Tocqueville's Democracy in America has a chapter entitled "Why Among the Americans All Honest Occupations Are Considered Honorable." In it he noted that because America lacked an aristocratic tradition of leisure, labor had not been stigmatized as something inherently degrading to man: In America no one is degraded because he works, for everyone about him works also; nor is anyone humiliated by the notion of receiving pay, for the President of the United States also works for pay. He is paid for commanding, other men for obeying orders. In the … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2014
The Great Urban Divide, Michigan Edition
I've said many times that it is predominately larger metropolitan regions of 1-1.5 million people or larger that are best positioned to succeed in the global economy. This is in effect the minimum viable scale to compete. These cities have bigger talent pools, thicker labor markets, the right infrastructure (e.g., major airports) and amenities, bigger local markets, more specialized suppliers, and more entrepreneurial ferment. Smaller places that don't have a unique asset (such as a major university) are going to struggle. We see that on … [Read more...]
In-State vs. Out-of-State Migration
My recent repost of an article on Columbus, Ohio's brand blew away the all time comment record for this blog, with 271 as of this writing. One the discussions was around the extent to which Columbus and other Ohio cities draw mostly from the state or from a broader area. Obviously with Ohio State University, Columbus has a massive in-state draw. But what about people from out of state? To try quantify this, I used the IRS migration data in my Telestrian system to sort out net migration into that which is with the state of Ohio, and that … [Read more...]
Blind Alleys of Urban Branding
Liestal Alley in SacramentoIt's the early morning of January 20th and I'm being driven around Sacramento by a friend of mine in hopes of finding my stop for the day, a popular coffeehouse in Midtown called Old Soul Coffee. Having navigated a series of one-way streets for nearly 30 minutes, it became apparent that this place was more than a bit tricky to find. We stopped on a side street to reorient ourselves, and discovered a clue that provided the insight our struggle needed: the coffeehouse is actually located in an alleyway adjoining the … [Read more...]
Rebranding Columbus
This post originally ran on August 15, 2010. Some anachronisms have been left in the piece, so keep the original date in mine. It's no secret I'm a fan of Columbus, Ohio, one of those under the radar cities that's a whole lot better than its external brand image would suggest. That frustrates local civic leaders, who've undertaken a major re-branding effort, as discussed in a recent NYT piece, "There May Be ‘No Better Place,’ but There Is a Better Slogan:" Quick, what do you think about when you hear the words “Columbus, Ohio”? Still … [Read more...]