« January 13, 2008 - January 19, 2008 | Main | January 27, 2008 - February 2, 2008 »

January 25, 2008

The hidden 'indoor' outdoor patios of Key West

The essence of Key West's vibrancy, located along the very public Duvall Street profiled previously, was often very hidden via outdoor patios behind and alongside buildings.

Take Croissants de France (pictured) - at first glance you see a traditional front porch leading up to the entrance of the cafe, but as you walk up you notice a side patio followed by a tree-shaded courtyard, triggering an inkling to want to sit down and order a chocolate crepe or afternoon mojito.

Then there's Blue Heaven, a local favorite, where all you see on the outside is a modest, traditional structure. However, enter through the gates and you're thrust into another world complete with an outdoor bar and dining area. As one half of a couple remarked on a cold, rainy night as they ate indoors, "This is the first time in all the times I've come here that I've eaten indoors."

Now multiply this formula several fold and sprinkle throughout Key West's downtown, and you'll understand why so many locals are passionate about their home town - these are the places where 'life' happens every night in Key West, and there's no shortage of them.

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January 24, 2008

Bikes come first in Key West

Key West, Florida is both a city and an island hosting a few facts you may already know: it has a population of 25,000; is a cruise destination; has phenomenal weather (except when I visited it); is among the Florida keys that originated the key lime pie; is only 90 degrees from Cuba; has the nation's first and oldest continuous gay and lesbian chamber of commerce; was home to Ernest Hemingway; and maintains 200 of the 300 liquor licenses in the keys - half of which are on Duvall Street (pictured)...

...All of which makes for a very desirable destination where a majority of the community's emphasis is on quality of life, and some very subtle placemaking cues resulted. For one, people found that its most popular corridor, the commercially vibrant Duvall Street, didn't need streetside parking for cars, but rather sidewalk parking for bikes. There was something inherently relaxing, as is the mode of life in Key West, to walk down streets being able to see streetlife unobstructed by dual rows of parked automobiles.

Reinforcing that fundamental pedestrian-oriented difference from most American streets, sidewalks were wide, trees lined both sides, and shops maintained their own unique signage, many of which were local independents. Ah, but the essence of Key West's vibrancy, while along the very public Duvall, was often very hidden... (see next entry)

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January 23, 2008

The hidden public courtyards of Buenos Aires

Hidden to tourists that is. The locals know where the public courtyards in their city are, and they make some of the best third places around, especially given that you can enjoy a little sun and warmth in the experience.

This particular one is in San Telmo, off Defensa Street, which is open only to pedestrians on Sundays (see previous entry). You'd never know it existed walking down the street (left image), demonstrating the value of exploring a city with a local ;) (How to experience the hidden community).

As you can see, it's a pretty ideal outdoor setting for a panini and margarita, good company and the pleasant buzz of relaxed conversation. The open air shops and outside merchandise displays also paint a colorful public market/street fair scene every day of the week.

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January 22, 2008

Crowdsourcing a local, indie brand for creatives, by creatives: A green restaurant

Local, independent businesses that are just starting out typically can't compete with the chains that already have an established national customer brand. However, as profiled previously, the best local, indie businesses can outperform any chain given a loyal community brand.

Even better though, is to enjoy that success on day one, which is a little unexpected given that it's a new business. That's where crowdsourcing comes in, with the ability to not only develop a loyal customer base on opening day, but well before then. But this is all just talk right? So here's an example of such a case with a local, indie business in Washington DC that doesn't even have a space yet...

What started out last year with a visionary entrepreneur and a meeting of 14 progressive creatives has since become Elements, a community of 180 future customers (and growing) that have since crowdsourced the name, the logo (above), a leading partner, and the program, which has evolved from a 1000 s.f. coffeehouse to a 5000 s.f. green, vegetarian restaurant and education/community/entertainment center. The owner is currently negotiating leases...

...and is thoroughly convinced, as are its future customers, that Elements will be a social, environmental success on day one, primarily because it practically already is.

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January 21, 2008

State of Vermont gets in on creative cities

How serious is the commitment to building more vibrant cities? This whole creative city thing isn't confined to just cities - entire states are taking such a proactive approach to modernizing their economies, from Michigan's Cool Cities Initiative to now, Vermont's Creative Communities Program (CCP):

"Communities apply to participate in the Creative Communities Program. Successful applicants receive technical assistance in the form of a community visit process that moves quickly from community-wide brainstorming sessions to setting out specific, focused project plans that local teams can begin work on immediately."

Initiated in 2004 with their first statewide conference, Advancing Vermont's Creative Economy, the state celebrated its success by recognizing 11 communities that participated in the program:

The "Virginia Council on Rural Development (VCRD) developed the Creative Communities Program to help residents look at their towns and regions through a creative economy lens and identify specific projects to pursue that would make them more vibrant communities - places that would attract and inspire innovative entrepreneurs. The program was modeled on the revitalization of Vermont towns like Brandon, Bellows Falls and Vergennes where local leaders built partnerships between artists, cultural non-profits, town government, and key businesses to build activities, redevelop properties, and establish reputations as towns that encourage innovative business development. Today, these towns are building their creative workforces, attracting businesses, and developing jobs. Tax revenues are up. They have a public image - a brand - as a town on the move with rising energy and spirit."

Image source: Church Street, Burlington Vermont, by no3rdw.

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