In the news: Carless lifestyles are ‘in’

The Washington Post is having quite the CoolTown run lately…

Out of the Driver’s Seat : Arlington Residents Increasingly Choose to Shift Into a Carless Lifestyle (Washington Post)
By Chris L. Jenkins, November 17, 2003 (link expires Dec. 1)

More and more people in Arlington County, VA are going carless - and guess what?  According to the article, they’re very happy.  I can vouch for that since I know a few of them myself.

Percentages of

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In the news: The Wal-Mart you DON’T know

Fast Company Magazine:  The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Charles Fishman

What an eye-opening story (just click anywhere in the paragraph above).  It makes you realize that Wal-mart isn’t a national retailer anymore, it’s an international wholesaler. 

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In the news: Washington DC - Growth in spite of itself

Urban Warfare: DC’s Unfulfilled Potential: Leadership, Tax Issues Hamper Growth (Washington Post cover story)
By D’Vera Cohn, Nov. 10, 2003 (link expires Nov. 24)
Second of two articles:  While most cities have to scratch and scheme to attract out-of-town talent, the nation’s capital is among a handful of magnet cities that many young people feel they simply must experience...

A curious thing is happening in Washington D.C. - its

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In the news: Diverse leadership = jobs?

Mid-sized cities get hip to attract young professionals (USA Today cover story)
By Haya El Nasser, Oct. 10, 2003

Summarizing the article:

Pittsburgh, Richmond, Memphis, Tampa, Indianapolis, Baton Rouge, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Tallahassee, Fla., Cincinnati and Fresno, Calif. are intent on diversifying their population by trying to attract younger people.  San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, Washington and Boston are already there.

What

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In the news: Seattle vs. Cleveland: And the winner is...

Seattle.  Yawn.

Brain-Gain Cities Attract Educated Young (Washington Post cover story)
By Blaine Harden, Nov. 9, 2003 (link expires Nov. 23)
First of two articles:  Seattle: In a Darwinian fight for survival, American cities are scheming to steal each other’s young. They want ambitious young...

Of course it’s Seattle, since the city encourages job creation through its major universities; focuses on cutting edge entertainment,

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Take a break on Veteran’s Day

Take the day off, re-recognize your freedoms and refresh your …

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In the News: Francis Ford Coppola’s CoolTown

Perhaps we’ll be able to see a next generation CoolTown in less than two years - on the big screen.  The director of the Godfather is researching the ‘coolest cities’ around the world (e.g. Curitiba, Brazil) in writing a script for his next movie, ‘Megalopolis’, inspired by the 1936 movie of H.G Wells’ “The Shape of Things to Come.”

From CBS News: 

“I’m not looking for Flash Gordon or fantasy or Star Wars. It’s ‘what’ will people 100 or 500

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Investing in ‘Entrepreneur Villages’

The Conflict: Visionary municipalities have an overriding interest in improving their quality of life, retaining university graduates (stemming ‘brain drain’) and catalyzing the creation and growth of gazelles, but simply don’t have enough financial or human resources to fully carry out their most progressive economic development plans.

One Solution: With limited resources, a talent-producing university and recognition that a vibrant, affordable,

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Gazelles + Economic Gardening = Prosperity

Gazelles: There are two kinds of entrepreneurs - the ones that do business (Mom & Pops) and the ones that grow businesses (gazelles*).  While it’s the Mom & Pops that offer the one-of-a-kind restaurants, brewpubs and shops that create happening places which attract entrepreneurs in the first place, it’s the gazelles that account for 75% of all job growth, plus half of all innovations, two-thirds of inventions and 95% of all radical innovations

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Some rather hip mayors...

The image to the left is the Wynkoop brewpub in Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver - keep that in mind…

Economic development ain’t what it used to be.  Just listen to Mayor John Hickenlooper from this Denver Post article:

“The days when offering a big subsidy was enough to attract a major company are over. Cities used to consider cultural life as symphonies, operas and ballet companies. All those are still important, but now we should embrace struggling artists,

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Why are entrepreneurs important to cities?

Entrepreneurs create jobs.
Just about every Fortune 500 company has a story that began with an entrepreneur and a crazy vision.  Silicon Valley, Cambridge and Austin happen to have quite a few of them, and they’re the most economically prosperous cities in the country.  Jobs are created by companies, and companies are created by entrepreneurs.  Period.

Entrepreneurs add to and thrive on creativity, the arts and entertainment.
Entrepreneurs

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Ah, to be an entrepreneur

Entrepreneur: A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. American Heritage Dictionary

Kind of hard to build, grow or improve anything signficiant without them, don’t you think?  Yet when you tell someone you’re an entrepreneur, their first reaction is, “Really?!”

Now why is that?

The American Dream for foreigners is and always has been, “come to America and build your very own business.” Sounds great huh?  Yet the typical

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