What to do with a desolate, unsafe, blighted industrial district of empty warehouses…

Business leaders in Tacoma knew exactly what to do - transform it into a university village.
Beginning in 1986 using their own private resources, they worked tirelessly to convince state and local officials and University of Washington administrators that this was the perfect site for a new university.
Eleven years later the University of Washington-Tacoma was established on the site.

The 46-acre campus

read more…

If you’re looking for entertainment and a place to stay, then you may need to check into the San Jose Hotel the next time you’re in Austin, giving the Jupiter Hotel in Portland OR a run for its money.  Make sure you have an appreciation for music as well.  Some the amenities of this popular destination…

- Courtyard under the stars, probably the single-most memorable experience of a stay at the hotel
- Located near one of Austin’s active neighborhoods on South Congress Avenue
- Coffeehouse

read more…

In keeping up with yesterday’s new urbanism green building theme, the greenest example of that is in Santa Monica.  In fact, the building is so green, that it’s LEED “platinum”-rated; the highest green building standard out there, and bestowed to just a handful of buildings, ever.

Designed by the acclaimed new urbanist firm, Moule & Polyzoides (who we recognized earlier for Del Mar Station), the Robert Redford Building (yes, that Robert Redford) is nestled in a walkable, urban, mixed-use

read more…

Try searching for images that combine green building with new urbanism.  It’s not easy.  Both movements are lead by visionary developers with strong public interest, yet creating an energy-efficient walkable community has mostly proved a bit too sophisticated to date.

Thankfully, developers like Solar Village (profiled previously and The Lander Group are breaking new ground with just that - green buildings in new urbanist environments.  Some of the green building features in The Lander

read more…

How can a city best create a strong identity for itself, provide that place one can count on for weekend entertainment, set the stage for public gatherings and pass the postcard test?

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) features an ideal solution: Beautiful central public squares, or for more progressive cities, a piazza.  If you’re looking to understand, design, or better yet, develop a square, there’s no better resource than their December newsletter on squares, which includes design

read more…

Detroit is not only known for cars, but also for the mass exodus of people from its downtown, and it’s still bleeding.  However, a focus on creating a masterfully crafted public square in the very center of the City may start the healing.

With the help of a $20-25M grant raised by a civic organization formed to celebrate the city’s 300th anniversary in 2001, former Mayor Dennis Archer set a goal of creating the best public space in the world - City leaders, are you listening out there?  $8

read more…

Small town leaders want to know… which small town can we use as a model?  While it doesn’t quite have the urban fabric of an Alexandria, VA, Boise, ID is running circles around most small towns as far as the level of increase in quality of life and economic performance.

A few months ago I noted Boise’s recognition by Forbes as the Best Place to Work, thanks to low business costs, access to talent, and a high quality of life.  Before that, Boise was listed on Fast Company Magazine’s Next Small

read more…

Looks like home doesn’t it?  With a name like Mrs. Wilkes Dinining Room, in the hospitality of the South (Savannah), it’s no surprise.  It’s communal dining folks, where people join other people (yes, strangers) and start digging in as if they were a personal guest of Mrs. Wilkes herself. It’s a buffet right on your table, and every cool town could use one.

While first-timers may express apprehension about dining at a communal table with people they’ve never met, they often walk away enthused

read more…

A University Business Magazine article on retail states that young people spent $169 billion in 2004 - which is why Universities are taking larger roles in the retail surrounding their campuses.  The article then says that creating that right retail mix to cater to this market is extremely difficult for current administrations to figure out.  Based on the number of suburban, chain-dependent models they subsequently list, I’d say they’re right.  It doesn’t look like they consulted the students

read more…

Concluding this week’s review of The Young and the Restless In A Knowledge Economy by CEOs for Cities, here’s their recommendations on how cities can better compete for talent:

1. Make people the focus of economic development - Cities, like Chicago, are realizing that quality of life is more important to job growth than tax incentives.

2. Become a city where women and ethnically diverse young people can achieve their goals - As each succeeding workforce generation embraces and benefits more

read more…