What is the Midwest? There's been a lot of debate about this question among folks passionate about such thing. But it defies easy definition. Here are eleven ways various people have taken a crack at drawing the map. Traditional Maps 1. The Northwest Territory Start with the original Northwest Territory, now sometimes referred to as the Great Lakes region. This is the historic core of what we now think of as the Midwest. 2. Midwest Census Division The Census Bureau has an official definition of the Midwest, which is one of four … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2015
Why Twitter Is Really in Trouble (And What Might Actually Kill It)
Many of you know I do a lot of tweeting out of links to interesting urbanist articles, with some other things that catch my eye. I've attracted over 18,000 followers through purely organic growth. You can follow by clicking over to @urbanophile. There's been a lot of press about Twitter's struggles lately. The company always had a revenue model challenge, but the real problem hitting their valuation is stagnation in their user growth. What caused this? It's pretty simple: Twitter deliberately shut down product innovation, most of which … [Read more...]
How Urban Planning Made Motown Records Possible
I'm reading Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story by David Maraniss, a book I plan to review for City Journal. But I want to highlight something briefly that really caught my eye about Motown Records. It's no secret Detroit punches above its weight in musical influence, and the Motown sound was clearly a big part of that. Maraniss asks "Why Detroit? What gave this city its unmatched creative melody?" He lays out his theory of the case with regards to Motown Records. The family piano's role in the music that flowed out of the … [Read more...]
How Chicago’s 606 Trail Fell Short of Expectations
When I was back in Chicago over Labor Day, I had to check out the "big three" new public space projects there: the Riverwalk, Maggie Daley Park, and the 606 Trail. The Riverwalk is a spectacular project I already wrote about. Maggie Daley Park, a new playground just across Columbus Dr. from Millennium Park's Frank Gehry designed band shell, has been controversial and got mixed reviews. But I really liked it. More importantly, kids seem to love it. The place was jammed, and it appeared to be mostly locals. My cousin tells me her young daughter … [Read more...]