One of those ‘I wish we had one in my neighborhood’ urban destinations of creatives is the outdoor cafe walk. The Rue des Bouchers (butcher’s street, historically) - Beenhouwersstraat in Brussels, Belgium is one of the most picturesque and popular in Europe.

For several blocks, you’ll find restaurant after restaurant featuring outdoor seating. What makes this area so inviting?

- The streets are narrow and winding, so you feel like you’re in an outdoor room rather than a long corridor.
-

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My favorite feature:  Reader Experiences.  Please send yours, whether you live in or visited a place worth sharing to inspire a higher quality of life.  This one is from Dick de Jong of Brandaris Placemarketing in the Netherlands.

“In addition to your outdoor cafe district, stage row, alley, plaza, here in the City of Utrecht, the Netherlands you can find the ‘outdoor cafe canal’.  Built nine centuries ago, there is a unique extra lower level along the canals in Utrecht.  These levels used to

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Let’s get right to it.

Pre-Phase. Start with identifying what kind of outdoor cafe scene to crowdsource, whether it’s a walk, alley, square, stage row, or even plaza if you’re the ‘change the world’ type. Or a convergence of two or three types.

Phase I. Develop a defined vision based on the previous phase to attract a beta community of 500 supporters of people who would frequent such a place if it were built. You can build this through monthly events or gatherings, or just a strong campaign.

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...or outdoor cafe piazza, to be more authentic.

While we took a look at the different types of places that make an outdoor cafe scene, the outdoor cafe plaza is the holy grail. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be seeing such places in the U.S. for another 10-20 years, but now’s the time to start planning to see them even in that time frame.

What makes a true outdoor cafe plaza/piazza?

- Pedestrian-only.
- All four edges of the plaza are fronted by buildings, without being divided by

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Continuing our look at the outdoor cafe scene this week…

So, the key to establishing an outdoor cafe scene is converging and multiplying outdoor cafe walks, outdoor cafe alleys or outdoor cafe squares, outdoor cafe stage rows, sprinkled with isolated outdoor cafes. Then you’d officially have an outdoor cafe district and well on the way to attracting creatives, innovative businesses and a vibrant culture.

The photo of Piazza Navonna, Rome above is a combined stage row and square, or the be

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Continuing our look at the outdoor cafe scene this week…

We’re all familiar with the sidewalk cafe, and they’re a key ingredient in enlivening a street. However, it’s not quite enough to create an outdoor cafe scene. Thus, if you don’t have a pedestrian street to do a outdoor cafe walk, alley or square, go for an outdoor cafe stage row.

What’s the ‘stage’ component?  You need a sense of destination, and a couple of tables outside a cafe doesn’t quite do it.  Even a dining area two tables

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Continuing our look at the outdoor cafe scene this week…

How would creatives identify the heart of their neighborhood? With a central square surrounded (or filled completely) with casual dining tables, served by cafes and restaurants - the outdoor cafe square.

Again, this is not an experience reserved for warmer climates - the scene above is from Amsterdam, which happens to be north of London, and certainly colder than New York City and Seattle.

The guidelines for an outdoor cafe square

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Continuing our look at the outdoor cafe scene this week…

For those times when you want a more intimate experience, that true third place where good conversation is the only thing you want to be distracted by, the outdoor cafe alley may be a welcome retreat.

Unlike the public outdoor cafe walk, the outdoor cafe alley is a more private setting, in a narrow lane that feels more like a hidden discovery.

The guidelines for an outdoor cafe alley are:
- Pedestrian-only. It’s a quiet place

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For all the creative people, companies and events that a progressive economic development program brings, in my opinion it’s the outdoor cafe scene that captures the energy and enthusiasm of what it looks like when it all comes together.

This week we’ll take a look at the different manifestations of the outdoor cafe scene. This entry’s focus is on the outdoor cafe walk.

First of all, a ‘walk’ is a more casual noun that can be given to a pedestrian-only promenade. To illustrate the outdoor

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Helsinki, Finland’s Esplanade Park is the city’s grand natural stage, a central urban boulevard park that is at the heart of the city’s pedestrian, recreational and shopping activity. So where’s the best seat in the house to watch it all? That would be Cafe Strindberg.

Notice how its cafe tables and seats are line up theater style so you can relish your espresso or smoothie, soak up the sunshine, and sit and enjoy the live ‘performing arts’ that is people watching. It’s a simple sign that

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g src=“http://www.cooltownstudios.com/images/madrid-plazadechueca.jpg” style=“padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px” align=left title=“Plaza De Chueca, Madrid, Spain”

Residents in the U.S. revel in block parties, whether they’re urban like Adams Morgan Day or residence-based in the burbs. It’s a time when you can roam the street freely without having to look both ways, and enjoying the street as one giant festive patio.

Still, having a block party in the U.S. is typically a major pain in

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La Rambla, which translates to ‘intermittent water flow’, is the iconic hub of Barcelona, a predominantly pedestrian-only plaza stretching nearly a mile through the historic center of the Spanish city.

The central area is filled with outdoor dining areas, merchant kiosks and countless strollers, bordered on either side by traffic-calmed two-lane roads for cars, which are then fronted with restaurants, stores and residences.  Servers (pictured) cross the traffic lanes to cater to customers in

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As they say, “If San Francisco had a French quarter, Belden Place would be it.“  It’s an intimate, human-scaled alley lined with cafes, tucked away between Bush and Pine, Kearny and Montgomery streets in the Financial District.  The entire pedestrian-only street (paseo) is one elongated dining room, and a larger version of the ones in Sienna, Spain.

While they do celebrate Bastille Day in the alley, the day-day culinary experience is anything but exclusively French.  On any given day, one can

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The answer?  When you focus on designing great alleys.

Narrow, pedestrian-only streets (paseos) are becoming quite popular.  They help focus attention on people, the most interesting subject matter to the human eye.  This ‘people stage’ is made more dramatic with a terminating building(s).

Building facades that feature human-scaled, human-designed detailing are that much more appealing to - humans, especially if you intend to look at it longer than a minute or two.  The same goes for the

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We all know how nice it is to sit on our front porch or backyard when the weather’s nice.  We were meant to breathe fresh air and hear the sounds of everyday life rather than the sounds of the TV set or pot and pans banging in the background (like in small restaurants).  It’s easy on the mind and healthy for the soul.

Since cafes and coffeehouses are designed for lingering, the quintessential third place, providing outdoor seating is a must.  In our focus groups, half of the places that

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