There's no doubt that where we choose to live, work and play all contribute to our individual perceptions of quality of life. Land use influences our mobility and dictates how we spend our time and money, among other things. And in a growing region like ours, there has never been a more important time to get smart about managing growth.

Urban planning is one discipline that seeks to improve the way the built environment and the natural environment work together. But much of the resulting work from urban planning - zoning ordinances, building codes, buffer areas and the like - has not yet reached the conscious (or the conscience) of the general public.

How do we get more people to care and take ownership of the issues our region faces with respect to sprawl, traffic congestion, pollution and consumption of natural resources? Sing about it.

Melanie Hammet, metro ATL resident since 1985, combined her talents as a local artist and elected official serving the City of Pine Lake to merge ordinance and art. Her new album, "Edifice Complex and Other Urban Plans," debuts April 10, exploring land use concepts and delivering thought-provoking observations to which we can all relate. One particular song of interest to The Clean Air Campaign about traffic features cameo appearances by a trio of vehicles.

We caught up with Melanie to find out more about "Edifice Complex:"

Q: What changes have you observed over time with respect to land use, mobility, expansion?
A: The biggest change has been in my self-education. Thanks to the Atlanta Regional Commission, Southface, the Livable Communities Coalition - to shortlist a few - there are great resources for learning about land use, and land misuse.

Q: What made you choose to make Pine Lake your home?
A: I was attracted to Pine Lake because the tree-land-house-car-people ratios seemed reasonable and sane. I was attracted to taking a leadership role in the City to help maintain those ratios.

Q: What motivated you to create "Edifice Complex?"
A: I was part of a volunteer effort to guide the re-writing of our zoning code. We’d hired an urban planner through Dekalb County and we had lots and lots of public input.
During this two-year period, I saw the challenge of translating zoning language and city planning into real, high-impact conversations. The results of bad land design are profoundly personal and the code that creates it is exactly that: code.

Q: How was the album put together?
A: In 2008 I applied for an artist residency at Seaside, a planned community in Florida. Although Seaside is a model development for land-use practices, my application was to the arts branch of their Institute. It just so happened that my project was to compose songs that reflected land-use/urban planning concepts. I was accepted into the program and had a month to focus on reading - James Howard Kunstler; Allan Jacobs; Jane Jacobs - walking all over the streets and pathways of Seaside and the surrounding areas; and writing the music that became “Edifice Complex.”

Q: What challenges do you see in getting individuals to take action on these issues?
A: As a community leader, I feel the challenge is to find direct, actionable tasks with direct, achievable results and then to enlist individuals in participating and feeling successful. Otherwise the issues are too large and too defeating.

Q: What motivated you to explore and write "Car Tune?"
A: I never realized how pampered the automobile was in our planning culture until we started dissecting zoning code. It’s almost comical. We make sure the sightlines of our streets and signs are good for "The Vehicle," that we have lots and lots of pavement for "The Vehicle," on and on it goes! It’s so obvious we don’t even notice the extent of it.

Q: How did you create the sounds for "Car Tune?"
A: I decided that my car wasn’t going to sit idly by while I was in the studio laboring over recording the song. Ben Holst (the engineer), and I dragged microphones into the driveway and put my Ford, his Chevy, and a nearby Toyota to work. "Car Tune’s" instrumentation is provided entirely by the trio.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunities for improved mobility in the region?
A: Geez, that’s the million-dollar question! Here’s my thought: when I lived in Manhattan, I spent a long Saturday walking from the northernmost tip of the island to the southernmost. I did it because I COULD do it. Can you imagine the Atlanta equivalent? The biggest opportunity is to make walking sexy. In our culture, driving is sexy. If we could flip that relationship, people would clamor for sidewalks and human-size cool stuff to look at and trees that shaded the paths.

Release Party

"Edifice Complex" will have its concert at The Clubhouse in Pine Lake, an eclectic community near Stone Mountain, on April 10th at 8pm. Tickets, directions, and info are at http://edificecomplex.net/

What's good for your wallet, your safety and the environment is also good for your well-being. What is clean commuting doing for the physical and mental health of Georgians?

1. Shrinking Waistlines
We're starting to see more stories come in lately from commuters who have found they can turn their commutes into workout regimens, shedding pounds and improving their physical health. It's a timely topic given the ongoing discussion about healthcare and the fact that Georgia ranks 14th in obesity among adults (and 3rd for children).

But for the die-hard bicycle commuters and the folks who strap on their walking shoes, it seems to go deeper. One walking commuter tells us she's lost 70 pounds via her daily stroll to the office, and in the process her first choice now is always to walk when practical. And a bicycling commuter describes how he "went from 250 lbs (heaviest) to 185 lbs on a 6' 2" body frame. My doctor says my health report looks like that of an athlete." Another rider tells us bicycling to work "allows me to take in the beauty of the city that sometimes we overlook as we hurriedly rush by in our cars. It also allows me time to plan out my day and get energized before I hit the office."

Employers and property managers are increasingly responding to the needs of their bicycling and walking employees, too, through programs like Commuter Choice and with deals arranged via nearby fitness clubs to provide access to showers. RideSmart even makes a "Bike Buddy" service available to help bicycling commuters in Atlanta find riding partners.

2. Expanding Minds
Commuting and wellness can be about brains just as much as it can be about braun. We explored in the last post the many reasons drive-alone commuters shouldn't try to think about anything other than the task at hand when they're driving. But many commuters are stretching their thinking and getting tasks done when they get to ride along in the passenger seat. A carpooler recently described all the things she accomplishes on her ride: grocery list, Sudoku puzzle, view news on her mobile phone, read books, etc. What activities do you do from the passenger seat to wake up your synapses and neurons?

The Clean Air Schools program is also broadening the minds of thousands of Georgia students in elementary, middle and high schools with a new and expanded library of about three-dozen air quality lesson plans. With emphasis on science, social studies, math and geography, these new resources could not arrive at a better time, as Georgia educators must work harder to make ends meet.

3. Helping Us All Breathe Easier
Fortunately for those living in metro ATL - the 9th worst city for asthmatics - this year's smog season has been among the most forgiving since 2005 (so far ... knock on wood). However, new studies are finding that long-term exposure to ground-level ozone can affect lifespan, trigger asthma attacks in children (apparently, traffic and stressed out parents have a lot to do with it) and even impact brain development in babies.

It's encouraging to see more schools in Georgia become part of the No-Idling program offered through The Clean Air Campaign's Clean Air Schools initiative as the new school year kicks off. This program, now in it's second year of support from The UPS Foundation, boasts more than 100 participating schools who are working to reduce air pollution on campus by encouraging bus drivers and parents to shut off their engines while waiting to pick up students.

Do you clean commute for the health benefits? Tell us how using alternatives to driving alone has improved your body and mind.