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.
Heat Island Effect
From the United States Environmental Protection Agency Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. Urban areas, where these structures are highly concentrated and greenery is limited, […]
Her Plan for Putting the World Back Together? Trees.
Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s connection to trees stems from an ancient Irish prophecy she heard in childhood. And she thinks trees are crucial in addressing climate change. She was also raised learning about ancient Irish ecological knowledge and reverence for forests. Before the Times reporter Cara Buckley wrote an article about her, Diana Beresford-Kroeger told Ms. Buckley, […]
Herman Kahn
Futurist “Herman Kahn was a founder of the Hudson Institute and one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theorist while employed at the RAND Corporation.” Wikipedia The reason for featuring Herman Kahn and vicissitudes of the long-past Cold […]
Herman Kahn “Futurist”
“Herman Kahn was a founder of the Hudson Institute and one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theorist while employed at the RAND Corporation.” Wikipedia The importance of Herman Kahn for cities and towns in America is his thought […]
High-End Culture Comes to Shopping Malls
CharacterTowns.org enjoys the cross-overs between commerce and culture. The following article from the New York Times offers another example where culture sells dresses and dresses sell culture. The mixing of culture, education and commerce form an unending series of combinations for small town main streets to create interesting venues for residents, employees and visitors. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
High Performance Development Corridors
High Performance Development Corridors are the result of transforming the all too common blighted commercial strips into productive multi-use economic zones. May of these blighted commercial strips are the entry into town and create the first impression on visitors and a lasting impression on shoppers and commuters using these corridors. A commercial strip can become […]
High Performance Development Corridors
The Thing about Commercial “Strips”. Prevailing conditions. First, let’s be clear aboutour subject. The corridors of which we speak are roadways with blight strewn along their sides in the form of marginal businesses, uninviting restaurants, vacant and poorly maintained buildings, a wide array of gaudy signs, excessive driveway cuts and disorganized parking lots with too few […]
High Performance Development Corridors
The Thing about Commercial “Strips”. Prevailing conditions. First, let’s be clear about our subject. The corridors of which we speak areroadways with blight strewn along their sides in the form of marginal businesses, uninviting restaurants, vacant and poorly maintained buildings, a wide array of gaudy signs, random stormwater ponding, excessive driveway cuts and disorganized parking lots […]
How a Real Dog Taught a Robot Dog to Walk.
We at CharacterTowns.org, like you, have seen videos of biped robots walking and climbing small berms and rocky slopes, so the attached dog story is not surprise, except in the way the robot dog learned. Here in April 2020, our times are all about remote engagements, of all types. The most interesting is on-line learning […]
How Biden Can Free America From Its Zoning Strait jacket
By Edward L. Glaeser, NY Times “President Biden’s American Jobs infrastructure plan hopes to shake this country free of wasteful barriers to affordable housing — especially in booming areas. “An “innovative” competitive grant program will act to eliminate these harmful zoning and land-use practices. Mr. Biden has the right goal — reducing regulatory barriers on […]
How Do You Map the Character of a City? A New Tool Offers Solutions.
The historic character of a community is often obvious. But in some places the past is less obvious and its significance harder to protect. The historic character of a community is often obvious. You can see it in the rooftop lines of adjoined rowhouses or in the charming pocket park tucked beside a collection of […]
How protecting public lands can help the climate.
From CT.org…Small cities and towns have properties called parks, school grounds, conservation areas, surplus properties, brownfield sites and vacant lands that may be leverageable into climate change assets. Small gestures help make progress and inspire others to follow suit. About two-thirds of Utah is public land owned by the federal government. Some of that land […]
How to revitalize a neighborhood without gentrification.
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How Walking in Nature Prevents Depression
“When we walk, we naturally go to the fields and woods: What would become of us, if we walked only in a garden or a mall?” wrote Henry David Thoreau in The Atlantic in 1862. “Thoreau extolled (and extolled and extolled—the piece was more than 12,000 words long) the virtues of walking in untamed environments. […]
Hydrogen Brings New Hope to an Old Industry Titan
From the Wall Street Journal Spinning trendy green assets out of venerable industrial companies at high valuations is a strategy that often sounds better in theory than in practice. But Thyssenkrupp ’s promising hydrogen business could be an exception. On Thursday, the German company best known for steel production gave investors a closer look at […]
Hydrogen, The Forgotten Energy Source?
Hydrogen does not appear on the list of energy sources available to generate electricity from the U.S. Energy Information Agency as shown on the table below; and yet, hydrogen is coming to the fore. The level of interest and the variety of explorations brings to mind – where there’s smoke there’s fire. Someone will figure […]
Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance
What is ICCA? The Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA) is a partnership of cultural organizations throughout eleven counties in and around Iowa’s Creative Corridor. The mission of ICCA is to promote the varied cultural activities of its partner organizations and to nurture a sustainable cultural community. ICCA is the community resource for Arts, Culture and […]
Ideal Neighborhood Character Blends Order, Uniqueness
Neighborhood character is incredibly important to overall perception of neighborhood quality. We’re not going to define this important community development term because you’ll catch onto the concept through example, if you’re not already familiar with it. Why is perception of neighborhood quality important? It impacts both property values and your ability to attract the businesses […]
The Impact of the Internet on the Shopping Experience
The impact of the internet on the shopping experience has implications for the main streets of small cities and towns can be positive when the merchants embrace the new system of domestic procurement and work with the new technology rather than fighting it. The growth of internet shopping combined with neighborhood schools and parks and […]
IN DEFENSE OF HOUSING
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ARE THE BACKBONE OF AMERICAN ASPIRATIONS – SO WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE OPPOSE THEM? A critical component in the rise of market-oriented democracy in the modern era has been the dispersion of property ownership among middle-income households—not just in the United States but also in countries like Holland, Canada, and Australia, […]