Revitalize, or Die.

07/31/2026

Your city doesn’t need another economic development strategy.

It needs to be prettier, more fun, and more worth living in.

This weekend, pay attention to how your town makes you feel. Not what it offers. Not what it costs. How it actually makes you feel.

That feeling is either your city’s greatest asset or its biggest problem.

07/30/2026

Every city obsesses about outsiders.

Tourists. New businesses. Outside investment. The next big employer. The national chain that will finally put them on the map.

Meanwhile the people who already live there, who already pay taxes, who already chose this place and are raising their kids here, get nothing.

It’s backwards.

Residents don’t need much. They want to be able to take a walk without being mowed down by a car. They want safe places for their kids to play. They want a friend on the block and a coffee shop worth lingering in. They want a downtown that makes them feel something when they walk through it.

They want to feel proud of where they live.

That pride isn’t a soft or secondary goal. It’s the foundation of everything else. Proud residents maintain their properties. They support local businesses. They show their town off to friends and family. They fight for their community when it matters. They stay.

And when people stay, when they’re genuinely connected to and proud of the place they call home, that is when the real investment happens. Not because someone chased it, but because they built something worth being part of.

Stop chasing outsiders.

Take care of the people already here and give them something to feel good about.

In the immortal word of Stephen Stills, “Love the one you’re with.”

07/29/2026

Cities are obsessed with cost and forget to consider value.

An Audi still just moves people from one place to another. But people pay a premium for it. Whole Foods still just sells food. But people pay a premium to shop there. Why? Because of how it makes them feel.

Your city is no different. People will pay a premium to live somewhere that makes them feel good. They'll leave somewhere that doesn't. Most people aren't looking for the cheapest place to live. They're looking for the best place to live. Cost is just one factor in that decision and often not the most important one.

Yet somewhere along the way we gave an outsize voice to bankers and finance people while sidelining artists, creatives, and dreamers as being unserious. We got obsessed with the "serious" business of cost and cheapened our communities to the point that nobody wants to live in them. Some people choose them. A lot of people just get stuck in them.

People don't make decisions solely on cost. They don't always order the cheapest thing on the menu or buy the most affordable sweater. They make decisions with their hearts as much as their wallets. They choose things that make them feel something.

So maybe it's time to elevate some writers and painters and dreamers to your board. Let people who understand beauty and emotion and human connection have a seat at the table where decisions about your town get made.

We need to change our approach. Let’s focus on becoming a place that makes residents proud. A place they can show off to friends from out of town. Somewhere that makes them feel good just to walk the streets.

If all of this sounds too “touchy feely” to you, you might be getting the point.

07/28/2026

Too many of the organizations we need in our towns are operating under outdated mission statements, no longer reflective to what our communities need to thrive today.

Every company in the world knows that to make a sale, you have to appeal to emotion. You have to develop something people feel a connection to. Something that elevates them. Something that makes them feel better about themselves.

This lesson needs to be internalized by city hall, the chamber, the local DMO/CVB and economic development organization.

Nothing boosts a person's self-esteem like the place they call home. And nothing drives economic activity like a place people actually want to be in.

Aesthetics are the most direct route forward. Pretty matters. Function follows form. Humans gravitate toward beauty and do everything they can to surround themselves with it.

Those organizations that have already figured this out are outpacing other communities in nearly every metric. Want to be the greatest champion for small business? Create a public realm people can’t resist visiting.

The single simplest way to make your city desirable is to make it attractive.

07/28/2026

At this point, building walkable places is your best economic development decision as well.

“When presented with a choice between a larger home site requiring more driving and a smaller lot in a walkable neighborhood, 59 percent preferred the walkable option.”

A nationwide Realtors survey reveals that a majority of Americans prefer a walkable neighborhood, and they are willing to pay for it. That tracks with higher values in highly walkable neighborhoods.

07/27/2026

Your chamber of commerce, tourism bureau, and economic development office were built for a different era.

That era is over.

And before anyone gets defensive, let me be clear, there are genuinely great people working in these organizations. Hardworking, dedicated people who care deeply about their communities. This isn't about them.

It's about the mission.

Because the most talented people in the world can't move the needle if they're working toward the wrong goal. And doing the wrong thing more efficiently won't fix a damn thing.

The best organizations ask themselves hard questions on a regular basis. Are we still relevant? Are we actually serving the community? Is what we're doing today what our community needs, or is it just what we've always done?

Times have changed. The economy has changed. What people want from their communities has changed.

The organizations charged with making communities better have to be willing to change too.

07/24/2026

07/22/2026

The past few days I posted about what declining environments do to people.

But the converse is just as true.

People feel different in beautiful surroundings. More sophisticated. More dignified. They carry themselves differently. They treat themselves better. They treat others better. They make better choices.

Think about how you feel walking into an elegant hotel lobby versus a dingy motel. How you behave at a beautifully set dinner table versus eating over the sink. How you dress when you feel good about where you're going.

Your environment shapes your behavior constantly, in both directions.

When we build beautiful places and maintain them with care, we create conditions where people can actually excel. Places that lift residents up instead of dragging them down. Places people aspire to live in, not just settle for.

Here's the problem though, we have so few of these places left in America that most of them are now out of reach. The walkable, beautiful, well-maintained neighborhoods have become luxury products. They've been commodified because we stopped building them everywhere and started building them nowhere.

Beauty and dignity in the built environment shouldn't be a privilege reserved for people who can afford it.

Every resident deserves to live somewhere that makes them feel like they matter.

That starts with what we build and how we maintain it.

07/21/2026

07/21/2026

Neglected places don’t just attract anti-social behavior. They foster it.

A place that feels seedy gives people permission to behave in the same manner. These places send the message that the normal rules have been suspended, so people act accordingly. That’s not a coincidence, it’s cause and effect.

Decline isn’t a victimless eyesore. It’s an invitation, and everyone pays the cost.