A few things to know this week: May 7, 2021
This week’s things to know:
These Business Owners Banded Together to Save Their Downtown. Now, They're Reaping the Rewards (Inc.)
This story illustrates what can happen when local small businesses work together with the community to prioritize Main Street. Local businesses in Keene, New Hampshire worked together to not just survive the pandemic, but thrive. -Kevin
America's Amtrak moment could finally be here (CNN)
In late March, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia outlined a 10-year program to expand intercity and regional rail services across the state. Virginia is not the only state backing regional rail, with airlines cutting back on flights of 300-400 miles and less, there is a higher demand for driving alternatives at this distance. Across the country there is a growing recognition that the US can no longer get by with a public transportation system that many regard as unfit for the scale and population it is meant to serve. -Ryan
End-of-life decisions for America's aging infrastructure (The Hill)
Most conversations about infrastructure focus on expansion. There's another side to the infrastructure discussion that I think needs more emphasis - decommissioning and reduction of infrastructure systems. This op-ed highlights how outdated infrastructure consumes valuable dollars for maintenance, exposes the public to hazardous and unsafe conditions, and harms the environment. Before cities and states jump to building more infrastructure and development, we need to evaluate existing systems and remove, retrofit, or replace them with facilities that protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. When we do this, I think we'll find that in many cases, having less infrastructure actually gets us closer to a healthy, equitable, affordable, and sustainable future. -Kevin
A Lesson for Urban Design: Turn the Planning Process Upside Down (D Magazine)
There is a lot to be said on how the public health crisis of the last year plus has affected the way we interact with our public/shared spaces. In this article, the claim is made that the trick is to allow ideas to percolate up from need or out of neighborhood-level inspiration. Find ways to pilot things temporarily, see if they work, and only then try to amend the city codes to allow for their continuation. That is largely the inverse of the top-down way things get done now, and it is the long-term lesson that parklets – and the pandemic experience – can offer the city. This version and iteration on the incremental and prototyping planning process is something we as a team are passionate about, and the health concerns of today have shown that turning the urban design process upside down can help set things right using this method. -Ryan
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