A hotel expressive of the people who stay there

As with most buildings, the exterior and interior design of hotels rarely provide an expression of the lifestyle of the people staying there, other than perhaps their income. At the same price range, most hotel rooms pretty much look alike. However, one hotel is breaking that mold, and hopefully it will set higher standards for how residential buildings are truer to their tenants inside and out.

Based on the pictures, it’s easy to see that

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New Orleans creatives take the initiative to rebuild

Even before Katrina, the city of New Orleans was lacking in creative urban investment. Perhaps spurred by the aftermath, there is a crowdsourcing swell of activity to rebuild the city better than before.

One such group is the Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals (YURP), a fast-growing membership group of several hundred cultural progressives dedicated to making New Orleans their permanent place of residence.

The group’s goal is to

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The feminine touch a growing trend in city development

A hundred years ago women couldn’t even vote, but their influence is finally catching up. Women today make 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions (equating to 2/3 of the GNP), and by 2010, women are expected to own half of the wealth in the U.S. There are countless signs of a women-oriented economy and it’s just a matter of time before we start to at long last see their pervasive leadership in the investment of our built

Continuing our review this week of the local-first (Still) Made Here trend, here are some business ideas that

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How ‘status’ is driving the trend toward ‘local’

Are you on the ‘in’ or ‘out’ list? Are you with the times, or behind them? Are you considered socially conscious, or perceived as ignorant? Our status affects us more than we think. Many readers of this website who are at the forefront of improving their community are known as progressive thinkers, and they’d rather not be known as ‘old economy’. So let’s refer to that as their progressive status, which is often associated with the truly

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Social responsibility a boon to local neighborhoods

How valued is the word local in the modern economy? A lot.
Last week’s entries on the importance of local investment is covered extensively on Trendwatching.com this month. The report, (Still) Made Here, documents “the comeback of all things local, all things with a sense of place, and how they’re surfacing in a world dominated by globalization… where a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the

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‘Transparency tyranny’ will result in better places

What is transparency tyranny? From Trendwatching.com: “Old economy fog is clearing: no longer can incompetence, below-par performance, ignored global standards, anti-social & anti-eco behavior, or opaque pricing be obscured. In its place has come a transparent, fully informed marketplace, where producers have no excuse left to underperform.

Transparency tyranny represents what people really think of what’s out there - think The Daily Show

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The Wall Street Journal article, Animal House Meets the Empty Nest, sums up the conflict real estate developers are having when trying to cater to the younger urban condo market:

“Get it right, and buyers will pay a premium for the chance to be surrounded by their friends. Get it wrong - too expensive, too many neighbors that are mom and dad’s age - and developers can be stuck with a building that doesn’t sell.“

One community that is suffering from extremes is Viridian, a downtown Nashville

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What does it take to be authentic?

Real is in. Fake is out. We profiled the rise of authenticity over a year ago, and how it applies to towns. Now Fast Company magazine helps answer the question of what it takes to be authentic with the following four primary elements of being real:

A sense of place - You either leverage your brand through replication (ie Starbucks) or the community (local popular coffeehouse). Only the latter is considered genuine by the locals.

A strong point of view -

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New urban demo-graphics point to urban housing (2 of 2)

Continuing our look at the Brookings Institution’s Robert Puentes’  report, A Review of New Urban Demo-graphics and Impacts on Housing...

So what are the key drivers leading to the downtown population surge profiled in the previous entry, which had been decreasing prior to the 1990s?

Look at the net changes in household types over the last 25 years - 11.8M singles vs 1.4M families with kids, the latter of which only represents 4.5%

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Do women prefer walkable communities?

Based on this National Geographic map outlining concentrations of single women and single men, I’d venture to say yes.

