Welcome to the new CityRevive.  I’m very excited to launch this new publication and write about innovative projects taking place in cities and counties. I only wish we weren’t struggling through this wicked pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the entirety of our lives. But, we will get through this and now it’s more important than ever to share valuable information in the context of a changed world.

Along the way I hope you will tell me about the project(s) you’re working on–how it came into being, why it’s important to your community, which elements were most difficult to execute, all the solutions therein, and of course, the end result.

I’m sure you’re wondering who I am and why I decided to launch CityRevive. I’ve been a journalist throughout most my career and founded Airport Revenue News, a monthly print magazine my team and I published for almost 20 years before it sold in 2011.

It was the ARN magazine that led me to the idea for CityRevive because I have always been fascinated by cities and their operational complexities. They’re a symphony of so many moving parts and when smart city leaders get it right it’s a thing of beauty. The challenge of providing quality services to citizens with a budget that is perpetually constrained is quite daunting. So it’s amazing to see the outcome of multifaceted projects that truly better the lives and living environments of the community. Especially in this new world we find ourselves merging toward.

I’ve always loved being the conduit of information leaders find helpful in their decision-making process–the reason why I launched my previous magazine. ARN (now re-branded as Airport Experience News) covers the business of airports. It became a much-needed resource for an industry that was revolutionizing the way it did business. I enjoyed witnessing how creative and innovative people are when they are compelled to be and are allowed to be, during a time of change.

Now after several years of retirement, and maintaining an irksome, inert golf handicap, I am stoked and excited about covering innovations in cities and counties.  It is a thrill to be writing about the creative genius that happens when leaders are inspired to find new ways to solve old and new problems.

My hope is to become engaged with you and learn about innovations taking place in your city or county. It doesn’t have to be about an enormously expensive, high-tech endeavor, although those are of interest too, it can be about a simple new idea that has had a meaningful impact in your city.

I encourage you to read through all of this issue’s stories and make comments or email me with your feedback. I want to know what type of stories you want to read more about, what other information is helpful to you, and what you like best in publications you read regularly.

Please reach out to me directly because I promise you will always find a good listener on the other end wanting to hear about your exciting news.

Talk to me at: paulinearmbrust@city-revive.com.