What are the elements of a good city planning code for CoolTowns?

As explained in the previous blog, today’s modern, progressive, people-oriented city planning codes are graphical-based.  However, what are the graphics of, and are they supportive of CoolTowns?

Building frontage standards: The idea is to create great public rooms, so a uniform setback of buildings best achieves that, and sometimes further back to establish a grand outdoor dining plaza.  Burlington, Boulder and Barcelona do

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So what does a legislated city plan look like?

The results of the planning process described in the previous blog below are transformed into a city code or ordinance, usually in hundreds of pages of legalese. Like how Apple evolved command lines into graphical user interfaces, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has done the same for these piles of text, turning them into just a handful of graphic-based codes - SmartCodes, although it could still be less car-oriented.  The code is based on the

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So how did the City of South Miami’s Hometown Plan that led to investment in model development happen?

It began in 1992, when South Miami Hometown, Inc., a nonprofit, was established by local visionaries that raised funds to create a blueprint for an uninspired 55-acre area in the city, with the cooperation and matching funds of the City.  Through a charrette process that involved key business associations (very important), government agencies, nonprofits and citizens facilitated by Dover

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Legalizing CoolTowns begins with the City

As you know, most of what has been built in the last 80 years looks like what’s pictured in the top left-hand corner of this image.  Here’s a summary of how it happened, and how it literally became illegal to build anything else, no matter if developers and investors wanted to to build, say, cool urban villages.

The rest of the image is what cities and developers are beginning to invest in, as highlighted in Dover Kohl’s HomeTown Plan in the

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South Miami’s inspiring “100% Models” idea

The CoolTown approach to bringing economic and social vitality to an area via a compelling pilot project doesn’t have a better legislated example than South Miami’s HomeTown Plan: “The “100% Models” idea was to choose an area (however small) then totally transform it to create as dramatic and visible an impact as possible.  Instead of spending precious funding across large areas, public funds are to be concentrated on these 100% Models.”

The best

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The return of theaters (and people) to downtowns

While there’s a movement afoot to preserve the 300-400 historic theaters that bring vitality to downtowns across the country, another inspiring trend is taking shape - new theaters are also being being built in urban areas, and pretty snazzy ones at that.

Last night thanks to a friend, I had the pleasure of experiencing the new E Street Cinema theaters in downtown Washington DC, featuring only foreign and independent films (i.e. more

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Why can’t urbanites afford to live in their neigborhood of choice?

It’s simple supply and demand - the more desirable a neighborhood becomes, the less affordable it is.  One solution is this - you can afford the home you will want if you choose a neighborhood that’s just a few years away from becoming universally desirable.  Use this guide for starters.

Now, the real question is, why isn’t there a greater supply of cool, urban neighborhoods?  The same reason why mp3 players weren’t very

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How authentic is your town?

Based on yesterday’s blog on the prominence of authenticity, how is this helping towns thrive economically and socially?

First of all, based on the definition of authenticity given yesterday, how would this manifest itsely in a ‘real’ town?

- Local businesses rather than chains (this is probably at least half of the test right here).
- Organic foods in restaurants and groceries rather than chemically treated or genetically modified.
- Co-ops rather than

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The best-selling, award-winning books, The Experience Economy and Mass Customization (this site has an entire category on the latter, and should on the former), explain better than any others, the economic evolution that will inevitably lead to more, ever increasingly cool towns.  So it was great to hear from one of the books’ authors (Joe Pine) when he called to let us know that their next book is due in the Fall of 2007, on authenticity.

The authors’ premise?  Authenticity is anything

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To grow a ‘forest’, start with one ‘good tree’

If you wanted to grow a forest, but had money for only one tree, what would you do?  You’d get the best tree you could possibly find and plant it in the middle of where you wanted the forest to grow.  Neighborhood revitalization is no different, whether your budget only allows one venue, or an entire block, like The Can Company in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Can Company (noun turned verb) is a renovated one-block industrial campus of a former can

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The Irish pub - the official third place of Ireland (and more)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

In Ireland, three quarters of all alcohol is consumed in a pub.  That’s all alcohol, including any purchased at the grocery store.  No wonder the Irish seem to be singing, dancing and laughing so much - it’s not so much the alcohol (the oft-used stereotype) as it is being a very social culture.

According to the paper, A Genuine ‘Third Place’? Towards an understanding of the pub in contemporary Irish

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Wi-Fi helping create a sense of place?

With wireless internet, traditionalists feared that ‘place’ wouldn’t matter anymore.  Indeed, it’s never mattered more.  Here are some of the ways, as highlighted in Salon’s Urban renewal, the wireless way.

- All that digital communication is inevitably going to lead to face-face communication.  Since digital dialogue encourages multiple participants simultaneously (depending on how cool you are), nothing provides a better physical meeting spot than

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Since when is grocery shopping entertaining?

...since the service economy began evolving into the experience economy, and as a result, retail and entertainment began merging.

Whole Foods is the national trendsetter when it comes to groceries.  Yes it’s a chain, but as the Apple Computer of the grocery industry, it continues to set new standards in creativity, as well as environmental stewardship. personal health, and now enterainment and fun.  Here are some of their multi-experience

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On “The View” - The 5 hottest areas in the nation

ABC’s The View featured the top five up-and-coming areas in the country, according to Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group, a large New York real estate firm.  Her list:

Albuquerque’s EDO, short for East Downtown - “An Urban Revolution” (a model for small city revitalization)
Downtown Detroit “A City Reborn” (still getting there)
Del Ray, Virginia - “Where Main Street Still Exists” (already an established neighborhood)
The Red

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A strong brand identity helps prevent brain damage

The merchants that make up thriving arts & entertainment/nightlife districts should get kudos and cheers for helping revitalize economically suffering neighborhoods.  However, if they don’t collaborate as a community, they may be in for some serious hate mail, lawsuits and stress from angry residents (collectively known as brain damage).

Here’s one major reason why - as the desirability of neighborhoods go up because of the revitalization

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Reader experience: A third place street

Youngbin Park at Cornell University provides this response to Monday’s blog on our ongoing reader request for what they think is cool - Ithaca Commons, a downtown pedestrian mall that is experiencing a recent revival of vitality after years of neglect:

“It’s similar to a square, but full of independently-owned stores, restauarants, and bars.  During the summer time, the Commons host concerts on a weekly basis.  The layout of the Common’s is very