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USDA Releases New Plant Zone Hardiness Map
Last week the USDA released a new version of its Plant Zone Hardiness Map. Plant hardiness zone designations represent the average annual extreme minimum temperatures at a given location. Low temperature during the winter is a crucial factor in the survival of plants. This is the first update of the map since 1990. The new map has much greater accuracy and detail than the previous version. Many of the zones have shifted, showing much of the country one five-degree half-zone warmer than the previous iteration. The USDA says this is because this map is based on 30 years of data from weather stations around the country, where the 1990 map was only based on 13 years of data. Also, areas between weather stations are now more accurately mapped via algorithms that consider changes in elevation, nearness to large bodies of water, and position on the terrain, such as valley bottoms and ridge tops.
The map is still available at a national scale, but there are also individual state maps, a “find your zone by ZIP code” function, and a web-based interactive GIS version. With the interactive version you can overlay the hardiness zones over a satellite image, a terrain map or a road map. You are able to see some interesting jogs and bends to the zones, as well as some pockets of micro-climates that are warmer or cooler than the surrounding area. For example, according to the map, my house is zone 6b, but ½ mile north, ½ mile east are both zone 6a. Some of this variation is probably based on the fact that the zones are based on 5 degree increments. The average low temperature at my house could be -5 degrees, while its -6 degrees at my neighbors.
Does this mean that a whole new realm of plants are now available for our planting region? Probably not. For example, according to reference sources, the Crape Myrtle, a staple of southern landscapes, will survive to minimum temperatures of about -5 degrees. So, according to this new map, my house is at that border. I could conceivably plant a Crape Myrtle in a sheltered area of my yard and have it survive. But if we have an unusually cold winter, I’d likely lose the tree. That’s a risk I might take as a home gardener, but as a Landscape Architect I would never plant Crepe Myrtle on a public or commercial project because of that risk. We need to review this new map, but will cross reference the data with conventional wisdom to determine what plants are truly regionally hardy.
American Energy and Infrastructure Job Act
Abonmarche has been a longtime proponent for smart growth and long term planning for communities. As a firm, we value non-motorized transportation as a community and economic development tool that promotes healthy living and long term sustainability. Abonmarche has worked on multiple projects in the communities we serve to promote non-motorized transportation and pedestrian safety, including streetscapes, non-motorized trails, bike lanes and sidewalk construction and Safe Routes to School Programs.
Tomorrow, February 2nd, Congress will vote on the American Energy and Infrastructure Job Act, presented by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on whether to approve this bill or amend it to include bicycling and walking programs.
Some of the provisions in the bill that negatively impact issues that are important to us include: removing dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements; repealing the Safe Routes to School program, leaving communities without basic tools and funding to protect kids on the trip to school; allowing states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles; and eliminating bicycle and pedestrian and Safe Routes to School coordinators in state DOTs.
This is a nonpartisan issue but one that affects the livability and long term sustainability of every community across our country.
We at Abonmarche urge you to contact your local representative and express to them the impacts on your community of eliminating funding for pedestrian, non-motorized transportation and enhancement programs. Take action now—tell your representative the importance of bicycling and walking in the Transportation Committee. Click here to sign the online petition, or you may directly contact your representative to express the impact this bill will have on your community.
Emerald Cities
The Natural Resources Defense Council has published their report Rooftops to Rivers II on stomrwater runoff. It features guidelines for infrastructure changes that municipalities can make in order to become so green that they qualify as “Emerald Cities.” One of the 15 case studies in the report is Syracuse, New York – home of the only hockey team to skate on ice made from rain water! Read the report here for more exciting, creative ideas for reversing hundreds of years of abuse and neglect of our nation’s water supply.
A green street in Nashville featuring bio-retention planters and bumpouts, landscaped median, porous sidewalks and 102 shade trees
“Our Town” Grants Available
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is offering Our Town arts grants for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA is interested in funding creative and innovative projects in which communities seek to improve their quality of life, encourage creative activity, create community identity and a sense of place, and revitalize local economies. Projects may include planning, design, and arts engagement activities. Grants will be awarded between $25,000 and $150,000 and all grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.
