[ I am going to take a break until early 2013. See you folks in the New Year. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this piece by David Holmes that follows up on my "Don't Fly Too Close to the Sun" piece. He makes some of the same points I did at the conference, as well as some new ones I found interesting. Bye for now! - Aaron. ] I was intrigued by Aaron’s recent post "Don't Fly Too Close to the Sun Piece" which focused on the relationship between Milwaukee and Chicago and the notion of whether “proximity to Chicago or another mega-city … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
This is Why We’re Broke
I part ways with many urbanists in that I don't hate suburbs. In fact, I think we need to start with a basic acknowledgment of the fact that most people like owning single family homes and like living in the suburbs. I might live in the city and not own a car, but that doesn't mean other people necessarily do. Did subsidies and public policy contribute to sprawl? Of course, as we've recently been examining here. But I do believe there's a legitimate consumer preference for the suburbs. I do think we should invest in cities and can build … [Read more...]
Regarding Smart Cities
I was in Barcelona a couple weeks ago for the Smart City Expo and World Congress, where I moderated a session on the impact of smart city technologies on cities. Not only is Barcelona an amazing city itself, it was great to get to see European urbanists we don't always run across in the US, like Charles Landry and Ricky Burdett. As is often the case, I think we here in America (myself included) end up trapped in a US-centric bubble in our thinking. So it's good to break out of it. My session brought out a number of interesting points in … [Read more...]
Chicago’s Northwest Indiana Advantage
This article is part of the State of Chicago. Chicago is in effect a tri-state area consisting of parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The lion's share of the population is in Illinois. Also, the city is by far the largest municipality in the area - it's bigger than a lot of states. This leads to a very Illinois-centric and Chicago-centric civic leadership and view of the world. Perhaps rightly so. However, Chicago, looking for advantages where ever it can, should seek to find them in collaboration with the other states. Today I'll … [Read more...]
New England vs. Midwest Culture
How Physical, Cultural and Political Differences Shape Development and Economic Growth I was recently asked to make a comparison living in New England versus the Midwest-specifically how cultural and political differences impact the economic and physical development framework of the two regions. This is something that I have at least a modest knowledge of, given that I have lived and worked in both areas (Born and raised in Hamden, CT near New Haven, attended college near Boston and now live near Columbus, OH). As a real estate developer and … [Read more...]
The Rupture
Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers....your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one … [Read more...]
Don’t Fly Too Close to the Sun
I was honored to speak at a conference in Milwaukee over the summer called Milwaukee's Future in the Chicago Mega-City. Chicago and Milwaukee are about 90 miles apart on I-94. There's an Amtrak link that makes the journey in about 90 minutes. The two cities have been sprawling such that there's now more or less continuous development along the lakefront between the two cities. Milwaukee has been a challenged city economically and demographically. Chicago has had its own serious problems, but has seen its already muscular core boom in terms of … [Read more...]
The Decline of the Family
Joel Kotkin and some associates recently released a study they did for Singapore looking at changes in family dynamics in the modern era. Called "The Rise of Post-Familialism: Humanity's Future?" it examines the data around the decline of the family - the nuclear family with children, along with extended kin groups in some societies - as the fundamental ordering principle of society. This is because large numbers of people are not having children or not getting married at all. This trend has potentially profound implications for our future. In … [Read more...]
Improving Chicago’s Business Climate
This article is part of the State of Chicago. Chicago is a tale of two cities when it comes to the business climate. If you are a high profile Loop business, things are great. The city will move mountains for you, permits won't be an issue, and a healthy heaping portion of TIF dollars might even be coming your way. If you are a small business or someone without connections, it's a different story. Improving business conditions, especially for small business and especially in the neighborhoods, is critical to the city's economic future. I'll … [Read more...]
Chicago As the Midwest’s Global Gateway
This article is part of the State of Chicago series. Chicago is a city that has been ignoring its traditional role as capital of the Midwest in order to focus on ambitions to be a global city. But as this series has illustrated, Chicago has not thrived recently with this approach. Much of its economy remains tied to the region and to manufacturing, and with those sectors having struggled, Chicago has likewise struggled. Also, global city Chicago, powerful as it might be, is simply much too small to carry the region on its own. A broader plan … [Read more...]
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