Resort: A place frequented by people for relaxation or recreation
Recreation: Refreshment of one’s mind or body after work through activity that amuses or stimulates; play

So, what if a visionary financial group invested in places that people specifically visited to play in, to refresh their minds?  Now what if that same group invested in places that people lived in to play, and continually refresh their minds?  That’s the notion of a cool town.  Thus, a “CoolTown resort” is a pleonasm.

One

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The image above is a hint at what a CoolTown workplace resort village could look like.  This Fast Company magazine article of an Italian internet village for mobile professionals explains what such a place could be like, if it were isolated.

Now, take those two visions, mix thoroughly and blend into an urban fabric just waiting to be transformed into a 24-hour arts, entertainment and entrepreneur district.  Suddenly, you’d have the brightest business minds taking ‘creativity vacations’ in

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Look ma, no cars!  See yesterday’s blog to better understand why.

Look ma, no chains!  Well, mostly no chains.  Real estate journals publish that main streets should have at least 70% Mom & Pops.  Why?  Simply because Mom & Pops do better financially.  Why?  See yesterday’s blog.

...then there’s not learning from resort main streets.

OK, so there’s little diversity in these residential resort towns - everyone kind of looks the same and the cars you do see are either SUVs or built in

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To answer that, it may be best to ask one of the pioneers of progressive town planning, Andres Duany of DPZ & Company.  Here’s his response just today:

Resort towns have the responsibility of being better than daily towns. People will not go on holiday unless the experience is better, more like their ideal than their regular places. Resorts are the most interesting experimental sites. We can always push the envelope further as people will risk new behavior modes for short periods of times in

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CoolTowns have two unlikely sources of inspiration.  One is Italy, home of the Renaissance and whose language is based on poetry.  The other is the resort, where people escape to live in a place as close to utopia as they can find.  Think of road rage, full schedules and late-night worries, then wake up from your nightmare and think of…

Portofino, regarded as Italy’s most beautiful, picturesque and romantic town.  No cars, outdoor dining with artistic views, friendly residents and a

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Today the blog focuses on the last of three key components of the charter as it relates to job growth.

The Block, the Street and the Building:

This is where it typically applies to tenants, to the employers. Streets, public areas and buildings that encourage human interaction best serve the high level of human networking needed for prosperous communities.

“A primary task of all urban architecture and landscape design is the physical definition of streets and public spaces as places of

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Today the blog focuses on the second of three key components of the charter as it relates to job growth.

The neighborhood, the district, and the corridor:

The neighborhood is at the heart of the charter’s principles.  It also covers the ‘district’ and the ‘corridor’, but mainly to be comprehensive. “Neighborhoods should be compact, pedestrian-friendly, and mixed-use.“ “Many activities of daily living (and working) should occur within walking distance.“ “Within neighborhoods, a broad range of

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Today the blog focuses on the first of three key components of the charter as it relates to job growth.

The Region: Metropolis, City and Town:

Metropolitan regions are shaped by natural features, and are “made of multiple centers that are cities, towns, and villages, each with its own identifiable center and edges…“ based on a transportation system that emphasizes “mobility throughout the region while reducing dependence upon the automobile.“ The preservation of natural features is a major

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The Charter for the New Urbanism is essentially an executive summary followed by three sections focusing on urban design principles for the region, the neighborhood and the block. It is too long to completely list here, so I’ll highlight its main points through this week and relate that to job growth.

The Executive Summary:

“We stand for the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions, the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real

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A lot!  Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know it by reading the mainstream press.  Hopefully by the end of this blog’s week you’ll have a resource to point to.  But first, we need to define Smart Growth.

There’s the Smart Growth Network’s definition, representing a consortium of the most influential public and private sector organizations that can influence Smart Growth.  However, because they are sponsored by a federal body (EPA), they can’t advocate for specific policy changes.  Then there’s the

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