Applicants must consist of partnerships that involve a nonprofit organization and a local governmental entity. One of the partners must be a cultural organization and one of the partners must act as the official or “lead” applicant. Eligible lead applicants are:
• Local governments, including counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, or federally recognized tribal governments. Local arts agencies, local education agencies (school districts), and local government-run community colleges are eligible local governments.
• A public entity or a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with a documented three-year history of programming.
Additional partners beyond the two primary partners are encouraged. Our Town grantees from 2011 and their officially named partners are not eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted electronically no later than March 1, 2012.
If you’re interested in more information regarding Our Town grants or would like to start the application process for your community, contact me at smurray@abonmarche.com to get started on your creative placemaking project.
Buchanan Grant Award
The City of Buchanan and the Friends of McCoy Creek submitted a grant application to the Michigan DNR Trust Fund for a new bike and pedestrian trail that will make the final link between the downtown area and the Nature Preserve (FEN).
The application ranked Number 1 in scoring points, and we are now waiting to see how much of the $288,000 grant request will be funded. The Friends of McCoy Creek has raised $100,000 of local match with public fund raisers, donations and matching grants.
The City expects construction to begin in late spring of 2012 and be completed in the summer.
Farm to School
As a growing number of our municipal clients are increasingly seeking to provide their residents better access to local foods as a mean of fostering economic growth and opportunity for local farmers, this week I attended the Farm-to-Community Meet & Greet in South Haven, coordinated by the Michigan State University Extension. Attendees included representatives from local schools, universities, restaurants and hospitals, as well as local farmers. The event presented information about how institutions can incorporate more local foods into their menus and provided the opportunity to discuss local food products one-on-one with the farmers who were present, displaying their wares.
Agriculture is a fundamental component of the Michigan economy as its second largest industry, accounting for $71 billion in economic activity and 1.05 million jobs, annually. There is a multitude of initiatives emerging across the state to improve access to local, fresh foods while providing Michigan farmers with market opportunities. Farm to School is an initiative headed by the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at Michigan State University designed to connect schools with local agriculture. Schools and school districts, food service professionals, farmers, and distributors are working together to improve the distribution of local products and the availability of seasonal produce for school meal programs and collectively address challenges of its implementation.
Resources are available to assist schools with starting their farm to school initiative. Michigan K-12 schools/districts can apply for up to $2,000 from the Michigan Farm to School Grant Program to plan for and implement farm to school programs. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting a pilot program exclusively in the states of Michigan and Florida to build on farm-to-school initiatives with the goal of giving schools additional options to purchase fresh, locally grown food for their meal programs.
The following youtube video was used at the event to demonstrate an institution in Southwest Michigan that has already incorporated local foods into its menus and how the challenges of Michigan’s limited growing season are addressed.
Tell us about the availability of and access to locally produced foods and Michigan food products in your community.
15 to the River
Check out this video from Fifteen to the River, a Grand Rapids-based non-profit whose name refers to the 15 minutes it can take rainwater contaminated by pollutants to flow from the non-porous pavement and concrete in the City to the Grand River. Stormwater runoff is the main cause of nonpoint source pollution – currently the biggest threat to clean water in West Michigan – and includes contaminants like fertilizer and pesticides, human and animal waste, oil and grease. When this runoff is able to soak into the ground (instead of being blocked by pavement or concrete) before it reaches water or wetlands, much of the toxic material is filtered out. This video does a great job of explaining why pervious pavement, rain gardens, rain barrels and other strategies to reduce runoff are effective and important.
Fifteen to the River is a collaboration among partners including the West Michigan Environmental Action Council and the City of Grand Rapids. Follow them on Facebook for regular updates on their efforts to protect Michigan’s water resources.
