About
What is this Planning Livable Communities Web site?
It’s a place to collect news, views and ideas about how to design communities that are more enjoyable for residents AND that work for business. Keys are human-scale design and balancing the needs of pedestrians, cars and mass transit (when appropriate). It means having useful destinations people can walk to, within walkable distances, as well as developing attractive streetscapes that people WANT to walk in.
Who runs it?
Me, Sharon Machlis Gartenberg. I’m a former member of Framingham Town Meeting’s Planning & Zoning Committee. During my Town Meeting term, I worked on the neighborhood business district zoning plan. I don’t think we can get rid of the car, nor do I want to. I just want us to get back to the balance we had before the post-WWII era set off two generations of sprawl. This is a free resource for all people interested in local planning issues.
I’m not against growth. I’m against unwise growth.
I tried posting a comment but it didn’t show up. Why not?
You know all that spam you get in your inbox? Sites that allow public postings get the same things. There are even automated software “bots” that crawl the Web, looking for such opportunities and posting their obnoxious messages. It kind of ruins the environment.
I don’t want this site junked up with that, so I use a spam filter. Unfortunately, it’s not perfect.
That’s also why we require a name and e-mail address for posting comments, to try to thwart automated spam bots.
Thanks for reading!
December 31, 2008 at 11:44 am
Hello!
I just stumbled onto your blog and love it! My good friend sent me that Brooks article and it made me happy to read, also.
I’m actually working on getting a social group started called the Urban Mafia which kind of takes the Couch Surfing idea and mashes it with the sustainable urban planning interest like your blog. Essentially a way to get urban cultured and creatives together for drinks and talk about the development in their city. Additionally, I would like for it to be an ambassador program where if you were to travel to a new city, you could look up someone on the network and they could show you around ‘off the beaten path’ so to speak.
The real, real reason I’m contacting you, though, is that I’m the new Blog Ambassador for Livable Streets Alliance in Cambridge. We are a non-profit advocacy group for urban design to be inclusive of all modes of transportation. My responsibility as an interactive / online PR manager will entail contacting the local and national bloggers and media and sending a quick press release about events we are hosting (like the anticpated visit of Bogota, Columbia’s mayor, Enrique Penalosa). Additionally, we would like to spread the word about your events on our website, which will be updated very soon. Together we can spread the word to Boston citizens who want to be more active in their community.
Would you be willing to post events for us on your blog, and if so, may I have a contact email?
Thanks, much!
-Meg
March 3, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Hi,
I’m writing from Next American City (americancity.org). We are holding our first annual conference Next American Vanguard conference in DC from May 20-21, and we think it’s something City Comforts followers would be interested in. The conference is designed to bring together the future generation of urban leaders – people who are making an impact in their city – with the idea that we can create a network of these individuals from across the country and help strengthen the work they are doing by making connections and providing resources.
Would City Comforts be willing to post something about the event on your website? Below is a sample post:
Are you a grassroots activist making a difference in your city? Are you a community leader, providing a voice for your neighbors? Are you heading an organization geared toward making change? We want to meet you! Next American City is announcing its first annual conference geared toward bringing together the next generation of urban leaders. From May 20-21, 2009, Next American City will be inviting 30 inspiring individuals from across the country to discuss our role in shaping the future of cities.
If we have piqued your interest, we want to hear you! Tell us about who you are, the work that you do and why we should select you to participate in this conference. To apply for the Next American City Vanguard, please visit americancity.org/vanguard.
Thank you so much! We really appreciate your help.