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, which represent the most urbanized, economically vibrant and socially diverse region in the U.S. Prepared for the Southern California Association of Governments, this Plan meets federal legislation requiring Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) throughout the Unites States to integrate pedestrian and transportation facilities to be eligible for Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) funding. A goal of the Plan is to identify geographic areas or Pedestrian Activity Zones with the highest pedestrian potential. With Ped-GRiD, we inventoried over 70 categories of pedestrian and livability resources for a 25,000 square mile plan area including:

1. Community facilities--parks, libraries, schools, civic centers, post offices, etc.
2. Land Uses including retail, office, high density residential, major building, parks, etc.
3. Transit nodes including park n ride, rail stations, bus stations, airports, etc.
4. Vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian routes.

With Ped-GRiD, we distinguished between places that are pedestrian dependent--where people NEED to walk--and those that are pedestrian generators--where people WANT to walk.

We compared demographic indicators such as employment density with geographic indicators such as proximity of pedestrian facilities and land use coverage to find the areas with the highest pedestrian potential.

Ped-GRiD is a powerful engine for querying through all these specific bits of information to discern the places throughout the region with the greatest potential for becoming a livable community.

Zooming in to the parcel and block level, the same methodology can be applied to select the best sites for specific development projects. We can analyze information such as property size and area, land use and density, property value for any group of blocks or for individual street addresses.

The Plan recommends implementation through a regional Pedestrian Enhancement Program called SCAG/PEP. It provides subregions and local agencies with opportunities to undertake enhancement projects managed by SCAG's ACCESS program and funded through ISTEA and other sources.

SCAG/PEP calls for the development of Local Pedestrian Enhancement Plans (Local/PEP) by local agencies and submitted to SCAG for funding through a competitive process. The Local/PEPs will be judged upon how well they meet and implement the goals and objectives established by SCAG/PEP.

The Local/PEPs should establish improvement projects in Pedestrian Enhancement Precincts. Local/PEPs should identify the inhibitors of good pedestrian movement and demonstrate how these may be overcome through proposed Pedestrian Enhancement Strategies. Local/PEPs should provide an overall Pedestrian Enhancement Vision established through a community participation process.

A range of potential funding sources at federal and state levels are identified and may be allocated to local agencies by SCAG subregions. A SCAG/PEP management program is recommended to utilize the existing SCAG ACCESS program.

IV. Conclusion

As demonstrated by our Southern California model, Ped-GRiD is one of our Urban Information Technology solutions for making a powerful and positive argument that quantifies livability, and thereby demonstrates how individual projects contribute to a community's overall quality of life. This provides the reasons for community members to buy into and support a development project.

Ped-GRiD is a powerful tool for identifying which locations have the least potential for success therefore giving developers an edge in minimizing their risk.

V. Acknowledgements

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Ms. Bettye Wertheman, Project Manager
Mr. Terry Hayes, Principal, Terry A. Hayes Associates
Mr. Michael Meyer, Principal, Meyer Mohaddes Associates
Mr. Jon Harrison, Senior Consultant, Esri
Ms. Monica Frederick, Consultant, Esri
Mr. Frank Hotchkiss, AIA, AICP, Principal, Urban Possibilities
Ms. Achva Benzinberg Stein, ASLA, Principal, Achva Benzinberg Stein & Associates
Mr. Yousef Jalali
Thomas Brothers Maps

V. Principal Author Information

Marc Futterman
Principal
Marc A. Futterman & Associates
714 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 701
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel (213) 747-6300; Fax (213) 747-7282