Urban Outings Highlight Bay Area's Best Communities
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Urban Outings Highlight Bay Area's Best Communities |
Greenbelt Alliance * The Newswire
Volume 2, February 2003
In May, Greenbelt Alliance will complete is 43rd Urban Outing highlighting the wonders of vibrant communities in the Bay Area. These fun and educational walking tours showcase community smart growth successes and how they came to pass. Each outing includes an open discussion to stimulate problem-solving among community members.
Bob Johnson, Urban Outings team leader and Greenbelt Alliance board member, stated that "the program has helped get the message out that Greenbelt Alliance strongly advocates for livable communities as well as protection of open space."
By highlighting real world examples of successful development, Greenbelt Alliance gives outing participants a concrete sense of how we can use the latest smart growth tools to revitalize our communities. The outings point out that affordable housing can be aesthetically pleasing as well as reasonably priced; pedestrian-safe downtowns can reinvigorate commercial centers; developing near transit reduces traffic and pollution; and infill development can increase surrounding home values. Urban Outings call attention to and invite community input on issues important to growing cities and towns. Urban Outings also help community members initiate a dialogue with local developers and policymakers.
Past outings have highlighted how communities such as Oakland, Mountain View, and Walnut Creek have revitalized their downtowns by renovating pedestrian pathways and historical buildings and adding nearby attractive housing. Other outings, such as those in Morgan Hill, Fairfield, and Antioch, explored opportunities for smart growth in towns experiencing rapid growth and extreme development pressure. To get a sense of what going on an urban outing might be like, visit our Berkeley Online Urban Outing.
The Urban Outings Team, largely composed of volunteers, plans and leads these tours. Past Urban Outings Team members have found the volunteer work an extremely valuable learning experience that has exposed them to urban planning issues and helped hone other useful skills such as research, public speaking, and organizing.
Our Urban Outings team is now seeking new volunteers to help plan and lead upcoming outings. If you are interested, contact Urban Outings Coordinator Julie Cummins at 415.543.6771 or by email. Our next two Urban Outings are in May 2003 and will take place in Sonoma and Vacaville. Get involved today and help us showcase the Bay Area's unique livable communities!