A favorite quote of mine from Jerry Brown, Governor of California. Something the entire nation needs to take to heart in a time when somehow the naysayers have the loudest voice. As I explained in a previous post, that mindset will get us nowhere fast, and it is not what created this nation. More than […]
From one of my Public Health in Transportation Planning groups – check out the three bullets, and start thinking how much we could change transportation in Detroit just by using the overbuilt lane capacity for fully separated bike lanes, cycle tracks, bike signals, bike boxes, etc:
The results of a recent study that was supported by […]
There are many reasons why I am in the Challenge Detroit program. One of them is this video (split in 3 parts linked below) from ABC’s Nightline from July 13, 1999. I may not have watched it on that exact night, it may have been re-broadcast a few years later, but I do remember watching […]
I didn’t think my first post in the category of “in the news” would be, well, me and DTE and Challenge Detroit. One of my all time favorite news sites and one of the most informative websites on cities, urbanism and transportation, The Atlantic Cities, frequently does a month long series of articles often sponsored […]
I thought I would share what Steve Ewing of DTE once said DTE’s purpose was. It is difficult to imagine a more solid purpose, and I truly feel like the people I have met at DTE embrace it and believe in it:
“First, there is no more noble work than the work we do. We heat […]
This post is fifth in a series: 5 Key Elements of Great Cities
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An Approach for Success
This five part series identifies and explores the 5 key elements of great cities. Not good cities or mediocre cities or predictable cities, or normal cities, but great cities. So far I have explored a Framework for Understanding Cities, A Vision for […]
This post is fourth in a series: 5 Key Elements of Great Cities
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Assets for Strength
This series so far has discussed a framework, a vision and a mindset – these first three elements are future focused, whereas the last two elements (assets and approach) are slightly more present focused. The first three elements (framework, vision, mindset) […]
This post is third in a series: 5 Key Elements of Great Cities.
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A Mindset for Greatness
A vision for the future, although a necessary precondition for greatness, is not enough. The greatest cities, states and nations have also had a mindset that propelled their vision forward – a driver which helped them maximize their potential. And […]
This post is second in a series: 5 Key Elements of Great Cities
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A Vision For The Future
Every city needs a vision for the future. Much of urban planning is about seeking to understand what that unified vision is, what the people, institutions and businesses seek to become collectively and then working backwards from that to achieve it. […]
This post is first in a series – 5 Key Elements of Great Cities
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A Framework for Understanding Cities
Everything in a city can be viewed through the framework of 4 ingredients:
social
economic
political
physical (both natural and built environments)
A city is the meshing together of these four ingredients in a positive, efficient, dynamic, effective, adaptable, approachable manner. Urban planning involves […]
