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.
AV/EV Big Rigs with Interstate Highway Intercept Centers.
The Future. Prognosticators believe, rightly so, that sooner or later the nation’s 18-wheel truck fleet will be made up of autonomous vehicles [AVs]. This eventuality is being rushed to market by the competition to be first with the AV technology and by the shortage of over-the-road truck drivers. The recent supply chain breakage put a […]
Barton-Aschman Associates Inc.
“Barton-Aschman Associates Inc., founded in 1985, was one of those special planning firms with a dedicated staff, a strong ethical structure and a reputation for high quality. George Barton and Ted Aschman were the founders of the company and set the standard for delivery of high quality transportation, urban planning and engineering consulting services to […]
Be a 21st Century Main Street.
Find the Role for Main Street. As e-commerce continues to intrude into the downtown market place, as the next generation of ride sharing and autonomous vehicles become more prevalent, as communications become more immediate and visual, and as the have – have not dichotomy grows, it becomes harder and harder to anticipate outcomes.What is “known” and “unknowable” becomes more important […]
Be Innovative; Create a Tech-Driven Small City Main Street.
Small City Innovation Advantages. Small cities and towns have a tremendous advantage over larger communities when it comes to innovation in the design and operation of municipal systems to create an interesting, pleasant and prosperous community. Size is the key. A small city can be comprehended, it can be observed in its totality and it […]
Be Social; Plan for a Social Main Street
A Vision: Main Street as the Small City’s Social Center. Main street has done a lot for America; and more will be asked of it in the coming decades. The main value of downtown, and specifically main street, by mid-century will expand from its civic and commercial purposes to become the primarily social center of […]
Be Strategic, Leverage Every Main Street Asset
The place where commercial, civic and residential lives converge. Downtown’s focus is main street; the street with public buildings, gathering places and active open spaces; the street with shops, restaurants, offices and housing. Main street is where all elements of the community converge; and each is essential. Successful downtowns are magical places. They are places […]
Being Analytical, Tools to Get the Details Right.
STRATEGY IS A GUIDE TO A SET OF ACTIONS, BASED ON ANALYSIS. Strategies are comprehensive, long-range and forward-thinking; they consider the full range of internal and external factors that influence and affect the municipal enterprise. The key is to deeply understand the full range of issues facing the city, its residents and businesses before launching […]
Being Self-Sufficient, Special Main Street Districts
Make “Special Districts” Special. A downtown district, as a legal and geographically specific entity has the opportunity to control its own destiny. Financial independence is the dream. While never being truly independent from the host government and never likely to achieve the power of Robert Moses, a special district can construct self- sufficient systems. Special […]
Benefits of Trees
Excerpts from the Arbor Tree Foundation Trees can add value to your home, help cool your home and neighborhood, break the cold winds to lower your heating costs, and provide food for wildlife. The Value of Trees to a Community The following are some statistics on just how important trees are in a community setting. […]
Benoit Mandelbrot: Fractals and the art of roughness.
Fractals, like the Powers of Ten, is a concept seemingly unrelated to urban design and city planning. However, understanding natural patterns and pattern recognition is a critical city planning skill. Knowing about fractals helps. The more you know, the more you know. “At TED2010, mathematics legend Benoit Mandelbrot develops a theme he first discussed at […]
Best Cities for High Schools
Best Cities for High Schools were ranked by U.S. News and World Report. The results are important because of the cities that were ranked and because of the criteria used for the ranking. Every city and town in America understands that its prosperity and economic success depends on the education of its workforce and the […]
Best Cities for TDM
Best Cities forTDM reflects the fact that many American cities have extensive TDM programs that promote multi-modal mobility to all parts of the city. MobilityLab and the Federal Highway Administration offer programmatic discussions and examples. Denver Regional Council Minneapolis-St. Paul, Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Tucson, Pima Association of Governments Sacramento Area Council of Governments Arlington […]
Livability.COM
Livability is a great source for information about what makes small cities great places to live. “The best downtowns foster creativity, inclusion and innovation. They showcase what is good about a community by offering a diverse array of local architecture, art, lifestyles and things to do. Great downtowns unite residents from all walks of life, […]
The 2014 Best-Performing Cities Report
Best Performing Cities is a report from the Milkin Institute [2014]. It reports where America’s jobs are created and sustained. The components used to calculate the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities rankings form an index that measures growth in jobs, wages, salaries, and technology output over five years (2008-2013 for jobs and technology output, and 2007-2012 for wages […]
Bleak views of melting Antarctic ice, from above and below
From Yale Climate Connections Images from satellites high above the Earth have helped a research team put together a stark visual chronicle of decades of glacier disintegration in Antarctica. Meanwhile, a separate international research team has taken the opposite perspective – studying the ice from its underbelly. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The Bloomberg Carbon Clock, CO2
Monthly readings through Sept. 2022. 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
Bloomberg Carbon Clock, CO2
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Bloomberg Carbon Clock, CO2
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Bloomberg Carbon Clock, CO2 monthly readings through December 2020.
The monthly values reflect the cyclical or seasonal changes in an inexorablyupward secular trend. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Bloomberg Carbon Clock through December 2022.
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