Author Archives: Shawn Michael Schaefer

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ENVISIONING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY OU Urban Design Studio

Community, Environment, HealthBy Shawn Michael Schaefer August 31, 2015

Envisioning a Healthy Community is a 50-minute narrated slideshow developed for the University of Oklahoma, School of Community Medicine Summer Institute. This slideshow is a summary for the anchoring lecture introducing the students to the environmental determinants of health. As such, it poses and tries to answer three basic questions: What kind of city have we shaped? How is that city shaping us? How can we envision a healthy community?

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ZONING CODE UPDATE REVIEWED Overview of early draft

Land Use & Zoning, Smart GrowthBy Shawn Michael Schaefer September 15, 2014

The most recent draft of the proposed new code is somewhat of a mixed bag, meeting many of the Comprehensive Plan’s goals and falling short on others.

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 1 of 10 Repopulate the Central City

Neighborhoods, PlanningBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 13, 2014

Repopulate the Central City Four years ago it was my privilege to sit on the advisory committee for PlaniTulsa, the City of Tulsa’s comprehensive planning effort.[1] I attended dozens of public meetings and workshops conducted by the city’s planning department and the planning consultant hired by the city. I have reviewed many maps, data sets…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 2 of 10 Reduce reliance on the automobile

Planning, TransportationBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 12, 2014

Reduce Reliance on the Automobile The population density of urbanized Tulsa has fallen from 12,700 people per square mile in the heyday of the 1920’s to less than 2,300 people per square mile in 2002. Lower densities and segregated land uses have combined to create a suburban environment entirely dependent on the automobile for personal…

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Photo © Daniel Jeffries. All rights reserved

PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 3 of 10 Discourage suburban development

Planning, Public PolicyBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 11, 2014

Since 1982, the amount of arterial street lane miles in the City of Tulsa has doubled while the funding to maintain them has been cut in half.[1] Just one example of how it has become increasingly apparent that Tulsa cannot afford to maintain its existing infrastructure and continue expanding into new areas. It is also…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 4 of 10 – Preserve natural and historic assets

Planning, Preservation, Public PolicyBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 10, 2014

Tulsa has abundant natural landscapes and a rich architectural heritage worth preserving, but we need to act soon because much has already been lost. Much of our riverfront property has been spoiled by industrial development and some of our high points offering sweeping vistas are now private property with restricted access. Our downtown area has…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 5 of 10 Focus on streets: the primary public space of the city.

Planning, TransportationBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 9, 2014

Streets are the primary public space of our city and should be treated as such. Several years ago the planning magazine, Planetizen, listed Mingo road as one of the ten worst streets in North America.[1] In the article. They state that the major arterial streets in Tulsa are absolutely horrific and might have made…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 6 of 10 Involve neighborhoods in the planning process

Neighborhoods, PlanningBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 8, 2014

During the last comprehensive planning effort in the late 1970’s, the City of Tulsa was divided into 27 planning districts with volunteer planning committees that tried to address the issues of sub-regions and neighborhoods in the city.[1] These districts where effectively dissolved in January 1997 by the Tulsa Area Metropolitan Planning Commission. They have been…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 7 of 10 – Invest in Community Schools

Education, PlanningBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 7, 2014

In addition to the supremely important task of educating our children, Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) is one of the top two largest employers and a major owner of real property in the city.[1] The importance of the schools to the health of the city should not be underestimated or ignored. Since 1977 the TPS enrollment…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 8 of 10 Replace outdated land use and development practices

Land Use & Zoning, PlanningBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 6, 2014

The one chapter of the ordinance allowing flexibility, the Planned Unit Development (PUD) chapter, often creates isolated, walled-in enclaves that turn their backs on neighboring properties.[2] PUDs have been used over 700 times, much of them in south Tulsa and it is doubtful anyone would use them as an exemplary case of good city design.…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 9 of 10 Set sustainability targets

Planning, SustainabilityBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 5, 2014

If everyone on the planet lived like Tulsans then we would need four to six earths to provide for them.[1] There is no good reason why Tulsans should not strive to reduce our ecological footprint by conserving energy, managing natural resources, and eliminating waste.[2] Doing so will also likely improve our health, increase the quality…

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PLANNING STRATEGIES – PART 10 of 10 Find new ways to encourage and fund improvements

Planning, Public FundingBy Shawn Michael Schaefer July 4, 2014

With cuts of federal aid to cities, sales taxes once collected in the city going to suburban municipalities and constraints on revenue collection by state law, the City of Tulsa local government is in a challenging fiscal situation.[1] Spending for public works, recreation and planning has been pared down with good reason to concentrate on…

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