Jul 09, 2008
Small Town Risk Takers
Towns and cities that are willing to take a risk on themselves – those are my favorite places to work. And Story City, Iowa is just such a place. I was there early last year spending a day talking with city officials, business people, preservationists ...
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Jun 09, 2008
College Towns
I love college towns. I’ve often said that if I were a local economic development director and could recruit absolutely any economic activity, it would be a college. Why? 1) Colleges are a basic industry — outside dollars flowing in to purchase services (education) that ...
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Jun 09, 2008
Changing the Terms of the Debate
This one is short. Ideas are wonderful things. Open minds and creative thinkers are where meaningful, positive change comes from. And what an incredible tool the internet is to exchange ideas. But it’s also a powerful tool to change the terms of the debate.And that ...
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Jun 09, 2008
Recession
Last week I had two speaking assignments – the New Jersey Historic Preservation Conferenceon the Rutgers campus in New Brunswick and the Maine Downtown Conference in Biddeford. More about Biddeford in the next post. First to New Jersey. The other opening keynote speaker was Dr. James Hughes, ...
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Jun 09, 2008
Historic Preservation as Economic Development
Hurray for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the US Department of Commerce! They have taken a GIANT leap forward in refuting the long-held belief in some quarters that communities have to choose between historic preservation and economic development. That was always a false choice, of ...
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Jun 09, 2008
Beyond waterless toilets and LEED Gold
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that LEED exists. It is an excellent first shot at trying to make buildings and neighborhoods more environmentally responsible. But to say that LEED is necessary but not sufficient for sustainable development is no different than saying dentistry is ...
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May 09, 2008
Penn and a Big Deal for me
I’ve written before that I have the best job in America (April 30, 2008). But the best 14 days of the best job in America are the Tuesdays in the spring when I catch a 6:30 train from Washington to Philadelphia to teach my class ...
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May 09, 2008
Clients Getting their Money’s Worth
I’m not cheap. And I only have a daily rate (you can’t buy an hour or a half day or a speech…you can only buy a day). But none of my clients — nearly all public sector or non-profit sector entities — have an excess ...
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May 09, 2008
Lessons from Hinesville 2 — Doing it right
About Us Services Rightsizing Incentives Resources In the News Blog HOME / DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION / LESSONS FROM HINESVILLE 2 — DOING IT RIGHT Lessons from Hinesville 2 — Doing it right This week I was in Hinesville, Georgia for a one-day technical assistance visit at ...
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May 09, 2008
Lessons from Hinesville 1 — Army towns
Last week I was in three cities — Phoenix, Seattle, and Portland — that have people who “get it”. But that’s not just true of big cities. There are — all over America — people in smaller places who also understand good urbanism (even if ...
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