“Barely a decade ago, Lewiston, Maine, was dying.”
Fortunately, that was not the beginning of the end, but rather the beginning of a new beginning.
Since that time, some unexpected seeds of a renewal strategy were planted and, according to Jesse Ellison, “the place has been transformed. Per capita income has soared, and crime rates have dropped. In 2004, Inc. magazine named Lewiston one of the best places to do business in America, and in 2007, it was named an “All-America City” by the National Civic League.”
And the seeds of the strategy? There were three: an infusion of diversity, culture and youth.
Click here to read the full story.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Daily Blog: Getaways Come In All Sizes
“Getaway” is a unique term for a category of cities and towns.
But some towns are more of a “getaway” than others.
In the May 2009 issue of Texas Highways, Barbara Rodriguez describes one getaway as follows:
“After driving the many miles required to reach Alpine from just about anywhere, a lot of folks see this town as if it’s the last stop on the roaring open road to Big Bend National Park. But here’s my best advice any time you get close enough to feel Alpine’s gravitational pull: Just give in. Failing to stop and explore the biggest little town in the Texas Outback is like trying to huff up Mount Everest without spending any time acclimating at base camp.”
Three basic ingredients for a getaway seem consistent: a unique hotel, a museum or gallery and a distinctive place to eat. In Alpine’s case, Rodriguez suggests, among others: the Historic Holland hotel, the CatchLight Art Gallery and reservations at Reata (with a bonus, if you can catch an event in the recently remodeled 1929 Granada Theatre).
And Alpine’s population? At last check, 5,934.
But some towns are more of a “getaway” than others.
In the May 2009 issue of Texas Highways, Barbara Rodriguez describes one getaway as follows:
“After driving the many miles required to reach Alpine from just about anywhere, a lot of folks see this town as if it’s the last stop on the roaring open road to Big Bend National Park. But here’s my best advice any time you get close enough to feel Alpine’s gravitational pull: Just give in. Failing to stop and explore the biggest little town in the Texas Outback is like trying to huff up Mount Everest without spending any time acclimating at base camp.”
Three basic ingredients for a getaway seem consistent: a unique hotel, a museum or gallery and a distinctive place to eat. In Alpine’s case, Rodriguez suggests, among others: the Historic Holland hotel, the CatchLight Art Gallery and reservations at Reata (with a bonus, if you can catch an event in the recently remodeled 1929 Granada Theatre).
And Alpine’s population? At last check, 5,934.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Daily Blog: Newspapers Surviving in Mid-sized Cities
This week, the Wall Street Journal compared the fate of newspapers in big cities with those in smaller cities:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124087711048861559.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
How to explain the survival of newspapers in mid-sized cities while big papers in big cities are going bankrupt? According to the article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124087711048861559.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
How to explain the survival of newspapers in mid-sized cities while big papers in big cities are going bankrupt? According to the article:
"The formula for running a small-town newspaper would be familiar to any mom-and-pop business: No detail is too small and all business is personal.
"'It's not a Wall Street model, it's a hometown model,' says George Sample, known as 'Scoop,' chief executive of Sample News Group, which owns 10 papers in Pennsylvania and New York, including three recently acquired from GateHouse Media Inc."
This "hometown model" is still working because local businesses still need to buy advertising in the local paper. Thus, the drought of advertising dollars that is crippling major dailies has so far not hit the papers in mid-sized cities.
This is another example of how local communities are preserving their local cultures despite changing times and challenging economics.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Daily Blog: Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth, New Hampshire may have only 20,000 residents. But it also has a unique arts culture that has once again made the list of the nation's Top 25 Arts Destinations according to AmericanStyle Magazine:
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090424/GJNEWS_01/704249893/-1/FOSNEWS
The article quotes Wendy Rosen, the magazine publisher, as saying:
"'Tough economic times also make consumers conscious of where their products come from," Rosen added. 'Art lovers know they can make a positive impact by buying from local galleries and local artists, so their dollars recycle in the community and support homegrown talent. We all know that art and handcraft galleries are among the few remaining places where you can find authentic, made-in-America gifts and art products.'"
