March 4, 2021
Pulled Apart
“This Rural Liberal Sets Out to Talk to His Pro-Trump Neighbors” was the title of the article my mother passed along. In the piece, the author attempted to connect with
February 24, 2021
Vacancy Busting: A Step by Step Guide
I can sometimes get bogged down in the policies of vacancy. I get pretty excited about design standards, code enforcement and vacant property registries. I love reading about new methods
Gentle Density, Sprawl Enemy
As I was walking Leon this weekend, I recalled a chapter in the book Happy City by Charles Montgomery about density. He writes about a density sweet spot that fosters
Why We Must Maintain
Here is what you have to remember, everything in life requires maintenance. Everything must be tended to. The car in our driveway has to have an oil change and new
Peoria On My Mind
At a workshop in Peoria last March, an attendee told me that the city has more than doubled in land area since 1930, yet the number of people living there
My Father’s House
I followed the trail my fathers finger made as he pointed through the windshield towards an old blue house. This is what we had come to see, the next stop
Every Little Bit
We avoided the project long enough. No good reason for it either. Just something that wasn’t a priority, or easy enough to ignore. On the other hand, every time I
Pride in Action
“This is great, but how does it really work” is a pretty common refrain I hear during workshops and presentations. “Hey pal, your ideas are nice and all, but it’s
The George Bailey Effect
Like a lot of you, I watched It's a Wonderful Life over the holiday break. I probably watch it every year and each time I am amazed at how relevant
Shutdown Politics
Last night my wife played me a clip of a local business owner of Fox News being interviewed about his reaction to the most recent restaurant shutdown here in Pennsylvania.
February 23, 2021
What’s the Matter with Jamestown?
On August 1st, 2018, Jamestown, New York celebrated a monumental event. The Rustbelt City south of Buffalo did the unthinkable. Despite all odds, they were able to open the National
January 4, 2021
Planning for Places
As we kick off the New Year, I have been thinking a lot about how we can better plan for things to come. As a planner, I don’t really love
November 30, 2020
Choose Civic Pride
We are all subject to the effects of apathy. Every one of us is tempted to do less, give less or accept less. While this might be our nature, to
October 27, 2020
This is How it Started… This is How it’s Going.
It’s hard to watch the “how it started/how it’s going” meme go around and not immediately think of our cities and towns. They started so well, with integrity, hard work,
October 8, 2020
More Meaning and Less Meetings.
NOTHING is more important than the work of community revitalization organizations. Your community will live or die, based on your success. In meeting your organization's mission, you can improve people’s
September 29, 2020
Stop Catering to the Deadbeats
Vacant property kills communities. Vacant and deteriorating property increases crime, depresses property values, diminishes the tax base, lowers community self-esteem, repels potential tenants, investors and tourists and breeds rampant apathy.
September 23, 2020
The Road to Recovery – Part 3 (5 Points of Pride)
This is the final post in a series explaining how communities can utilize the Road to Recovery process to help them navigate a path back to good health. In the
September 17, 2020
The Road to Recovery – Part 2
I like to get these things out on a weekly basis, but last week had me managing my own recovery. I was laid up from a shoulder and bicep surgery,
September 1, 2020
The Road to Recovery – part 1
We don’t typically talk about cities like we do people. We avoid language that personalizes a place, instead favoring the language of corporate America. I talked about this a bit
August 25, 2020
How to Mend a Broken City
When talking about a topic, our thinking is confined by the language we use. The words provide the framework for how we view an issue. When we talk about communities,
August 17, 2020
Beyond Shit-Talk
I have been kicking around a problem for quite awhile here at the RorD headquarters (my office that doesn’t have a door and is usually covered in children Tik-Toking). When
August 10, 2020
Find A Friend, Save Your City.
Neighborhoods first. If I just had one piece of advice to give to city leaders it would be that. Put the neighborhoods first. Prioritize the people. Do your absolute best
July 23, 2020
Why Good Neighborhoods went Extinct
I followed my dad’s finger, pointing through the windshield towards the second house in from the corner. “There it is, that’s the one I grew up in” he said as
July 15, 2020
Love Your Place to Life.
There are two sides to economic revitalization and they must work in tandem to create change in a community. The first is the economic side. This is about training people
July 8, 2020
Over-Planning
I rarely know what to call myself, professionally that is. I have a degree in urban planning, which would make me a planner, but I have never spent even one
July 1, 2020
The Real Parking Problem
For anyone that has worked in economic development, community development and especially, downtown revitalization, you have become all too familiar with the parking problem trope. It might be the single
March 26, 2020
What If…
Like most, I have had some extra time on my hands this week. Work has slowed down and I am thankful for some additional time with the family and to
February 26, 2020
Communityness
A city or a town cannot be successful, or only to a marginal degree, if it is not also a community. A city aims to serve its residents, but this
February 18, 2020
Help Isn’t On The Way
Help Isn’t On The Way HGTV was in my feed quite a lot last week, which I can promise you is unusual. I generally avoid HGTV, not because I am
November 21, 2019
Fast Food For Thought
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we are all probably giving more thought to food than normal…at least that’s the theory. I would assume most people give food plenty of thought year-round.
