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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I will soon move this whole blog over to my new hosting provider, so The Good City will actually live at thegoodcity.com. But until I do so, this blog will be a little ugly, since I didn’t pay the annual CSS prettifying fee to WordPress.com.

Stay tuned for details!Similar Posts:

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Will our cities step up and improve our streets for non-car traffic for our seniors?

A new poll by AARP finds that while many Americans ages 50+ are trying to move away from car transportation as a result of high gas prices, their attempt to go “green” is challenged by inadequate sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as insufficient public transportation options. …

Almost one of every three people (29%) polled say they are now walking as a way to avoid high gas prices. But as those people set out to walk, almost 40% of the 50+ population say they do not have adequate sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Additionally, 44% say they do not have nearby public transportation that is accessible. Almost half (47%) of poll responders say they cannot cross the main roads safely — 4 in 10 pedestrian fatalities are over the age of 50. 

No wonder many older people are tempted to drive even as their reflexes slow and sight dims. There aren’t always sidewalks, but there are always streets.   

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Is eminent domain not cleaning up your city fast enough? You could take a tip from Beijing and simply surround the offending non-glittery neighborhood with a giant brick wall.

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As ranked by Forbes magazine. The Rust Belt is pretty much the entire list.

The big loser? Ohio, with four cities on the list: Youngstown, Canton, Dayton and Cleveland. Runner-up is Michigan, with Detroit and Flint.

Read the article and view the related photo package.

– Photo by abardwell on Flickr

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I must take a break from the day-to-day effort of posting here every day. Other projects — such as by own family — must take precedence.

Please check out these other blogs for other city-related Fort Wayne information:

• What’s Going Down(town)
• Around Fort Wayne
• Fort Wayne Observed

Thanks!Similar Posts:

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