Recently, I wrote: Are struggling downtown areas shortchanged by local elections? That post deals specifically with Savannah’s urban core, but there’s a broader issue: cities have been consistently underrepresented at both the state and federal level. The problem is especially…
My memories begin on the west side of town, when we lived in the Meadows, a then-new suburban neighborhood. We had a big yard, a big basement, several great trees — all on a quiet dead end street that had enough slope to be perfect for biking and other activities. Like so many suburban areas that are now a few decades old, Knollwood Street and those around it aren’t as impressive as they used to be. The housing boom fueled growth in other areas, with bigger — if not necessarily better built — homes with master suites and more bathrooms.
I write pretty often about mobility in America, including this very recent post about migration into and out of Savannah and Chatham County. Richard Florida has a pithy and interesting post today at The Atlantic Cities: The Geography of Stuck.…
In today’s City Talk column — Where are migrants coming from? Where are they going? — I discuss some of the out- and in-migration trends along the Georgia coast according to this fascinating interactive map published by Forbes. As I…
This is one of the data points that I’ve been following more closely than others. While Americans continue to drive A LOT — approximately 2.22 trillion miles so far in 2011 — there has been a significant decline over the…
There’s a curious report from WSAV tonight: Savannah Sand Gnats Looking to Move Downtown. Alice Massimi reports: News Three has learned the owners of the minor league team the Savannah Sand Gnats are discussing the possibility of building a new…
I just listened to most of tonight’s forum with Jeff Felser and Edna Jackson, the final two who will face each other on December 6th in the Savannah mayoral runoff. The event was sponsored by the Savannah Bicycle Campaign, US…
I can’t even begin to say how many frustrated downtown residents, commercial property owners, and business owners I know right now in Savannah. In my City Talk column today, I close with some lengthy (for a newspaper column like mine)…
From Animal McMansion: Students Trade Dorm for Suburban Luxury in today’s NYT: Here in Merced, a city in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley and one of the country’s hardest hit by home foreclosures, the downturn in the real…
A fascinating piece in the Wall Street Journal: Why Traffic Jams Are Bad For You There are many strong arguments for trying to get Americans to drive less and to take public transit more often, to choose alternate methods of…
I’ve written in recent weeks about how changing demographics in the city of Savannah and throughout the region might impact this Tuesday’s vote. But the importance of the trends extends into many other areas too. I think Savannah’s diversity is…
The first City Works (X)po kicked off yesterday. According to the website, it’s a “small cities conference celebrating the people and projects that have exponential impact. National leaders from the fields of Social Entrepreneurship & Capital, Arts & Design, Knowledge…
About a month ago, I wrote about the increasingly suburban face of poverty. In that post, I noted that poverty is still higher in urban areas than suburban areas, but I quoted the following from the Brookings Institution: From 2000…
After a flurry of public discussion a few months ago, the issue of food trucks in Savannah seems to have slipped near the back of a long list of pressing concerns. But I’m sure the issue will continue to be…
