Billboards: The Case for Control
Why cities and towns benefit when they just say “no” to the continued proliferation of billboards. A report from PCJ contributing writer & ULI Senior Resident Fellow Ed McMahon.
Ed McMahon
Edward McMahon is a nationally renowned authority on sustainable development, land conservation. and urban design. He is currently a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute.
McMahon previously served as director of The Conservation Fund’s “American Greenways Program” and as president of Scenic America, a national non-profit organization devoted to protecting America’s scenic landscapes.
Over the course of 15 years, Ed McMahon authored more than two dozen articles for the Planning Commissioners Journal. They are listed below. Click on the title to read excerpts. PlannersWeb members can download the articles in pdf format as published in the PCJ (click on the title first; you will then see the Download link)
The Place Making Dividend
Why fostering a sense of place is key to having a strong, economically vibrant city or town. Observations from PCJ contributing writer & ULI Senior Resident Ed McMahon.
Three Perspectives on Housing
Today’s demographic and economic conditions, along with consumer preferences, are creating a major shift in housing demand. The time is ripe to for communities to develop housing strategies that address these changes.
Density Without High-Rises?
High-rise buildings are not necessarily the best answer to promoting denser, more walkable communities, argues Urban Land Institute Senior Resident Fellow & PCJ contributing writer Ed McMahon.
What’s So Bad About Zoning?
A reality check on four myths about zoning and land use regulation: 1. Zoning is un-American, 2. Sparsely populated rural areas don’t need to control uses of land, 3. Land use controls will increase taxes and reduce property values, and 4. Planning is a bad idea.
Building Codes Get Smarter
Building codes often make it financially infeasible to rehabilitate older — often historic — buildings by requiring rehab work to meet the same standards as new construction. This approach is changing as states and localities are adopting more flexible building codes.
Barriers to Better Development
Despite a growing number of innovative development projects around the country, PCJ columnist Ed McMahon still finds a number of persistent barriers to better development.
Public Buildings Should Set the Standard
Until the last half of the 20th century, key public buildings were almost always designed and built to be focal points of their communities. Unfortunately, in recent decades the trend has been to build cheaply in peripheral locations.
Road Design: A Turn Ahead
Too often new roadways have been designed to be wider and straighter, without much consideration being given to the character of the surrounding community. In recent years, however, there has been a gradual turn towards more thoughtful, “context sensitive” roadway design.
School Sprawl
One of the most important, but often overlooked, contributors to sprawl is the construction of large educational facilities in outlying, undeveloped areas. Edward McMahon takes a look at some of the causes of “school sprawl” — and at some efforts to combat it.
Green Infrastructure
Your town, city, or county undoubtedly has an infrastructure plan dealing with water, sewer, roads, and utilities — the gray infrastructure. But has it planned as well for green infrastructure, such as trails, greenways, river corridors, and bike paths?
Making a “Visible” Difference
What does it take to transform a community from Anyplace, USA into someplace special? Ed McMahon looks at five ways of making a visible difference.
Why is Everybody So Mad About Development?
Why has fighting development become a national pastime? Edward McMahon takes a hard look at this question, and offers some suggestions for both developers and planners to consider.
