If you create a city that’s good for an 8 year old and good for an 80 year old, you will create a successful city for everyone. — 8-80 Cities A well-designed place works for all of its residents, from the youngest family to the eldest veteran. We seem to have forgotten that in our […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—April 7, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, Goldsboro, North Carolina Friday–Apr. 7th The day has been cloudy with a few light sprinkles of rain. I received a letter from home today and answered it. There was a funeral procesion of some officer passed our camp just after noon. I am no better than I was yesterday. I read […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—March 2, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, Chesterfield County, South Carolina Thursday–March 2nd We were on the road at 6 AM and found very good roads for 4 or 5 miles and then the road was dreadful muddy and we marched very fast. It rained some through the night and it has been misty and wet all day. […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—Oct 23, 1864
Diary of Orrin Brown, Chattanooga, Tennessee Sunday–Oct. 23rd I was quite sick all night on account of my cold but I feel a little better now and hope I shall get along. It was a little warmer last night but there has been quite a chilly wind blowing today. There was a large squad of […]
No Net Neutrality for Amtrak on the Hi-Line
NPR this morning followed-up on my blog yesterday on the boom in rail freight, especially in the Bakken. Amtrak’s Empire Builder follow’s James J Hill’s pioneering Great Northern Railway route, from Chicago & the Twin Cities to Fargo, then parallel to US 2 (the “Hi-Line”) across North Dakota and Montana to points Northwest. Oil business […]
Broadband Service, Training, Digital Inclusion, Innovation and Marketing Key to Rural Success
[v=3PP2Old8jo4] Intelligent Community Forum partners with Blandin Foundation to close the digital divide for rural Minnesota communities Published Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:00 am $6.6 million project monitored 11 communities over two years and tracked increases as high as 60% in the use of broadband to boost their economies (New York City, New York, 12 […]
Broadband Planning And Big Data
The Internet most people use is an antique. I hadn’t thought of it that way until I was invited to participate in a bonus session on Broadband Planning & Big Data, during the #APA13 National Planning Conference in Chicago last month. The International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University focuses on developing […]
Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities: Planning for Broadband #apa13
Broadband is essential infrastructure for the 21st century. Just as paved roads, electricity and drinking water supported development in the last century, broadband communications is required for development today. Yet as author William Gibson said, “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed yet.” Hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors […]
Broadband is not a luxury, but “something like plumbing” necessary for normal life
“The new railroad, the new interstate, the new road system in this country and in this state is (Internet) connectivity.” (WTE) Governor Matt Mead opened the inaugural Wyoming Broadband Summit with keynote remarks before over 200 policy wonks, technology geeks and interested bystanders gathered in Cheyenne Tuesday morning. Wyoming Enterprise Technology Services and the Wyoming […]
Broadband Access Continues to Expand in Minnesota
Connect Minnesota has released a new update on broadband access in Minnesota. There are still over 5% of rural households that don’t have access to even the most rudimentary broadband service. And as MPR observes, broadband access is NOT distributed evenly across Greater Minnesota. The 10 megabit service map above is striking in it’s asymmetry, ranging […]