I’ve mentioned transit-oriented development (TOD) a few times, and felt it deserved its own entry.  The term was popularized by the renowned town-planning firm, Calthorpe Associates, and now represented by an organization, the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.  It’s also makes for one heck of a business plan for an investor.

Here’s a cooltown point-of-view of Ten Common Sense Rules for TOD by Bruce Liedstrand of Liedstrand Associate, another highly respected TOD planning firm:

1.

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A well-conceived third place built at the right time in the right place is known to revitalize its surrounding block, and the Flying Star Cafe in downtown Albuquerque is no exception.

Journalist Jim Belshaw of the Albuquerque Journal writes, “I have lived here long enough to have seen the 30-odd downtown revitalization plans come and go.  We all wish the revitalizers well, but the sails never seemed to catch the wind… Things have changed… By 10:30, the walkers begin to show up for coffee

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So you like shopping.  You enjoy the buzz of downtown nightlife.  You miss pajama parties.  Ok, so this is assuming you’re on the feminine side…

Melody Biringer does as well, and she’s done something extraordinary about it, turning a small pajama party at a spa into 50 shopping pajama parties (and growing like wild) at avant garde hotels (like the Jupiter Hotel profiled yesterday) in major cities across the U.S.  These

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If ever a hotel was designed for creatives, the Jupiter Hotel in Portland OR is it.  From it’s website:

“One of the 116 best new hotels in the world.“ - CONDE NAST TRAVELER MAGAZINE (May ‘05)
“One of the top four new (old) hotels in the US.“ - GQ MAGAZINE (Sep. ‘05)

Why the recognition?  The list is extensive, and it gets better and better:

- It’s in the city and close to dining and entertainment.
- It’s affordable (and remember, this is in the city), with rooms from $59 (party room)-$94.
-

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You’ve all heard the story over and over again - creatives move into an undesirable neighborhood, it becomes cool, then they’re priced out of it as it becomes gentrified (before the chains move in.)

How does this happen?  Let’s take business owner Linda Welch, who owns Dogs By Day in MidCity, Washington DC.  Last year she paid $9000/year in property taxes.  In the meantime, she’s volunteering 30/hours a week to revitalize MidCity as a diverse, creative 24-hour destination emphasizing

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Few elements define the character of a neighborhood better than the main street downtown.  The architecture; percentage of independents vs chains; entertainment; emphasis on culture and art say a lot about the what the neighborhood and people are about.  For one, it’s a reason why they’ve moved there, or haven’t moved away from.

One major ingredient for a successful downtown, especially a lasting one with a strong sense of community, is not surprisingly, a strong sense of community among the

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Absolutely, in downtown Buffalo, if you have the income of a typical artist.  The destination is Holling Place, and this isn’t a run-down apartment in a neglected neighborhood.

The lofts feature high ceilings, great city views, exposed duct work, expansive windows, hardwood floors and fitness room.  They’re also walking distance to the subway station, shopping, city square, sports arena, major park and the county library.  And if you’re a creative without a whole lot of disposable income, the

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Not a surprising headline yesterday coming from the NY Times, unless… the story is about a project in Los Angeles! 

That’s right, Pasadena is getting a 347-apartment transit-oriented development, bisected by and situated above L.A.‘s light rail line.  The award-winning new neighborhood, Del Mar Station.  It makes sense, since studies show U.S. ‘households in transit zones own an average of 0.9 cars, compared with 1.6 cars for metropolitan regions’ and ‘California state residents living near

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There are two million people who know sign language (not necessarily deaf), and there is a visionary development group in South Dakota that believes 2500 of them will move to a new town designed specifically for them, by them.

While it’s not exactly a cooltown, it does follow the principles of new urbanism; walkable, mixed-use, a diversity of housing types, front porches and alleys, live/works and a town center.

What is entirely significant about this community is that it’s customer-made,

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