Searching for a sense of community, sharing, and a connection with humanity? Move to a small town.
"You don't have to be from a small town to know what one is like. Your stereotype is right: Old-timers gossip over morning coffee, and every person at the cafe knows you, and your dog too. Streets are nearly empty most nights, with only a few teen-agers driving in circles until they finally accumulate enough velocity to spin out of town."
"More parents must teach their children that there's no shame in the stereotype we rightfully perpetuate about small towns. In fact, the stereotype reveals the best things about small towns. Economically shaky or not, they're built on the bedrock of human nature."
"Some small towns are in the middle of nowhere. But that's really somewhere: 'now' and 'here.' Small towns offer an experience of the present that is wholly unmediated, face to face. With nowhere to hide, we can stop trying to. And thanks to technology, these places are no longer isolated from the world outside."
Read the full story: In Appreciation of Small Towns
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Planned $2 billion courthouse in MA sparks tension with local government
Springfield owns an essential piece of the land developers intend to build on, and some city officials do not want to see the project come to fruition.
Californians can now transform balconies into power generators
Gov. Gavin Newsom has legalized plug-in solar technology, which allows residents to plug solar panels directly into their outlets
This 85-year-old ranch is Texas’ newest state park
The 650 acre ranch is one of the largest parcels of land along Lake Palestine.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello