Na minha casa em Merseyside, e na minha base atual na Flórida, há um debate com o desenvolvimento. Os residentes ficam impressionados com a beleza e a fragilidade do ambiente físico e querem que ele aprimorasse e protegido, os desenvolvedores parecem exatamente os mesmos, querendo criar novas comunidades que se misturam com aqueles que já existem e oferecem casas atraentes em comunidades de boas-vindas para esta geração e as segundas. perdedores.
In both places, local residents and developers share a passion. Residents are struck by the beauty and fragility of the physical environment and want it enhanced and protected, developers feel exactly the same, wanting to create new communities which blend with those which already exist and offer attractive homes in welcoming communities for this generation and the next.
But to read the headlines, the websites and the social media campaigns, you would think they were at war, riven by division and set in a ‘zero-sum’ game with only winners and losers.
O que os dois lados realmente compartilham é um déficit de confiança. Com muita frequência, eles são estranhos um para o outro. Programas de consulta formal com jargão técnico, com pouco freqüentados, marcam todas as caixas de mandatos e requisitos estatutários, mas raramente eles trazem residentes atuais e futuros, desenvolvedores e formuladores de políticas em torno de uma única 'grande idéia'.
Because planning laws in both communities are arcane and red-tape rules based, all parties are instantly drawn into a combative discourse when, in most cases, there is considerably more in common than first appears. Poorly attended, technical jargon loaded, formal consultation programmes tick all the boxes of statutory mandates and requirements, but rarely do they bring current and future residents, developers and policymakers together around a single ‘big idea’.
, é claro. Haverá aqueles que são absolutos e sem querer em sua posição. Eles rejeitarão qualquer coisa que mude o que está lá atualmente, e há aqueles motivados puramente por lucro, governados por planilhas e lucro e perda. E no meu canto do noroeste da Flórida, uma duplicação da população no passado não mostra sinais de queda e novas estradas, escolas, casas e utilitários são obrigados a atender a esse crescimento de uma maneira gerenciada. Acomodando posições que buscam encontrar compromissos e soluções. No mundo do planejamento de hoje, é mais fácil solicitar, objetar ou ameaçar a revisão legal do que sentar -se com o apoio e o envolvimento da "maioria no meio" e descobrir o que pode ser alcançado para satisfazer tudo. E acomodação por todos os lados é o que é necessário. Acontece.
In my town of birth war raged about whether to build a luxury golf resort – one which would provide jobs, a top-end hotel, a spa and sports facilities but also requires some new homes to make it viable. And in my corner of northwest Florida, a doubling of population in the past decade shows no sign of abating and new roads, schools, homes and utilities are required to meet this growth in a managed way.
Bizarrely, today’s planning regulations and processes – both on the banks of the Mersey and along the emerald waters of the Gulf – seem to encourage confrontation, favouring winner takes all outcomes over more accommodating positions which seek to find compromises and solutions. In today’s planning world, it is easier to petition, object or threaten legal review than to sit down with the support and engagement of ‘the majority in the middle’ and work out what can be achieved to satisfy all.
Yes, it requires a little more time and a little investment – but in the lifetime of a project it repays handsomely for all.
Consultation with purpose, dialogue with shared objectives, and flexibility and accommodation on all sides is what is required.
Even though the Government has indicated it is looking to overhaul the current planning process, it is sadly unlikely the rules governing planning and development in either jurisdiction will change anytime soon, But, perhaps, progressive developers and city officials operating with the support and guidance of the plethora of consultants and real estate and property companies in both locations – change can happen.
It is not beyond the wit and wisdom of elected officials, planning officers and county commissioners to recognise those developers who commit to place-making and involving local communities in their proposals are the ones who should be encouraged as much as they need to find ways to not get bullied and pressured by squeaky wheel NIMBY’s and find ways for genuine community leaders and residents to be listened to.
