The cities most likely to flourish in our increasingly competitive 21st-century world will apply a few basic planning strategies. Following are ten reasons why thriving cities are leaving their competitors in the dust. Some cities earn more praise than others because of convenience. In a comfortable urban environment, most basic needs can be found in close proximity due to a sensible blend of commercial, community, and residential properties. Locals can
Toward the end of the eighties, My closest, oldest friend Richard Bohle was informed he had lung cancer. I don’t know if the docs told him it was terminal, but he figured it was, and set about getting rid of as much stuff as he could and preparing to make his departure as easy for his survivors as possible. That was typical of Richard, who thought of everyone else he
I’d been told that some former Colorado Springs poets laureate were going to read at the old Knights of Columbus hall. Some of them were old friends, so I’d overcome my distaste for public gatherings and come down to hear them. When I’d walked into the hall, I’d found a bank of folding chairs set out, mostly unoccupied, and eight or so big folding tables on each side of the
It had been pouring rain all morning at Windansea Beach on the San Diego coastline. Cynthia Perez stood under a thatched hut of desiccating King Palm fronds that stood just twenty yards from the water near a group of smooth, caramel-colored rock formations. Perfect A-frame waves broke there all day long, converging into one sharp point. These were thick, heavy waves that the local surfers appreciated. But on this day,
When I was in high school, getting a C on something as inconsequential as a homework assignment would ensure that my lunch period would be spent crying in a bathroom stall in a panic attack over my failure of a life, eventually ending in my silent acceptance of my future as a homeless person. It wasn’t until after graduation that I learned I was not the only one struggling with
I dug for you in the deep rich soil, my hands plunging further and further into the ground, into the past, searching for traces of your soul, only to find a decayed, unreadable letter.