This is an example of a mid-sized city that is surviving--and even thriving--because of a vibrant, homegrown arts community. Indeed, Rosen argues that local arts helped small cities during the last recession and is showing signs of helping in this recession:
"'They moved in to dying Main Streets, shuttered factories and warehouse districts, and converted them into galleries and art scenes. Their murals, outdoor sculpture and other public art enchanted tourists and helped spark new investment. Artists led the way then, and they are leading the way now.'"
In these dark days of economic recession, mid-sized cities like Portsmouth, NH are proving a light of hope.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090424/GJNEWS_01/704249893/-1/FOSNEWS
The article quotes Wendy Rosen, the magazine publisher, as saying:
"'Tough economic times also make consumers conscious of where their products come from," Rosen added. 'Art lovers know they can make a positive impact by buying from local galleries and local artists, so their dollars recycle in the community and support homegrown talent. We all know that art and handcraft galleries are among the few remaining places where you can find authentic, made-in-America gifts and art products.'"
This is an example of a mid-sized city that is surviving--and even thriving--because of a vibrant, homegrown arts community. Indeed, Rosen argues that local arts helped small cities during the last recession and is showing signs of helping in this recession:
"'They moved in to dying Main Streets, shuttered factories and warehouse districts, and converted them into galleries and art scenes. Their murals, outdoor sculpture and other public art enchanted tourists and helped spark new investment. Artists led the way then, and they are leading the way now.'"
In these dark days of economic recession, mid-sized cities like Portsmouth, NH are proving a light of hope.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Weekly Column: Life Is Dangerous . . .
“Harken to me, now, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I shall say.”
With these words an old man stood in the midst of other men and began to speak. In his epic poem, The Odyssey, the ancient Greek Homer described the older man with the following words, “Then in the midst up rose Mentor, the companion of noble Odysseus. He it was to whom Odysseus, as he departed in the fleet, had given the charge over all his house, that it should obey the old man, and that he should keep all things safe.”
The Odyssey was written around 800 B.C., but over 2,700 years later, the process of asking someone to accept the responsibility to “keep all things safe” has continued. Safety is an essential expectation of community.
The earliest ideas of the city must have developed with the idea of enhancing safety. Lewis Mumford reports that as early as 913, there were reports that “the building of fortresses and of walls around settlements was one of the chief activities of the King’s army.” The famous fall of the walls of the city of Jericho (perhaps the oldest continuously occupied city in the world) dates back to 1250 B.C. The rose-red “city of rock,” Petra, Jordan, the capital city of the Nabataean empire, provided a naturally walled and practically impenetrable enclosure for its occupants from the fifth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D.
According to Mumford, the idea of a moat and walls keeping all things safe was effective until the fifteenth century. About that time, “new artillery made cities vulnerable” and their old form of defense “just made them more conspicuous targets.”
Much has changed in our cities since the days of Petra, Jericho, and Ithaca; yet surveys of contemporary society continue to indicate that keeping “all things safe” remains an essential expectation. Neighborhood policing and watch programs represent some of the recent attempts to enhance the degree of community safety.
On April 19, 1995 (14 years ago this week) cities everywhere were shockingly introduced into a new era of vulnerability. It happened in Oklahoma City at 9:03 a.m. – terror struck the heartland of America – and 168 men, women and children lost their lives.
City leaders everywhere were reminded of their Mentor-like responsibility to “keep all things safe” and how each member of the community must share in that responsibility if we are truly to enjoy the opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The responsibility we share for each other’s safety was refreshingly and succinctly captured in a billboard message. Having just landed in Sydney, Australia and taking the cab into town, I was confronted by a single six-word message: “Life is dangerous. Learn first aid.”
With these words an old man stood in the midst of other men and began to speak. In his epic poem, The Odyssey, the ancient Greek Homer described the older man with the following words, “Then in the midst up rose Mentor, the companion of noble Odysseus. He it was to whom Odysseus, as he departed in the fleet, had given the charge over all his house, that it should obey the old man, and that he should keep all things safe.”
