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.
Vision-Driven Strategy
The Idea of Vision-Driven Strategy. A strategy is the general idea one has about how to implement a vision. Essentially, strategy is the “thinking” aspect of enacting a vision by planning a change, organizing individuals, preparing a campaign, launching a business or managing a city through coordinated and collaborative actions. Strategy is the pivot point […]
Walmart Billionaire Marc Lore Is Planning a $500 Billion “City of the Future”
Called “Telosa,” the urban center could potentially house up to five million residents somewhere in the American Southwest While other billionaires are jockeying to get into space, Marc Lore has his eyes on planet Earth: The former Walmart exec has announced plans to create a new utopian city in the American desert, featuring self-driving cars […]
Washington’s Oil Lobby Pivoted on Climate Change and Made No One Happy.
WASHINGTON—The American Petroleum Institute, Washington’s biggest lobby for the oil-and-gas industry, spent decades leveraging its financial muscle to fight almost every green initiative in its path. Then in March, the group signaled an about-face. It released its “Climate Action Framework,” a set of new policy prescriptions to lower emissions and support cleaner fuels. The core […]
NOAA’s Arctic Program.
The 2020 Report Card: “The sustained transformation to a warmer, less frozen and biologically changed Arctic remains clear.” “Extreme warm air temperatures in the Eurasian Arctic illustrate significant region-wide effects of year-to-year variability and connections across the Arctic environment.” ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION. NOAA Arctic ProgramThe Arctic: As used in this document, the term “Arctic” means […]
Wells Fargo to Donate $1 Billion for Affordable Housing
Three unnamed cities are on a shortlist to score a philanthropic windfall from the Wells Fargo Foundation, the scandal-plagued megabank’s charitable arm. Wells Fargo Bank has been rocked by a series of scandals over its lending in recent years: Since 2017, Oakland, Miami, Philadelphia, and Sacramento have sued the megabank over claims of predatory practices […]
What is a Makerspace?
A makerspace is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools. These spaces are open to kids, adults, and entrepreneurs and have a variety of maker equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters, cnc machines, soldering irons and […]
What is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) – and Tips for Building One
From Zillow Accessory dwelling units or ADUs — those separate living units tucked inside a single family home or sharing land with one — are having a rock star moment. Dozens of cities and counties, and at least nine states, including California, have changed or adopted laws that make it easier and more attractive for […]
What is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) – and Tips for Building One
Accessory dwelling units or ADUs — those separate living units tucked inside a single family home or sharing land with one — are having a rock star moment. Dozens of cities and counties, and at least nine states, including California, have changed or adopted laws that make it easier and more attractive for homeowners to […]
What is Ocean Acidification?
From…Yale Center for Environmental Communication https://yaleclimateconnections.org/ What is ocean acidification? It’s a problem that threatens entire ecosystems. “In 2007, baby oysters began dying by the millions at the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery on the Oregon coast. “At first, the owners suspected bacterial contamination was to blame. “Once they partnered with academics and other regional managers, they […]
What is the future of urban life in the post-pandemic city?
“As an update to our previous Gensler City Pulse, we conducted a survey of 10 cities in February 2021 to see how urban residents were doing as the world approached one year of living with COVID-19 and mass vaccinations began in many countries. “Twenty-eight percent of residents surveyed across 10 cities around the world are […]
What Makes a Good Main Street Work?
“Shortly before this essay’s original posting, I participated in a terrific conference called From Main Street to Eco-Districts: Greening Our Communities, hosted by a chapter of the American Institute for Architects in Corning, New York. Held a block off of Corning’s own, magnificent “Main Street” (actually named Market Street), and including many of the people […]
Where Are the Safest Neighborhoods in Boston? by Raleigh Werner
West Roxbury, Allston/ Brighton and Dorchester top the list for “safest” neighborhoods in Boston. “Safe” is always a murky term since you can’t quantify safety purely on the amount of crime in an area — however, a lot of renters who reach out to me asking about safety cite crime as the primary metric they’re […]
Where Will 2.5 Million New Floridians Go?
A Strategy: There are only three places to put a growing population. Florida Trend’s March 2022 Article is entitled – “What Florida Has to Get Right As It Grows”. The lead-in says “Florida is projected to gain 2.5 million new residents by 2030. Here’s what that means for schools, roads, homes and other infrastructure needs” […]
Whitewater Parks
The Hypothetical. Communities are generally looking for ways to distinguish themselves for the benefit of their residents and businesses. Historic sites and persons are exploited as are natural features. Visitor attracting playgrounds and theme parks serve the purpose…the purpose being to bring outside money into the local economy. And, by the way, provide an interesting, […]
Who Benefits in a Tech Hub?
Who Benefits in a Tech Hub? is another product from Richard Florida who continues to provide useful thoughts for how small cities and towns can deal with opportunities and challenges. His research and analysis help local officials balance the pros and cons of new and expensive technologies and approaches for planning and operating the city.[embeddoc […]
Why Are Remote Corporate Workers Having More Fun? Co-Working Spaces.
For many, shared offices have become an escape from often chaotic homes — and a chance to join a community. Are they the future of co-working? The New York Times has published the following two stories on how employees will find a middle ground between working from home and returning to the office…the suburban co-working […]
Why Co-Working Spaces Are Betting on the Suburbs
From the New York Times Start-ups are betting that the pandemic has spawned a new kind of worker who wants an office space closer to home, without the long commute. Paul Doran, a health care salesman, dreads the thought of commuting back to his office in Manhattan after 19 months of working from home in […]
Why the U.S. Electric Grid Isn’t Ready for the Energy Transition
From the New York Times The U.S. electric grid is often described as a vast, synchronized machine — a network of wires carrying electricity from power plants across the country into our homes. But, in reality, there is no single U.S. grid. There are three — one in the West, one in the East and […]
Wicked Problems
Wicked problems is a term of art from the high tech world. Wicked problems are ones where the nature of the problem changes the more you try to solve it. A moving target, much like many social and community problems faced by city planners. City builders deal with problems, sometimes called opportunities, all the time. […]
Wicked Problems
THINKING ABOUT PROBLEMS. City planners and builders, as well as many other professions, deal with problems, sometimes called opportunities, all the time. Problem solving is the reason the professions exists. However, all problems are not alike. Understanding the type of problem being faced can make the difference in finding a good solution, or not – […]