ARTICLES
The Original Articles archives of CharacterTowns.org presents papers that discuss practical and conceptual ideas for designing, building and managing character towns and small cities that are interesting, pleasant and prosperous places for residents, businesses and visitors.
Contents – September 2021
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Contents – September 2023
CONTENTS – September 2023 THE QUINTESSENTIAL CHARACTER TOWN EDITION SMALL CITIES AND TOWNS WITH CHARACTER “Envisioning a Town with Character”…wck. “Factors that Determine Character”…Assembled from selected Authors Below. Profiles of Towns with Character: Fairhope AL Columbus IN Dahlonega GA Greenville SC Winter Garden FL New Richmond OH Harrodsburg KY Sulphur Springs TX New […]
COP26
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Corrine Drive, A Local Haunt at an In-Between, Heretofore Overlooked Location.
Corrine Drive has become a place, in addition to being a poorly maintained road. The place is interesting; interesting to patronize and interesting to study. Why has this heretofore neglected intersection of Corrine Drive and Winter Park Road blossomed with local tenants owning and operating beloved shops and restaurants? The planned five-lane section will overwhelm […]
Crashing Plates and Big Ice
The Climate Has been Changing for Quite a While. ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’. We struggle to fully appreciate the impact of the shifting Tectonic Plates and the Ice Ages. They happened a really long time ago and the “to and fro” of massive ice sheets over hundreds of millions of years, combined with tectonic plate shifts, was the original “rock and […]
Critical Rare Earth Elements
What are “Critical Rare Earths”? According to Dr. Alex King, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames Lab Director, critical refers to “the stuff you need the most but can’t get enough of.” In 2011, the US Department of Energy completed a study entitled, Critical Material Strategy. The study reviewed rare earths based on their role in […]
Critical Thinking
CRITICAL THINKING is a valued skill taught and learned by the professions, such as law, planning, medicine, engineering and architecture. The purpose of thinking critically is to examine a fact, a proposition or an idea from all perspectives to determine its veracity, its weak spots, its strengths, and ultimately, its usefulness. The antithesis of critical […]
Critical Thinking; Attributes of Creative Thought
Creative Thinking is a learned skill especially focused on the professions of law, medicine, architecture and planning. Creative thinking and systems thinking are the yin and yang of thoughtfulness; apparently conflicting but actually complementary. Creative thinking is about organic free-form exploration and associative ideating. Systems thinking is about structure and discipline. Like the duality of yin […]
Critical Thinking, Attributes of Creative Thought
CRITICAL THINKING is a valued skill taught and learned by the professions, such as law, planning, medicine, engineering and architecture. The purpose of thinking critically is to examine a fact, a proposition or an idea from all perspectives to determine its veracity, its weak spots, its strengths, and ultimately, its usefulness. The antithesis of critical […]
Cultural Trust has specific projects, including a Downtown movie theater, on makeover list.
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Dahlonega, Georgia, A Quintessential Character Town.
CHARACTER. The City’s visitor-based economy depends on being and remaining an interesting, pleasant and prosperous place for residents, businesses and visitors; a character town. NAMING THE CITY. The city was named “Talonega” by the Georgia General Assembly on December 21, 1833.[19] The name was changed from Talonega by the Georgia General Assembly on December 25, […]
Dallas Makerspace
We use these resources to collaborate on individual and community projects in order to promote science, technology and art; while working and experimenting on innovative ideas to encourage learning within our community. At Dallas Makerspace we believe that collaboration is a truly effective form of learning. To that end, our members and volunteers teach classes, […]
David Barth, PhD
CT.org has always appreciated David as a great gentleman as well as one at the top of his field. His successes in planning and designing parks and park systems across the United States stand as tribute to his talents. His resume is offered below as the best way to present the breadth and depth of […]
DC Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit
An After Thought on the 2013 Workshop from CT.org. The City issued an RFQ to solicit neighborhood organizations interested in learning about means and methods for improving neighborhood shopping districts. The Workshop occurred in 2013 but the lasting value is twofold. First, using an RFQ to solicit interest is a terrific way to determine which […]
Defining Housing Affordability.
Housing programs in the United States have long measured housing affordability in terms of percentage of income. In the 1940s, the maximum affordable rent for federally subsidized housing was set at 20 percent of income, which rose to 25 percent of income in 1969 and 30 percent of income in 1981. Over time, the 30 […]
DeLand FL, A Quintessential Character Town
The City is the home of Stetson University and the seat of Volusia County government, both with facilities near downtown. The thriving downtown economy depends on the City remaining an interesting, pleasant and prosperous place for residents, businesses, students and visitors. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Delivery Robots Aren’t Ready; When They Could Be Needed Most.
Sheltering in place has driven up demand for deliveries, but machines still have trouble confronting the unpredictability of the real world. AMERICANS CHOOSING TO —or forced to—stay inside during the Covid- 19 pandemic are leaning heavily on food delivery. Instacart sales soared 98 percent, and Amazon Fresh sales 68 percent, in March, compared with […]
Delivery Robots, Competing with Pedestrians for the Sidewalk.
The time is now for public right-of-way policy. Delivery robots are being tested in many urban settings. Planning for robots to share streets and sidewalks is not a “far in the future” possibility but a near term probability. Policies and regulations to organize these new devices in the public right-of-way can avoid the confusion and […]
Design Neighborhoods as if they were Parks.
THE IDEA OF NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND URBAN OPEN SYSTEMS. Character neighborhoods have extensive areas and lands devoted to parks and open spaces. When systematically organized, the collection of parks, plazas, school grounds, stormwater ponds, protected wetlands, lakes, streams, private lawns and gardens becomes a holistic, integrated system of lands and waters devoted to the resident’s […]
Design the Town as if it was a Park
Design the Town as if it was a Park. Character towns can be planned just like a park with shelter, food and beverage, circulation and beauty; think of the city as a large, complex park. The neighborhoods, centers and corridors demand design and development with the same care used to prepare the town’s finest park. […]