A 56K modem just doesn’t cut it anymore

While writing this column from my home town in Hilo, Hawaii is refreshing, the lack of broadband isn’t - it sometimes takes a few minutes just to download a single web page.  DSL isn’t even available.  Which leads me to fiber optics…

If being stuck with a 56K modem has already made me miss publishing a daily story, how many opportunities is a small town with a struggling economy missing each day?  Then again, how much is a big city missing by not

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Now this is how to rock like the big cities.  It doesn’t get much better when you the area’s best bands take the stage in front of what seems like half the population of the entire town cheering them on, with the backdrop of the downtown main street on one end and the ocean on the other.

Even in a quiet, economically-challenged small town that’s the subject of a local comedian’s sarcastic song, “Hilo, the most exciting place on earth”, a creative

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Live from Hawaii… the farmer’s market

I’m on vacation for the next few days in Hilo, Hawaii, my hometown, but I’ll still report on what I find here.

While Hilo may not be a CoolTown per se, like any town it has its qualities.  For instance, you really can’t have a CoolTown without a farmer’s market, and the Hilo Farmers Market is one of the best.  Offering a variety of items from exotic produce to seafood and flowers to bongo drums, it’s a must for locals and tourists alike.

What makes

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What’s your community’s manifesto? Memphis knows. The Memphis Manifesto summit took place in May 2003, a great first step in establishing a beta community.

Hosted by Creative Class author Richard Florida, Smart City Radio’s Carol Coletta selected 100 creatives in politics, arts, design, media, technology and academia, business, economic development and nonprofits, from Austin to Toronto, Portland to Providence, to meet in Memphis on the first of May to draft a manifesto for creativity in

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Apple introduced videoconferencing for the masses yesterday which will help connect entrepreneurs and artists in unprecedented ways, but it’s the company’s philosophy that blends with CoolTowns. Here’s their tribute to the same kind of people that will pioneer CoolTowns - with one slight opportunistic edit:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.

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1200 urbanists met five blocks from my home at the annual Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) conference in Washington DC last week.  I owe a lot to the people who started this organization dedicated to improving quality of life in our communities through better planning and development.

While they are the largest group committed to the concept of New Urbanism, I have to stop short of saying they are active supporters of CoolTowns.  CNU conference speakers and attendance are not very diverse

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Investing in cool places to eat

So what kind of restaurants will the ultimate CoolTown have?  That’s like asking what kind of movies will be produced if your studio worked with only the most creative independent directors, writers and actors - one can only imagine.

The best ideas will come from asking the most creative people, then finding the entrepreneurs to run it.  One clear factor is that the creative inhabitants of CoolTowns need affordable places to eat - it’s about fun dining more

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Where ‘Friends’ meet for coffee

Forget Central Perk, the sofa-laden coffee house where the characters of the TV show Friends meet up, Tryst has it going.

Let me count the ways to make a great neighborhood hangout:  Provide lots of big comfortable chairs and couches for those who want relaxed conversation;  a communal table for those who want to strike up spontaneous dialogue or collaborate on work projects; lots of small tables near the front for more intimate conversation and dining; or

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There are many reasons why fast food doesn’t jive with a CoolTown, and here’s a whole book of them.  Below are listed just a few:

Health:  As covered in this particular week’s blog, there are many ways town planning can promote health, and avoiding these is one of them.

Local economy:  I’ve got an upcoming week’s blog on this, but fast food chains simply take more money out of the local economy than local entrepreneurs.  The National Main Street Center is the best resource on

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As we evolve from a service economy to an experience economy, diners are seeking more than just good food, they’re looking for a great time.

One of the popular restaurant types in is Ethiopian cuisine, which is essentially a giant pizza-sized serving of soft bread with varieties of spreads and fillings you combine yourself.

The best part to me is that you get to break all the rules.  First of all, you sit on the floor.  Second, you share from a common serving dish, and

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Food + fun = Hot pot

How can a town be fun if you don’t have fun places to eat? My favorite restaurant when I lived in San Francisco was The Coriya Hot Pot, and still is.

