We’re back! Well, by “we,” I mean “me,” Jon Swerens, proprietor of this place called The Good City.

I’ve let this project lay fallow for far too long. So you can be on the lookout for some fresh stories and commentary very soon.

In the meantime, you can befriend or like The Good City over on Facebook.Similar Posts:

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Starting today, The Good City is a part of The Streetsblog Network, which is

The national blog network for sustainable transport, smart growth and livable streets.

Articles from this blog are now being fed into a national blog network, along with perhaps hundreds of other local blogs around the country. I’m thankful for the potential added exposure that this membership affords.Similar Posts:

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I’ve begun updating the Resources Page with a bunch of other books. Leave a comment with other suggestions I may have missed!Similar Posts:

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Produced and edited by Melissa Kiser of the Allen County Public Library.Similar Posts:

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Hello! If you’re here because of being invited at the “Longing for the City” talk Wednesday night, welcome!

I’ll post lists of recommended books and resources on this Web site as time permits. Plus, if you have recommendations, please leave a comment here.

Thanks for coming!Similar Posts:

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Will the Obama White House recognize changes in American culture, or assume we’re still living in the ’80s?

Here’s David Brooks:

The 1980s and 1990s made up the era of the great dispersal. Forty-three million people moved every year, and basically they moved outward — from inner-ring suburbs to far-flung exurbs on the metro fringe. …

If you asked people in that age of go-go suburbia what they wanted in their new housing developments, they often said they wanted a golf course. But the culture has changed. If you ask people today what they want, they’re more likely to say coffee shops, hiking trails and community centers.

People overshot the mark. They moved to the exurbs because they wanted space and order. But once there, they found that they were missing community and social bonds. So in the past years there has been a new trend. Meeting places are popping up across the suburban landscape.

Read the column here. Hat tip: Richard FloridaSimilar Posts:

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I’m a little late to the party, but I should add my voice to the Spaulding brothers’ and point out the recent study reported in the Portland Tribune that dedicated bike lanes help encourage people to try bicycling. As the story points out:

According to (Portland State University professor Jennifer) Dill, most regular bicyclists are young men. This means that if the city wants to substantially increase the number of people riding bikes on a regular basis, it needs to reach out to young women and older people. And, Dill said, that is what public spending on bike infrastructure can accomplish.

This is a good study to have in hand as Fort Wayne seeks feedback from local bicyclists.

Also, you can read commentary about the study at Streetsblog, including mention of “vehicular cycling” advocates who oppose such dedicated lanes, claiming that biking amid traffic reduces collisions.Similar Posts:

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It seems I don’t know enough about how Internet Explorer reads code. But TGC seems to be in working order again — for everyone.Similar Posts:

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It’s time to take the wraps off the new Web site!

I hope to be able to once again add to the general discussion about urban life in Fort Wayne, but as the subhead of this Web site says, I’llbe on the lookout for items on church and culture, too.

Thanks, and I’m looking forward to some great discussions.

Note: If you have any recommendations for additions to the blogroll, just leave me a comment. Thanks!

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The new TGC blog will be up and going again soon! I have a couple more technical wrinkles to iron out — for example, setting up FeedBurner feed for RSS and email — but I’ll start posting in the near future.Similar Posts:

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