07/29/2026
Cities are obsessed with cost and forget to consider value.
An Audi still just moves people from one place to another. But people pay a premium for it. Whole Foods still just sells food. But people pay a premium to shop there. Why? Because of how it makes them feel.
Your city is no different. People will pay a premium to live somewhere that makes them feel good. They'll leave somewhere that doesn't. Most people aren't looking for the cheapest place to live. They're looking for the best place to live. Cost is just one factor in that decision and often not the most important one.
Yet somewhere along the way we gave an outsize voice to bankers and finance people while sidelining artists, creatives, and dreamers as being unserious. We got obsessed with the "serious" business of cost and cheapened our communities to the point that nobody wants to live in them. Some people choose them. A lot of people just get stuck in them.
People don't make decisions solely on cost. They don't always order the cheapest thing on the menu or buy the most affordable sweater. They make decisions with their hearts as much as their wallets. They choose things that make them feel something.
So maybe it's time to elevate some writers and painters and dreamers to your board. Let people who understand beauty and emotion and human connection have a seat at the table where decisions about your town get made.
We need to change our approach. Let’s focus on becoming a place that makes residents proud. A place they can show off to friends from out of town. Somewhere that makes them feel good just to walk the streets.
If all of this sounds too “touchy feely” to you, you might be getting the point.
