CoolTowns have lots of free entertainment venues

I always held the opinion that the best forms of entertainment were free, and CoolTowns have plenty of it.  Here’s a few reasons why:

1. Plenty of outdoor ‘stages’.  Entertainers need stages, and piazzas, squares, plazas, courtyards and amphitheaters provide these with ready-made audiences.  We simply need more of these natural stages.
2. Indoor stages, aka third places.  Outdoor stages are third places as well, but because they’re not

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How to create affordable office space in a CoolTown

1. Preserve old buildings and walkable neighborhoods (less parking costs).  Outdated, inflated parking requirements is easily the #1 reason why investors ignore cities and town centers.
2. Build office interiors with an open floor plan system (few or no walls, just like the new home trend) and exposed ceilings.  Not only does this reduce costs, but it also creates a greater sense of space and creativity.
3. For entrepreneurs and artists,

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How do ‘starving artists’ live in the most expensive cities?

It is fundamental to understand that cities often prosper because of artists.  Artists can also be more broadly defined as the creative class.  Here’s how they thrive in the midst of city neighborhoods with million dollar homes:

1. Artists look for better-designed homes that are not so big, which means more light, an open floor plan/less compartmentalization and maybe higher ceilings.
2. Artists would trade off expensive front and

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Want a prosperous town fast?

Combine affordability and great design.  Prosperity comes from jobs.  Jobs come from job creators, the most prolific being entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs, when they’re cash-strapped before their business ideas hit it big, need affordable housing (lofts, shared living), affordable office space (unfinished, open floor plan), affordable transportation (walkability, mass transit), and affordable entertainment (parks, piazzas, bars, dancing, casual dining).  The trick

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