“Intelligent City of the Year 2000” by the World Teleport Association.  The first City in the world to offer free internet access to all its connected residents. Home to more Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other city its size. America’s Greatest Little City? 

Yesterday I met with the city government’s leaders (along with the founder of The Kentlands Initiative), and found them unlike any I’ve ever met.  They not only understood the CoolTown vision, but they were motivated to

read more…

In Bologna, Italy I came across what appeared to be the busiest establishment in the city (I should know, I walked throughout the entire central town).  The reason:  Good food, very inexpensive, fast service.

It reminded me of the ‘Nazi soup kitchen’ from Seinfeld, where you followed a strict routine to order and pick-up, otherwise you’d get a lot of angry stares. The adrenalin was flowing as I carefully scanned the menu and planned my attack, in Italian and all.

First you order - “due

read more…

One of the most popular restaurants in Venice is the Brek Ristorante.  Why?  Fresh, hot quality food, low prices, very fast service.  How do they do this?

It’s a self-service restaurant, which seemed to be quite common in Italy - and for good reason.  It’s better than say, a buffet, because the servers are cooking the pasta (hey, this is Italy) right in front of you.  Fresh and hot.  You pick and choose which pasta dishes you want made for you on the spot - the favorite being the “the

read more…

Surely this scene passes what the former mayor of Milwaukee, John Norquist calls the “Postcard Test”.  Basically, will people buy postcards of such a scene?

So, what passes the test for urban postcards?  Looking at postcard racks in the U.S., there are usually very few, if any, postcards of streets, squares or public areas.  Instead, the urban postcards consist of buildings, monuments and sometimes aerials.  The answer could be very simple…

Groups of cars don’t photograph well.  Since cars

read more…

So what is placemaking?  Here is ‘place’ defined:  Any portion of space regarded as measured off or distinct from all other space.  The key word is distinct.  Making distinct spaces.

What are the principles of good placemaking?  It essentially comes down to designing places primarily for people (as opposed to prioritizing planning around cars, for instance).  It also involves creating places within places, like rooms within a house.  Take the Ponte Vecchio in Florence (pictured) for …

read more…

The CoolTown movement is more than just providing funky affordable housing for creative people, as featured this week.  It’s about building an entire neighborhood… a small town… a comprehensive community of such people, places and programs.

Real estate investment is now focusing on combining live, work and play in a single built community, a field often described as smart growth.  A next generation of real estate organizations and investors however, will apply those principles with the

read more…

It’s the familiar story:  Artists, creatives and bohemians move into an undesirable neighorhood, add diversity, nightlife and vibrant entertainment as well as a renewed sense of security and community… then are gentrified out of the neighborhood by the wealthier who are attracted to its coolness.  Not surprisingly, the Mom & Pop coffee shop is soon replaced by Starbucks.

The solution:  Nonprofit artist-loving developers like Artspace, which have invested $60 million into transforming

read more…

If you’re an artist!  One-bedroom units in this 12-unit building in the upcoming Mount Rainer artists’ community are really only $425/month, thanks to the Housing Initiative Partnership in Maryland.

Mount Rainer, a neighorhood in Maryland at the Washington DC border, is focused on revitalization through attracting creative people - risk-takers at heart.  This is a key attribute, being that the area was overrun by drug dealers just a few years ago.

The Mount Rainer Artist Lofts will provide

read more…

I’ll be posting more photos of Italy’s inspirational place-making, but this week I’ll focus on the programs that make it happen - artist meccas - as CoolTown Studios begins to meet with public and private sector leaders in initiating CoolTowns of creativity within their cities.

First, one must understand that Creativity Drives the Economy.

Second, there’s a CoolTown process to attract that creative core, not unlike what the Medici did for Florence and the Renaissance.

Third, you need

read more…

I can’t think of any other city where the notion of “living painting” keeps entering the forefront of my consciousness.

So what is it about Venice that makes it so picturesque?  Well first of all, I don’t know of any photos that were improved by the presence of parked cars.  However, the magic of Venice seems to be that every other view looks like it could be a stage for a play - the city was designed to be a series of intimate spaces and places in which ‘theatre’ would occur.  One didn’t

read more…