Civic Strategies

Probably no organization studies housing preferences as closely as the Urban Land Institute. So what do people want in a house today? Not the traditional suburban development, ULI says in a new report, but housing that's located in walkable, mixed-use areas. The millennials (basically, people in their 20s) are most firm in their rejection of sprawl, but so are older homebuyers, the report says.

In truth, there's not much unique about American governments, except in two areas. First is our jumble of local governments, school systems and special districts, each allowed a degree of autonomy that other countries marvel at. Second is the amount of citizen involvement that governments can call upon if they choose. The volunteer nature of American civic life is so pervasive that we sometimes have trouble seeing it . . . until someone from another country asks us how we do it. Just such a visitor appeared recently at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office. It was Giorgos Kaminis, the mayor of Athens, Greece. This article may give you a new appreciation of citizenship in American cities.

There's a slew of books these days on decision making and how to avoid making bad decisions. (One of the most popular takes such a dim view of human logic that it is titled, "Predictably Irrational.") So maybe it's worthwhile just making a list of the ways we are inclined to make poor decisions. In this article, there are 12 of these decision traps.

On Otis White's civic leadership blog: When you're taking on a major urban problem, the best way to begin isn't with a single great action but with a series of small, reinforcing actions. By doing so, you recognize the complexity of cities and build early momentum. And that lays the groundwork for bold actions to follow.

It is hard for many suburban leaders to accept, but the trends that made their communities so successful since the 1940s (basically, the migration of affluent families out of the city) are coming to an end . . . and, in some cases, are reversing. This doesn't mean the end of the suburbs by any means, but it does mean they'll have to compete in the future, not only with nearby suburbs but with the cities, which have become popular with educated young people and affluent older couples. This article, from a newspaper in northern New Jersey near New York, puts the challenge  plainly. The suburbs, it says, "will need to reinvent (themselves) to keep pace with the resurgence of New York City." But how? No one is yet sure. But first things first: Leaders have to accept the days of easy growth are over.

Is there a connection between how a city looks and how much its residents take ownership in it? Asked another way, can urban design create better citizens? The Project for Public Spaces believes so, and this blog posting explains why it thinks so.

This article makes the obvious point that there are good forms of conflict and bad ones, but it does so in an unusual context, corporate boards of directors. It could, however, apply to any governing board, including  nonprofit boards. In these settings, disagreeing with a colleague's ideas is fine and can be beneficial. But disagreeing in ways that are personal is destructive. This may give you some ideas about who to invite to join nonprofit boards.

Here's a good small idea: To increase density in cities, place two houses on corner lots. Does this sound like a radical new idea? Actually, it's the way cities used to be built, and if you haven't noticed it around your city, it's because  two-house developments fit so well into the fabric of older neighborhoods. Here's how it looks and works when it's done today.