The Odyssey was written around 800 B.C., but over 2,700 years later, the process of asking someone to accept the responsibility to “keep all things safe” has continued. Safety is an essential expectation of community.
The earliest ideas of the city must have developed with the idea of enhancing safety. Lewis Mumford reports that as early as 913, there were reports that “the building of fortresses and of walls around settlements was one of the chief activities of the King’s army.” The famous fall of the walls of the city of Jericho (perhaps the oldest continuously occupied city in the world) dates back to 1250 B.C. The rose-red “city of rock,” Petra, Jordan, the capital city of the Nabataean empire, provided a naturally walled and practically impenetrable enclosure for its occupants from the fifth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D.
According to Mumford, the idea of a moat and walls keeping all things safe was effective until the fifteenth century. About that time, “new artillery made cities vulnerable” and their old form of defense “just made them more conspicuous targets.”
Much has changed in our cities since the days of Petra, Jericho, and Ithaca; yet surveys of contemporary society continue to indicate that keeping “all things safe” remains an essential expectation. Neighborhood policing and watch programs represent some of the recent attempts to enhance the degree of community safety.
On April 19, 1995 (14 years ago this week) cities everywhere were shockingly introduced into a new era of vulnerability. It happened in Oklahoma City at 9:03 a.m. – terror struck the heartland of America – and 168 men, women and children lost their lives.
City leaders everywhere were reminded of their Mentor-like responsibility to “keep all things safe” and how each member of the community must share in that responsibility if we are truly to enjoy the opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The responsibility we share for each other’s safety was refreshingly and succinctly captured in a billboard message. Having just landed in Sydney, Australia and taking the cab into town, I was confronted by a single six-word message: “Life is dangerous. Learn first aid.”
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Daily Blog: "Natural" Partnership
"Good architecture," according to Ted Flato, "ought to be reflective of place and climate."
Flato was speaking with regard to structures within state parks, but the idea has application for the four- and five-figure cities.
One of the advantages of mid-sized cities can be the ability to create a blending of the "outdoors" with the "indoors."
As Flato's colleague David Lake expressed, "Design is highly contextual, driven by the climate and the concept."
Thoughtful insights about the "natural" partnership that should be forged between the built environment and the natural environment are useful tools for those who care about the places we live.
The entire article, "Lay of the Landscape", can be found in the May 2009 issue of Texas Monthly.
Flato was speaking with regard to structures within state parks, but the idea has application for the four- and five-figure cities.
One of the advantages of mid-sized cities can be the ability to create a blending of the "outdoors" with the "indoors."
As Flato's colleague David Lake expressed, "Design is highly contextual, driven by the climate and the concept."
Thoughtful insights about the "natural" partnership that should be forged between the built environment and the natural environment are useful tools for those who care about the places we live.
The entire article, "Lay of the Landscape", can be found in the May 2009 issue of Texas Monthly.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Daily Blog: The Essence of Community
Loneliness, according to John Cacioppo, is not that different from hunger, thirst and pain – each of them signal a need for something important for survival. When a person feels lonely it is a signal for the “need for connection.”
This can occur in the middle of a busy city. Even when around a lot of people, a person can still “feel completely isolated.”
Cacioppo has co-authored a new book, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. In this book special attention is given to the way relationships affect physical health.
Those who care about the place where they live must give at least as much attention to the quality of connectedness in their community as to the quality of the infrastructure in their city.
Cacioppo gives an insightful interview in U.S. News and World Report, Feb. 2009, p. 83, in which he observes “perceived isolation is so much more important than physical isolation.”
The essence of authentic community must be “perceived connectedness.”
This can occur in the middle of a busy city. Even when around a lot of people, a person can still “feel completely isolated.”
Cacioppo has co-authored a new book, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. In this book special attention is given to the way relationships affect physical health.
Those who care about the place where they live must give at least as much attention to the quality of connectedness in their community as to the quality of the infrastructure in their city.
Cacioppo gives an insightful interview in U.S. News and World Report, Feb. 2009, p. 83, in which he observes “perceived isolation is so much more important than physical isolation.”
The essence of authentic community must be “perceived connectedness.”
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