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March 18, 2005
To grow a 'forest', start with one 'good tree'
If you wanted to grow a forest, but had money for only one tree, what would you do? You'd get the best tree you could possibly find and plant it in the middle of where you wanted the forest to grow. Neighborhood revitalization is no different, whether your budget only allows one venue, or an entire block, like The Can Company in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Can Company (noun turned verb) is a renovated one-block industrial campus of a former can company in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood, with 280,000 sf of offices, retail, restaurants and hidden parking. While it doesn't lend itself to the urban fabric of the most beautiful streets during the day, the loft-styled interiors are striking and the complex is a visual wonder at night. The truly entrepreneurial developers, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, are considered heroes for their work here and elsewhere in the city.
However, the Can Company's best feature is nothing architectural. It has become a neighborhood center with free entertainment and fun dining venues, and even more importantly, it's turned an unsafe, run-down section of town into one of the hottest, coolest places in the city. There's your forest.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
March 17, 2005
The Irish pub - the official third place of Ireland (and more)
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
In Ireland, three quarters of all alcohol is consumed in a pub. That's all alcohol, including any purchased at the grocery store. No wonder the Irish seem to be singing, dancing and laughing so much - it's not so much the alcohol (the oft-used stereotype) as it is being a very social culture.
According to the paper, A Genuine ‘Third Place’? Towards an understanding of the pub in contemporary Irish society, here are some reasons why the pub is the center of Irish (and third place) culture:
"Neutral ground: The pub offers a neutral space where people can congregate without the pressure on any individual to act as either ‘host’ or ‘guest'.
Leveller: Pubs/third places (unlike many social or sporting clubs) do not set criteria for inclusion
Conversation as the main activity: ‘The cardinal and sustaining activity’ of the third place.
Accessibility and accommodation: The pub/third place must be numerous, ubiquitous, and easily accessible: ideally on foot.
Regulars: A successful pub/third place, whether hairdresser or pub, is dependent on a cohort of regulars.
Low profile: 'Typically plain’ and unpretentious. plainness of the place helps to maintain the levelling social effect, and also reflects the ‘everyday’ nature of the setting.
Playfulness: 'The pleasure that is to be derived from ‘mutually withdrawing from the rest of the world and rejecting the usual norms’.
Home away from home: Key aspects of ‘homeliness’ makes the pub/third place attractive: a physical centre or ‘root’; a sense of possession as in ‘my local’; a site of regeneration and restoration; a sense of freedom-to-be, of informality; and finally, a sense of ‘warmth’. Together these serve key psychological needs."
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
March 16, 2005
Wi-Fi helping create a sense of place?
With wireless internet, traditionalists feared that 'place' wouldn't matter anymore. Indeed, it's never mattered more. Here are some of the ways, as highlighted in Salon's Urban renewal, the wireless way.
- All that digital communication is inevitably going to lead to face-face communication. Since digital dialogue encourages multiple participants simultaneously (depending on how cool you are), nothing provides a better physical meeting spot than the third place.
- Athens GA's 24-block wireless downtown (the Cloud) has led to more people visiting its third places, restaurants and live music venues. Find out how here.
- Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are 'invisible flyers' that allow passersby to wave their cellphone at a restaurant or theater to get other patrons' reviews, or leave their own, or download an audio tour of a neighborhood as you walk through it.
- You can even play place-based games, or enjoy a 'walk-in' movie where you plug your earphones into your digital-sound-capable cell phone to watch a movie in a town square.
The point is, this evolving digital infrastructure begins to shape the physical infrastructure around it rather than vice versa, and in the name of a higher quality of life.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
March 15, 2005
Since when is grocery shopping entertaining?
...since the service economy began evolving into the experience economy, and as a result, retail and entertainment began merging.
Whole Foods is the national trendsetter when it comes to groceries. Yes it's a chain, but as the Apple Computer of the grocery industry, it continues to set new standards in creativity, as well as environmental stewardship. personal health, and now enterainment and fun. Here are some of their multi-experience features that any-sized venue can be inspired by at varying levels of affordability:
- In-store cafe-style seating for socializing or relaxing for lunch
- Experience meals that are cooked and desserts prepared right in front of you - watch pizzas get tossed and fresh fish smoked or fried.
- Get a massage in the health products section.
- Enjoy a handmade salad in the produce area with a glass of wine.
- With WiFi internet access, you can work while at the supermarket. Now that's a first.
Posted by Neil | Link to Article
