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.
This is what sea level rise will do to coastal cities
Sea level rise is already redrawing coastlines around the world. What happens when the coast retreats through a major city? We look at how the world map will change in the year 2100, and what coastal cities can do to defend themselves. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Top 10 planning practices for making things happen in rural and small towns
CT.org…The following article offers ways for rural towns to fight regression and stabilize their social and economic systems. However, the presumption is that rural towns have the resources, economic and civic, to activate the needed actions. Free-standing, rural communities not connected to a larger metro area have few options for arresting their decline; but, they […]
Top 50 Cities for Global Trade
Top 50 Cities for Global Trade published by Global Trade Magazine presents the evolution of global cities. The article can be found at www.globaltrademag.com/features/top-50-cities-for-global-trade. In excerpt, it says, “Aug 8, 2012 – The overall ranking lists the 50 largest metropolitan areas by export volume. … Global trade takes all of us–in cities large and small–doing our best and making …. The area is well positioned to do business with […]
TOWN SQUARE City of Boynton Beach FL
Town Square is a 16-acre site in downtown Boynton Beach. The project includes the renovation of the historic Boynton Beach High School into a cultural center, residential and retail spaces, a hotel, playground, amphitheater, open spaces, parking garages, a fire station and a new city hall with a new library. Read more on “Town Square” […]
Transformative infrastructure funding is here. The application process for getting it still needs work.
Brookings has a terrific article on the status of the process for small cities and towns to access federal infrastructure funding; although still unresolved, there are things to do to get in line. A tangential point is that state governments are becoming more important. CT.org expected state governments to whither with growing irrelevance leaving the […]
Robots Take On the Final Mile
Robots Take On the Final Mile Imagine if the next time you place an order for delivery from your favorite local restaurant, you’re greeted at your door not by a person but by an urban delivery robot. It’s an odd-looking little vehicle that resembles a cooler with wheels, but with an antenna and sensors. The […]
The Business Sector Worries about Affordable Housing
CharacterTowns.org mined recent articles, focusing on affordable housing and concerns of the industrial sector. In all of the articles, the problem is defined as a shortage in the supply of affordable housing. The authors offer examples of action programs that are improving the affordability of housing to low and middle income families from cities and […]
TravelCenters of America to Add Hydrogen Fueling Sites for Big Rigs
From the Wall Street Journal “Truck-stop operator TravelCenters of America Inc. is stepping up its alternative-energy game as tougher regulations push the commercial transport sector to look beyond diesel fuel. “TravelCenters, the largest publicly traded U.S. truck-stop company, said Thursday it is forming a new business unit called eTA that aims to eventually supply drivers […]
Trees and Tree Canopies
OBJECTIVE. Every community in America is concerned about increasing its tree canopy for its aesthetic, environmental and real estate value. Attention is being paid to the importance of trees. Trees offer many benefits at a very low cost. A target for tree canopy coverage in cities is gaining in popularity and programming. RESOURCES. There is […]
U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022
Wind turbines stand in fields near Palm Springs, Calif, March 22, 2023. Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday, March 27, 2023. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Uber Turns to Autonomous Vehicle Startup Nuro for Eats Deliveries
Uber will use Nuro autonomous delivery vehicles to shuttle meals and other goods to its Eats customers as part of a 10-year commercial deal between the two companies. The partnership, which kicks off this fall, will start in Houston and Mountain View, California and eventually expand to other areas, including the greater Bay Area, according […]
Underserved communities could miss out on access to electric vehicles.
“To meet climate goals, many states and utilities are investing in electric vehicle chargers. But only a few are working to ensure that underserved communities have access to charging and benefit from the cleaner air that electric vehicles provide. “That’s according to a report by Peter Huether of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. […]
Urban Designer, Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl is a practicing Urban Design Consultant and Professor of Urban Design at the School of Architecture in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has extensively researched the form and use of public spaces and put his findings to practice in multiple locations throughout the world. His company, Gehl Architects — Urban Quality Consultants, creatively reimagines the […]
Urban experimentation and institutional arrangements.
FROM CHARACTERTOWNS.ORG… This work may be a bit too academic for direct application to the issues facing small cities and towns; but, it introduces the idea of experimentation! Civic entrepreneurs are curious, innovative and somewhat daring in their experiments with new ideas and innovations. With “smart city” initiatives, “green” technology, the coming intrusion of automated […]
Urban Forest Master Plan
Excerpts from Published Works… The City of Tallahassee completed an Urban Forest Master Plan in 2018. The plan is a guide for the future of our community’s tree canopy, to improve this vital city asset as our community grows and changes in the coming years. Improvements to the quality of our canopy are necessary in […]
Urban Infrastructure. A Holistic System of Smart, Green Facilities.
THE IDEA OF INFRASTRUCTURE. Character towns have strong, well-funded infrastructure systems. Potable water supply, wastewater disposal, solid waste collection and disposal, electricity, natural gas, stormwater management, roads and bridges, transit, sidewalks, parks, schools, hospitals, and the myriad of other systems that support our well- being go mostly unnoticed, until they break. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Urban Open Space
Leverage the Open Space System to Unify the City and Save the Environment. THE IDEA OF AN “URBAN OPEN SPACE” SYSTEM. Character towns have extensive areas and lands devoted to parks and open spaces; sometimes these are organized into systems. When systematically organized, the collection of parks and open lands becomes a holistic, integrated system […]
Urban Open Space: Leverage the Open Space System to Unify the City
THE IDEA OF “URBAN OPEN SPACE” SYSTEMS. Character towns have extensive areas and lands devoted to parks and open spaces. When systematically organized, the collection of parks, plazas, school grounds, stormwater ponds, protected wetlands, lakes, streams, private lawns and gardens becomes a holistic, integrated system of lands and waters devoted to the city’s health and […]
URBAN PARKS: Programming Areas and Facilities.
The Vision of an urban park. Urban parks are places of significant size and location that offer respite to city dwellers in the form of natural or artful aesthetic beauty, recreation and education be it cultural, historic or wellness. The Olmstedian idea of urban parks as cultural oases for a person’s renewal from urban pressures […]
Urban Street Design Guide
Sidewalks play a vital role in city life. As conduits for pedestrian movement and access, they enhance connectivity and promote walking. As public spaces, sidewalks serve as the front steps to the city, activating streets socially and economically. Safe, accessible, and well-maintained sidewalks are a fundamental and necessary investment for cities, and have been found […]