I travel frequently and one of my great laments is the way so many places around the world are focused on modern development at the expense of local heritage. Here’s an example from Beijing. This is a traditional hutong or courtyard house I once lived in. It’s 800 years old and has served as … Continue reading Beijing – Old and New
I’m a big fan of the concept of Economic Gardening which is the exact opposite of Economic Big Game Hunting. I’m also a big fan of Cincinnati. So I thought I’d use Cincy to demonstrate examples of various strategies for economic development. I should start by defining the terms here. Economic Gardening is the process of … Continue reading Economic Hunting and Gardening in Cincinnati
Here’s a little trend I’ve noticed as I travel around the country. As substantial numbers of both Millennials and Boomers continue to migrate away from car-dependent suburbs toward walkable mixed use neighborhoods there’s a matching shift in the quality of public schools and other city services. The photos above are an example. This 1950’s … Continue reading Public Schools: Rising and Falling
Jim Frasche has refined a low energy, low water, high productivity solar greenhouse that produces enough food year round to feed a family of four while generating enough cash flow to pay for the entire system. He initially created the system for Kabul, Afghanistan as part of the post war reconstruction effort and opium substitution … Continue reading Urban aquaponics: Small Scale High Value Efficient Local Agriculture
Gracen Johnson of Another Place For Me recently sent out a request for examples of adaptive reuses for outdated buildings. This is part of her exploration of what’s likely to happen to all the cheap, ugly, poorly constructed, disposable structures that currently litter the landscape all across North America. First, here’s an example of a completely … Continue reading Adaptive Reuse: Old Stuff, New Life
Granola Shotgun 