Emulation is More than Flattery

In the fourth entry in his series on municipal mistakes, Nathan Norris lays out the benefits of aspirational places to help articulate local visions for placemaking:

"Yes, in the course of a meaningful visioning process, the naming of a specific place as a model for emulation is not absolutely necessary, but its benefits are so great that failing to do so constitutes one of the most critical mistakes you can make. Not because you should be identical to somewhere else but, rather, because you’re more effective developing a vision in terms of something real, proven and reliable, employing whatever tweaks or qualifications necessary to make it appropriate for your own community."