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.
Technology: the Disruptive Tsunami Headed for Cities.
TECHNOLOGY FOR TOWNS. Small cities and towns will evolve beyond the fear of change to accept the benefits of new technologies ranging from social media to autonomous vehicles to robotics to drones to new business models for e-commerce on mainstreet. The blockchain, “smart poles” with sensors and Wi-Fi, microgrids, smart solid waste systems and smart […]
Technology: the Disruptive Tsunami Headed for City Hall.
TECHNOLOGY FOR TOWNS. Small cities and towns are evolving beyond the fear of change to accept the benefits of newtechnologies ranging from social media to autonomous vehicles to robotics to drones to new businessmodels for e-commerce. The blockchain, “smart poles” with sensors and Wi-Fi, microgrids, smart solidwaste systems, drones and smart zoning are only a […]
Tenement Museum
Museums are our windows into lives beyond ourselves. Museums give us a glimpse of people, places and events beyond our experience. Every small city and town has a reason to have a museum: local history, people or events associated with the community or significant assets be they historic, natural, technological or personal. Find a place […]
TerraPower selects Kemmerer, Wyoming as the preferred site for advanced reactor demonstration plan
PROJECT WILL BRING A FULLY FUNCTIONING NATRIUM™ POWER PLANT TO RETIRING COAL GENERATION SITE BELLEVUE, Washington – November 16, 2021 – TerraPower today announced Kemmerer, Wyoming as the preferred site for the Natrium™ reactor demonstration project, which is a TerraPower and GE-Hitachi technology, and is one of two competitively-selected advanced reactor demonstration projects (ARDP) supported […]
The 15 Most Beautiful Main Streets Across America.
Between the major cities on the coasts of the United States are hundreds of small towns where a good portion of the American population lives today. Established over the last two centuries as the country expanded west, the majority of these municipalities have one thing in common: a charming main street. Lined with shops, restaurants, […]
The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2015 by the Smithsonian
(Image © David C. Phillips/Garden Photo World/Corbis; graphic by Shaylyn Esposito) The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2015 by the Smithsonian, published in Apr 16, 2015 follows their Best Small Towns lists from 2014, 2013, and 2012). For the fourth annual version of our list, we once again worked with the geographical information company Esri […]
The 2020 Census of Population is Out
The long-awaited 2020 U.S. Census of Population is now available. There are many summaries and analyses of the findings, the one that follows is only one of many. The implications for small cities and towns is profound. Certainly the distribution of political power and federal funding are in the balance. Stay involved. Determine your position. […]
The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
From the ASCE “For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure GPA is a C-, up from a D+ in 2017. This is good news and an indication we’re headed in the right direction, but a lot of work remains. “While we grade 17 categories individually, our infrastructure is a system of systems and […]
The 3rd Space – A New Advertising Canvas for Virtual Content by Brett Leary
If you’re an advertising and marketing executive working within the retail ecosystem, you mightwant to take a closer look at the recent news surrounding Pokémon Go. Its parent company, Niantic, just settled a class-action lawsuit brought against it by a group of U.S. property owners. The outcome of this case will help shape the future […]
The Affordable Housing Action Plan.
THE PROMISE OF A DECENT, SAFE AND SANITARY HOME. Housing the Nation’s people in a decent, safe and sanitary home has been an American priority at least since The Housing Act of 1949. THE CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME. The promise is not being fulfilled. Providing affordable housing for the town’s residents is the challenge of […]
The Affordable Housing Dilemma
THE HOUSEHOLD INCOME-EXPENSE SQUEEZE. The affordability of housing in America at the start of the 21st century is an issue for many households. The remedy is complicated since not only are housing costs out-of-whack, but other household expenses are also growing faster than household incomes can absorb. A growing number of American families are struggling […]
The Arctic Council
The Artic is full of richness; ecological and cultural as well as economic. The competition has started on which nation will dominate; who will get the oil and gas and what happens to the indigenous populations. The Arctic Council is the only organization other than the United Nations with any responsibility. The international “no touch” […]
The Authentic, Engaging and Social Main Street
THE PLACE WHERE COMMERCIAL, CIVIC AND RESIDENTIAL LIVES CONVERGE. Downtown’s focus is main street; the street with the commercial, office and public activities and uses. Downtowns also provide places for people to live in apartments, condominiums, nearby single-family neighborhoods and hotels. Every element is essential. Many main streets have a significant central park or waterfront. […]
The Benefits of Trees
Public Health and Social Benefits: Clean air: Trees produce oxygen, intercept airborne particulates, and reduce smog, enhancing a community’s respiratory health. The urban canopy directly contributes to meeting a city’s regulatory clean air requirements. Access to trees, green spaces, and parks promotes greater physical activity, and reduces stress, while improving the quality of life in […]
The Bentway
About The Bentway. The Bentway is a unique and innovative public space that transforms 1.75km [1.05 miles] underneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway into a new gathering place for our city’s growing population. The Bentway offers year-round activities and events, including gardens, a skate trail, recreational amenities, public art, special exhibitions, festivals, theatre and musical performances, and […]
The Best Small to Mid-sized Cities in the U.S.
The Best Small to Mid-sized Cities in the U.S. reports the findings of Livability’s second on the subject. The criteria used to select the best cities was: amenities, demographics, economy, education,. Health care, housing social and civic capital and transportation. “As Livability’s editors and writers crisscross the U.S in search of great stories, we find that […]
The biggest green hydrogen hub in the US could be coming soon to Mississippi
From CT.org: Hydrogen is an important part of America’s comprehensive energy program. The United States could see its biggest green hydrogen hub by far up and running in Mississippi by 2025 — if a team of former natural-gas storage developers and a major Canadian energy infrastructure developer can pull off their plans. On Tuesday, Hy […]
The biggest green hydrogen hub in the US could be coming soon to Mississippi.
The United States could see its biggest green hydrogen hub by far up and running in Mississippi by 2025 — if a team of former natural-gas storage developers and a major Canadian energy infrastructure developer can pull off their plans. On Tuesday, Hy Stor Energy announced that it intends to build a green hydrogen production […]
The Bloomberg Carbon Clock
The Bloomberg Carbon Clock tracks the level of CO2 in the atmosphere measured in parts per million. In mid-May the number exceeded 414 parts per million [ppm]. The number up-to-the- second can be found at: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/carbon-clock/. From the website comes the following observations based on graphs presented on their website: “The higher the number climbs […]
The Bloomberg Carbon Clock
The monthly values reflect the cyclical or seasonal changes in an inexorably upward secular trend. Check out the graph of long-term trends on the webpage cited below. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail