[Via WCF Courier]
Read
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Commentary: How a Mid-sized City Still Shapes Joe Biden’s Message by Kasey Pipes
Nestled into the rolling hills of Lackawanna River Valley is Scranton, Pennsylvania. For years the city was synonymous with the anthracite coal industry. These days, it’s more commonly known as the home of the fictional characters on the television show “The Office.”
But Scranton also possesses important political roots. Indeed, the city’s namesake family produced an important Republican governor, William Scranton. Governor Scranton (who is still alive) was a progressive Republican and a close advisor and friend to President Dwight Eisenhower.
In recent months, Scranton has again made political news. After he was chosen as Barack Obama’s running mate, Senator Joe Biden wasted little time in proudly discussing his hometown. He did so for a reason.
In his speech on August 23 from the steps of the Illinois State Capitol, it took Biden three paragraphs before talking about the mid-sized city that produced him. “I was an Irish-Catholic kid from Scranton with a father who like many of yours in tough economic times fell on hard times,” he said to the crowd. “But my mom and dad raised me to believe…it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how quickly you get up.” This is the language of resilience that politicians often try to employ. It helps if a town or a place can also be used to show that the resilience has been lived and learned.
As Biden entered the presidential race as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, he immediately sought to take the American people back to his roots, back to Scranton. At the Democratic National Convention, Biden talked about Scranton three different times in his speech. The most memorable line was early in the speech as he sought to connect where he hoped to lead the country with where he was from:
My mother’s creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. You are everyone’s equal, and everyone is equal to you. My parents taught us to live our faith, and treasure our family. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they try. That was America’s promise. For those of us who grew up in middle-class neighborhoods like Scranton and Wilmington, that was the American dream and we knew it.
Interestingly, Biden and his family moved from Scranton when he was ten years old. Yet in the sentence above, Wilmington seems an afterthought. In his view, the seeds of his success were planted in Scranton even if they bloomed elsewhere.
In the weeks and months since his selection, Biden has returned to Scranton many times, at least rhetorically. Most recently, when “Joe the Plumber” made national news for challenging Barack Obama’s tax plan, Biden was quick to say plumbers in Scranton don’t make $250,000.
Biden’s use of Scranton makes sense politically. More than 76,000 residents now call Scranton home. And the median family income is $41,000. This makes Scranton a nice reference point for Biden as he seeks to articulate a message that speaks to people in Middle America.
Every campaign has a story and every campaign has a narrative. The narrative Biden tries to project is that he is everyman—a regular guy who speaks for ordinary people. Since Biden is a well-educated lawyer who has served in the Senate for 35 years, he needs Scranton to help show people he is anchored somewhere other than in the waters of the Potomac.
Thus far, it seems to be working. Most polls found that most Americans thought Biden won the vice presidential debate. In that debate, Biden was careful to cast himself as the defender of blue collar workers in the heartland. During a question about the economic downturn, Biden asked Governor Sarah Palin to “go up to Scranton with me. These people know the middle class has gotten the short end.”
Biden may have left Scranton years ago; but Scranton has not left him. He seems likely to keep talking about his favorite mid-sized city whether he’s in the Senate or the Vice President’s office.
News: Leaders Meet in Tupelo, MS To Discuss Appalachia
[Via Northeastern Mississippi Daily Journal]
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=280882&pub=1&div=News
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Features: America's Best Healthy Places to Retire
U.S. News & World Report recently published "America's Best Healthy Places to Retire: 10 Top Spots for Enjoying Life, Leisure, and Recreation." All 10 cities are five-figure cities. To read more click here: http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-places-to-retire/2008/09/18/americas-best-healthy-places-to-retire.html
[Via US News]
News: City of Galveston Sets Up Shelter
[Via Galveston County: The Daily News]
http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e6b9245ab708f4f8&-session=TheDailyNews:42A99BA31695c18B87MNIX140BEB
http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e6b9245ab708f4f8&-session=TheDailyNews:42A99BA31695c18B87MNIX140BEB
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Commentary: From Wasilla to Washington, Why Being Mayor of a Mid-sized City Matters.
On August, 29, 2008, Sarah Palin made history as the first woman selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Within hours of her selection, the Obama campaign criticized the choice. Not for being too conservative. Not for being out of touch with voters. Rather, Team Obama criticized her for having been the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency,” read the first sentence of the Obama press release. Of course, McCain didn’t put her a “heartbeat away from the presidency;” only the election can do that. And the press release conveniently left out her service as governor of Alaska.
But the most striking element of the release is that it led by criticizing Palin for having served as mayor of Wasilla. In politics, campaigns will typically begin a talking points memo or a press release with what they believe to be their strongest argument. Thus, the Obama campaign clearly believed their best attack against Palin was that she had been mayor of Wasilla.
They should have reconsidered.
The 2007 Census estimate puts Wasilla’s population at 9780. This makes it just shy of the Center for Building Community’s definition of a mid-sized city—between 10,000 and 100,000.
The mid-sized city is important because it represents a very different culture and climate than those found in big cities or small towns. Whereas big cities have huge bureaucracies and small towns often run themselves, five-figure cities are big enough to require real leadership but small enough to still be manageable. The mayor of a mid-sized city frequently has a small staff and has to learn and manage the issues himself (or herself). In other words, the mayor of a mid-sized city gets real on-the-job training in the myriad of issues confronting the people.
So what did Sarah Palin experience as mayor of Wasilla?
According to the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, the city has a diverse, service-based economy with a good deal of banking, insurance and medical facilities located in the town, as well as agriculture and manufacturing interests. And since Alaska is a vast state, air transportation is also an important feature of the local economy.
What does this say about Sarah Palin? It says that during her six years as mayor she had hands on experience with the service economy, the manufacturing economy, agriculture and transportation. This is not a bad skill set for a leader to possess as America addresses economic competitiveness challenges in the global economy.
But just interacting with these economic conditions only reveals so much. How successfully did Palin interact with them? How well did she govern?
The record shows that she reduced property taxes and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes. She improved roads and sewers. She increased funding for the police. She introduced a successful ballot-initiative to build a sports complex. And she even supported an effort to reduce her mayoral salary.
Perhaps most revealingly, a jar sat on Palin’s desk at City Hall. Inside it were the names of Wasilla residents. Once a week, she reached into the jar, pulled out a name and then placed a phone call to the person. "How's the city doing?" she would ask. This is the type of customer service that the mayor of New York City could never offer. But in a mid-sized city, mayors can and do reach out to citizens in the community. In fact, they have to do this in order to keep in touch with the community. After all, it’s not cost-effective to run polls or focus groups in a city of 10,000. And so Palin, like other mid-sized city mayors, had to answer to the people. Evidently, she did so effectively since she was re-elected mayor and then elected as governor. Why do her political opponents find this experience a disqualifier?
Perhaps it’s little wonder that Palin, in her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, referred to Harry Truman. The 33rd president hailed from Independence, Missouri. This mid-sized city had grown to all of 37,000 by the time its favorite son entered in the White House.
By itself, Governor Palin’s experience as mayor does not make her fit for service in Washington. But it’s not the laughing matter that her opponents say it is either. Perhaps she will have the last laugh on Election Day.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
News: Changing Demographics of Middle America
[Via The Wall Street Journal]
Warning: You'll need a free subscription to read document.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121808007579419713.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Warning: You'll need a free subscription to read document.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121808007579419713.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
News: Could Gas Prices Help Smaller Cities?
[Via Northeastern Junior College Columnist]
http://www.journal-advocate.com/news/2008/jul/09/whats-good-about-high-gas-prices/
http://www.journal-advocate.com/news/2008/jul/09/whats-good-about-high-gas-prices/
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ctities: Make Tracks to Quieter Destinations
Leadville, CO (Population 2,723)
Pine Bluffs, WY (Population 1,161)
Lawrence, KS (Population 81,604)
Chippawa Falls, WI (Population 12,734)
Fredericksburg, TX (Population 9,346)
Eureka Springs, AR (Population 2,308)
Wabasha, MN (Population, 2,599)
Greenville, SC (Population 56,181)
Lexington, MA (Population 30,355)
Delray Beach, FL (Population 62,272)
“When Americans hit the road it’s usually for “sun and fun” or “bright lights, big city.” But in the years after 9-11, Americans have also hungered for a slice of security and normalcy. A chance to get off the beaten path, away from it all to someplace quieter, older, less hectic.”
Click here to read this article in its entirety:
http://www.star-telegram.com/travel/story/687610.html
Pine Bluffs, WY (Population 1,161)
Lawrence, KS (Population 81,604)
Chippawa Falls, WI (Population 12,734)
Fredericksburg, TX (Population 9,346)
Eureka Springs, AR (Population 2,308)
Wabasha, MN (Population, 2,599)
Greenville, SC (Population 56,181)
Lexington, MA (Population 30,355)
Delray Beach, FL (Population 62,272)
“When Americans hit the road it’s usually for “sun and fun” or “bright lights, big city.” But in the years after 9-11, Americans have also hungered for a slice of security and normalcy. A chance to get off the beaten path, away from it all to someplace quieter, older, less hectic.”
Click here to read this article in its entirety:
http://www.star-telegram.com/travel/story/687610.html
Gettysburg, PA—The Last Post for General Ike by Kasey Pipes
A few miles east of Pennsylvania’s South Mountains nestled comfortably into green and fertile farm land, resides the little town of Gettysburg. Immortalized by three bloody days in July1863. General Robert E. Lee was confident—too confident, it turned out—that his Army of Northern Virginia could again perform miracles. He ordered a suicidal, fateful charge that failed to break the Union line. It was the high water mark of the Confederacy, and its death knell.
One hundred years later, visitors still made pilgrimages to this Pennsylvania hallowed ground. Not all of the battlefield was covered by the National Park. Many local people owned land either on or adjacent to the battlefield itself. Here, cannon and crops were neighbors.
One of these local landowners was a man in his seventies whose weathered head was rimmed with white hair and whose walk had been slowed a bit by years of health struggles. He was a former five-star General and President of the United States.
Dwight Eisenhower owned 246 acres and leased another 305. He grew oats, corn and barley. And the hay fed the Black Angus cattle that he raised.
When he wasn’t in his fields, Eisenhower could be found in the house. A white, two-story Colonial home, it had a glassed-in sun porch that was shaped like a rectangle. This was the former President’s favorite room. Here he could look out over Seminary Ridge to the east, where a hundred years before, Confederates assembled for Pickett’s Charge. Perhaps Ike sat and wondered how his hero Lee could have talked himself into such a colossal blunder.
Mostly, Ike sat in the sun porch and read, wrote, even painted. To tend to his business matters, he traveled a short distance to Gettysburg College where an office was set up for him. The office, as always, was simple. A wooden desk sat in the corner, with a rug posted in front and an American flag directly behind it. The walls were a pale green, the curtains a faded gold. Paintings of nature decorated the walls. Here, Ike answered correspondence, worked on his memoirs, greeted visitors, and kept on eye on politics.
Gettysburg suited Ike. He had been born in a small town (Denison, Texas), raised in a small town (Abilene, Kansas) and now was prepared to spend his twilight years in a small town. And they were eventful years.
Ike in winter was a restless man. In addition to writing his memoirs in his office at Gettysburg College, he famously hosted Barry Goldwater at his farm in 1964. Goldwater even filmed a campaign ad that was taped at the farm. In it, Ike talked about his support for the Arizonan (which, in private, was quite tepid).
Ike enjoyed the town—its size, its history, its beauty. And the townspeople were quite pleased the hero of World War II was now among them.
Eisenhower has been dead for nearly 40 years now. But his influence on Gettysburg is immense. Today, visitors to the battlefield often stop by to tour the Eisenhower farm as well. Docents take the guests inside the house, and walking trails lead to various points on the farm, including the stable where Ike’s horses once resided.
Recently, the connection between this famous American and this famous American town grew even stronger. Gettysburg College and the Eisenhower Institute (based in Washington, DC) began a more formal relationship that will foster research on leadership and policy issues.
The town itself remains small. The 2000 Census declared it the home of 7490 residents. But it still occupies an important place in the American story. Not only for the battle that was fought here, but for the former president who lived here.
On your next trip to Pennsylvania, check out the battlefield and the Eisenhower farm. They are two important attractions in one of the most important mid-sized cities in America.
(Kasey Pipes recently completed a book on Eisenhower entitled "Ike's Last Battle.")
One hundred years later, visitors still made pilgrimages to this Pennsylvania hallowed ground. Not all of the battlefield was covered by the National Park. Many local people owned land either on or adjacent to the battlefield itself. Here, cannon and crops were neighbors.
One of these local landowners was a man in his seventies whose weathered head was rimmed with white hair and whose walk had been slowed a bit by years of health struggles. He was a former five-star General and President of the United States.
Dwight Eisenhower owned 246 acres and leased another 305. He grew oats, corn and barley. And the hay fed the Black Angus cattle that he raised.
When he wasn’t in his fields, Eisenhower could be found in the house. A white, two-story Colonial home, it had a glassed-in sun porch that was shaped like a rectangle. This was the former President’s favorite room. Here he could look out over Seminary Ridge to the east, where a hundred years before, Confederates assembled for Pickett’s Charge. Perhaps Ike sat and wondered how his hero Lee could have talked himself into such a colossal blunder.
Mostly, Ike sat in the sun porch and read, wrote, even painted. To tend to his business matters, he traveled a short distance to Gettysburg College where an office was set up for him. The office, as always, was simple. A wooden desk sat in the corner, with a rug posted in front and an American flag directly behind it. The walls were a pale green, the curtains a faded gold. Paintings of nature decorated the walls. Here, Ike answered correspondence, worked on his memoirs, greeted visitors, and kept on eye on politics.
Gettysburg suited Ike. He had been born in a small town (Denison, Texas), raised in a small town (Abilene, Kansas) and now was prepared to spend his twilight years in a small town. And they were eventful years.
Ike in winter was a restless man. In addition to writing his memoirs in his office at Gettysburg College, he famously hosted Barry Goldwater at his farm in 1964. Goldwater even filmed a campaign ad that was taped at the farm. In it, Ike talked about his support for the Arizonan (which, in private, was quite tepid).
Ike enjoyed the town—its size, its history, its beauty. And the townspeople were quite pleased the hero of World War II was now among them.
Eisenhower has been dead for nearly 40 years now. But his influence on Gettysburg is immense. Today, visitors to the battlefield often stop by to tour the Eisenhower farm as well. Docents take the guests inside the house, and walking trails lead to various points on the farm, including the stable where Ike’s horses once resided.
Recently, the connection between this famous American and this famous American town grew even stronger. Gettysburg College and the Eisenhower Institute (based in Washington, DC) began a more formal relationship that will foster research on leadership and policy issues.
The town itself remains small. The 2000 Census declared it the home of 7490 residents. But it still occupies an important place in the American story. Not only for the battle that was fought here, but for the former president who lived here.
On your next trip to Pennsylvania, check out the battlefield and the Eisenhower farm. They are two important attractions in one of the most important mid-sized cities in America.
(Kasey Pipes recently completed a book on Eisenhower entitled "Ike's Last Battle.")
Quote: T.R. Reid
"In Japan today, Confucianism has nothing to do with religion, but rather is cultural and part of our basic education. For example, one of the famous sayings of Koshi is: "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." - T.R. Reid
Quote: Francis Fukuyama
"Americans are so used to celebrating their own individualism and diversity that they sometimes forget that there can be too much of a good thing. Both American democracy and American business have been successful because they partook of individualism and community simultaneously." - Francis Fukuyama
Thursday, June 5, 2008
21st Century Solutions by Gary McCaleb
In the April 2008 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine Karrie Jacobs wrote the following:
“. . . I’ve been thinking for a while about the future of cities, looking for signs of 21st-century urbanism. I’m not particularly interested in the Dubai model, or the China model, both of which seem to be riffs on old-fashioned ideas about the future being a place where everything is bigger and shinier. No, I’m looking for a city that might correct the excesses of the previous century and come up with new formulas – architectural and otherwise – for the future.” (Click here to read the story in its entirety)
Jacobs’ search for “new formulas” is an important challenge for all those who are involved in the shaping of their city.
Within a few days of reading Jacobs’ words I ran across another example of the “bigger and shinier” model. Alastair Gee wrote about Moscow’s 21st century plan involving the world’s biggest building at a cost of $4 billion and including “a ring of 100 skyscrapers around the city center . . . and nine new highways, some with 18 lanes.” (Click here to read the story in its entirety)
But Gee continues with the other side of the story: “Moscow’s historical architecture has become vulnerable. Some 200 historic buildings have been torn down in the past five years.”
Aleksei Klimenko, a member of Moscow’s city architecture board, is quoted as saying, “Our understanding of the value of the original has decreased . . . Fakes dominate.”
New models are needed. New solutions and formulas. And all the answers are not to be found in cities the size of Dubai or Shanghai or Moscow. Cities of all sizes must be searching for solutions to “correct the excesses” and to value community. Surely some of the solutions will come from the four- and five-figure cities of the U.S. and the world.
“. . . I’ve been thinking for a while about the future of cities, looking for signs of 21st-century urbanism. I’m not particularly interested in the Dubai model, or the China model, both of which seem to be riffs on old-fashioned ideas about the future being a place where everything is bigger and shinier. No, I’m looking for a city that might correct the excesses of the previous century and come up with new formulas – architectural and otherwise – for the future.” (Click here to read the story in its entirety)
Jacobs’ search for “new formulas” is an important challenge for all those who are involved in the shaping of their city.
Within a few days of reading Jacobs’ words I ran across another example of the “bigger and shinier” model. Alastair Gee wrote about Moscow’s 21st century plan involving the world’s biggest building at a cost of $4 billion and including “a ring of 100 skyscrapers around the city center . . . and nine new highways, some with 18 lanes.” (Click here to read the story in its entirety)
But Gee continues with the other side of the story: “Moscow’s historical architecture has become vulnerable. Some 200 historic buildings have been torn down in the past five years.”
Aleksei Klimenko, a member of Moscow’s city architecture board, is quoted as saying, “Our understanding of the value of the original has decreased . . . Fakes dominate.”
New models are needed. New solutions and formulas. And all the answers are not to be found in cities the size of Dubai or Shanghai or Moscow. Cities of all sizes must be searching for solutions to “correct the excesses” and to value community. Surely some of the solutions will come from the four- and five-figure cities of the U.S. and the world.
Cities: Stitching Together a New Life
Funkstown, MD (Population 970)
She quit her job . . . eventually landed in quaint Funkstown, MD . . . She is her own boss, operates in a creative world . . . buys much of her food from local farmers . . . has no commute to work.
Click here to read the story in its entirety:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/01/30/stitching-together-a-new-life.html
She quit her job . . . eventually landed in quaint Funkstown, MD . . . She is her own boss, operates in a creative world . . . buys much of her food from local farmers . . . has no commute to work.
Click here to read the story in its entirety:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/01/30/stitching-together-a-new-life.html
Quote: Wendell Berry
"A community identifies itself by an understood mutuality of interests. But it lives and acts by the common virtues of trust, goodwill, forbearance, self-restraint, compassion, and forgiveness." - Wendell Berry
Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson
"He is only fit for this society who is magnanimous." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Quote: Dag Hammarskjold
What makes loneliness an anguish is not that I have no one to share my burden, but this: I have only my own burden to bear. - Dag Hammarskjold
Quote: Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
Every time people can contribute successfully to the cause of serving the community, they become even more committed to it. - Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Cities: West Texas Towns Highlighted in Movie Festival
Tulia, Tx (Population 5,117)
[Via Lubbock Online]
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/050308/loc_274968133.shtml
[Via Lubbock Online]
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/050308/loc_274968133.shtml
Cities: Mid-sized Minnesota City Sees Great Economic Growth
Cloquet, MN (Population 11,201)
[Via Pine Journal]
http://www.cloquetmn.com/articles/index.cfm?id=13487§ion=News
[Via Pine Journal]
http://www.cloquetmn.com
Monday, May 19, 2008
News: Bush Speech on Spirit of Community
Greensburg Pop. 1,574
[Via whitehouse.gov at Greensburg, Kansas]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news
Quote: Vaclav Havel
"Let us teach ourselves and others that politics should be an expression of a desire to contribute to the happiness of the community." - Vaclav Havel
Quote: Wendell Berry
"Community life is by definition a life of cooperation and responsibility." - Wendell Berry
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
UPDATE: Site Launch - May 1, 2008
WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR COMMUNITY?
This week, the Middle Cities Monitor officially launches. Part of our mission each week will be to survey the landscape of the four and five-figure cities to see what’s going on in the heart of America. We’ll look at journals, newspapers and internet sites to see what’s making news in the Middle Cities.
This week, we’ve provided you with links to interesting and important stories from all across America. By clicking on the links below, you can read about a family diner in Nebraska where people gather to meet, or how exchange students are enjoying their stays with families in Oregon towns, or how Obama and McCain are interacting with voters outside the big cities.
Whether it’s the people, the passions, the politics or the progress of the Middle Cities, we’re interested in it. And we’ll give you a glimpse each week of what’s going on in this vital part of America.
All of these places are more than cities—they are communities; places where people not only work but live, where families grow and friendships are built. Every day in America, people are building community.
Sincerely,
Gary McCaleb
Executive Director
Center for Building Community
This week, the Middle Cities Monitor officially launches. Part of our mission each week will be to survey the landscape of the four and five-figure cities to see what’s going on in the heart of America. We’ll look at journals, newspapers and internet sites to see what’s making news in the Middle Cities.
This week, we’ve provided you with links to interesting and important stories from all across America. By clicking on the links below, you can read about a family diner in Nebraska where people gather to meet, or how exchange students are enjoying their stays with families in Oregon towns, or how Obama and McCain are interacting with voters outside the big cities.
Whether it’s the people, the passions, the politics or the progress of the Middle Cities, we’re interested in it. And we’ll give you a glimpse each week of what’s going on in this vital part of America.
All of these places are more than cities—they are communities; places where people not only work but live, where families grow and friendships are built. Every day in America, people are building community.
Sincerely,
Gary McCaleb
Executive Director
Center for Building Community
News: New Deal Art and Architecture Still Marks the Landscape of Middle America
[Via Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico AP]
http://www.pr-inside.com/new-deal-art-architecture-mark-us-r556519.htm
News: Revitalizing the Downtown Areas of Middle Cities
[Via Worcester, Massachusetts "Business Journal"]
http://wbjournal.com/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3835&Itemid=129
News: Exchange Students Experience America’s Middle Cities
[Via "The East Oregonian" of Pendleton, Oregon]
http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=76928&TM=25479.67
News: How the Trans Texas Corridor May Impact Smaller Communities
Topic of: Transportation
[Via "The Houston Chronicle" ]
News: Health Care: How Telemedicine is Helping Treat Patients in Middle America
[Via "The Arctic Sounder" in Alaska]
Cities: I’ll Always Have Paris
Paris, IL (Population 9,077)
It was not any of the great cities of America that changed my life – instead, it was my discovery in 1956 of Smalltown, U.S.A., America in the corn-and-hog belt of the Midwest – the “flyover” country of today. I took a bus south to Paris – Paris, Illinois.
It was then a township of about 10,000 people living in white clapboard houses shaded by maples and elms and fronted by unfenced lawns and pole-perched mailboxes.
In Paris, I felt I was very close to the old Midwest and the pioneers who had turned the wilderness into America’s larder. They seemed to me to have inherited not just the land but the virtues that have been lost or overlaid in the big cities.
Click here to read this article in its entirety:
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=11319
Cities: How to Make a Killing in Small Town America
Plainville, KS (Population 2,029)
Strolling the main street of this rural town makes for a quiet walk. Closed stores suggest Plainville is caught in the spiral of lost jobs and residents that has desolated so many farm towns on the Great Plains.
In Plainville, a town of 2,000, Chuck Comeau knew he could overcome the problems he had in running his high-end business from Los Angeles. “The work ethic and loyalty here are amazing,” he says. “People here just get along.”
Now Comeau, 51, is trying to spread the word, aiding a nascent effort to bring small business back to small towns.
“You can now do just about anything in a rural community,” he says.
Click here to read the story in its entirety:
Cities: Wanting the Old Main Street Back
Las Cruces, N.M. (Population 74,267)
Trying to Undo a Downtown Makeover Done 30 Years Ago
Trying to Undo a Downtown Makeover Done 30 Years Ago
This city is often cited as one of the most livable in America, and with a warm, dry southern New Mexico climate, it is rapidly becoming a popular destination for retirees. Even though the population has been growing, from 74,000 in 2000 to 80,000 in the most recent census, the central business district has been all but a ghost town for more than three decades.
In 1973, an urban renewal plan practically leveled Main Street, as well as many homes in Mesquite, a nearby historic neighborhood.
In the 1970’s, Main Street in Las Cruces was replaced by a pedestrian mall, an urban planning idea popular at the time as a way to shore up downtown districts that were losing business to indoor malls. More than a hundred downtowns across the country closed streets to traffic and installed big planters and sidewalk furniture. The intent was to make downtowns more like suburban shopping districts.
Pedestrian malls really haven’t worked well in many cases and most of them have been replaced,” said Amanda West, assistant director of community revitalization networks for the National Trust Main Street Center, who has written several articles on pedestrian malls. “The important lesson that communities learned from the wave of pedestrian malls in the 1970’s is that you can’t have a cookie-cutter approach to revitalization.”
Click here to read the story in its entirety:
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Quote: Stephen L. Carter
"Civility is possible only if members of a community bind themselves to obey a set of rules of behavior not because the law requires it but because they understand the virtue of sacrificing their own desires -- their own freedom to choose -- for the good of the larger community of which they are a part."
-Stephen L. Carter
-Stephen L. Carter
Quote: John W. Gardner
"In some measure, what we think of as a failure of leadership on the contemporary scene may be traceable to a breakdown in the sense of community."
-John W. Gardner
-John W. Gardner
Quote: Alvin Toffler
"Any decent society must generate a feeling of community. Community offsets loneliness. It gives people a vitally necessary sense of belonging."
-Alvin Toffler
-Alvin Toffler
Quote: Jane Jacobs
"The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of public responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. This is a lesson nobody learns by being told. It is learned from the experience of having other people without ties of kinship or close friendship or formal responsibility, take a modicum of public responsibility for you."
-Jane Jacobs
-Jane Jacobs
Quote: Lewis Mumford
"We must restore to the city the maternal, life-nurturing functions, the autonomous activities, the symbiotic associations that have long been neglected or suppressed. For the city should be an organ of love; and the best economy of cities is the care and culture of men."
-Lewis Mumford
-Lewis Mumford
Friday, April 4, 2008
A Little Fanfare for the Five-Figure City by Gary McCaleb
For several years my wife and I had wanted to make this trip: An unhurried driving tour of the Western United States, including visits to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, the Grand Tetons and the Great Salt Lake, passing through the varied landscapes of Kansas, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and New Mexico.
Returning to our home in Texas we were struck with a new appreciation of the western expanse of our United States. But there was something more. We returned with a new meaning of “middle America.” Our stops along the way had not been in our nation’s largest cities (nor for that matter in our smallest towns). Our route had taken us to Dodge City (population 25,176), Kearney (27,431), North Platte (23,878), Cheyenne (53,011), Casper (49,644), Rapid City (59,607), Billings (89,847), Pocatello (51,466), Twin Falls (34,469), Ogden (77,226), Carson City (52,457), San Luis Obispo (44,174), Santa Barbara (92,325) and Flagstaff (52,894). In many ways these cities are very different. In one way, at least, they are alike. According to the 2000 census figures they are all five-figure cities.
So often, it seems when we hear or read about the health of America’s cities the focus is on the cities whose populations are of the six or seven figure variety – and they justly deserve our attention. But how about a little fanfare for the five-figure cities?
Since our journey I have done some calculations. More Americans live in five-figure cities than any of the other categories. Using the 2000 census there are nine seven-figure cities with a population total of 22,947,966. The 240 six-figure cities have a total population of 54,012,308. Five-figure cities number 3337 with a total of 90,331,268 in population. (In case you’re wondering, there are 10,756 four-figure cities with a population total of 36,989,762.)
Based on our experience, (admittedly a sampling), there is much more than population size that can be said to distinguish the five-figure cities. In fact, a characteristic they all share in common is the unique way they have retained their identities. Some are located at or near historical sites, such as Billings, where with a short drive we visited the large sandstone outcropping called Pompeys Pillar, and viewed the site where Captain William Clark carved his name and the date - July 25, 1806 - the only existing physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Some honor a distinctive heritage such as Cheyenne’s Frontier Days. The brochure invites one to “Celebrate the Spirit of the West.”
Rapid City was our stopping place for visiting Mount Rushmore, where we ended the day with hundreds who stayed for a sound and light show, then closed the evening as we stood together shortly after the Fourth of July and sang The Star Spangled Banner into the dark skies above the Black Hills.
The festive spirit of the Thursday night Farmers Market in San Luis Obispo is not to be missed. The streets are closed to cars and literally filled with waves of wanderers up and down the avenues – shopping, eating, visiting – and enjoying planned entertainment at each intersection.
Main Street was alive and well – not only in San Luis Obispo. Again and again in our five-figure cities we rediscovered the pleasant experience of walking through a continuous assortment of inviting shops, historic hotels, clean streets and friendly people – and restaurants - good one-of-a-kind restaurants (in Santa Barbara and Rapid City), some that specialized in Greek (Flagstaff and Ogden) or Italian (Casper and Carson City).
Christian Norberg-Schulz wrote, “Man dwells where he can orient himself to and identify with an environment, or . . . when he experiences an environment as meaningful.” More than 90 million people have found such reasons to dwell in the five-figure cities of America. As we met local citizens in shops, restaurants or motels, I often asked if their city was a good place to live. The answers were typically quick and to the point, as was the case with Beth, who was working at a motel check-in desk. “Yes,” she replied, “because it’s a safe town and a close-knit community.”
On other occasions we have found similar impressions of places like Vicksburg (26,407), St. Charles (60,321), Santa Fe (62,203), Niagara Falls (55,593), Asheville (68,889) and Juneau (30,711). These and many more “mid-size cities” each in their own way suggest that there are pockets of “middle America” in all 50 states populated by people with a pride in the places where they live – places that are worthy of our attention.
Returning to our home in Texas we were struck with a new appreciation of the western expanse of our United States. But there was something more. We returned with a new meaning of “middle America.” Our stops along the way had not been in our nation’s largest cities (nor for that matter in our smallest towns). Our route had taken us to Dodge City (population 25,176), Kearney (27,431), North Platte (23,878), Cheyenne (53,011), Casper (49,644), Rapid City (59,607), Billings (89,847), Pocatello (51,466), Twin Falls (34,469), Ogden (77,226), Carson City (52,457), San Luis Obispo (44,174), Santa Barbara (92,325) and Flagstaff (52,894). In many ways these cities are very different. In one way, at least, they are alike. According to the 2000 census figures they are all five-figure cities.
So often, it seems when we hear or read about the health of America’s cities the focus is on the cities whose populations are of the six or seven figure variety – and they justly deserve our attention. But how about a little fanfare for the five-figure cities?
Since our journey I have done some calculations. More Americans live in five-figure cities than any of the other categories. Using the 2000 census there are nine seven-figure cities with a population total of 22,947,966. The 240 six-figure cities have a total population of 54,012,308. Five-figure cities number 3337 with a total of 90,331,268 in population. (In case you’re wondering, there are 10,756 four-figure cities with a population total of 36,989,762.)
Based on our experience, (admittedly a sampling), there is much more than population size that can be said to distinguish the five-figure cities. In fact, a characteristic they all share in common is the unique way they have retained their identities. Some are located at or near historical sites, such as Billings, where with a short drive we visited the large sandstone outcropping called Pompeys Pillar, and viewed the site where Captain William Clark carved his name and the date - July 25, 1806 - the only existing physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Some honor a distinctive heritage such as Cheyenne’s Frontier Days. The brochure invites one to “Celebrate the Spirit of the West.”
Rapid City was our stopping place for visiting Mount Rushmore, where we ended the day with hundreds who stayed for a sound and light show, then closed the evening as we stood together shortly after the Fourth of July and sang The Star Spangled Banner into the dark skies above the Black Hills.
The festive spirit of the Thursday night Farmers Market in San Luis Obispo is not to be missed. The streets are closed to cars and literally filled with waves of wanderers up and down the avenues – shopping, eating, visiting – and enjoying planned entertainment at each intersection.
Main Street was alive and well – not only in San Luis Obispo. Again and again in our five-figure cities we rediscovered the pleasant experience of walking through a continuous assortment of inviting shops, historic hotels, clean streets and friendly people – and restaurants - good one-of-a-kind restaurants (in Santa Barbara and Rapid City), some that specialized in Greek (Flagstaff and Ogden) or Italian (Casper and Carson City).
Christian Norberg-Schulz wrote, “Man dwells where he can orient himself to and identify with an environment, or . . . when he experiences an environment as meaningful.” More than 90 million people have found such reasons to dwell in the five-figure cities of America. As we met local citizens in shops, restaurants or motels, I often asked if their city was a good place to live. The answers were typically quick and to the point, as was the case with Beth, who was working at a motel check-in desk. “Yes,” she replied, “because it’s a safe town and a close-knit community.”
On other occasions we have found similar impressions of places like Vicksburg (26,407), St. Charles (60,321), Santa Fe (62,203), Niagara Falls (55,593), Asheville (68,889) and Juneau (30,711). These and many more “mid-size cities” each in their own way suggest that there are pockets of “middle America” in all 50 states populated by people with a pride in the places where they live – places that are worthy of our attention.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
2008 election and mid-sized cities
Here is the National League of Cities guide to the 2008 election with an emphasis on non-urban areas. Click on the link below and find out more about how both parties are trying to win votes in the Heartland.
http://americancities08.org/
http://americancities08.org/
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