Aaron M. Renn

All Things Aaron

The City as a Platform

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I've seen and heard a lot about the notion of a "city as a platform". I haven't seen a lot of great definitions of exactly what is meant by it though, so I thought I would explore various dimensions of the concept a bit. Let's take a look at the actual definition of the word platform, of which there are several: a raised horizontal surface or stage a document stating the aims and principles of a political party the combination of a particular computer and a particular operating system a military structure or vehicle bearing … [Read more...]

Transit Ridership Framework

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You might have a hard time believing I've spent most of my career in consulting due to the lack of Power Point presentations on my blog. While I'll admit to not being partial to the tool, I do like frameworks. Going forward, I'll occasionally share some that are relevant to cities, starting today with public transit. Last year I won first prize in a global transit competition sponsored by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. The goal was to devise a strategy for boosting regional transit ridership to one billion rides annually. If you'd … [Read more...]

The Importance of Social Structures to Urban Success

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There seems to be a popular belief that what it takes to create an industry cluster in bioscience or whatever is to pair research with commerce. That is, to find an academic institution doing cutting edge research, and connect it with venture capital and entrepreneurs to start companies to commercialize it. Soon enough, you have a "cluster" of businesses that takes off like a rocket. This is the perceived Silicon Valley model, and no company epitomizes it more than Google, which was started by two Stanford students to commercialize their … [Read more...]

A Tale of Two Blizzards

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[Since it's winter and snow clearance has been in the news lately, I thought it was a good time to rerun this piece looking at the different expectations people in different cities have for public services, and how regardless of where you fall on that, everybody's feeling the pain right now.] Photo Credit: flickr/meryddidanJanuary 1979 saw one of the worst blizzards in city history hit Chicago, dumping 20 inches of snow, closing O'Hare airport for 46 hours, and paralyzing traffic in the city for days. Despite the record snowfall, the … [Read more...]

Building Suburbs that Last #5 – Redevelopment Insurance

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Photo Credit: Flickr/julianmeadeThis is another in a periodic series about building sustainable suburbs properly so-called. To recap, I consider the suburban decay facing inner ring suburbs across America, especially those of the 60's and 70's vintage built on a modern suburban pattern, as one of the key challenges facing urban leaders over the coming decades. I outlined a lot of the case in my review of the book "Retrofitting Suburbia". Why is this happening? One big reason cities tend to fall into decline is that they accumulate huge … [Read more...]

Louisville – An Identity Crisis

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Following on from my article on Cincinnati, I'll now take a short 100 mile trip downstream to another old river city, Louisville. Louisville came of age in a similar era and traditionally viewed itself as a sort of little brother to Cincinnati. However, while Cincinnati was once the Paris of the west, Louisville never held so lofty a position, so it lacks Cincy's grandeur. Luckily, it also appears to be missing some of the dysfunction. See here the river city tradition as the Belle of Louisville steamboat fires up. There were obviously no … [Read more...]

A Better Road to Clean Water Act Compliance

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I’ve noted before that the astronomical cost of Clean Water Act compliance for our cities was a killer. Most older cities are also struggling with deteriorated street infrastructure that would require another massive dose of spending to correct. Also, in the Midwest, most cities have street networks that are not even right in their very conception for the modern day anyway. And, they need to make major investments to create a more green city as well. A plan out of Philadelphia shows the way to kill three birds with one stone. With the most … [Read more...]

There’s No Such Thing As Green Industry

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I have always been skeptical of the idea of green industry. The bifurcation between green and non-green industry seems destined to be a temporary transitional state. In the future, probably less than a decade, there will only be industry, it will all be green, with only a few legacy exceptions winding down into the sunset. This immediately begs the question, if America isn't doing so well in non-green industrial development in an ever more competitive globalized world, why would we think that it will be any better for green industry? Why … [Read more...]

Urban Universities Done Right: Chicago’s “Loop U”

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Many American cities have focused on university based development as a catalyst for their downtowns and urban spaces. Louisville has promoted the growth of its university affiliated hospital complex on the east side of downtown. Indianapolis and Chicago both built major urban renewal type campuses - IUPUI and UIC respectively. The University of Wisconsin anchors the core of Madison, and similar patterns are repeated in college towns across the country, or in college neighborhoods like Chicago's Hyde Park. In my view "eds and meds" is … [Read more...]

Rebranding Columbus

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It's no secret I'm a fan of Columbus, Ohio, one of those under the radar cities that's a whole lot better than its external brand image would suggest. That frustrates local civic leaders, who've undertaken a major re-branding effort, as discussed in a recent NYT piece, "There May Be ‘No Better Place,’ but There Is a Better Slogan:" Quick, what do you think about when you hear the words “Columbus, Ohio”? Still waiting.... And that’s the problem that civic leaders here hope to solve. This capital city in the middle of a state better known, … [Read more...]