It’s apparent on the map that men prefer to locate in cities built in the post-1940s auto-oriented era, while women prefer the more walkable, pre-1940s neighborhoods.  It should be no surprise, given the studies that document what women prefer in their neighborhoods and what attributes make for a safe city (see findings at links). So,

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‘Cities Compete in Hipness Battle to Attract Young’

Why are cities so focused on attracting and retaining 25-34 year olds?  According to the NY Times article, Cities Compete in Hipness Battle to Attract Young, “by 2012, the work force will be losing more than two workers for every one it gains.  Cities that do not attract them now will be hurting in a decade.“

The cities with the greatest % of young adults seem to be doing quite well, while the cities with the largest gains from 1990-2000

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Cities with the best value

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)

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Transumerism: freedom-oriented, boredom-fighting quality of life

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

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Business Week: ‘IDEO’s Urban Pre-Planning’

The story behind the BusinessWeek article, IDEO’s Urban Pre-Planning, is already creating a buzz in the real estate industry.

First of all, who is IDEO and second, what is urban pre-planning?  IDEO is like the Apple Computer of the design world.  They’re experimenting with a new practice called Smart Space (it’s not even on their website yet), which is to utilize the wads of dollars wasted on marketing after a development is completed and invest

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Based on this chart spanning the last 15 years, the increasing % of Americans who now consider driving a chore is equivalent to 20 million more people, in addition to the 40 million who already find it a chore, on top of the 90 million who don’t/can’t even drive.  Since crowdsourcing was defined in yesterday’s entry, here’s a way to apply the means (crowdsourcing) to the end (driving less/walking more).

First, crowdsourcing is an excellent tool to communicate a vision.  For instance, have you

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Study: Attracting young adults to your city

Continuing a look at the study (profiled in the previous entry) that concluded 64% of young adults choose place over job, here are the researchers’ recommendations on how to attract them.

First, cater to their top three aspirations:
- To be healthy and safe. A clean, green, and safe city.  Investment in attractive public places, green building and active streets (public safety).
- To be your own boss. Lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

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64% of young adults choose place over job

How important is it for cities to invest in their quality of life over jobs?  If they expect to attract 25-34 year olds, it’s pretty darn important.  According to a recent study*, 64% of college-educated 25-34 year olds chose the city they want to live in before the job.

Women were more apt to choose place over job than men, 69% for women, 60% for men.  How clean, green and safe a city is factors more into a woman’s decision than men regardless of

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To buy or rent?  To invest in condominiums or apartments?

The buzz is that the condo market is slowing down.  Thus, the hot question is whether to go condo or apartment, a key one for both developers and potential home buyers alike.  First, a couple of facts:

- Condo sales in the U.S. set a tenth consecutive sales record last year (896,000 units), 9.3% better than 2004.*
- Condos for the first time ever at the end of last year sold for more ($223,500 average) than single-families

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Sound crazy?  Not when you’re Ms. Birch and Mr. McGrath - in their twenties with good jobs, wanting to live in New York City…

Developers, listen up.  If creatives had a choice between living in a conventional 1000 s.f. apartment in suburbia vs a high-style 500 s.f. loft-inspired apartment near the most active, vibrant neighborhoods, you’d better pay close attention to this NY Times interview with Anne Birch and Brendan McGrath, because they represent where the market is headed for at least

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Thanks to ‘infolust’, no more ‘dumb’ buildings

Take note - these are the trends that are shaping our current economy…

So, what the heck is INFOLUST?!  A definition from Trendwatching:

“Experienced consumers are lusting after detailed information on where to get the best of the best, the cheapest of the cheapest, the first of the first, the healthiest of the healthiest, the coolest of the coolest, or on how to become the smartest of the smartest. Instant information gratification is upon

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How much are women influencing the future of our neighborhoods?

More and more every year as evolving demographics show, with positive results…

- The National Association of Realtors states that the percentage of single female home buyers in the past 20 years has doubled, second only to married couples.  Considering their neighborhood buying preferences, expect even an even stronger market for cooltowns.

- Women make up 58% of the undergraduate college population, and rising, which will

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Top cities for the ‘young and restless’

Continuing this week’s review of The Young and the Restless In A Knowledge Economy, and a listing of that report’s top cities for young talent:

Percent of Population Ages 25-34 in Metro Areas, 2000
1. Austin-San Marcos, TX MSA 18.2%
2. Atlanta, GA MSA 17.6%
3. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC MSA 17.5%
4. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CMSA 16.8%
5. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC—SC MSA 16.6%
Access to recreation year-round (warmer weather) is obviously

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