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.
Index to Special Features [2021-present]
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Index to Special Features [2021-present]
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Infrastructure can be Beautiful.
This generational opportunity to rebuild roads, bridges, rail lines, water works, airports, seaports, drainageways and other physical facilities can result in a new aesthetic for American public works. Drainage facilities can work with nature, roads can be parkways, bridges can be public sculptures. Naive perhaps, but think of the opportunity to take all this money, […]
Infrastructure Can Be Beautiful
A Photo Essay of Gas Stations on Highways RESPECT. There was a day when design was respected, even for gas stations along the nation’s highways. Pure Oil Company led the way with “cottage” designs as depicted herein. The surviving gas station buildings, now adapted for a variety of other uses, serves as witness to the […]
Infrastructure Financing: An Article by ULI
Infrastructure financing through private investment is the subject of “Chicago’s Novel Infrastructure Trust”[embeddoc url=”https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/An-Article-Chicago-Infrastructure-Trust.pdf” width=”100%” download=”all” viewer=”google”] presents a creative way to solicit private financing for public infrastructure. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Infrastructure Funding and Financing
A Comprehensive, Long-Range Municipal Finance Plan. THE MUNICIPAL BUDGET. A large part of the focus of every city administration is preparation, adoption and implementation of the annual budget. The 5-year capital improvements budget receives a similar level of interest. Less attention is paid to the city’s longer term comprehensive finance plan, say looking 30 to […]
Innovation During Crisis: Remote Engagement Methods for the Future of Public Participation
Take advantage of free and popular social media services to easily connect with the community. According to data collected from the Pew Research Center, approximately 72% of U.S. adults use at least one social media site (2019). The embedded user base of these popular services provides local governments with excellent opportunities to engage with large […]
Institutions are Social Infrastructure.
The Sinews of Small Cities and Towns The Need for Institutions. Institutions embody the values of society and the processes used to promote civic behavior in a manner consistent with society’s norms and conventions. Sometimes these need to be challenged and their purposes revisited, but rarely do they need to be eliminated or denigrated. As Professor […]
Institutions, The Sinews of Small Cities and Towns.
The Need for Institutions. Institutions embody the values of society and the processes used to promote civic behavior in a manner consistent with society’s norms and conventions. Sometimes these need to be challenged and their purposes revisited, but rarely do they need to be eliminated or denigrated. As Professor Fukuyama expresses in State-Building, Governance and […]
Internet Service Master Plans
Alternative Concepts for Providing Internet Service. Internet Service Master Plans are being developed, or at least explored, by communities across America. The two system configuration options are: internet service as a utility; or, internet service as a commercial service. In Florida, the state legislature has deemed it appropriate that internet service is a commercial activity […]
Internet Service Master Plans. Alternative Concepts for Providing Internet Service.
Internet Service Master Plans are being developed, or at least explored, by communities across America. The two system configuration options are: internet service as a utility; or, internet service as a commercial service. In Florida, the state legislature has deemed it appropriate that internet service is a commercial activity controlled by private companies that provide […]
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, […]
It Takes A Village To Save A British Pub by Frank Langfitt
Villagers feared without the Packhorse, there would be no place in town for people to gather. So in 2012, John, Coles and others in the village created a grass-roots campaign called “Save the Packhorse.” They set out to preserve the pub and eventually raised funds to buy it. “You deplete a small community of a […]
Contents – January 2021
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John Nolen, Landscape Architect and City Planner
The his recent biography of Mr. Nolen, R. Bruce Stephenson describes the importance of Mr. Nolen’s career and his influence in shaping the planning and urban design professions. From Amazon…“John Nolen (1869–1937) was the first American to identify himself exclusively as a town and city planner. In 1903, at the age of thirty-four, he enrolled in […]
Kevin Lynch, Urban Planner.
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 developed theory and language based on his study of three towns: Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles. He, like other […]
Kirkland WA Neighborhood Safety Program.
NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY PROGRAM OVERVIEW. The Kirkland WA City Council authorized the Neighborhood Safety Program (NSP) in June 2014. The purpose of the Program is to re-energize Neighborhood Associations by empowering them to work collaboratively to identify, prioritize and address pedestrian and bicycle safety issues in Kirkland neighborhoods. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Kunshan Phoenix Cultural Mall
Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG), the largest media and publishing companies in China, awarded Joel Sanders Architect and FreelandBuck first prize in an invited international competition. Their winning proposal for the Kunshan Phoenix Cultural Mall – an 80,000 sqm corporate headquarters and cultural complex – consists of a 20-story office tower perched upon a […]
Lake Wales FL, A Quintessential Character Town.
CHARACTER. The City of Lake Wales Florida is located in Polk County and lies among rolling hills on the highest ground in peninsular Florida. In the valleys around Lake Wales, there are many clear lakes that furnish year-round recreational opportunities. The city is located in the geographical center of the Florida peninsula, and is accessible […]
Last Mile Deliveries
THE NEW SYSTEM DEMANDS. Logistics is one of many professional fields of work that is changing rapidly. The growing demand for near instantaneous delivery of goods is changing the retail and restaurant business and the logistical apparatus that delivers goods and meals to the end users, usually in their homes. Remember the old adage – “Everything […]