One of the best resources for great public places is the nonprofit Project for Public Spaces, so when they announced their list of the 20 best North American districts, downtowns, and neighborhoods, I knew public life and entertainment would have much more weight than other lists.  They also list 20 great places abroad.

The places mentioned range from hip districts for creatives to quaint neighborhoods for retirees, but a common theme is that these places are successful because of the variety

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The artists in the Massachusetts town of Pittsfield think so.

Pittsfield lost 13,000 jobs when GE left 15 years ago, which is staggering since it had a population of 60,000 at the time (50,000 today).  That and a new shopping mall all but killed the downtown.

Fast forward to 2002, when an artist, Maggie Mailer realized that even if all the downtown businesses were gone, the downtown vitality didn’t have to be, nor should it.  As the story goes, Mailer founded the Storefront Artist Project

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Here’s another example of the growing trend towards more personalized mass transit - the mini bus.  It can more easily pass the 5-minute rule since it runs more often than a regular bus, and it’s also quieter and more car-like.

The real potential in this size of transit may be realized when bus rapid transit/BRT-guidance systems are applied to it, where they’ll run automatically along invisible tracks, remotely turn traffic lights green up ahead and also take advantage of dedicated traffic

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Here’s a summary of how the CoolTown entries on mobility may fit together, which includes transportation:

There are millions of people who would live in a city with only pedestrians and no cars.  It’d have lots of piazzas and paseos with subways in the larger cities.

While not a reality for most cities, they ought to take a long hard look at bus rapid transit (BRT) and streetcars instead of light rail and buses.  BRT and streetcars are much more efficient, cost-effective, quiet - and

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The mass customization economy has recently produced a new vehicle that travels freely and speedily on dedicated pathways like trains, yet can navigate through traffic like a car to get you more specifically to your destination.  Not only that, it signals traffic lights up ahead to turn green as it approaches.

The 21st century version of bus rapid transit (BRT) began running June 30th, 2004.  Yes that’s a bus you’re looking at… and yes it’s in Vegas, but that’s the luxury of having more tax

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While the next generation of mass customized, personalized mass transit won’t arrive for decades, we’re going back to the future for the closest thing today - the streetcar.

Boston, Portland, Seattle, Tampa, San Francisco, Charlotte, Tucson and New Orleans are just a few of the many cities that revived streetcars.  Denver, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Boulder are considering it. Why?  Because they’re efficient, small, quiet, air-conditioned and best situated to pass the golden

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