Aaron M. Renn

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The Cost of Congestion, The Value of Transit

October 6, 2011 By Aaron M. Renn

Last week the Texas Transportation Institute released the 2011 edition of its benchmark Urban Mobility Report. It is packed full of useful statistics about roadway networks, congestion, and public transit, though is not without its critics (see below). I'd like to highlight some of the more interesting findings out of this. The Value of Transit One of the values TTI estimates is the number of additional hours of delay each peak hour commuter would incur annual if public transportation were discontinued. In effect, this is one key benefit to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Planning, Transport, and Environment

A Tale of Two Blizzards

January 14, 2011 By Aaron M. Renn

[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...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Governance and Public Services, Indianapolis, Urban Culture

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

August 29, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

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...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Planning, Transport, and Environment

Chicago’s Structural Advantages (and Professional Services 2.0)

July 25, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

It's no secret that Illinois, like the rest of America, has been suffering in this economy. It also has the dubious distinction of probably being in the worst fiscal shape in America. llinois Gov. Pat Quinn appointed a group called the Illinois Recovery Commission to examine the state's future, who recently issued their final report. As is mandatory in this genre of document, the commission devoted a lot of ink to creating a "culture of innovation" in Illinois and putting it in the forefront of new economy businesses. Illinois may exists as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Demographics and Economic Development

Chicago and the Epicenter

June 20, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

Crain's Chicago Business ran a major story assessing the Daley administration's track record in Chicago last week. The title, "Mayor Daley runs up big debts building his global city; what about the rest of Chicago?," implies a negative piece, but it has a lot of positive things to say too. The piece includes a quote from a previous major post of mine on the city, talking about how I want Chicago to be less of a generic world city, and find more of its own niche in the world. I want to expand on that notion today. Some of these thoughts are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Demographics and Economic Development

What Made Chicago’s Burnham Plan Successful

April 30, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

As part of my Burnham Plan centennial celebration, I was recently prompted to ponder what made this plan successful. (Let us put aside for future postings the question of whether it was in reality a success). I started creating a list of attributes of the plan I think contributed to its success. Interestingly, all of these are lessons for today's planners and are often overlooked. So let's consider some of them. 1. It was a private sector, business led initiative. I hear people today moan about the feckless political leadership in their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Planning, Transport, and Environment

True Cities and Shadow Cities

April 16, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

As many cities, particularly smaller industrial ones, continue to struggle with the loss of manufacturing jobs, people wonder how or if these places will come back and again become economically prosperous. I think the potential for economic renewal at least partly depends on whether or not a place is a true city or a shadow city. What do I mean by that? Here is one way I categorize the economic life of cities. One can divide companies into three types: Local goods and services. These are things like banks, grocery stores, dry cleaners, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Demographics and Economic Development, Indianapolis

Downsides of Consolidation #1: Neighborhood Redevelopment

February 28, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

This is the first in a short series of posts on the downsides of city-county consolidation. Actually, it might better be described as a discussion of some of the pros and cons of "big box" vs. "small box" municipal government. It is similar to business. It seems like every large business is either doing one of two things: centralizing or decentralizing. There's a sort of cycle of reincarnation about this. Every model has its flaws, and people tend to gravitate towards the other side of the spectrum from time to time when the problems of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Columbus (Ohio), Governance and Public Services, Indianapolis, Planning, Transport, and Environment

Chicago: Reconnecting the Hinterland, Part 2B – On Innovation

February 28, 2009 By Aaron M. Renn

"When I am weak, then I am strong." - II Corinthians 12:10"A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." - Mark 6:4 The is the last in my series on reconnecting Chicago with its natural city-region in the greater Midwest. But it really has nothing to do specifically with Chicago, or even the Midwest. It deals, rather, with innovation generally. I discussed how companies were outsourcing offshore, with a big driver being labor arbitrage. But as with all trends, labor arbitrage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Demographics and Economic Development

Chicago: Reconnecting the Hinterland 2A – Onshore Outsourcing

February 22, 2009 By Aaron M. Renn

This the third installment of my four part series about ideas to create competitive advantage through reconnecting Chicago with its traditional greater Midwestern city-region. (Essential background reading is in Chicago: A Declaration of Independence. Part 1a is on Metropolitan Connections. Part 1b is on High Speed Rail). To refresh, in my kickoff of the year of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Burnham Plan in Chicago, I argued that while Chicago was performing well in a globalized world, it was only riding the wave of globalization … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Demographics and Economic Development, Indianapolis, Milwaukee

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About Aaron M. Renn


 
Aaron M. Renn is an opinion-leading urban analyst, consultant, speaker, and writer on a mission to help America’s cities and people thrive and find real success in the 21st century. (Photo Credit: Daniel Axler)
 
Email: aaron@aaronrenn.com
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