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Walking: A path to prosperity, health, and social capital

We used to design cities for people. Human comfort, interest, and safety were guiding principles in the design of streets, buildings, and open spaces. Most daily needs were within a five-minute walk or a transit ride. For the last half a century, we have designed our cities and suburbs around the automobile. In the wake of recent demographic and market shifts and the looming public health crisis resulting from a sedentary lifestyle, cities are rediscovering the many and lasting financial, health, social, and environmental benefits of walkable places. This article explores the economic and other advantages of walking to create vibrant and successful places. It offers suggestions on what economic developers can do to improve walkability of an area.

Walking a path to prosperity

Articles

Productive Growth
Economic Development Journal, Vol.22, Number 4, Fall 2023.

Finding the right path through design review
Better! Cities & Towns, May-June 2014.

Assessing Criticisms of Form-Based Codes
Better! Cities & Towns, April-May 2013.

Restorative Development Regulations
California Planner, Newsletter of the APA, California Chapter, Spring 2012.

Restorative Development Regulations
Urban Planning and Economic Development News Magazine, January 2012.

Post-Great Recession Retail Trends
Practicing Planner, online magazine of AICP, Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 2011.

Is the Cure Worse than the illness.
The Urban Vision, Expert Diary.

Why Design Guidelines on Their Own Don’t Work
New Urban Network blog.

How to Subdivide Without Sprawling
New Urban Network blog.

Contextual Tall Buildings in India
The Urban Vision, Expert Diary.

Public: The Forgotten Realm
The Urban Vision, Expert Diary.

Place-based Economy
 Economic Development Journal, Vol.9, Number 1, Winter 2010.

Tall Can be Beautiful
The Financial Express Newspaper, January 10, 2010, page 7.

Smart Growth
The Urban Vision, Expert Diary.

Renewal Metrics
CAL APA Newsletter, September/October 2009.

Hybrid Codes Versus Form-Based Codes
New Urban News, Vol. 14, No. 3, pages 12-13, April/May 2009. Reprinted in Vision, The Magazine of the American Planning Association AZ Chapter, pages 14-15, June 2009.

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Adapt and Become Stronger
Practicing Planner, online magazine of AICP, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2009.

Op-Ed: Get Back on Track
Coastal Connection, online magazine of Central Coast Section of the CAL APA, Fall 2008.

A Green Paradigm for Economic Development
International Economic Development Council Journal, volume 7, number 3, Summer 2008.

A True American Planning Hero: Paul C. Crawford
CAL APA Newsletter, September/October 2008. Reprinted in Focus, Journal of the City and Regional Planning Department, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 2009.

Economic Development Finance & Deal Structuring
Practicing Planner, online magazine of AICP, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2008.

Bollywood: An Obsession (with narrative slide show)
Terrain.org: A journal of the Built and Natural Environments, No. 20, Summer/Fall 2007.

Planners in Economic Development
News and Views, APA Economic Division Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2006, pages 12-17. Adaptation of original article reprinted in Northern California Section of APA newsletter, September 2006, pages 1, 4, and 5.

Planning Website: The Farmers Branch Experience
Practicing Planner, online magazine of AICP, December 2005, volume 3.4.

Form-based Code: Farmers Branch Experience
Practicing Planner, online magazine of AICP, September 2005, volume 3.3.

Retooling Planners
Places Forum of Environmental Design, volume 17.1, pages 84-85.

Development Code Discussion: Before Writing a New Development Code
Texas Planning Review, online newsletter for TXAPA, September 2004, page 4.

Space, Place, and People: A Huge New Complex Gives Tokyo City a Landmark
Indian Architect & Builder, September 1997, pages 124-125.

Serendipity or the Faculty of Making Happy and Accidental Discoveries … through Sketching
Indian Architect & Builder, January 1996, pages 28-31.

An Indian in Indianapolis: K. P. Singh
Indian Architect & Builder, January 1996, pages 32-35.

Public Art: A Place Maker
Indian Architect & Builder, October 1996, pages 29-35.

A Changing Public Realm
Indian Architect & Builder, August 1996, pages 34-39.

Retrospectively Wright
Indian Architect & Builder, November 1995, pages 10-17.

Working in the USA
Indian Architect & Builder, May 1994, pages 10-29.

Book Reviews

Reviewed several planning, urban design, and preservation books for Indian Architect & Builder, Journal of American Planning Association, and Journal of Urban Design.

Presentation

Presentations

Reimagining Commerce: Strategies to Encourage Diverse Economic Futures Kaizer participated in a virtual panel discussion at the 2020 CA APA conference.

Intensive Form-Based Code Hands-on Workshop 
Kaizer and Mark Wyckoff, FAICP conducted a half-day workshop at the Michigan Planning Association’s Annual Conference at Mackinac Island.

Institutionalizing Living Street Design
Kaizer participated in a panel discussion at the CA APA conference in Rancho Mirage.

Proactive Sustainable Planning Key to AB32 Regulatory Compliance
Kaizer, Marc Costa & Javier Mariscal presented at the Annual Municipal Green Conference & Expo in Downey, on April 26.

Scales of Urbanism on a Sustainable Platform, and
Planning Experience in Other Cultures
Kaizer participated on two panels to discuss at the National APA Conference in Los Angeles, April 2012.

Challenge of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets 
Kaizer and Javier Mariscal of Southern California Edison presented  at USGBC C4 General Meeting on February 27.

FBCs: Regulatory Framework for Design of the Public Realm
Kaizer presented at the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 2011 World Conference in Seoul.

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Sustainable Neighborhood Design
Kaizer presented  at C4: USGBC General Meeting in Ventura on September 26.

Sustainable & Restorative Community Development …
Kaizer joined Stefanos Polyzoides and Dan Parolek to present session at the California APA Conference in Santa Barbara.

Today’s Best Form-Based Codes (team presentation)
CNU-19 conference in Madison.

Integrated Neighborhood Design: Charrettes and LEED-ND
With Ted Bardecke of Global Green, 10th Annual Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo, Downey, CA.

Contextual Tall Buildings in India
2010 CTBUH Conference in Mumbai.

Today’s Best Form-Based Codes
2010 Driehaus Form-Based Code Institute Award Session, Congress of New Urbanism, Atlanta.

Midtown Corridors Development Code
2008 Driehaus Form-Based Code Institute Award Session, Congress of New Urbanism, Austin.

Form-based Codes and Smart Growth
Lectured as guest speaker at University of Texas (Arlington); University of Southern California (Los Angeles); University of California (Irvine); and University of California (Santa Barbara).

Creating Effective Form-Based Codes
2009 APA Annual Conference.

Midtown Corridors Development Code
2008 Driehaus Form-Based Code Institute Award Session, Congress of New Urbanism, Austin.

Integrating New Urbanism into your Development Codes
2006 APA Annual Conference.

Disposable or Built-to-Last
2005 North Central Texas Council of Government’s Development Excellence Education Day.

Form-based Codes from Soup to Nuts
2005 Texas APA Annual Conference.

West Side Plan
Moderated salon discussion at the Congress of New Urbanism IX, New York.

webinaricon

Webinars

Design Review: Purpose, Principles and Practice.

Administration of Form-Based Codes.

Coding Corridors.

Lansing Course

Courses

Sustainable Development and Environmental Impact Analysis
Adjunct Faculty at California State University at Northridge (2011-2017).

Comparative Urban Development
USC Price School of Public Policy (Spring 2014).

3-course curriculum on Form-Based Coding (developed by FBCI)
Past Chairman Emeritus Board and Faculty Member of the Form-based Code Institute (FBCI). Periodically teach a  leading to certification from FBCI.