You’ve got a plot idea for your blog post or lunch-and-learn presentation. Now you’ve got to decide how to tell the story. Every story has a method of narration. A project description for a procurement your office is issuing, a proposal for your firm to build a hydroelectric dam, an […]
For thousands of years, walking and horseback riding were the fundamental modes of transport. Settlement patterns were a direct reflection on transport options. And then along comes an invention you’re familiar with. A technological wonder that transformed cities for more than 100 years. Development patterns changed because people could now […]
Have you ever discovered a productivity tool that sped up your workflow so much that you wonder why everyone doesn’t put it to use? Canva gets a lot of press in design circles. Anyone with basic mouse skills on the computer can be transformed into a graphic designer. But for […]
Architects, planners, and engineers struggle with storytelling for so many reasons. One elephant in the room is that conversational speech is discouraged in college courses and mocked by supervisors. Business legend Seth Godin says: People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic. After 20+ years […]
Once we understand how people naturally react to scientific data, we’ll be much more effective storytellers. Data alone is virtually meaningless. Weave human experience into your delivery. Study marketing. Study psychology. Study World War II propaganda posters. Consider how a simple photograph or statement might connect with your audience. The […]
Professional planners are disconnected from the average person. So are civil engineers and architects. How can I be so sure? Because I’ve been happily working in this boring industry for more than 20 years. The work of subject matter experts has direct and measurable impact on the general public. But… […]
Sharing transportation devices is a dramatic departure from the cultural norm of each household buying and storing multiple vehicles. One of the questions I get the most about shared mobility is “Do you think bike share will last?” It’s usually asked with genuine curiosity and concern, even by adults who […]
I struggled for years with bar charts. They were a necessary evil — proof that data had been collected and some analysis conducted. I’ve been challenging myself to make data interesting on Twitter using two techniques: Create my own images (1024 x 512 pixels or 1024 x 1024 pixels) so […]
Don’t fall for the “but it’s correct grammar” excuse. Your reader isn’t interested in an accurate-but-boring-and-probably-confusing article any more than they’re interested in a string of hyphenated phrases. Passive language is a literary sleeping pill. Passive sentence: the subject has an action done to it. From rural towns to densely-populated […]
“We can’t have a bicycle culture here. We aren’t Copenhagen.” “Bike lanes are anti-car. It’s a cute idea, but we aren’t Copenhagen.” Decades ago, the Danes started taking public health and wellness seriously. They understood the safest conditions for cars happened to also be the safest conditions for humans. The […]
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