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 having fiber optics?  That’s why we’re working

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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 team of the area’s most creative artists,

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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 farmers markets so cool?  The items are

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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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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 than fine dining.  They also don’t

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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:  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 this.

Community spirit:  The more fast food restaurants

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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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