Bill Fulton

Why can’t anyone figure out how to save the San Francisco Centre? They’re thinking too small San Francisco leaders won’t be able to save dying malls one at a time. They need a big idea for San Francisco’s urban district as a whole.

Can the mostly dead San Francisco Centre shopping mall become something more than just a hollow retail shell? I think so. My take on this in the San Francisco Chronicle #cities #sanfrancisco #deadmalls #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

"Even though we've become untethered, we must find ways to reconnect with what's relevant": Workplace expert/real estate investor Lisa Picardon on attitudes toward #workplaces and how that is changing #cities #urbanplanning #workplaces #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/even-thoug...

How Shops Can Help Revive City Neighborhoods Big urban shopping malls and office-supported retail are out. But authentic urban bookstores and catalogue stores are in.

#Retail shops are in decline in many places, but in some situations they can still help revitalize #cities and #downtowns. But to be successful, the retail must authentic and intentional. My latest on Substack. #urbanplanning #urban #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-shops-...

Build More Of Everything, Closer Together Noah Smith says "shops" will save American cities. Nope. After Covid, the secret to vibrant American urban streets involves businesses that require face-to-face contact, like bars and restaurants

he other day #NoahSmith said the solution to everything is more small-scale shops -- which he seemed to think could be regulated into existence. But it's not that simple. My latest on Substack. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/build-more...

Some College Towns Are On "The Wrong Side Of Where" Towns that host mid-market colleges will struggle in the future. But that doesn't mean the lessons of great college towns can't be learned by these cities and others as well.

When I posted an item on h college towns, the The @WSJ published a story about how they're dying. The truth is that some of them are struggling, but the flagship college towns are thriving. A. #collegetowns #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/some-colle...

What College Towns Can Teach Us About The Future Of Where They're dense, walkable, and high-amenity. The demand for that kind of town far exceeds the supply -- which is a lesson we need to learn and act on.

College towns are great examples of successful small-scale urbanism. As demand for walkable places continues to exceed supply, we can learn a lot from college towns about how to shape the future of #places. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/what-colle...

How To Make "Edge Towns" Affordable And Sustainable We love living on and visiting "the edge" -- close to the ocean and other beautiful but fragile natural places. But can we really keep these places going in a way that doesn't break the bank?

Continuing my Substack theme of #Edgetowns, here are some tips on how to keep these beautiful and vulnerable places both #affordable and #sustainabile. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...

The Lure Of The Edge Town People like hanging out on the edge of something compelling, like an ocean. But how can we make sure "edge towns" are both sustainable and affordable?

People love to gravitate toward what I call Edge Towns -- settlements on the edge of something. From #MiamiBeach to #SantaMonica, these are compelling, dense and walkable. But they are unaffordable and e fragile. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-lure-o...

Rockville, a green small city built on transit urbanism Rockville’s early New Urbanism and TOD puts it at the top of a green small cities list.

I've always liked #Rockville as a kind of next-gen suburb that developed a real center. Proud that my nephew's the city's leading pedestrian advocate and his wife's on the City Council. #cities #suburbs #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.cnu.org/publicsquare...

How To Turn A Dead Mall Into An Urban Hotel You can't just plug the retail gaps. You've got to blast past the retail mentality and be intentional about how you do it.

A revitalized #shoppingmall needs to be more than just a retail center. We need to do make these changes with intentionality, so the resulting #places are greater than the sum of the parts. Here's how . #cities #suburbs #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-to-tur...

Dead Mall As Urban Hotel The suburbs needs strong and dynamic places to face-to-face gathering. Revitalization of dead malls can play this role -- but only if the re-do is done intentionally and not just as hole-plugging.

#Suburbs needs central locations where face-to-face activities can be concentrated. #Deadmalls can play this role -- but must be reshaped with an icombination of civic and private nthat create a rich experience. #urbanplanning

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/dead-mall-...

The Flexible Street Even a dismal suburban parking lot can be converted into a pedestrian paradise for a few hours for a farmer's market or an art festival -- and people love it.

#Streets in #urban areas work best when they're flexible -- when they can be used for different purposes at different times. My latest #Substack post. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-flexib...

A History of Home Digging into the stories of humans on the land

Here’s an absolutely beautiful tribute to #home and sense of #place from my longtime friend John Krist, reflecting on the history of the land he grew up on, which his family is now getting ready to sell. This is why “#Where” is important.

open.substack.com/pub/johnkris...

3 Tips For Getting People Out Of Their Cars For The Short Trips Yes, short urban auto trips are sometimes desirable. But with a little effort, cities can help people who live in urban neighborhoods find alternatives for running that short errand.

Yes, short #urban auto trips are okay -- but #cities can also work on encouraging people to #walk and ride short #shuttles . Here are 3 tips for cities interested in getting serious about encouraging short trips without using #cars. #urbanplanning

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/3-tips-for...

In Praise Of The Short Urban Auto Trip Driving eight blocks to get somewhere is better than driving eight miles.

spent the weekend in #Houston -- not exactly a #walking #city but nevertheless in many ways a 15-minute one. I realized thatt while short #urban auto trips aren't ideal, they're better than long #suburban auto trips. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/in-praise-...

