Personalized mass transit?

Transportation really hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years - we still have trains and cars.  You still have to wait for trains longer than you want to and they don’t go exactly where you want them to, when you want them to.  Cars are increasingly inefficient as traffic congestion grows, among the myriad other problems they cause.

Personalized Rapid Transit (pictured) may be the next big thing in mobility, though perhaps not for another fifty years.  Check

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The first ever beta community that allowed future tenants to design a new urban village in Detroit took place last week Tuesday.  Here’s a report by the charrette coordinator, Matthew Clayson:

“Everything went great, even better than planned. More than 40 people attended and the group proved to be a nice cross section of people from the city and surburbs. All in all, everyone stated the need for piazzas, pedestrian friendly plazas, green space and urbanity. Parking issues were a challange,

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What are the most successful trends in retail for the creative class?  One of the best ways to find out is to visit five of the most successful creative class-oriented towns and their neighborhoods and not only study the overall retail mix, but the most popular venues as well.  The cities included Cambridge MA, Madison WI, Athens GA, Burlington VT and Ann Arbor MI.

The study conclusions, an extensive collection of photos, statistics, and focus group results are provided in the exclusive

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What are the latest trends in loft housing?  Which cities are leading the way in loft development?  How much are lofts going for?  What kinds of floor plans are selling?  How much should they be going for?  Who’s buying them?

All of these answers are explained and illustrated in the newly published 14-page CoolTown Loft Housing Report, which is paired with the Emerging Retail Report for $119 and can be ordered by emailing here.

Conclusions are based on the following loft projects:  Orenco

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CoolTown members archive

While all 400+ blogs are free, CoolTown Studios has a collection of images, case studies and market reports on the hottest trends, towns and venues that are garnering the highest returns on investment for cities, developers, universities, commercial tenants and residents.

Check them out in the members section of the CoolTown Forums.  It’s just $49/yr., and well, hey, we can’t give away everything for …

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A CoolTown block in Ohio (Part 2)

Continuing Ben Ezinga’s story from yesterday:

“It’s a sustainably-designed mixed-use building with some great retail and restaurants lined up for the first floor, and 49 mixed-income condos and apartments for rent, a mixture of live/work and loft-style.

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A CoolTown block in Ohio (Part 1)

The following is a story from an emerging progressive developer in Ohio, Ben Ezinga.  We need a lot more people like him…

“My name is Ben Ezinga.

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Legalize this

The neighborhoods we really want our illegal.  Really.

Yesterday’s blog touched on how creative people can take charge in building their own neighborhood. ChangeThis is a national forum for change, publishing daily manifestos and guides to improving one’s quality of life and purpose.  One of their most recent publications is Legalize Neighborhoods Again!

City governments control the way our streets and buildings are laid out through zoning.  The worst part is that this

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Some people in Detroit got tired of seeing more strip malls, subdivisions and parking.  So, they formed their own group to voice their opinions and establish a new vision and direction for their future in Detroit.  Now with the help of CoolTown Studios, they’re establishing a beta community to help design, build and live in their own urban village!  Their motto?  Say it. Build it. Live it.

This is an image of the site where they’re going to craft their vision, and the process begins next

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Bookstore? Ice cream shop? Art gallery? Coffeehouse?

How about a bookstore, ice cream, art gallery coffeehouse.  That properly describes the Market Street Cafe in Frederick, Maryland, the second largest city in Maryland that’s enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

These mutiple-venues-in-one are a growing trend in retail, and a good one too.  At the Market Street Cafe you can browse through a carefully selected stock of used books, enjoy a great cup of coffee and ice cream for dessert, peruse

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Trading Spaces for Towns?

Trading Spaces Designer Genevieve Gorder to Host New TLC Series

That’s right - The Discovery Channel’s TLC is producing a new show called Town Haul where the host, Gorder, “will oversee a team of skilled designers, carpenters and craftspeople as they work alongside townspeople to re-imagine, re-paint, repair and restore small towns across the United States.” The first victim (just kidding) is tiny Jeffersonville, NY, population 500.

This is largely about

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What are the different types of lofts?

Bi-Level/New York-Style/Artist Lofts These units have lofted bedrooms and no interior walls. The have very high ceilings (15’+), and often seen as bachelor pads in movies. These attract a premium and were the lofts upon which the movement began.
Industrial Lofts - The most common form of loft today, usually converted warehouses and sometimes entirely new buildings, with high exposed ceilings, no interior walls, expansive windows and no lofted

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What is a loft and where did it come from?

A loft was originally defined as a small space built above a larger room, such as in a barn for storing hay (inset image), or even a bed for kids.  It is also presently defined as a living space not partitioned into rooms.  Here’s what happened in between, and as so often the story goes, it begins with artists.

A few decades ago, NY artists seeking dirt-cheap space to work and live in found abandoned warehouses ideal.  They quickly built loft

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Convertible housing in Seattle?

A lot of us enjoy driving or riding in a convertible, feeling the open air rather than being enclosed at all times.  Well, there’s a place in Seattle where one can own their own one-of-a-kind convertible… home.

Each of the residences in these Seattle lofts has a garage door (literally) that opens up to the outdoors.  Sales agents say the feature has been a huge hit with buyers, and for good reason.  The blog from a few days ago mentioned how popular outdoor

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Next generation urban housing

Urban housing for the 75%+ of the country’s households that aren’t married with kids is evolving:

10’ exposed ceilings replace 8’ hung ceilings. More light.  More air.  Who cares if you can see the ductwork?  It’s more authentic.
Large windows replace small windows. More light.  More air.  Great view.  Technological advances help windows insulate better despite more glass.
Open floor plan replaces compartmentalized rooms. Larger sense of space.  More

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The next coffeehouse - the teahouse?

Time Magazine wrote, “The old drink is having a comeback, in restaurants, at salons, at home...”

So what’s the difference between a coffeehouse that serves tea and a teahouse?  It depends.  There are two kinds of teahouses - those that offer a sweet alternative to coffee called bubble tea like Bubble Island Tea in Ann Arbor (pictured), and the Asian-oriented ones that are focused on health, both physically and mentally, like Teaism in Washington DC. 

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Cafes and coffeehouses need outdoor seating

We all know how nice it is to sit on our front porch or backyard when the weather’s nice.  We were meant to breathe fresh air and hear the sounds of everyday life rather than the sounds of the TV set or pot and pans banging in the background (like in small restaurants).  It’s easy on the mind and healthy for the soul.

Since cafes and coffeehouses are designed for lingering, the quintessential third place, providing outdoor seating is a must.  In

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Darwin’s - A one-stop third place

Just outside Harvard Square, Cambridge, you may happen upon a crowd of people on the sidewalk outside a handsome storefront.  Some are just standing there, others on one of the benches, and still others sitting on the sidewalk.

This is Darwin’s, which has something for many.  First of all, it’s located away from the gentrified retail district of Harvard Square, so it’s more $ reasonable.  It’s most popular offering is as a deli, where you can choose from

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Every neighborhood needs a third place

There’s home, there’s work, then there’s the third place.  Just like with Cheers, where everybody knows your name.

This is the third place in Burlington, Radio Bean.  What makes it such a great destination?

People get there by biking or walking up to it.  It’s small - only about 600 sf.  The owner funded everything himself and hangs out there like it’s both his second and third place, which it is.  It has a bar.  It has live music.  It has outdoor

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