Involving the Community in Neighborhood Planning
The 2004 ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues prepared by Deborah L. Myerson The Urban Land Institute, as they are often want to do, have produced a useful book of community participation in the neighborhood planning process; dated but still relevant. While the focus of the discussion is on cities of all sizes, […]
Neighborhood Planning for Small Cities
“Qualify” Neighborhood Associations to Receive City Planning Grants NEIGHBORHOODS MATTER. Small cities and towns are usually dominated by their neighborhoods; and the neighborhoods tend to be close to downtown. Neighborhoods, broadly defined, include groupings of single family homes, multi-family dwellings be they individual apartment or condominium complexes or groups of multi-family communities in close proximity. […]
Character Town Organizations
The Primary Vehicles for Civic Sociability and Community Collaboration. Organizations Drive Civility and Sociability. The organizations in a town reflect how people relate to one another. Committees, boards, service clubs and charitable groups are forums for communication, comradery and collective actions designed to achieve community goals. The focus of the organizations also reflects the values […]
![“The Image of the City” by Kevin Lynch](https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/TheImageOfTheCity.jpg)
“The Image of the City” by Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch is one of the all-time best contributors to the art and science of city design. The Image of The City, published in 1960, contains many terms and ideas that are now clichés. He develops theory and language based on his study of three towns: Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles. Mr. Lynch presents the […]
The Guggenheim Effect
Small City and Town Museums: Great Opportunities for Community Volunteers. Every town has a history, a founding story; most towns have some unique, authentic feature that can be used to celebrate the town. Museums educate and entertain residents and attract visitors for the same reason. Local museums are great sources of civic pride; they also […]
![Creating a Vibrant City Center, Urban Design and Regeneration Principles](https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-30-at-10.01.57-PM.png)
Creating a Vibrant City Center, Urban Design and Regeneration Principles
by Cy Paumier Creating a Vibrant City Center is a tour de force, a comprehensive discussion of the processes and products that lead to the creation of a great center of the city. His chapters Historical Perspective, Market Components and the many individual components of the city center are insightful and actionable as are his sections […]
The Character Main Street
A VISION FOR MAIN STREET: SOCIAL. Main street has done a lot for America; and more will be asked of it in the coming decades. The main value of downtown, and specifically main street, by mid-century will expand from its civic and commercial purposes to become the primarily social center of the city; main street […]
The Cities Form and Function 2018.
PONDERING AN IMPONDERABLE. Demographics, basic human needs, our social contract and technology will determine the form and function of cities in 2050. We can predict demographics and basic human needs. The wild cards are technology and the new century, the rate of technological and social change has been accelerating and disorienting. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The National Climate Assessment
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 mandates that the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) deliver a report to Congress and the President no less than every four years that “1) integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the Program…; 2) analyzes the effects of global change on the naturalenvironment, agriculture, energy production and use, […]
![For the Love of Cities, The Love Affair Between People and Their Places by Peter Kageyama](https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/for-the-love-of-cities.jpg)
For the Love of Cities, The Love Affair Between People and Their Places by Peter Kageyama
Cities and towns, especially those with character, are emotional experiences. We are initially confronted with their physical form, but the feelings, memories and aspirations associated with a special place are the real substance of a city. Peter Kageyama understands this and more as he expresses the feelings between people and the places they occupy. His […]