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Spencer Bollacker

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Final Reflection - 12/9

Maybe the lack of sleep this past week is causing a slight sense of euphoria, but I was kind of inspired by Bruce's final talk about what we should take away from this class. I really enjoyed this class. Learning about all of the planning paradigms that our profession has... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Discussion Question 12/7

I was disappointed by the lack of public participation at my meeting. It was a downzoning of a development that would have resulted in a decrease from 246 units to about 46 units. I guess this isn't a hot button issue, since the neighbors would not oppose more single family... Continue reading

Posted Dec 7, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Resilience Reflection

Interesting discussion this week. I was compeled by the argumant for resiliance planning rather than trying to plan for 'sustainability' in a world where we may be using resources at a rate that simply will never be sustainable. It is somewhat depressing to think about, but it may be the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 7, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Discussion for 11/28

I can't think of any examples from my professional life where resilience was enhanced by storytelling or narrative, but I am inclined to agree that the gathering community members to give their perspective would enhance resilience in the long run. I think the key is that community members are inherently... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Reflection - Presentations

I enjoyed the presentation exercise, and thought most groups did a great job. It was a lot of work to review both the city wide and district plan but I think it was good experience to quickly review a document and take away and communicate the important points. Every presentation... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Reflection - New Orleans Plan

I'm excited to dive into the New Orleans Plan and see how well they did with it. Granted, there were many hurdles to overcome with this plan and many external factors, but so many people were behind this planning effort that it would be hard to shift blame away from... Continue reading

Posted Nov 4, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Why Should We Rebuild New Orleans? Discussion for 11/2

The problem with this questions is that New Orleans, the city as a whole, does not need to be rebuilt. Much of the area in question is the lowland areas to the south and east that were devastated by flooding after hurricane Katrina. Most of the residents of these areas... Continue reading

Posted Nov 1, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Reflection 10/26

I thought the charrette process was pretty fun. I think we did a good job in sticking to our characters and really trying to get into their shoes when we were talking about what we wanted to see in the future site. Even though the big reveal at the end... Continue reading

Posted Oct 31, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Lynchburg Charrette Preperation

As the city council representative for this ward, my main goals for this charrette are to come up with a design plan for the city owned property that incorporates much needed revenue for the neighborhood while maintaining affordable housing for our existing residents. I would also like to see the... Continue reading

Posted Oct 23, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Diverse Neighborhoods

Emily Talen was really inspiring. I'm excited to read some of her work and apply the principles of diversity into my projects. I think I was most enlightened when she was talking about why we need diversity in our neighborhoods, and what the benefits were. There is so much emphasis... Continue reading

Posted Oct 21, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Discussion for 10/19

The readings this week were really interesting and inspiring, and I look forward to hearing Emily Talon speak tonight. The message I took away from it is, as planners we need to re-engage the issue of diversity from an urban design stance, but policy must be there to support it.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 19, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Ethically Reflecting

This was an intersting class.. and not just because it started with a game show. Why devote just one week to a complicated subject as ethics? I feel like this was just a punch in our cards required by the AIA and AICP board. Can you really teach ethics? What... Continue reading

Posted Oct 6, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Ethics in Planning

There was a redevelopment project taking place to the north of my old neighborbood in Baltimore called the East Baltimore Development Project. I went to a presentation by the CEO of the East Baltimore Development Corporation (EBDC) and was impressed by what they were doing for the people who were... Continue reading

Posted Oct 3, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Advocacy Planning

I tend to believe that philosophies or ideas that stick to one end of the spectrum with no middle ground are ultimately flawed. We saw how modernist planning, with it's know all - expert approach, failed miserably. I think that advocacy planning would fail just as miserably if it was... Continue reading

Posted Sep 30, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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I enjoyed reading about the facilitation process this week. The vidio we watched in class about planning projects in New England really showed how projects can fail if you don't bring people into the discussion, and how they can succeed if you facilitate discussion with the surrounding community. I have... Continue reading

Posted Sep 23, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Towering Dilemma

The Towering Dilemma case provides a nice contrast to the hoover dam project we talked about earlier this month. The most obvious contrast is probably in size, with the Hoover Dam project being a massive capital project, and Devils’s tower only really being an environmental assessment. To me the greatest... Continue reading

Posted Sep 20, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Discussion for 9/14

I have never worked in a public planning office, so I can't speak from actual experience here, but I suspect that much has changed in the planning process and the way planners and politicians operate since Altshuler wrote his article.. Some of the shortcomings he talks about that prevent planners... Continue reading

Posted Sep 12, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Good Intentions Gone Bad

I gained some new perspective this week in terms of the background and social climate driving urban renewal in the 20th century. So much of the underlying philosophy was benevolent, and I think the leaders of the movement truly believed they were doing the best thing for the people who... Continue reading

Posted Sep 10, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Off to a great start

This week's discussion was really interesting. I enjoyed our discussion on light rail and the sometimes necessary use of a modernist approach to planning for large capital projects. The readings and the videos we watched really made me think about the role we will have as planners. I can't help... Continue reading

Posted Sep 2, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Spencer Bollacker is now following Brugo

Sep 1, 2011

Modernism vs Post Modernism Planning Theory

As Beauregard points out in the article from this week's readings, the field of planning in the United States today is suspended between the paradigm or modernity and post modernity, with planning practitioners and theorists increasingly drifting towards the two opposing schools. Planning emerged as a field from the need... Continue reading

Posted Aug 29, 2011 at 2011 Mile High Planning Co-op

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Aug 28, 2011

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