We love to talk about drones and Amazon. But what if drones could really help Africa?

First off, to anyone that actually reads this thing, apologies for not blogging since last Wednesday; I was at a conference and ’twas hard to sit down and compose some posts. I’ll be at similar conferences twice in April, so… Continue Reading

I-81 runs 855 miles from Knoxville to Canada. But one 1.4-mile stretch in Syracuse, NY could be a window to the future.

Fun fact: Dwight Eisenhower’s vision for the interstate system actually came from some roads he saw in Germany while a general. Communication lines got a bit crossed, though, and he didn’t actually realize interstates would run through cities until a few years… Continue Reading

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The U.S. needs more bus rapid transit (BRT) systems. A good example of why would be Buffalo, NY.

Let’s start with an understanding of what “Bus Rapid Transit,” or BRT, is. This article gives a good summary; essentially, it’s like giving a bus its own lane and having stations at each stop. Overall, it’s like turning bus travel… Continue Reading

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Here’s what could really shift the future of American cities away from San Francisco, New York, and Boston

You could choke a horse on the Internet with lists about the “best city” or the “future city” of America — Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and others have all topped different lists — and now there’s a new study… Continue Reading

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Bill de Blasio gets all the ink, but maybe Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is the real city-redefiner

Bill de Blasio became Mayor of NYC and within literally moments, people were tapping him as a VP candidate down the road. He’s a new kind of liberal! It’s going to be a progressive revolution! All this makes sense — de Blasio is… Continue Reading

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If you like beer, get yourself to Guangzhou, China

Americans lose their shit over cheap beer prices. If you ever meet someone from western New York state, they will — not a question of if, a question of when — tell you about Genny Cream Ale and how it’s something like… Continue Reading

It might be time for smart street lights like Tvilight. We’ll save money and things will remain beautiful.

You can read all about Tvilight at the Smithsonian’s website, but essentially the idea is simple: we have smart phones and we’re developing smart houses and smart umbrellas, so why not smart street lights? Tvilight’s lights will dim when no one is… Continue Reading

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The Milken Best Performing Cities list tells us to move west of the Mississippi and/or embrace Columbia, Missouri

The Milken Institute released its annual Best Performing Cities list this week. Here’s the methodology, and here’s the list of “best large cities” and “best small cities.” There are a bunch of cool features, including the ability to compare different cities,… Continue Reading