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June 22, 2007

Venice, Italy

The Beta Community Challenge!

A major reason why developers find strip malls and office parks so enticing is that the tenants are predetermined, and thus are easier to finance because investors see the same predictability, which leads us to why 95% of development churns this out instead of the 'good stuff'. Subdivisions and apartment towers are not far off, being marketed to as a mass audience who think and act the same.

So, in the same vein as what made YouTube, Wikipedia and American Idol drive millions to a passionate loyalty in a few years (if that), I'd like to provide the opportunity to do the same for five neighborhoods to show that 95% of the creative, progressive crowd is looking for something completely different, like maybe the outdoor dining scene above, or attainably-priced lofts.

I've been asked to speak on beta communities (groups of future tenants tied to a specific undeveloped/unrehabbed project) for the ULI in Las Vegas in October, and by that time I would live to present documentaries of five newly established pre-beta communities, all formed at the same time (now), that would like to partner with visionary developers to execute their vision.

So here's the Beta Community Challenge:

If you present a start list of 20 creative, progressive people (in your city) that are committed to working with a developer to carry out their vision, I'll help you set up a beta community at no charge until the event in October, including finding that developer. I can assist no more than five groups! You can find the four beta community types at CoolTown Beta Communities. The projects will then be tracked on this website so readers can keep up with how they're progressing.

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June 21, 2007

San Gimignano, Italy

Reader log: Having the market come to you instead

We're all familiar with the public market as either a large regional market, or a small neighborhood famer's market. The public market originated in Europe, and here's a reader's account of how they still provide an ideal model for markets elsewhere.

"Pictures of San Gimignano, Italy (all images) show how the market comes to the people vs. people needing to drive to the market. These markets sold everything from produce to panty hose. Although San G is kind of a tourist town, these trucks were definitely brought there for the local people. The nearest place to go to a larger grocery store is around 12 km away, down the hill. There are small grocery stores but selection is kind of limited." Kevin Kawasaki, from a visit in May, 2007.

What really defines these historic markets is the location. As Kevin stated, the market comes to the people, and there is no more convenient place for that to be than a big open square in the middle of the city; the piazza (lower image).

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June 20, 2007

InQBox, Singapore

How 'community' is driving the trend toward 'local'

The more our everyday products and experiences, restaurants and stores, are offered globally (ie Starbucks, Subway, The Gap) the less many of us get a sense of place or feel authentically connected to our own neighborhood. What can those who are fed up with in increasingly faceless, commoditized culture do about it?

Continuing our review this week of the local-first (Still) Made Here trend, here are some business ideas that community-seeking consumers are supporting as alternatives:

- Pop to the Shops - an online version of your local main street.
- An idea that you'll see sooner than later (or now in the UK) are neighborhood discount cards of only local indie businesses. San Francisco has a coupon book of only progressive local indie businesses called the Green Zebra Guide.
- InQbox ('incubation in a box') in Singapore is a store that rents out cubbyholes to locals (~$50/mo.) with highly qualified merchandise to sell (pictured).

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June 19, 2007

Athens Cafe, Queens, NY

How 'status' is driving the trend toward 'local'

Are you on the 'in' or 'out' list? Are you with the times, or behind them? Are you considered socially conscious, or perceived as ignorant? Our status affects us more than we think. Many readers of this website who are at the forefront of improving their community are known as progressive thinkers, and they'd rather not be known as 'old economy'. So let's refer to that as their progressive status, which is often associated with the truly unique and the authentic, which is then associated with the most desirable local neighborhoods in the world.

Continuing our review of the (Still) Made Here trend from the previous entry, one of the most effective ways to measure how 'progressive status' is making people think 'local' is how good the story behind the subject is. Which ones tell a better story?

- Buying shirts from a sweatshop vs from a company that rescues 'imperfect' sheep destined for the slaughterhouse or hires only people from the country it sells it in?
- Working at a company where all the food in its cafe is grown within 150 miles vs one that has no idea, nor cares?
- Frequenting an indie restaurant where they sell a CD of only local musicians vs one which sells the same CDs in the same stores all across the country?
- Shopping in a downtown where you can't find the same stores anywhere else in the world vs one where they're exactly the same stores in 120 other cities?

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June 18, 2007

Venice

Social responsibility a boon to local neighborhoods

How valued is the word local in the modern economy? A lot.
Last week's entries on the importance of local investment is covered extensively on Trendwatching.com this month. The report, (Still) Made Here, documents "the comeback of all things local, all things with a sense of place, and how they're surfacing in a world dominated by globalization... where a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the storied, the eco-friendly and the obscure.”.

Trendwatching presents the trend toward the local via three drivers, social responsibility, status and community.

A look at how social responsibility promotes the local economy, culture:

- Books emphasizing local economies are proliferating (one of the best being Deep Economy mentioned in the previous entry), supermarket products and shoes display carbon impacts, produce displays their farm origins, and organic food is increasingly being grown locally.

- On the CoolTown front, you'll see an emphasis on local businesses vs chains, green buildings using local materials, and support for growing fast-growth small businesses locally rather than stealing corporations from other cities. What's the big deal? More money stays in the neighborhood, and a refreshingly healthy amount of authentic, local culture as well, like that local coffeehouse that lets you stay extended hours, promotes local artists, listens to you and supports community events, vs the national coffee chain that is focused foremost on efficiency and profit for its HQ. Check out more on this aspect at Where.

Next: How status and community affect local neighborhoods.

Image: It doesn't get more local than in Venice. Thanks to Kevin Kawasaki for the image.

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