November 15, 2019
Effort is the Enemy of Apathy
Apathy is the cancer of community and rarely does it stop until it has effectively destroyed its host. Apathy sneaks in at night and parades on in when everyone is
October 17, 2019
Accepting of Anything… Proud of Nothing.
At some point, we have to draw a line. We have to make a choice. We have to decide that something is unacceptable, lest everything become acceptable and we acclimate
October 9, 2019
The Shape of Place
The way I best describe how place affects me is an oft repeated phrase that has most likely grown annoying to those that know me, “I am no more neighborly
September 24, 2019
Badass Your Board
It’s a familiar scene, we’ve all been there before…the monotonous monthly board meeting. Dress it up if you like, change the time, try a more relaxed setting, maybe even lure
September 21, 2019
In defense of community
This week we focused on predatory businesses, and by ‘focused’, I mean, talked shit. Most of the response was positive and most people understand that these sorts of businesses are
August 29, 2019
Old School
I always find the first day of school to be bittersweet. I am happy for the kids to get back to their friends, for everyone to get back into a
August 9, 2019
Shirt Happens.
I didn’t grow up with any understanding of what a sense of community really meant. A sense of community is an abstract thing, a feeling, that is hard to relay
August 1, 2019
All Politics is Local
Earlier this week, I posted a story about Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s announcement of a proposed plan to deal with vacancy, if he were to be elected president. I sometimes forget
July 24, 2019
Wise Council
I enjoy meeting with elected officials. I enjoy talking with anyone that cares about their town. Most council members I speak with are well-intentioned and became involved because they are
July 16, 2019
Overeducated – The Higher Cost of Higher Ed
For the fifth time in as many weeks, over a phone call with a colleague last Friday, we ended up discussing the merits of higher education. This conversation followed a
July 9, 2019
A Return to Old Urbanism
My vacation took an unexpected turn last week and ended up lasting a few more days than expected. Does a vacation stop being a vacation when you no longer want
June 30, 2019
The Fabric of Community
This week’s blog post is the first to be composed by the sea. This is not a habit I plan to get used to. While the sea may inspire some
June 18, 2019
Setting the Standards
As is becoming a welcome routine, I joined my neighbor for beers on his front porch last Friday, for what he calls “porch pirating.” We cover a range of topics
June 4, 2019
Own Your Issues
Sometimes I really struggle to figure out how people come to their conclusions. Some of the widely accepted solutions to combat community decline are fascinating. Often they have little to
May 28, 2019
The (Bike) Path Forward
Like most, I really didn’t have any appreciation for one of the world’s greatest inventions. I assumed bikes were only for children, drunk drivers and men with a lycra fetish.
May 21, 2019
Something’s Missing
The historical society, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Club, Masons, The United Way, local foundations, economic development organizations… you know them well, their emblems populate
May 14, 2019
It’s Not the Red Tape, Stupid
Another town and another enlightening conversation with an elected official. Over a cup of coffee, this particular mayor was filling me in on his city's strategy to rebuild their economy.
May 7, 2019
Save Our Buildings, Save Ourselves
A few years back, while hosting an event for the governor’s State of the State address in Marietta, Ohio, I had a chance to speak with a local councilwoman during
April 23, 2019
Lessons Learned on Main Street
Revitalization never crossed my mind as any sort of career aspiration as a child, city planner didn’t quite have the same appeal as being the next Bo Jackson. The concept
April 16, 2019
A Reason to Stay
A few years back, I was touring the downtown of a community in northeast, Ohio, and had a bit of an epiphany regarding the true importance of downtown. City leaders
April 9, 2019
Pick Up Your Place
We don't often give credit to how much appearances affect us and shape our opinions. We judge nearly everything based on looks. We see the way people dress and groom
April 2, 2019
Tourism Won’t Save Your Town
Tourism has long been touted as an economic panacea. A sound tourism strategy, in theory, will bring people far and wide to your community to leave you all of their
March 19, 2019
Home Away from Home
I knew growing up that I wasn’t meant for where I lived. It wasn’t a feeling of arrogance, but of self preservation, a feeling that was instilled into me- through
March 11, 2019
This Pub Matters
Prior to moving to my neighborhood in 2016, I started doing some research on local bars. I wanted to figure out which bar would be my local when I got
March 4, 2019
Abandonment Issues
Vacancy is in essence, city rot. If allowed to take hold, it spreads, and in time, will destroy the whole if not treated. Criminologist William Spelman found that, in Austin,
February 25, 2019
What Economic Development Gets Wrong
This past week brought news of Amazon making the decision not to locate a second headquarters in New York. As to be expected, some saw this as a victory for
February 18, 2019
Your Town is Not Your Team
Your town is not your team. It’s not your pro-baseball team, it’s not your college girls basketball team, and it’s certainly not your high school football team. Your school district
January 5, 2019
Does This Place Matter?
Realtors have an old saying, the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location. Those goofy bastards with their pictures on every flat surface nailed it with
