I often tell clients, students and audiences that I have the best job in the world — and that is no exaggeration. Every year I get to visit a hundred or so communities throughout the United States, and in recent years a dozen or so countries.

And here’s what I do — I go in, pretend I know what I’m talking about, and leave. No responsibility, no implementation, no follow through. Who could have a better job than that? And that’s probably just as well, because I really don’t have many skills. But I do have one — I’m a very good note taker. I see what people are trying to do, what seems to work, what doesn’t, and from those notes I make lists. That’s what I really am — a list maker.But I’ve recently realized that I’m being a bit selfish with what I’m learning, that there ought to be a way to more widely distribute these great lessons. A blog may be it. So I’ll give it a shot. While my clients pay me to come to their community, I nearly always learn more from them than they from me. And so I hope to translate what’s being done in downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and economic development in any given community to a larger context. That will probably be in the form of lists.

So read, comment, refute, or add as you see fit. I know there are lots of lessons being learned in places I don’t get to visit first hand, so I’d love to hear them.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any ideas you throw my way.

rypkema