“We don’t make an effort in Iwate,“ prefecture (state) Governor Hiroye Masuda has declared in a nationwide government ad campaign running since 2001.  By the way, that’s really what it says on their business cards.  Realizing his people couldn’t compete in Japan’s fast-paced economy, “Here, I want people to go home early in the evening, take a walk with their family, and talk to the neighbors.“

It makes more sense than it sounds.  An economist put it best, “Why should they work themselves to

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I’m not one for trends, but Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic methodology of affordable individuality has long been applied to some of the most successful main streets - anywhere, as well as the best third places.

Shabby chic is about combining the old and new for timeless comfort, which explains why it’s no longer ‘the hot trend’ in L.A. Then again, it’s these very principles that make Joseph’s Cafe (image) a premiere ‘who’s who’ hot spot in L.A.

While the concept centers largely on the home

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Ever wanted to start a band but couldn’t find neighbors who were that hard of hearing?  Or, ever knew someone who did?

There’d probably be a lot more bands, and maybe a lot more new, creative and polished music out there if musicians, and ‘aspiring musicans’ had a place to play.

That’s what Nuci’s Space in Athens GA is all about.

First of all, it’s no coincidence that for a small town, Athens has quite a history of spawning bands (REM, B-52s, Widespread Panic).  It’s one of the most

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The best college towns are entirely unique.

Students are looking for a diversity of very affordable choices to entertain and feed themselves within walking distance from the university. The most popular venues within these places provide something unique that can’t be found anywhere else, whether it’s an award-winning draft beer at a factory-turned-brewpub, an 18-block art & entertainment fest, or a musicians’ incubator.

Creating a successful college town is more about establishing a

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What makes Charlottesville the place to be for University of Virginia’s 22K students?

Unique entertainment
- - A heavily-attended, extremely popular 24-week long event held in the Downtown Amphitheater, attracting over 150,000 people to the Downtown Mall each season. It started off as a small gathering over 8 weeks at a makeshift stage.
- The Annual Downtown Blues Festival
- Court Days, the semi-annual downtown arts & crafts festival

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What makes Chapel Hill one of the most desired college towns for UNC’s 25K students?  In the words of the students themselves…

Entertainment
“On any given night you can find a hang-out on Franklin Street.“
“Franklin Street boasts an impressive string of bars and restaurants ranging from Players, the college meat market, to the Dead Mule, a members only bar that caters to the slightly older set who won’t get drunk and rowdy. BW-3 runs NTN trivia and is always a great place for a tall beer and

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Keys to Ann Arbor’s popularity with the University of Michigan’s 41K students:

1. Entertainment
- The Ann Arbor Film Festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in North America. The Ann Arbor Art Fair: Every year, from Wednesday to Saturday of the second week in July, the population of Ann Arbor explodes (1200 exhibitors, 750,000 visitors) with three art fairs on eighteen blocks. Then there’s the Blues and Jazz Festival in the fall and the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in the

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What makes Athens (University of Georgia - UGA) such a great college town?

1. Great entertainment
Great music scene - Athens claims The B-52s, R.E.M., Widespread Panic and countless other groups of at least local renown. It hosts AthFest, a summer weekend festival showcasing local and regional bands that perform on outdoor stages by day and in downtown clubs by night. There’s even a musicians’ incubator.  Also, the work of local artists can be found on display all over town, UGA hosts a

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Wayne State University announces CoolTown plans

Wayne State University press release:

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If anecdotal evidence isn’t enough for you (ever notice the weight difference in people as you walk in a Walmart in suburbia vs. a main street in the city?... or travel from the city to the suburbs on the subway and see the size of people getting on board increase rather noticeably?)

Well, here’s yet more scientific evidence, highlighted on the front page of Monday’s Washington Post, and adding to that already being collected in this part of the blog.

- A major University of Maryland study

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