As a curious auslander in the Silicon Valley, I am astonished at the polar descriptions the city of San Jose receives from its inhabitants. As with most cities, the list of accolades and grievances is pretty extensive. However, the most noticeable and vocal discussion involving San Jose has to be its status (or non status) as a ‘big city’. To me, it seems as though those born and raised in San Jose fervently assert their city as a metropolis, ” San Jose is the 10th most populous city in the U.S.”, they say. However, newcomers to the ‘Capitol of the Silicon Valley’ do not believe San Jose deserves the big city moniker.

So to those who have spent any time in San Jose, what say you? I’ll start off the list

1. Gotham- It has plenty of Homeless people. And everyone knows that every big city (except some European cities) has plenty of homeless ..

2. Pleasantville - The high presence of strip malls and big box retail stores attracts even the most urban friendly developers.

Your turn!

I just came across an article from an older issue of San Jose Business Journal that had a short blurb stating that San Jose is the most expensive place to do business in the U.S. The article cites high labor costs as the main factor. Cities with lower costs such as Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Houston have been experiencing greater job growth than San Jose.

It probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise since everthing else is expensive, it just serves as a reminder that the stresses it places. I’ve heard repeatedly that (in San Jose) “a masters degree is nothing.” Many cities perhaps would gladly exchange a higher cost of living, for a share of our knowledge-based workers. As long as the area is able to continue to attract the brightest and most creative, our competitive advantage remains intact.

At UC Davis (which I attend) I saw that we will be getting a new LEED Platinum building. So why all the fuss over Platinum? Well here’s what CalPIRG has to say:

A LEED Platinum building reduces environmental impact by around 70% and reduces operational costs by 30-40%, this means that it will save us, the students and the university, 75 dollars per square foot as opposed to a mere 50 dollars per square foot with a Silver building.

There it is, a cost-benefit reason to do what Adobe has already done.

San Jose apparently is “#1 recycler among nation’s largest cities.” This is all well and good, but if products aren’t purchased that are made from recycled materials, it’s all for naught.

The EPA has put together a fantastic list on how you can close the loop. Many products you already purchase may already be made! Even Starbucks cups are largely made up from post-consumer products. (This is in no way an endorsement of Starbucks, if anything it should disgust you that I would invoke such unsavory-ness)

I just stumbled upon an upcoming Green conference in San Jose. West Coast Green will be take place between September 25th to 27th in San Jose Convention Center. The mayor himself will be gracing the conferences attendees as well as his enviro-eminence David Suzuki.

The program is under development, but a few of particular personal interest are the slated tracks for Affordable Single and Multi-Family Housing, Developers Series & Roundtable, as well as Government and Policy.

I feel like San Jose wanted to be LA, but for all the wrong reasons.”

Over the Memorial Day weekend, the gf and I took a trip to LA. I’ve been trying to keep up with what’s going on, and it seems to me that LA has the most going for it as far as a place for progressive planning. They certainly have the need, and now it looks that it’s finally paired with the will.

Did you know that for all the bashing that it endures, LA is still the second densest city in California? For all the ballyhoo it gets for the rail/trolley system San Diego is less than half as dense and arguably maxing out that systems potential. With a relatively new rail system up, along with an increase of riders on the existing subway (who knew there was a subway!), even the ‘Brits’ seem to be taking notice.

On the final day of the trip we made it out to Santa Monica. Strolling down the 3^rd St Promenade, I was struck by how absolutely pleasant it was and was quickly reminded of all the failures of Satan Row. Federal Realty Investment Trust, the developer responsible for both properties, certainly was not given enough guidance into how the development would tie in with the surrounding area.

The promenade is a wonderful gathering spot within walking distance of the pier. While the collection of shops could hardly be considered eclectic was well served by the preservation of the pre-existing building stock. It has gone on to spur further adjacent development. Santana Row on the other hand requires patrons to enter a parking lot to reach its faux-main street. There is little variance in architecture, is served only by bus and no other form of transit, and can’t hope to help densify the surrounding area. It’s saving grace may be that it trains suburbanites in to becoming more urbane.

While it might not ever be Portland South, LA’s reputation as the epicenter of sprawl may not be so deserving.

original source:

http://www.usgbc-ncc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=107&Itemid=103

Launch of new Silicon Valley Branch is smashing success!

