Economic Development

Truckee Railyard Master Plan Vision (Source: City of Truckee)

Truckee’s Railyard Project

While the City of Sacramento’s redevelopment plans for the 240-acre Downtown Railyards appear to be getting closer to reality, another railyard project is progressing 100 miles east along the route of the first transcontinental railroad in Downtown Truckee (CA).  The approximately 75-acre Truckee Railyard area, which is located on former Union Pacific property and the […]

Better Block Project on Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri (Image: Better Block KC)

Building Better Downtowns One Block at a Time

For those living and working in depressed areas, one of the most difficult steps in achieving revitalization is to visualize a better future. Words and pictures can fail to capture the imagination. Plans may not seem to reflect resident sentiment. Time frames can be frustratingly long. Local governments may lack the funds for implementing improvements […]

University Avenue at Ramona Street, Palo Alto (Finlay McWalter, Wikimedia Commons)

The “Virtues” of Downtowns

Downtown Palo Alto, located in the heart of Silicon Valley and adjacent to Stanford University, is home to an unassuming two-story building at 165 University Avenue that was once home to Google, PayPal, and Logitech when they were small companies.  Music-recognition service company Shazam recently had their Silicon Valley headquarters in this building. Media, such […]

Ficklin Wilcox Wine Tasting Room in Midtown Sacramento

Local Taste: Tasting Rooms in Downtowns

Over the last thirty to forty years, the United States has seen a significant geographic expansion of the beer, wine, and spirits industries. Originally limited to traditional industry centers like Kentucky, Milwaukee, the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and St. Louis, entrepreneurs have started breweries, distilleries, and wineries in other cities, regions, and states, particularly in […]

Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, California

The Original Googleplex: The Economic Benefits of Downtowns

For centuries, downtowns in communities large and small have developed because face-to-face interaction is essential for economic and social development. When I heard about proposed Apple and Google campuses in California’s Silicon Valley, I was struck by how the supposedly innovative designs of these campuses and their focus on encouraging face-to-face interaction borrows heavily from […]

Reno's "The Biggest Little City in the World" Sign

Learning from Las Vegas and Reno: Characteristics of Good Gateway Signs

In my earlier discussion of urban landmarks, I mentioned two gateway signs that are nationally and internationally famous – the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” sign and Reno’s “The Biggest Little City in the World” sign. They not only inform visitors that they have arrived but help define Las Vegas and Reno for the […]

Banner in Downtown Angels Camp (CA)

Downtown Revitalization for Almost Free

The last five to six years have been peculiar for American downtowns. Continued evidence shows that developers, local governments, businesses, and the public have rediscovered downtowns as places to shop, work, experience culture, and live. At the same time, public revitalization efforts are becoming more difficult due to the slow pace of the economic recovery […]

Entrance to Downtown Plaza at K and 7th Streets

A Wish List for the New Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Complex

After decades of incremental change, Downtown Sacramento is on the verge of a dramatic transformation. State worker furloughs have ended, new restaurants and bars have opened, and the Convention Center is preparing expansion plans. The two most significant projects are the 240-acre Railyards, one of the country’s largest urban infill projects, and the Entertainment and […]

Placemaking on a Regional Scale: Does Sacramento Need Another Icon? Part 2

Placemaking on a Regional Scale: Does Sacramento Need Another Icon? Part 2

In my previous entry, I wrote about the importance of icons in conveying a positive image for regions and the need for new icons to promote the Sacramento region to potential new residents, visitors, and businesses. Sacramento is a blank slate for many people outside of California and northern Nevada, with the potential exception of […]

Chicago's Cloud Gate Sculpture

Placemaking on a Regional Scale: Does Sacramento Need Another Icon? Part 1

If you asked someone from another part of the country to describe one place in the Sacramento region, what do you think they would say? They would most likely be stumped to come up with an answer. If you asked someone from Minneapolis, Baltimore, or Dallas who had never visited San Francisco to describe a […]