Tempe General Plan 2040 - Assignment Example

Lecturer: Tempe’s Plan on Economic Vitality The general plan is used when refining the goals and vision into more exhaustive plans. The General Plan is referred to when implementing requests for zoning, for decisions on economic development, for building permits, and when designing public amenities. According to the Arizona state statutes it requires that each city needs to adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan in order to offer direction for the physical development of the community.

According to a Chinese proverb, one generation will plant the trees; the next will enjoy the shade (Nanez). Through the General Plan process, the City of Tempe is considering the future of the next generation as it strives to ensure sustainable growth, continuous progress and economic prosperity. The General Plan is contains an overarching policy for the City of Tempe, the vision of the community for the future and is an expression of how the community wants to develop, grow and change in the coming 30 years.

The City of Tempe General Plan 2040 upgrades the plan that was formulated 10 years ago, although it retains forward thinking concepts that are still valid today. Tempe’s General Plan is broken down into elements of mixed-use development, strategic growth areas for economic development, development of the Brownfield, alternative transportation modes for greater accessibility, the significance of open space, parks, and relational facilities within the developing city, incorporating historic preservation and neighborhood improvement, public art and cultural amenities that add quality to life, public buildings that are attractive, energy efficient and functional, and human services for those people who are in greatest need (Community Development Department 7).

Each of these elements were broken down and analyzed to ascertain what could be changed by 2040 to make the city better than it is. One of the most vital elements of the general plan is the economy. The economic element is very significant because it is used to offer guidance for future development and make economic decisions that maintain an economically sustainable and attractive city (8). Tempe City measures 40 square miles right in the core of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is straddled by the Salt River and it also bounded on the east and west by Freeways with two additional freeways that divide the city and extending across the northern section making it an integral part of the Phoenix metropolitan area thus an a hub for economic activity (4-5).

Since the city is the most populated city in the state, the city has projected to increase more jobs than the population. The high population will provide adequate labor to the growing economy as well as providing market for the goods and services produced in the city. Economic vitality and jobs within the community and for all segments of the community permits businesses, residents and people to thrive. However, as of December of 2003, the Tempe had 63,375 dwelling units with approximately 2.

5 residents per unit (CDD 10). If the same number of residents per unit stays the same, the city will need to have a total of 78,683 dwellings by 2030. The population needs to be regulated at this rate because the city is already populated and any increase would exert pressure to the existing housing units. With regard to increasing economic vitality, the plan aims to support efforts and promote sustained economic growth across the city. The city plans to improve the economy by multiple mixed use hubs with high density cores of commercial, recreational, and residential activity that are infused with cultural amenities.

In addition, the pro-business policies are very important for retaining existing jobs and attracting new ones. The education and accountability are crucial elements of economic vitality; this is because they provide the businesses with skilled workforce. By building more learning institutions to train the huge population, there would be an increase in the innovation of new technologies which would improve the economic well being of the city. An increase in skilled workforce is essential for Tempe to meet their 2040 goal, thus remaining an economically viable city.

However, the City made one troublesome change when it reduced the educational area from 713.09 acres to 683 acres (Nanez)). Considering the fact the Arizona is ranked 49th out of 50 states for the K-12 system this is regarded as a poor decision in the city’s plan. If the zoning were to be changed, the educational area needs to be increased by 2040 (Kim). Therefore, if the educational area is enlarged, business opportunities are likely to be also increased in because seeking opportunities for economic development produce connections between land use and transportation systems.

Tempe’s planning area is eight miles long and five miles wide (CDD, 12-13) Since the population is ever increasing forcing Tempe to build up the sky, though it would enhance economic levels the working population will find it hard on where to reside. Therefore, the plan needs to incorporate a larger area for better housing. Some changes that were made in the original plan which included shifting of land that was set aside for city’s proposed ‘Projected Land Use’ map from a private open space to a residential land utilization with regard to the public documents that were drafted for the council’s vote.

In summary, the strategic location of the city makes it an economic hub. Land use and economic vitality go hand in hand because they directly impact the citizens in terms of employment and housing. Although the zoning plans will enhance the economic levels of the city, they need to prioritize education as it would provide skilled labor to the economy. These educational adjustments are prerequisite in Tempe General Plan 2014. The drivers for the future economy include the need to reduce cost, do things faster, make things easier to utilize, enhance reliability and safety, and reduce the impact on the environment.

Work Cited Community Development Department. City of Tempe General Plan 2040. Tempe: City Council of Tempe, 2013. Kim, Joochul. "Comprehensive Planning."Urban Planning PUP 301.Arizona State University, Tempe. 26 Mar. 2012. Lecture Nanez, Dianna M. 27 November 2013. Tempe council puts off vote on General Plan 2040. 29 November 2013 .