Mad As Hell Or Mad As a Hatter?

by Damien Newton on October 15, 2008

When
October 17, 2008   7:00 am   
More Info
Christyne Buteyn, Phone: 310-322-1520 Email: info@westsideurbanforum.com
No one can deny that our region is gripped by many problematic planning pressures - intense traffic congestion, unaffordable housing, increasing density, and the aesthetic blight of poorly designed buildings. Residents' frustration often boils over at city council and community group meetings. Are planning "elites" so out of touch with resident concerns that they have ceased to represent their constituents? Or should complex land use regulation and municipal budgets be left to the cool heads of elected officials and their technocratic staffs? Are citizen initiatives an effective answer to out-of-control power? Or, do such initiatives impose inflexible solutions that are detrimental to the common good? Are planning initiatives democratic, or just another tool of the powerful -- whether Wal-Mart or NIMBY? Registration & Pricing: Members: $20 ($15 Full-time Member Students with ID) Nonmembers: $40 Online Registration

Panelists:
Darrell Clarke, former Planning Commissioner, City of Santa Monica
Robert Gottlieb, Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College, Los Angeles
Terry O'Day, Planning Commissioner, City of Santa Monica


Moderator:
Woodie Tescher, Principal and Director of Planning and Urban Design, PBS&J