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Urbanlog
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Written by Mark Winston
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
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 On my flight home today, I saw a little US Airways blurb on several cities. US Airways loves to promote its hub cities. One of these, of course, is Charlotte. And what did our favorite airline tell us is the big attraction for us in the drag Queen City? Why, NASCAR, man-made-white-water rafting and fine dining, of course... Just picture those unique Charlotte institutions of... Uhm... Nevermind, it was Ruth's Chris and Hard Rock Cafe. Where was I?
"Import Substitution" was a term not originated by Jane Jacobs, but she crystalized it in her book "Cities and the Wealth of Nations", in which she posits that in order to thrive in deep time, cities must convince the world of their unique value and place in that world. They must make themselves relevant in the face of their competing city economies, and intercity trade is only effective when different cities specialize in different things which give meaning to their isolation.
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Urbanlog
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Written by Mark Winston
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Sunday, 24 February 2008 |
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 "Our downtown is attracting lots of Young Professionals"
"We are focusing downtown development on attracting new Bars and Restaurants"
"We need to focus on bringing in Upscale Bars and Restaurants, Bistros and Boutiques, and High-End Shopping so that our city attracts more Young Professionals"
Thus spouts the city manager or planning bureaucrat as he prepares his jingos to launch into 2008.
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Urbanlog
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Written by Mark Winston
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Monday, 18 February 2008 |
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 OK - the headline is meant to be sensationalist - the real meat of this entry is about the fact that encouraging people to "get out and move" is not going to achieve the objective of slimming down the population unless we look deeper at the causes for our fatness. I think there is a strong correlation between the per-capita concentration of gyms in a city or region, and that place's prevalence of obesity. I have absolutely no objective statistics to back this up, just my own subjective and anecdotal observations.
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Urbanlog
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Written by Mark Winston
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Wednesday, 31 October 2007 |
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 Does your neighborhood feel urban? Take the test!
Think you live in an "urban" environment? Well, you do - if all of the following can be performed, without a car, at 9AM on a Saturday... |
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Urbanlog
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Written by Mark Winston
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Monday, 23 July 2007 |
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 Winston-Salem's urban boosters and young professionals want a more edgy, urban metropolis. It's sad that they're tearing one down in pursuit of it.
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