The basic concept of this all-you-can-eat experience is that you cook your own food - known as hot pot dining - or hot-potting. All the vegetables, meats, etc. are laid out like a salad bar for you to choose from, followed by sauces (of which you can use recommended combinations).  The fun part comes when you start cooking

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Government sponsored beer and live music?

OK, so you still have to pay $3 for the beer, but the City of West Palm Beach choreographs the beer truck and local live bands every Thursday night in its revitalized town square.  I was there on one of those nights and wish we had it here in Washington DC.

Clematis by Night was initiated by then Mayor Nancy Graham as a means of revitalizing the City’s neglected downtown.  Not only that, but she established a progressive, young planning department

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What would a CoolTown government be like?

A CoolTown government would look at enhancing the talent of its own people rather than importing it from somewhere else (ie big corporations).

It would promote ways of utilizing technology (e.g. the internet) and fresh ideas (e.g. universities) to enhance the skills and businesses of its own residents and establish a strong local economy.  Much of this is detailed in Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities in a Global Age by Michael Shuman

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Which cities support CoolTowns?

Well, the ultimate CoolTowns are in places like Paris and London because of the overwhelming priority of people over automobiles (these cities matured well before cars hit the streets).  The U.S. has its share of cool city governments.

Arts & Entertainment: The City of Austin has a live band play before every council meeting.  That’s the spirit of the city and its live music capital of the world slogan, where there are more live music venues per capita than

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Will local governments endorse CoolTowns?

It depends on who voted them into office.  Since governments are elected by the people, the mindset of its community’s leaders is a good indication of what government will do.  How they perceive risk is a fundamental indicator of whether or not they will endorse a CoolTown:

The risk-takers:  These are the people you read about in the paper, the ones who commit to ideas no one else will and set trends:  Artists and entertainers, Steve Jobs and Oprah

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You need strong, entrepreneurial government leadership to see innovative development implemented.  If the mayor doesn’t support the concept you may as well invest somewhere else.

What does government leadership provide?  For instance, it can produce policies that support entrepreneurial economic development; establish a tax system that reinvests into the project that generated the taxes in the first place; and provide a common vision that inspires community and business leaders to support

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The most effective sense of security comes in being around people you know, and CoolTowns make that easier.  Most importantly, it reduces the fear of being unsafe, which keeps way too many people inside and perpetuates a vicious cycle of ever fewer people going out.  Here’s what investors are looking to do:

1. Create a high enough density of people to have ‘eyes on the street’ security at all times.
2. Attract a diversity of housing types,

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Affinity Lab happy hour: As promised, here’s an update on my workplace’s first community building event last Tuesday, based on the aforementioned principles.  First of all, the anticipation of the happy hour created an unprecedented ‘newsroom’ buzz of activity a few hours before, and this new level of collective energy seemed to motivate productivity.  Then, with a Lab-founder sponsored display of food and mixed drinks, a rhythmic set of tunes and

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What do women want in a safe city?

If you want details, a pair of female authors from Toronto (reportedly the safest city in North America?) wrote Safe Cities: Guidelines for Planning, Design and Management.  Here are some of their recommendations for safe cities, which are essentially ‘eyes on the street’ fundamentals:

- Retail street frontages (encourages street life);
- Restaurants/venues that stay open late;
- Outdoor seating; street entertainers and vendors;
- People-attracting food

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That’s pretty easy - just observe how many women are strolling the sidewalks.

Women tend to have higher public safety needs (especially at night) than men do, and instinctively know which neighborhoods are the safest.  The more obvious requisites include excellent lighting, the less obvious is a high enough density, as described yesterday.

If you stand on the streets of the North End in Boston at rush hour (for people, not cars), a significant

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Does density cause crime?

Well sure, if you have a density of criminals.  However, if you have a density of entrepreneurs, entertainers and artists, you’ll cause some serious economic prosperity.

New York City and San Francisco are two of the densest cities in America, yet not only are they two of the most prosperous, but also boast one of the lowest murder, rape and aggravated assault rates per capita.  William Murray of Maryland’s State Attorney’s office and former Suitland, MD chief of

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