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.
Small City Support for Main Street Businesses.
OVERVIEW. Small cities depend mightily on their main street businesses and ambiance. Neighborhoods, development corridors and open space systems have […]
Small Towns as Global Cities
Small Towns as Global Cities is a happening trend. Small cities and towns have many of the attributes that appeal […]
Smart City Hub
Cutting edge intelligence for smart city leaders Smart City Hub is founded in 2016 to provide cutting edge intelligence for […]
Smart Growth in Small Towns and Rural Communities
Small towns and rural communities throughout the United States are looking for ways to strengthen their economies, provide better quality […]
Smart Microgrids for power, water supply and waste disposal
Smart Microgrids offer a small scale solution for providing power to remote areas and for serving as back-up systems for […]
Smart Poles and Microgrids: The bar keeps rising
Smart poles and microgrids are becoming useful to small cities and towns as they improve their security, information and communication […]
Smart Poles and Microgrids: The Bar Keeps Rising
THERE IS NO FINISH LINE. The literature, the examples and the case studies of cities across America and the […]
So, What’s a Small, Rural Town to Do?
Finding Someone Who Cares is the Place to Start. The Challenge. There are different types of small cities and towns. […]
America’s 25 Most Sociable Cities
Sociable cities are generally character towns. The Social Business Report provides data and analysis on the factors that create settings for […]
The Social Infrastructure Plan; An Aspiration of the City’s General Plan
The Social Infrastructure Plan is an important part of The General Plan. It is designed to leverage economic and physical […]
Social Network Theory and City Planning.
Networks are essential elements of every city and town. The city planning profession does not study, in my experience, the […]
Social Network Theory and Metcalfe’s Law
Networks are essential elements of every city and town. The city planning profession, in my experience, does not study the […]
Solar investment outshines oil: IEA
Investment in solar power is expected to overtake oil for the first time this year as clean energy spending outpaces […]
SOLSMART
SolSmart is a national designation program designed to recognize communities that have taken key steps to address local barriers to […]
Some Cities Are Pushing Back on Sidewalk Robots. Here Are Some Possible Ideas For Peaceful Coexistence
While sidewalk delivery robots promise to help reduce carbon emissions and car traffic on cluttered city streets, not everyone is […]
Sorting things out: Go ‘big’ or ‘small’ on climate solutions?
What can we do about climate change? To be effective, do we need to start and stay big? Or is […]
Specialty Libraries like The Mercantile Library.
From CT.org…Every small city and town has the opportunity to have a library whether operated by the town, the county […]
Specialty Museums and Libraries.
EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL DESTINATIONS. Libraries and museums, and co-located libraries and museums are great economic development assets. They celebrate what […]
Starting a Village Center in a Greenfield Town
THE VISION is a mixed-use village center in a greenfield community. The idea is to envision a built-out village center […]