• At 50 million riders, time to celebrate the Portland Streetcar

    The Portland Streetcar is one of the most successful and cost-effective economic development drivers anywhere in America in the new millennium.
    You may have heard criticism of the Portland, Oregon, Streetcar. The technology is old. It's too slow. It's for tourists (actually only 5 percent of its riders are tourists). Yet the Portland Streetcar is one of the most successful and cost-effective economic development drivers anywhere in America...Read more

  • New streetscape spurs downtown turnaround

    In Lancaster, California, a simple change in street design was a catalyst for economic and social activity.
    The City of Lancaster, California, converted a drab, automobile-oriented arterial at the heart of downtown into a lively, pedestrian-friendly center. The nine-block makeover of Lancaster Boulevard has become a regional draw and attracted significant economic development in its first two years. In a...Read more

  • Grassroots public art connects people, past and present

    Today, many hundreds of the city’s horse rings are adorned with small horses and the like, placed by countless, random individuals playing their own small role in something larger than themselves.
    There’s nothing new about the subject of today’s post. In fact, that’s kind of the point. It’s an ongoing grassroots public art initiative that simply exists, and has for quite some time. Many have had the pleasure of experiencing it but many others have not. That’s the nature of artistic cultural...Read more

  • Macy's closings—another bad sign for malls

    The announcement creates holes in enclosed shopping malls—meanwhile the department store chain is looking to open downtown locations.
    Macy's is closing 100 stores nationwide —and the vast majority are located in auto-centric suburban shopping malls. Amid these closures, the department store chain reported that it looking at opening three downtown stores in New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis. In many ways, we are seeing a reversal...Read more