PL599 : The Class : Communities & Growth : Values and Needs : Values and Needs

Whether or not we want to believe it, our values and preferences drive much of our consumer based society. Values are extremely diverse and form from many different factors such as a person's experiences, regional flavors, education, family history... As a single entity, an individual can have an impact on the landscape. But when groups with similar values form, the impacts can be exponential. Especially as values tend to be packed with emotion (this is not to say value-based decisions cannot be or are not logical). For the same reason, values, that help us determine amenities, are difficult to quantify and many times lose out to economic avenues. But, if you look at the two, value/amenities and economics, they can be either antithetical or symbiotic.

Values drive consumer's choices within their given options.. Where to live, where to retire, what is "good." When inmigration occurs, many times new values are added to the traditional base. If the new preferences are very different from the old, there tends to be conflict rather than assimilation. If it is a large influx of newcomers, resentments can build as ways of life start to change. This happens in every community no matter the size. One of my favorite areas is the urban-rural fringe and the changes that are occurring there. I have been watching the "live in the country" movement for some time. When high rates of growth occur in these areas, the traditional people and uses are quickly ovewhelmed. I have watched the growing urbanization in Yavapai County carefully for the past 8 years. The results of rapid growth have been enormous. Hilltops are sliced off, roads are created with grades and curvatures that no emergency vehicle could safely navigate, wells are going dry in areas with increasing densities, and the character of the area is changing. The production landscapes are changing from the traditional producer and open space landscapes to one of consumerism. While population is moving into the area for the country lifestyle, those coming in are urbanizing the area and creating a large scale, typically unplanned, subdivision. The 2.5 - 5.0 acre ranchette, also known on the East Coast as the mini estate, is common especially as zoning minimums help self determination. In the area outside Flagstaff, a well-planned subdivision of 1 acre lots (with paved roads!!) caused an enormous amount of controversy because the lots weren't large enough (I live in an old rural equestrian subdivision of 1 acre lots and comparatively our area tends to be better maintained). The old uses cannot hold out forever in the wake of increasing land development pressures and monies - unless some techniques for preservation/conservation are used. But this takes time and vision, trust in government or other agencies, a willing population that will give up some property rights potential, and money. These things are hard to come by in the fringe. Look carefully at the survey data. and the values of the people there. Look at the range in demographics. I wish I could show you the survey that stated the respondent loved the wide open vistas, but get rid of the cows...sounds funny, but it's not. One of my favorite examples of this type of attitude is the conflict that went on recently over a shooting range in the Prescott NF that had been there for years and had a 30 year lease and a new adjacent housing development. People bought homes there and wanted the range shut down. The range had a lease and said they would move if the residents bought out the lease and paid for the improvements. The residents did not volunteer to buy the lease and the PNF backed the shooters. This type of conflict is very common in these character changing areas. New subdivisions next to dairy farms.... or existing mine operations....This is the "country life." Typical small rural communities are very mixed in terms of land uses. They have areas of both high and low density, not an even spread.

This is a good opportunity to look around you, read the paper, watch the news and mentally begin to categorize what are the issues stemming from values (and needs or perceived needs) that are causing conflict. Which types come up consistently? Which are land based wholly or partially? Do they deal with access to resources, both aesthetic and economic?

Needs and Desires

Needs are what the community needs to attain what it wants (to be). They can be logical items with health, safety, and welfare in mind. A working sewer system or additional arterial are rather obvious. But the not so obvious is usually included as well. Open space- most plans have a set standard of so many acres per unit of population. This is a demonstrated mental health need. A new conference center might be cited as an economic/competitive need. A grocery store might be a perceived need in the community. One of the best ways to see what the community needs/wants/desires is by doing a community needs assessment. The community is inventoried. Info to be gathered can be based on certain categories, standards for towns of a particular size, and the area's vision of itself. Surveys are often included. These help to ascertain the public's priorities and perception of needs.

It's tough to divorce needs from desires or want. We'd all like better something, but is it really a NEED? Planners must be on the guard against translating their own desires for the land into needs. Communities need to have clear ideas about what they are, what they want to be, how to provide for citizens, and how to assess what needs to be done to achieve their (everchanging) goals. This is proactive planning. Unfortunately, many times you will see reactive planning come into view. The emergency situation that crops up....the influx of new residents that overwhelms the system in place...the unincorporated area that refused to "get involved with government" as growth started.

Things to think about…

What are your own prevailing values regarding residential choice? Why do you live where you do and what is your dream? Where have your personal values come from and how have they influenced your planning perspectives and land choices?

Should newcomers to a community "fit in" or go for what they find important even if it changes the community?

Think about the community change you have seen because of growth. What has been positive/negative?

What value-based conflicts have occurred in communities around the state? How can this affect planning?

Values that are subject to community needs.

How the change from production and open space uses to consumption has impacted the landscape locally and nationally.

Whether or not it is possible to change Americans' land preferences (re: density, housing type, mixed uses). Should planning be involved in this by advocating design, density, or other requirements?

Additional readings:

Contemporary Urban Planning by John Levy

Designing the City by Adele Bacow

Rural by Design by Randall Arendt

The Utopianism of Children by Emily Talen and Coffindaffer, Journal of Planning Education and Research 18:321-332

To complete this Topic successfully, please complete the following activities in the order shown below:

TEXTBOOK READING: Reading

ASSIGNMENT: Opinion Paper 3

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