Here’s yet further research that college towns are key centers for economic development, in the following AP article: College towns make the grade with entrepreneurs.

The standard reasons why college towns are attractive to entrepreneurs:
- A lower cost of living/working in small college towns than in big cities
- Educated young workers without salary demands, sometimes enough to compete with outsourcing (ie home-shoring)
- High quality of life, fueled by vibrant nightlife, recreation and a

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This says it all, from a successful small business owner:  “The internet has taken a small family-owned candle business and allowed us to compete on a national level while contributing to the redevelopment of our downtown area in central Virginia.“

A U.S. Small Business Administration study found that “the smallest firms with fewer than 10 employees benefit the most from being online.“  The evidence: Online sales account for only 2.2% of all retail sales nationally, yet in the small Michigan

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The Wall Street Journal just published what it feels are the hottest trends in housing.  What does this mean for cooltowns?

1. Short on space: Voter concerns that sprawl is compromising their quality of life has led to a shortage of developable land, which means more developers are investing in urban areas.

2. Strained budgets: A third of American households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and only 15% of Californians can afford a median-priced home, thus…

3. A shrinking

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How popular is downtown L.A.?  It’s population is expected to double to nearly 50,000 by 2015.  So what do people who live there think?  The L.A. Times asked them.

It was fun in the beginning when things were more affordable
“The coolest people were here. There were rooftop parties and barbecues. It was a very social building. You would have parties every weekend.“ “There were a lot of people moving from all parts. Downtown was very economical.“

The gentrifying crowd isn’t as social, and

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As the economy evolves from goods to services to experiences, schools are too. In a world inundated with information, teachers may find it harder to keep kids’ attention. Fortunately, there are places like the Edible Schoolyard.

About ten years ago chef Alice Waters sparked a Berkeley middle school to plant an organic garden where students would grow their own vegetables as part of their school lunch program.  What’s the big deal?  How about the fact that healthy, well-nourished children are

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Americans have been gaining weight an average of one pound a year.  If they walked up stairs for just two minutes a day, they’d lose 1.6 pounds a year instead, according to James Sallis, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University in a Wall Street Journal article, New Buildings Help People Fight Flab.

An excerpt: “Buildings have long been designed so people can get from one place to another with minimum physical effort. Now, in a bid to fight a rising tide of obesity, companies,

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Look at all those downtown development projects - who needs a study to prove people are moving downtown?

There’s something in the water in Pasadena.  They have one of the most successful new pedestrian malls in the country.  They have one of the most progressive new urban villages in the country.  85% of all building permits are going downtown, totaling 2500 new homes.  So I guess when the City’s Central District Specific Plan won a coveted annual Smart Growth Achievement Award, perhaps it

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There’s long been the usual insistence by veteran planners not to implement downtown pedestrian streets and malls, even recommending cities to remove them to allow cars through.  Times are changing, and it’s time to take another look.

Where did this myth come from?  The past:
Pedestrian malls, as mayors will tell you, were an act of desperation to compete with an already massive exodus to the ‘burbs and regional shopping malls, but certainly not the reason per se for their failure - ALL

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The Brookings Institution comes through with quantitative evidence that not only proves that downtowns are growing in population, but details who’s living in them.  Here’s an edited summary from their Who Lives Downtown report:

An analysis of downtown population, household, and income trends in 44 selected cities from 1970 to 2000 finds that:

- During the 1990s downtown population grew by 10%, a marked resurgence following 20 years of overall decline. 40% of the cities saw growth before the

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Yesterday the EPA announced their annual National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement.  The winners were:

Overall Excellence in Smart Growth: Highlands’ Garden Village, Denver Urban Renewal Authority, Denver, CO - a new front-porch TND neighborhood in the inner suburbs.

Built Projects: Belmar, City of Lakewood and Lakewood Reinvestment Authority, Lakewood, CO - A regional mall turned upscale town center.

Policies and Regulations: Central District Specific Plan, City of Pasadena Planning and

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