Forbes recently named Austin – my adopted hometown – the fastest growing large city in the U.S. I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore the phenomenon of trend analysis and how predicting the future is a huge part of our society, whether you realize it or not. Before I answer your burning question of how Austin could ever possibly surpass New York in population, let's talk about trend analysis for a minute. What is trend analysis? Trend analysis is the practice of gathering … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2014
The Truth About Traffic Congestion
This post is all about why traffic congestion is a good thing for your city. If you’re looking for advice on how to get rid of the traffic jams that take place every day on your city’s highways, you’re in the wrong place. Here goes… Traffic Truth #1- Bad traffic is just a symptom of your city’s economic success. Traffic Truth #2- Traffic congestion is actually a good thing for urban vitality. Traffic Truth #3- Efforts to reduce traffic congestion are counter-productive. Traffic … [Read more...]
12 Strategies That Will Transform Your City’s Downtown
Does your city have a long-range downtown plan? Does your city have a downtown development corporation, a downtown alliance, or similar non-profit organization that is focused solely on promoting downtown as a destination for businesses, residents, and development? Does your city have public policies (like tax abatements, grants, and other special incentives) to promote downtown development? Hopefully, you answered ‘yes’ to the questions above. But even if you answered ‘no’ to each … [Read more...]
