Craig Agranoff

TV Marketing Personality, Persuasion Marketing Consultant, Author of 3 Marketing Books & Adjunct Professor. My tweets are my own opinion.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@KTG_CRE But you have great pizza!

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

I wonder how many downtown turnarounds really began with a comprehensive strategy and how many began because one slightly irrational person looked at a building everyone else ignored and thought, I can make something out of that.

Then someone else noticed.

There’s probably more economic development happening that way than we give credit for.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@KTG_CRE Thanks for sharing that! Will follow him.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@Kevin_Rutois Georgia would seem logical if it happens since filming has really heated up there over the last decade.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

Myth: More homes = more traffic chaos.

Reality: Dense developments near jobs/shops mean shorter commutes & fewer cars overall.

Blocking them forces sprawl, which actually clogs highways.

Evidence shows infill eases congestion; let’s embrace it!

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@brianbreslin Sometimes corruption and poor leadership also leads to areas remaining downtrodden.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

I’ve always laughed at couples who start dressing alike and people who somehow resemble their dogs.

Then I started thinking about neighborhoods.

Live somewhere beautiful and well maintained long enough and you start expecting beauty and maintenance.

Live around neglect long enough and eventually some of it becomes invisible.

Environment trains expectations.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

There might be no better tourism advertisement than seeing people who actually live somewhere enjoying themselves.

A crowded neighborhood restaurant does more for me than a restaurant billboard.

People walking downtown do more than a downtown slogan.

Families using a park do more than a professionally produced video about quality of life.

People are remarkably good at recognizing when a place is genuinely working.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@Trace_Cohen Oh it’s happening soon! https://t.co/lGPVYQvlr0

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@brianbreslin @shinsyotta I would like to remove that word after urbanist and instead change it to genius or hottie or something.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

Here’s a city planning question I hadn’t considered before:

Why does a parking lot have to do only one job?

If we’re already spending the money to build it, could the same property provide parking while also storing stormwater underneath, adding shade and taking some pressure off the drainage system during a major storm?

Cities of the future are going to have to squeeze more usefulness out of the infrastructure they already have.

Parking lots seem like a pretty good place to start experimenting.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

Good point, especially for us in Florida. I’m definitely not suggesting the same solution works everywhere. Sand, groundwater and maintenance all matter.

I’m really more interested in changing the question. If we’re spending millions on infrastructure anyway, what else can we make it do for us?

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

Yes. That’s really the larger point I was trying to make. Maybe solar works at one location and stormwater storage at another. Maybe both. I just think cities should start asking what else a piece of infrastructure can accomplish before spending millions to build it for one purpose.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

That’s a fair question, and obviously it won’t work under every parking lot. Utilities, groundwater, soil and drainage all matter.

My larger point is really: if we’re rebuilding infrastructure anyway, why aren’t we routinely asking what else it could do?

Sometimes the answer will be stormwater storage. Sometimes it won’t. But I’d rather ask the question.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@AussiePeteC From the parking lots on the surface?

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@MauraAlwyen The cities that plan for the future will be light years ahead as the time comes for change. And change IS coming! I have so much more to say in the topic 😇

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@MountainsGuy1 So many good possible uses!

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@MauraAlwyen Parking lots will look a lot different in the near future and it’s surprising how many cities are closing their eyes.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

@gatortakes Agreed. Silly most don’t.

[Craig Agranoff @Lapp]

The strongest brand statement a city can make isn’t a slogan about innovation. It’s letting people see innovation actually happening.

Construction fences. New restaurants. Restored buildings. Experiments. Entrepreneurs trying strange things. Public spaces full of people.

You don’t have to tell me your city has momentum if I can see it from the car.