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.
THE PROJECT STARTS IN 2017… Boynton to start construction on Town Square in coming months
Boynton Beach residents should prepare to see some major construction south of Ocean Avenue as the city starts building Town Square in the coming months. The city is poised to begin building public portions of the project, such as the new police station, city hall and library, in March and April. If all goes according […]
The Public Library: The City’s Economic Incubator
HISTORICAL ROLE OF LIBRARIES. Libraries have always served as repositories for a wide range of knowledge. From the Greeks of Socrates and Egyptians with their Royal [Ancient] Library of Alexandria come two central ideas: knowledge is worth collecting and retaining; and knowledge is unbound as to subject or discipline. The concept of libraries has a […]
The Public Library: The City’s Economic Incubator.
HISTORICAL ROLE OF LIBRARIES. Libraries have always served as repositories for a wide range of knowledge. From the Greeks of Socrates and Egyptians with their Royal [Ancient] Library of Alexandria come two central ideas: knowledge is worth collecting and retaining; and knowledge is unbound as to subject or discipline. The concept of libraries has a […]
The Race for Oil
“Trump Administration Moves Closer To Allowing Oil Drilling In Arctic Refuge” The Trump administration is pushing ahead with plans to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The first leases to drill for oil and gas in the area could be sold by the end of 2020, Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt said as […]
The Race to Code the Curb
Everyone—from ride-hailing cars to delivery trucks to bikes and scooters—wants a piece of the curb. How can smart cities map and manage this precious resource? The curb is hot. No longer just a home for parked cars and cigarette butts, this is where the action is in the 21st century city. It’s where electric scooters […]
The Renewable-Energy Revolution Will Need Renewable Storage
CT.orgfinds this idea fascinating; maybe not new to you, but to me it is revolutionary. Think about what Einstein told us…mass is energy, potential energy. The trick is to turn potential energy into kinetic energy that can work for us. To Maximize Renewable energy we’ll need a new technology: renewable storage. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The Responsible Hospitality Institute [RHI]
The Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1983 and is the leading source for events, resources and consultation services on nightlife. RHI’s vision is to assist communities in the planning and management of hospitality zones to create safe, vibrant and economically prosperous places to socialize.RHI’s expertise has provided direct technical assistance […]
The San Antonio Riverwalk
The downtown loop of the famed San Antonio Riverwalk, or Paseo del Rio, is a 2 1/2 mile stretch of beautifully landscaped waterfront that features many of San Antonio’s most spectacular hotels, restaurants, night clubs, bars, shopping centers and businesses. It is one of the most dynamic tourist attractions in the entire state of Texas, […]
The Simplest Tool for Improving Cities Is Also Free
“Ms. Hendren is an artist and design researcher, a professor at Olin College of Engineering and the author of “What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World.” “CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For decades, a stretch of Memorial Drive here that runs along the Charles River has been closed to automobiles on Sundays for […]
The Social Infrastructure Aspiration of the City’s General Plan
Leveraging Physical Assets to Create Community Civility and Sociability. The vision of most small cities and towns in America, however expressed, is to be an interesting, pleasant and prosperous place for residents, businesses and visitors. A strong social infrastructure system is essential with: FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The Strategic Main Street: Everything Leveraged.
LEVERAGE PUBLIC BUILDINGS. City Hall must be on or near main street to get the full impact of its influence. Locating the city library, the local history museum, the post office and the community theater on or near main street is important to attract people and private investment downtown. Employees, patrons and visitors to public […]
The United States Conference of Mayors
According to a recent communication from the American City & County Government Update, “electric vehicles listed as top priority by mayors in new U.S. Conference of Mayors report.” FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
“The Upcycle” by William McDonough
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The Wealth of Humans
The Wealth of Humans presents a fine argument for building human capital and leveraging it to strengthen all cities, including small cities and towns. [embeddoc url=”https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-Wealth-of-Humans-10-2016.pdf” width=”100%” download=”all” viewer=”google”] FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The West Orange Trail, Winter Garden FL.
The City of Winter Garden was established in 1903. During most of the twentieth century, the City and its region were the central focus of Florida’s citrus industry. The City had several citrus processing plants with truck and rail lines to move the various types of citrus into the City for processing and out of […]
There’s a 750 Mile Bike Trail in New York.
From the New York Times “Last December, the Empire State Trail — a sprawling, 750-mile cyclist and pedestrian route that connects Buffalo to Albany and New York City to the Canadian border, forming what looks like a sideways T — opened to the public. Considering the pandemic bike boom, the timing was perfect. About 400 […]
There’s a 750 Mile Bike Trail in New York
Last December, the Empire State Trail — a sprawling, 750-mile cyclist and pedestrian route that connects Buffalo to Albany and New York City to the Canadian border, forming what looks like a sideways T — opened to the public. Considering the pandemic bike boom, the timing was perfect. About 400 miles of greenways, repurposed rail […]
Thinking About Thinking.
THE NEW DECADE. As the “teens” become the “twenties”, a pause is permitted to contemplate to past and the future. Rather than add to the plethora of prognostications proliferating on-line, in journals and television, the challenge may relate to process related outcome. BEING THOUGHTFUL IS THE IMPORTANT SKILL. It is useful to understand different types […]
Thinking for a Living: Preparing to Solve Known Problems, Being Ready for Unanticipated Events and Taking Advantage of Opportunities.
Thinking. Every professional regards her/himself as a thinker, a thoughtful person ready to tackle the problems of the day. In general, little time is devoted to thinking about thinking, thinking about the tools available to think about problems and thinking about the various types of problems to be tackled. The purpose of this paper is […]
This Is the Best Size for a Porch
CT.org…Southern Living has figured out porch sizing for small homes. The article below describes a minimum 6-foot depth with the width a function of the home façade design. CT.org aspires to a bigger porch that, as Southern Living describes, is in essence a room in and of itself. Therefore, our standard is that the porch […]