Creatives, urbanites want local, indie businesses. Developers know about investing in real estate, not small businesses, and not only do national/regional chains make it easier for them, they can pay 3-5 times more rent. That’s a crippling dilemma.

Enter the VIBE beta community, where VIBE (introduced in the previous entry) stands for variegated independent business entrepreneur and the beta community is a future group of tenants organized as a community with a progressive vision tied to a

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Here’s the catch 22 - the most culturally, economically rich cities and towns focus on local, independent, diverse restaurants and retail, however, it’s the national chains that can pay $60-$100/s.f./year when most start-up indie businesses can only afford $7-$20/s.f./year. That’s a serious problem if cities don’t share in the economic benefits they receive from local independent businesses.

There’s an answer somewhere in the middle, and today I’d like to announce a new term in the CoolTown

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Is there a reason to expect a change in the standard subdivision and apartment tower housing models?  Yes, according to experts at the leading real estate development organization, the Urban Land Institute (ULI), as documented by the Wall Street Journal.

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) comprise a little more than half of the market for newly constructed homes, says the president of a leading advisor, forgoing master suites for smaller footprints, settling for what’s available vs.

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We profiled Bohemian Bargains recently to give you an idea of what are the most affordable creative cities. A complement to that is Kiplinger’s 50 Smart Places to Live measured on fun, vibrant, and affordable with a strong economy.  Note that all but one are college towns to some degree, according to College Town Life.

1) Nashville, TN 1,398,214
2) Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3,138,324
3) Albuquerque, NM 782,916
4) Atlanta, GA 4,765,845
5) Austin, TX 1,415,324
6) Kansas City, MO 1,934,400
7)

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Art galleries will always have their place in the city, but to survive, they’ll have to become more than just venues to sell art pieces - they need to become venues to sell art experiences.  Check out these two trends:

1. The rise of the design economy. Think how Target has the world’s top designers designing their everyday products at affordable prices.

2. The rise of the experience economy. Think of a progressive bookstore with an in-house organic cafe amidst a poetry slam.  Or

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Continuing yesterday’s theme… We know that the third place is a general term (our ‘home’ away from home and work), but how about when a business successfully defines it in their terms? Once again, Trendwatching.com has the definition:

Brand space - a space that capitalizes - in the broadest sense of the word - on consumer expectations set in motion by being spaces (aka third places). Think literally accommodating consumers outside the home and office, becoming a relevant and useful part of

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Nomads move from city to city, but what about those who still want to enjoy new and different experiences without changing addresses?

Our friends at Trendwatching.com refer to them as transumers - “consumers driven by experiences instead of the ‘fixed’, by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions. The fixed is replaced by an obsession with the current, an

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Food, shelter and clothing - our three basic needs. Notice however, how food comes first, but it’s rarely even on the list when it comes to building cities that attract people, or even specifically, the creative, entrepreneurial population that spurs job growth.

This graph, from CEOs for Cities’ City Vitals: New Measures of Success for Cities (full report for members here), is just a hint of innovative insight into understanding how food can, and should, play a much larger role in economic

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With a #1 ranking in Money magazine’s Best Places to Live in both 1987 and 1997, Nashua, a small city of 87,000 on the southern border of New Hampshire, aims to become even more livable.

Within the span of just a few years, the downtown is expected to have 885 new housing units built: 158 that are already completed, 445 approved, and another 440 being planned.  One of the most notable is the proposed Cotton Mill Square which will offer 32 of its 162 new condominium units at $180K, $70K less

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As stated yesterday, every city has its creative center, and South Side, now with its own zombie walk, may very well be the Pittsburgh’s long sought source of talent for job growth in the knowledge economy.

Here’s a few of the reasons why it’s Pittsburgh’s destination for creatives:

- Home to more restaurants and bars than any other neighborhood, with up to 80 watering holes in the area. That’s a lot of conversations, the basis of economic growth according to the Cluetrain Manifesto.
-

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