The Northern California Chapter launched its newest branch in Silicon Valley on May 13th, 2008, with a gala celebration held at Adobe Headquarters in downtown San Jose. The event quickly gained momentum and attracted amazing support, resulting in a wait list of more than 100 people.

More than 180 people heard a very moving program featuring San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, USGBC Founder David Gottfried, Lockheed Martin’s Director of Facilities Joe Gonsiewski, venture capitalist Paul Holland of Foundation Capital, and USGBC-NCC Board member and
Advisory to the Chair of the California Energy Commission, Panama Bartholomy. The program was followed by a reception with great food, wine donated by Parducci, and music by San Jose Jazz.

Adobe’s Randy Knox, NCC Board President Andrea Traber, Silicon Valley Chairman Brandon Tinianov, and NCC Executive Director Dan Geiger also participated in the program, which highlighted the unique character of Silicon Valley’s innovative and entrepreneurial culture.

Following a welcome by Mayor Reed, David Gottfried highlighted the early founding days of USGBC, the amazing global growth of green building and green building councils, and the importance of USGBC tackling important social equity issues. Joe Gonsiewski described Lockheed Martin Space Systems’ embrace of green practices and LEED, and discussed the many measures his company is taking to reduce carbon impacts and create a healthy work environment, while pointing this out as a significant business advantage in terms of attracting top talent.

Paul Holland entertained the audience with several stories about his involvement in investing in green businesses, as well his very innovative approach to building his own LEED Platinum home – he’s going for 115 points! Panama Bartholomy pointed out both the strong challenges we face on a global scale, as well as the significant leadership role the State of California is playing in addressing these challenges. He concluded by powerfully comparing our current path of stripping future generations of resources to discrimination that spawned past social movements.

Brandon Tinianov, Silicon Valley Branch Chairman, said “the success of the event shows that the branch’s time has come. During the group’s formation, we saw active participation and encouragement from all areas - public private, innovation and construction. I expect really wonderful things from the organization.”

The Silicon Valley Branch was born of the efforts of almost 50 volunteers, who began organizing the Branch in January 2008. Andrea Traber remarked: “Silicon Valley may have set a USGBC record on how quickly they organized a new branch”! Former NCC Presidents Marty Kelly and Sharon Refvem played key roles in assisting the Branch during its organization stage, and the NCC staff was pleased to assist in their efforts as well.

The Branch plans to have monthly events, in a variety of locations in Silicon Valley, on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, and will participate in many conferences and educational programs in the area. The next Branch event is on June 10th at the Santa Clara Convention Center, and will feature the organicARCHITECT, Eric Corey Freed.

NCC wishes to thank the many volunteers, organizers and sponsors of this event, and is confident that the Silicon Valley branch will live up to the reputation of the area’s can-do, creative spirit.

From today’s paper.

It’s been edging towards a million for some time now, perhaps next year as the writer suggests. The poll asking “Would hitting the one million population mark increase San Jose’s national visibility?” is also worth looking at. Showing only a slight edge that it would I had to think about it. We’re the 10th largest city, edging out more well known places like Detroit, Boston, Seattle, DC, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and let’s not forget, ‘the city’.

So why wouldn’t hitting a million heighten our national visibility? Those cities previously listed have far more history than San Jose, something you just can’t make up for in the short-run. But there are things that other places are doing.

Smaller cities such as Austin and Portland seem to have more swagger, and carry more of the spotlight. What they’ve done is create ways to stand out. Austin has SXSW and has asserted itself as the live music capital of the world. Richard Florida would claim that it goes hand-in-hand with a creative economy, as does the local government.

Portland has made good use of cutting edge planning policies to create a more livable and environmentally friendly city. Listing Portland’s merits are beyond the scope of this post, so I’ll let you google it.

San Jose should leverage its position as capital of Silicon Valley to create greater national visibility. It’s already got the tech world, perhaps giving free space to 1,000 artists to work would help. An Urban Design Alliance (as they do in Sac) could help brighten the façade of the downtown.

From Walking Tour …

A view of downtown restaurants and various entertainment venues

Downtown living grows up

The smallest downtown park that’s also a “special events” setting.

This is a convention center? Puh-leazzze…

Market St. view of SoFa museums. There needs to be some kind of café to gather towards.

It amazes me that right off of Market, there are vacant lots like this!

I wish I had the chutzpah to write WTF on this Neanderthals truck.

The beautiful Montgomery Hotel in all it’s restored glory.