Posted on July 20, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
For those of us who work in the arena and focus on practical implementation more than theory, a lot of effort must be dedicated to devloping new equations that are practical, workable, and affordable. I love the new age of community planning. My concern is not ‘What’ we need to aspire toward, but ‘How’ we get there from here with myriad new challenges and costs appearing every quarter. Most public leaders know what should be done; the dilemma is how to accomplish various tasks with limited funds, disenchanted citizens, frustrated employees, and a struggling economy.
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Posted on June 26, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
A single point of contact with ample expertise and the ability to handle any issue allows developers and citizen remodelers to move quickly through the permitting and review process. The days of balkanized public agency fiefdoms must come to an end.
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Posted on June 19, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
Many communities can generally provide economic and business incentives as the cornucopia of freebies escalates. But what REALLY attracts people? We know that jobs, affordable/ available housing, support services, recreation, reasonable utility costs, public transportation, and good schools are essential. But what else?
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Posted on May 29, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
Everything distills down to If-Then scenarios. Decision makers need to not only be informed of the issues, but absolutely MUST understand the IMPACT of each issue. There is an implied “So what?” to every issue or problem statement. And, unfortunately, many do a poor job of explaining with good data the ramifications of each issue.
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Posted on April 30, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
We want… is a common refrain. Various interests want good and more roads, less congestion, free parking close to shopping areas, nice, well kept parks, a zero downtime infrastructure, clean water, great health services, housing services for the poor and disenfranchised, really nice police officers, a responsive EMS system, fire stations close to MY property, clean air, etc. This list goes on. It is enormous. In this society citizens want and expect many things. But what can we afford?
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Posted on April 13, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
There are far too many decisions that abandon strategic thought for the safe world of normative thinking – most of which is fueled by budget cycles and crises. While there are many rare and unpredictable events that have and will shape communities, there are ample data to assess potential and apply predictability equations IF officials and managers can break away from static, normative thinking that tends to produce the same results year after year. (Didn’t Al Einstein define that as insanity?)
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Posted on April 8, 2009 by Dr. John Luthy
Timothy Egan’s remarkable book on the American Dust Bowl era (The Worst Hard Time, Mariner Books 2006) is an exclamation point for those who remain optimistic during the current downturn. From 1929 through 1939 those who had sought their fortunes on the central plains, in industry or in the financial centers of New York or [...]
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