Stepping into the Future of Sustainable Sidewalks
I recently saw an article on CNN about a new pavement that generates energy. Basically, it’s a rubber tile created by PaveGen Systems that when stepped on (compressed), generates electricity. The electricity can then be stored in a battery and used to power lights or other applications. There are 20 tiles installed in London between the Olympic stadium and a new mall. The designer says with the estimated number of people attending the Olympics next year, the paving should be able to produce half of the mall’s outdoor lighting power.
While one person stepping on a paver won’t generate a noticeable amount of electricity, installations in large groups in areas of high foot traffic would add up. Especially when combined with energy efficient fixtures or LED lighting. If we have areas where there is heavy foot traffic, why not install a pavement that can serve two purposes? I see this being useful in places like malls, school hallways, office corridors, dance floors, grocery aisles and subway platforms to name a few.
I especially like the pavers with the light that illuminates when stepped on. Bringing attention to the fact that energy is being created. If you combine that with informational signage you not only have an energy source, but a teaching tool. It will be interesting to follow this technology. Perhaps in 25 years this will be commonplace.
Housing Quality
Today we find ourselves in a new paradigm in which American residential patterns and cultural preferences are mirror opposites of those of the past 60 years: people are moving away from the suburbs and back into the cities. One area where public officials should pay attention during this transition is what happens to many of the typical suburban homes as the market demand for them weakens as it did in our core communities during the 1960s and 1970s. There is one primary difference between the homes of the city and those of suburbia: quality. Many of the inner-city neighborhoods that began their decline in the 1960s consisted of sturdily built, turn-of-the-century row houses, very well constructed and able to withstand being broken up into apartments, and requiring minimal upkeep by today’s standards. The same cannot be said for many of today’s suburban homes as a great many of them, even high-end McMansions, are not well built. Hollow doors and wallboard are less durable than solid-oak doors and lath-and-plaster walls. Many recently built houses take what structural integrity they have from drywall—their thin wooden frames are too flimsy to hold the houses up. If public officials do not closely monitor transitioning suburban neighborhoods and develop effective policies, these homes could quickly bring down the value of surrounding properties creating a greater problem and the same downward spiral experienced by many an urban community 50 years ago.
Placemaking in Michigan
I recently attended this year’s Michigan ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) conference. At this conference the keynote address was about “Placemaking in the New Economy”. This lecture was based on the book “The Economics of Place: The Value of Building Communities around People” which was recently published by the Michigan Municipal League. This book applies to communities around the country but takes a specific look at Michigan. The basis of this lecture and book is that today’s skilled workers are placing a higher value on “quality of place” as they decide where to live and work. The trend of finding a job and moving to that city where the job is located is reversing into finding a city where you’d like to live, and then finding a job in that city. The quality of place is also important for vacationing and retirement.
Our current Governor is on board with the concept of Placemaking. “Neighborhoods, cities and regions are awakening to the importance of place in economic development,” said Gov. Snyder in the comment he provided for the book. “They are planning for a future that recognizes the critical importance of quality of life to attracting talent, entrepreneurship and encouraging local business. Competing for success in a global marketplace means creating places where workers, entrepreneurs and businesses want to locate, invest and expand. For some time now, the [Michigan Municipal] League has been promoting the importance of place. The Economics of Place does an excellent job of illustrating the relationship between ‘sense of place’ and economic growth.”
Almost half of Michigan’s college graduates leave the state upon graduation and two-thirds of those choose where to live first and then find a job. Outside of a few of our college towns, our communities don’t have the sense of place our young talented professionals are looking for. Some of these items include: dining and entertainment, recreation opportunities, parks and plazas, open space, and multi-modal transportation options. While smaller cities aren’t going to have the robust transit systems of larger cities, they typically have the opportunity for more recreation opportunities. To reverse this trend we need to create dynamic, walkable, sustainable communities and regions where people want to live.
What makes your community a great place to live, work and play?
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