MAYOR’S BLOG
Thoughts, ideas, and theories
As the Mayor of Blendini City, I have a lot of thoughts on how cities work. I know what makes cities hum. I also know that cities are living organisms in their own right. The people and buildings that make up the city define it as a collective. That power cannot be underestimated.
“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Mayor’s Blog Topics
Mayor’s Recent Blog Articles
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A quick glimpse at how Blendini City folks pay their taxes
The Blendini City Tax Menu lists all of the projects and programs that are to be funded each year and the total budget required. Determining budgets is a collaborative effort between the citizens, the City Council, community leaders, and the Mayor. The budgeting process is transparent, and costs are broken down clearly.
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Should the Blendini City Metro Rail system expand?
The question is, should we expand the Blendini Metro Rail system? My position as the Mayor is, “Definitely yes, but…” The devil is always in the details. I think we all agree that more mobility is good, but where and how is always the question of the day. And the bigger point is, does the…
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How “eyes on the street” has fostered a shared safety culture
Neighbors, buildings, and people alike love to interact with one another outside. Friends and neighborhoods look out for each other. If there is something suspicious happening, someone in the neighborhood knows. And this is the foundation that I think is missing in our current American society. We have become an indoors-focused, overly introverted, and neurotic…
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How the city’s water supply has been kept clean
Our water treatment facilities, connected to our reservoirs, along with our network of well-maintained pipes, ensure clean drinking water. Our many green roofs and natural diversions also keep stormwater from running off too much, and we retain more of that water for our supply. Building our city around stormwater management has kept the water supply…
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A critical update on the Vick Mattress Hat Building
The Vick Mattress Hat Building has been under threat of demolition at the hands of Dick Viola for two years now, Historically, this was the very first hat maker in all of Blendini City. It quite literally christened the Hat District neighborhood, The Hat District has been going through some economic diversification and change. This…
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How Blendini City has sustained a “local first” economy
Businesses that grow in Blendini City choose to stay local, the money circulates within, but what “Blendini makes the world takes”. A lot of business invest locally, and the conditions are favorable to starting a business, but the advantages are given to upstarts and those that invest locally rather than outside corporations sniffing for tax…