ETJ’s for big cities are very large in Texas. And as in Houston other places will figure out to use MUDs if they can’t annex.

Is Sprawl Necessary? Most cities are going to grow both "up" and "out". How can we make the "out" part of that growth as beneficial as possible?

Last night, I gave a speech on g#urban development and #sprawl in Fort Worth -- and it made me think about how #cities are constantly growing both "up" and "out". #urbanplanning #fiutureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/is-sprawl-...

Factory towns in the U.S. have been coming back. Tariffs won't help them. Places like my homeowner have spent decades climbing out of an economic hole created when big factories closed. But their revived manufacturing economies will suffer from Trump's new tariffs.

I grew up in a small #factory town that was devastated by #offshoring. My hometown has come back a lot because of #manufacturing entrepreneurs. #Tariffs won't help. They'll hurt. #econdev #economicdevelopment #urbanplanning #cities #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/factory-to...

Your Town Wants Visitors' Money. But What Do You Do With The Visitors? Changes in the tourist economy -- especially the rise of short-term rentals -- have made life difficult for tourist towns. Here are a few ideas about how they can manage the situation.

I like visitor-oriented #cities and #towns because they are high-amenity #places. Tourists are a very important economic asset. But overtourism and the short-term rental trend has changed their nature.

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/your-town-...

The Pop-Up City Conventions and conferences create a constant flow of Burning Map-type events in downtowns. They are a critical part of the post-COVID "future of where" for cities.

Conventions and confereences create temporary Pop-Up #Cities in #Downtowns all across the country. They're not exactly Burning Man, but they are lively, crowded, and an essential part of the post-COVID cities #urbanplanning #npc25

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-pop-up...

You Want Sports Teams. You Don't Want To Be A Sports Colony The nationalization of sports is undercutting the ability of communities to use teams to strengthen their sense of identity. Here are four ways communities can combat the trend.

#Cities should remember that they want #sports teams -- but they should not be sports colonies. Here are 4 steps to take. #ubanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-sports...

The Four American Conservative Aesthetic Styles The aesthetics of the groups that make up today's American right - and what they tell us.

Aaron M. Renn is one of the most interesting conservative thinkers around today, and this is a really fascinating take.

www.aaronrenn.com/p/conservati...

It's Time To Liberate The Minor Leagues Minor league baseball teams are ia waste of money for the major league owners who control them. But they're not a waste of time for the communities who love them.

Minor league #baseball teams are a waste of money for the #MajorLeagueBaseball owners who control them. But they're not a waste of time for the #communities who love them. My latest Substack post. #citiess #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/its-time-t...

Remote Workers Aren't Just Individuals. They're An Economic Sector Worth Targeting They're affluent and they seek a high quality of life. Economic development folks should go after treat them as a target just like a factory or a company.

#Remote workers aren't just people living in a community. They're also an esector that can be targeted in #econdev efforts. But attracting them requires quality of life and other factors, just like a company. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/remote-wor...

Five Years Later: What I Got Right And Wrong About Cities After COVID Remote work and Amazon delivery trucks are here to stay. But a lot of the other changes I predicted simply didn't materialize once we had a vaccine.

Five years ago, when the #Pandemic started, I wrote a blog predicting how #cities would be different. Remote work is still with us, but public health has faded from view and we aren't enjoying walking like we did then. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/five-years...

What The Suburbs Need To Be "Workshops" The post-COVID "Suburban Workshops" are fundamentally different than the traditional suburbs. Here's how they need to change to function well in the post-COVID world.

#Suburbs used to be bedroom communities. But since COVID, they've beocme workplaces too. So they need to be more diverse in the activities they provide -- and the scale at those activities operate. My latest #Substack post. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/what-the-s...

Will the Exurban Metropolis Be An Economic Powerhouse? Exurban areas are adding people in the wake of the pandemic. But they’re still not growing their economies as fast as urban cores.

Ever since the #pandemic, the betting has been that #exurbs will be the winners. But the jobs are still in the central #cities and inner #suburbs. Only a few businesses, such as data centers, seems to like the exurbs. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/will-the-e...

If All Movies Are About Place, Why Do Places Keep Subsidizing Them There's intense competition for location shooting and an "arms race" in film tax credits. But creating a "new Hollywood" anywhere requires much more than that.

There's a "race to the bottom" on #taxcredits for #filming. But does location shooting lead to true economic growth? Only if it's accompanied by sustained, long-term effort . #econdev #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/if-all-mov...

The Oscars Were About "Where" Anora and the Oscar contenders were dripping in their depiction of "place," reminding us once again that movies affect us emotionally in part by connecting us to the idea of "where".

Last night's Oscars just reminded me once again that #movies are almost always about #place . The #location of a movie really is a character in the movie, used to create an emotional connection with the audience. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofhwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-oscars...

I grew up in a city with a strong and proud #ukrainian community. In fact, our recent high school reunion was at the Ukrainian National Club. We must stand behind #ukraineagainst #russia. Anything less is a capitulation to #PutinVladimir -- and a shameful position for us to take.