« September 12, 2004 - September 18, 2004 | Main | September 26, 2004 - October 2, 2004 »
September 24, 2004
Where would one find Madison's creative class?
Just like in Cambridge, Madison's creative class has left the national chain-infiltrating main town center in search of more affordable housing and unique independent merchants in more creative, entrepreneurial neighborhoods.
Those Madison neighborhoods would be Willy Street, about a mile away, and Atwood, another mile down the road. While they have less than a tenth of State Street's retail, they are no chains and the sense of community is extremely high. Co-ops seemed to be the norm, from bookstores to bakeries. The most significant one is the Willy Street Co-op supermarket, which residents seem willing to trade off cutthroat low prices for healthier selections; support for the local economy; and familiar faces.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
September 23, 2004
Madison's outdoor third places
Every town needs third places away from home and the workplace. These are usually coffeehouses, pubs or a bookstore cafe. While the best third places in the world are outdoor rooms, like Italy's piazzas, the best in the U.S. often comes in paseos (streets closed down to cars) and waterfronts. Madison has both.
Madison's State Street 'paseo' was covered in Tuesday's blog. Madison's University of Wisconsin has a waterfront terrace that has probably hosted some of the most inspired conversations in the town. Why? It has a spectacular view of the lake, is fronted by two dining venues, has room for hundreds of people, transmits free wireless internet, and sells beer by the pitcher (keep in mind this is Wisconsin). It all makes for a dangerous, highly creative spontaneous combustion chamber.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
September 22, 2004
Madison's leaders help set the standard
In continuing yesterday's experience with Madison's fervent belief that the car takes a back seat...
It should be no surprise that Madison's leadership is there. This morning I saw Mayor David Cieslewicz advocating on behalf of Madison's 2nd Annual Car Free Day, in connection with World Car Free Day.
He mentioned he was able to avoid using his car all but twice during the first two weeks of the challenge. He also encouraged Madison to step up its efforts, as China's impending demand on auto usage is sure to raise prices and hurt Madison's economy into greater import dependence.
... and it's not that the Mayor is an anomaly. County Executive Kathy Falk talked about how she's walked to work for 20 years, and Susan Schmitz of Downtown Madison Inc. was dressed in bike togs, having pedaled the 7 miles from her West Side home.
The unique twist was when nearby Evansville's Mayor Janis Ringhand made an appearance to challenge Mayor Dave and Madison as to which town could reduce car usage more.
The point is, these are not political campaigns, but the way of life in Madison. Very progressive... and fun.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
September 21, 2004
Madison, Wisconsin - Where pedestrians truly come first
Madison, Wisconsin regularly tops the Best Places to Live list, and even Forbes's Best Places For Business.
However, the one thing that's most apparent when experiencing Madison is that fact that pedestrians, or people rather, take priority over anything else. For instance:
- The main street, State Street, is only 24 feet wide, and closed to only buses, delivery trucks and taxis. What you see at night however, is people jogging, walking and bicycling, since the buses are few and far between, the delivery trucks are no longer running, and believe it or not, it's very rare to find a cab (speaking from experience) since everyone's walking or biking...
- It's been named one of the “Best Bike Towns in the County” and it's evident why - there are more bicycles on the streets than cars, more parked bikes than parked cars, more bike stores than car part shops.
- Then there's tomorrow's event...
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
September 20, 2004
Davis Square: Creative, healthy, and fun
While Harvard and MIT each have excellent town centers nearby, the neighboring students at Tufts University enjoy probably the best combination of atmosphere, entertainment and true affordability at Davis Square in Somerville, among our vists to the top four Greater Cambridge squares.
It had the most habitable square of any of the Cambride squares, where people could study, read, meet for lunch or play a game of cards. It's Somerville Theater is the only venue that you could see recent box office hits for $5, or live music concerts for a bit more. It has two funky cafes with fresh sandwiches (Diesel Cafe and Carberry's), a diner in a rail car (Rosebud Bar & Grill), popular pubs with character (The Burren), a slew of yoga and massage studios, and the quintessential student coffee house hangout with old chairs and unfinished walls - the aptly named Someday Cafe.
Photos of all these places are in the members section.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
