Community Building

Copenhagen is a prime example of bike-friendly citie

What does it take to make more walkable and bike-friendly cities?

In a word - codes. Zoning codes.

Obviously there's more to transforming streets for use by all members of the public. But a change in zoning codes for citizens who walk or bike shows a fundamental mindset that a town is serious about moving away from cars and closer to alternative modes of transportation.

Why does a town need to do this? Because citizens all over America are demanding change.

For too long, America's infrastructure was built around the automobile and cheap gas. The country created massive suburban communities so more people could own a house, a lawn and a backyard.

The problem is that this caused communities to be spread out over large tracts of land. For a resident to buy food, they had to get in their car and drive across town to the grocery store. The construction of strips mall and mega-malls encouraged this

More bicyclists in cities will require more bicycle parking - bike bollards are one solutio

You've seen them a millions times but probably don't know what they are called. But now that we are seeing more and more people riding bicycles, these simple, knobby, century-old devices can be a major problem-solver for cities and towns.

What are they? Bollards. What can we use them for? Traffic control and bike parking - bike bollards.

Gil Penalosa and his message about people-centric cities. Source 8 80 Citie

If you look at the speaking schedule for a guy named Gil Penalosa, you'll notice he is everywhere. Why? Because his message about doing something now to change cities in the future is resonating with quite a few people.

In fact, Penalosa will be the keynote speaker at the annual National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) conference in Las Vegas Sept. 15-17.

Essentially what he is saying is really a no-brainer. We ALL know this is going to happen. How we shape the way we manage what is going to happen is another story, another story that Penalosa urges us to act on NOW.

Here's the scenario. The population of people living in cities is going to double from 3.5 billion to more than 7 billion in just 35 years. Do you think it

Lucy reading on a park bench in the Twin Citie

Here's a simple formula to make a park exciting. Add a sculpture in front of a park bench and you have essentially transformed a plot of grass into an outdoor museum.

It certainly works for St. Paul, Minn. They added hundreds of statues from the Charlie Brown cartoon series and have turned many of their parks into tourist destinations, creating a sense of civic pride as well with local residents.

There is a connection between the city and the Charlie Brown creator Charles Schultz. He was born there and went on to become one of the most popular cartoonists in history. At his peak, his "Peanuts" comic strip was featured in 2,600 newspapers which spawned several TV specials as well.

When he died in 2000 at the age of 77, the statues were created to honor his legacy.

Now more than 100 statues of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock can be seen interspersed in parks all over the Twin Cities. Created

Scenic bike paths like this one in NYC can be an effective way to attract tourist

If a city or town is looking for a simple strategy for economic development, consider bike paths and trails. They're easy to create - you determine a scenic route in your town, find some bike racks for sale, arrange for rentals, create a map, and voila, you just created a tourist destination!

All across America, municipalities are pouring millions into building some feature in their town that will lure in tourists. Tourism dollars are great for any local economy. People visit, they drop money in restaurants, hotels, gas stations, stores and then they leave. So a town reaps the benefits of all those dollars without having to support all those people with schools, services, etc. They arrive, they spend, they go.

What a great way to generate revenue for a town. Local businesses benefit. Tax revenue grows. Area residents have more pride in their town.

But you don't necessarily have