GETTING WHAT WE WANT THROUGH HARMONIZATION

B S. Bochner

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1998

Subject Area

land use - planning, organisation - management, place - urban

Keywords

Urban development, Transportation planning, Public opinion, Project management, Planning, Parks, Needs assessment, Houston (Texas), Development, Communities, Chicago (Illinois), Atlanta (Georgia)

Abstract

Harmonization refers to pursuing a wide range of community goals--in addition to transportation mobility, efficiency, and safety--through transportation programs. These could include security, comfort, aesthetics, economic development, sustainability, environment, and others. Possibly the most obvious example of harmonization is a comprehensive community plan, including a transportation element. All of the community's development objectives are reflected in the plan, and transportation supports the plan's objectives. Other examples include the following: the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia, where transportation needs were harmonized with the needs for economic development and community facilities, to bring the area tremendous residual benefits; the improvement of Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, which gained community support when the proposal was harmonized with desires to consolidate parklands and community facilities along Lake Michigan; and the increased public support for Grand Parkway in Houston, Texas, once a wider right of way was proposed to provide open space and a parkway to beautify the corridor in an area generally short of parkland.

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