[ This one is a bit old, but in honor of the Brookings Race to the Shop proposal, I'm dusting it off for you. Just to stress, I'm all in favor of knowledge industries, but they can be the totality of the economic development effort - Aaron.] Most American urban economic development and revitalization initiatives seek to position communities to attract high wage jobs in the knowledge economy. This usually involves programs to attract and retain the college educated, and efforts to lure corporate headquarters or target industries such as life … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2013
The Strategic Case for Mass Transit in Indianapolis
Andrea Neal had a column in the Indianapolis Star last week called "Mass transit just isn't a good fit for Indy." This piece argues, basically, that because Indianapolis is low density, transit won't work there. Let me first say that I agree Indy is low density and transit is not something that's needed to address a serious, near term transport issue, save for the embarrassing state of the basic bus network. However, for a place like Indianapolis, the real case for transit is strategic. In a nutshell, the urban core of Indianapolis is … [Read more...]
Detroit Future City
Last week the Detroit Works Project released their long awaited strategic plan for the city. This is the one led by Toni Griffin that produced a lot of public controversy because of suggestions it would result in the planned shrinkage or decommissioning (or even forced residential relocations) in sparsely populated neighborhoods. Called "Detroit Future City," this plan doesn't shy away from facing the tough realities that face Detroit, but its recommendations are somewhat muted with regards to shrinkage. Nevertheless, the message is clear: … [Read more...]
Mumbai Is a Beautiful City
[ Rameshwari Takle is an Indian native who came to the US to study architecture at IIT. She was kind enough to write this piece for us about Mumbai, Indian, where she previously lived - Aaron. ] Photo Credit: Flickr/Dey“Mumbai is a beautiful city, but a terrible place” ~ Architect Charles CorreaAfter having lived in Mumbai for almost 8 years, I completely agree with the above statement. How much ever ironic it sounds, the city of Mumbai is extremely beautiful in its own essence, yet it is a terrible place to live. It is a city of extremes. … [Read more...]