Encouraging sustainable development in a coastal community: New Hanover County, North Carolina's exceptional design zoning district

While New Hanover County is the second smallest county in North Carolina, it is also the second most densely populated with approximately 850 people per square mile. Nestled between the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean with surrounding barrier island beach communities, the County’s geographic location provides a prime vacation destination, as well as an ideal location for residents who wish to live at the water’s edge. Wilmington is the largest city in the County with a population just under 200,000. Most of the Wilmington metropolitan area is developed, creating intense development pressures for the remaining undeveloped land in the unincorporated County. In order to provide development opportunities for mixed use or high density projects within unincorporated New Hanover County where appropriate urban features are in place to support such projects without the negative effects of urban sprawl, County Planning Staff recently developed an Exceptional Design Zoning District (EDZD). Largely based on the LEED for Neighborhood Development program, the EDZD standards were scaled to fit the unique conditions of the County with the goal of encouraging sustainable development while providing density incentives to entice the use of the voluntary district. The incentive for the voluntary zoning district is increased density in areas where the density may not be allowed under normal circumstances. The rationale behind allowing for higher density projects is that development can be concentrated in areas where appropriate urban features are in place to support such projects, and the tendency toward urban sprawl can be minimized. With water quality being of high importance, it is perceived that higher density development will better protect water quality then lower density projects. (PDF contains 4 pages

Standing Up to Legislative Bullies: Separation of Powers, State Courts and Educational Rights

The separation of powers doctrine creates a strong presumption in favor of judicial deference to legislative policy determinations. This doctrine was developed for federal courts, however, and does not apply with identical force to state courts enforcing state constitutional rights. This Note examines rationales for the separation of powers doctrine and their potential application to state courts. After concluding that deference should be more limited in state courts, it then applies this conclusion to educational rights, which are frequently at risk due to political market failures. By examining case studies of constitutionally based education litigation in seven states, this Note concludes with recommendations to state courts facing the challenge of managing such cases: issue a strong first opinion, maintain jurisdiction by remanding the case rather than finalizing it, and demonstrate an upfront commitment to enforcing educational rights

How to make social cohesion work. Bertelsmann Stiftung Speech 2019

The megatrends of globalization and digitalization pose challenges for social cohesion. Many people are concerned about their economic future, and right-wing populists are leveraging the internet to spread oversimplified messages and fuel fears. Thought leaders from around the world convened to discuss the future of social cohesion at the Bertelsmann Stiftung‘s international “Trying Times” conference addressing the issue “Rethinking Social Cohesion” that was held in Berlin from September 4–6, 2019. In his closing speech titled “How to make social cohesion work,” Canadian author and President Emeritus of PEN International John Ralston Saul demonstrated that empathy, respect for difference and the willingness to accept the complexity of society rather than exclusion and fear are the factors that pave the way toward a successful future. The social cohesion of the future needs both diversity and community. Read his speech in full here

Question Isotropy

The "cosmological principle" was set up early without realizing its implications for the horizon problem, and almost entirely without support from observational data. Consistent signals of anisotropy have been found in data on electromagnetic propagation, polarizations of QSOs and $CMB$ temperature maps. The axis of Virgo is found again and again in signals breaking isotropy, from independent observables in independent energy regimes. There are no satisfactory explanations of these effects in conventional astrophysics. Axion-photon mixing and propagation in axion condensates are capable of encompassing the data.Comment: Published in Axions 2010: AIP Conf.Proc.1274:72-77,2010, edited by David Tanne