The Speed Bump Theory Applied To Community Development

The Speed Bump Theory Applied To Community Development

by | May 18, 2017 | Uncategorized

Every community is plagued by self serving factions, apathy, naysayers, and

people who simply never learned to play well with others. In communities where these people dominate government or the tourism office or media or civic organizations, opportunities are missed, long term sustainable progress is stifled, and vision for the future is conceived through extensive study of the rear view mirror. Spend an hour or two in a town, city, or village where these type of folks run the show, listen to the locals in the restaurants or taverns, check out the historic business district, cruise a few neighborhoods, peruse online reviews of businesses and there is a very good chance you won’t make a return visit.

 

So, exactly, how is a community transformed from a haven for the apathetic and people obsessed with protecting their fiefdom into a vibrant place where people want to visit, to open businesses, to raise families, and to retire? Let me introduce you to the speed bump theory of community development. (more…)

Changing Times

Changing Times

by | Jan 12, 2017 | Uncategorized

Aside from death and taxes the one thing that we can all

be certain of is that, like it or not, things change. When was the last time you used a pay phone? When was the last time you wrote a letter? When was the last time you wrote a letter on a typewriter? When was the last time you used a map, a phone book, or crossed the desert at night to beat the heat?

In 1909, more than 828,000 horse-drawn vehicles rolled from American factories. That year automobile manufacturers set a new record with combined production totaling more than 128,000 vehicles. Fast forward two decades and a mere 4,000 horse drawn vehicles were manufactured. Meanwhile, in 1929, Ford manufactured more than 2,000,000 automobiles and trucks, and there were more than a dozen automobile companies rolling vehicles along assembly lines including Hudson, Oakland, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Studebaker, Auburn, Cord, Willys, Chrysler, Nash, Pierce-Arrow, Packard, and Checker.

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