As explained in the previous blog, today’s modern, progressive, people-oriented city planning codes are graphical-based.  However, what are the graphics of, and are they supportive of CoolTowns?

Building frontage standards: The idea is to create great public rooms, so a uniform setback of buildings best achieves that, and sometimes further back to establish a grand outdoor dining plaza.  Burlington, Boulder and Barcelona do it best by having the entire street as the outdoor dining realm,

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The results of the planning process described in the previous blog below are transformed into a city code or ordinance, usually in hundreds of pages of legalese. Like how Apple evolved command lines into graphical user interfaces, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has done the same for these piles of text, turning them into just a handful of graphic-based codes - SmartCodes, although it could still be less car-oriented.  The code is based on the underlying structure of the transect (see image)

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So how did the City of South Miami’s Hometown Plan that led to investment in model development happen?

It began in 1992, when South Miami Hometown, Inc., a nonprofit, was established by local visionaries that raised funds to create a blueprint for an uninspired 55-acre area in the city, with the cooperation and matching funds of the City.  Through a charrette process that involved key business associations (very important), government agencies, nonprofits and citizens facilitated by Dover

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As you know, most of what has been built in the last 80 years looks like what’s pictured in the top left-hand corner of this image.  Here’s a summary of how it happened, and how it literally became illegal to build anything else, no matter if developers and investors wanted to to build, say, cool urban villages.

The rest of the image is what cities and developers are beginning to invest in, as highlighted in Dover Kohl’s HomeTown Plan in the previous blog.  The fundamental difference is that

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The Cool

Town approach to bringing economic and social vitality to an area via a compelling pilot project doesn’t have a better legislated example than South Miami’s HomeTown Plan: “The “100% Models”  idea was to choose an area (however small) then totally transform it to create as dramatic and visible an impact as possible.  Instead of spending precious funding across large areas, public funds are to be concentrated on these 100% Models.“

The best part is that it’s not another unused city

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While there’s a movement afoot to preserve the 300-400 historic theaters that bring vitality to downtowns across the country, another inspiring trend is taking shape - new theaters are also being being built in urban areas, and pretty snazzy ones at that.

Last night thanks to a friend, I had the pleasure of experiencing the new E Street Cinema theaters in downtown Washington DC, featuring only foreign and independent films (i.e. more authentic), one block from the subway entry. Not only that,

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It’s simple supply and demand - the more desirable a neighborhood becomes, the less affordable it is.  One solution is this - you can afford the home you will want if you choose a neighborhood that’s just a few years away from becoming universally desirable.  Use this guide for starters.

Now, the real question is, why isn’t there a greater supply of cool, urban neighborhoods?  The same reason why mp3 players weren’t very popular before the iPod - there aren’t too many real estate developers

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Based on yesterday’s blog on the prominence of authenticity, how is this helping towns thrive economically and socially?

First of all, based on the definition of authenticity given yesterday, how would this manifest itsely in a ‘real’ town?

- Local businesses rather than chains (this is probably at least half of the test right here).
- Organic foods in restaurants and groceries rather than chemically treated or genetically modified.
- Co-ops rather than corporations.
- Merchants’ walls with

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The best-selling, award-winning books, The Experience Economy and Mass Customization (this site has an entire category on the latter, and should on the former), explain better than any others, the economic evolution that will inevitably lead to more, ever increasingly cool towns.  So it was great to hear from one of the books’ authors (Joe Pine) when he called to let us know that their next book is due in the Fall of 2007, on authenticity.

The authors’ premise?  Authenticity is anything not

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If you wanted to grow a forest, but had money for only one tree, what would you do?  You’d get the best tree you could possibly find and plant it in the middle of where you wanted the forest to grow.  Neighborhood revitalization is no different, whether your budget only allows one venue, or an entire block, like The Can Company in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Can Company (noun turned verb) is a renovated one-block industrial campus of a former can company in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood, with

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

In Ireland, three quarters of all alcohol is consumed in a pub.  That’s all alcohol, including any purchased at the grocery store.  No wonder the Irish seem to be singing, dancing and laughing so much - it’s not so much the alcohol (the oft-used stereotype) as it is being a very social culture.

According to the paper, A Genuine ‘Third Place’? Towards an understanding of the pub in contemporary Irish society, here are some reasons why the pub is the center of

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With wireless internet, traditionalists feared that ‘place’ wouldn’t matter anymore.  Indeed, it’s never mattered more.  Here are some of the ways, as highlighted in Salon’s Urban renewal, the wireless way.

- All that digital communication is inevitably going to lead to face-face communication.  Since digital dialogue encourages multiple participants simultaneously (depending on how cool you are), nothing provides a better physical meeting spot than the third place.

- Athens GA’s 24-block

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...since the service economy began evolving into the experience economy, and as a result, retail and entertainment began merging.

Whole Foods is the national trendsetter when it comes to groceries.  Yes it’s a chain, but as the Apple Computer of the grocery industry, it continues to set new standards in creativity, as well as environmental stewardship. personal health, and now enterainment and fun.  Here are some of their multi-experience features that any-sized venue can be inspired by at

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ABC’s The View featured the top five up-and-coming areas in the country, according to Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group, a large New York real estate firm.  Her list:

Albuquerque’s EDO, short for East Downtown - “An Urban Revolution” (a model for small city revitalization)
Downtown Detroit “A City Reborn” (still getting there)
Del Ray, Virginia - “Where Main Street Still Exists” (already an established neighborhood)
The Red Hook section of Brooklyn “A Red Hot Revolution” (a

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The merchants that make up thriving arts & entertainment/nightlife districts should get kudos and cheers for helping revitalize economically suffering neighborhoods.  However, if they don’t collaborate as a community, they may be in for some serious hate mail, lawsuits and stress from angry residents (collectively known as brain damage).

Here’s one major reason why - as the desirability of neighborhoods go up because of the revitalization that entertainment brings, new homebuyers often don’t

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Youngbin Park at Cornell University provides this response to Monday’s blog on our ongoing reader request for what they think is cool - Ithaca Commons, a downtown pedestrian mall that is experiencing a recent revival of vitality after years of neglect:

“It’s similar to a square, but full of independently-owned stores, restauarants, and bars.  During the summer time, the Commons host concerts on a weekly basis.  The layout of the Common’s is very
nice with plenty of benches, trees, chess

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Thanks to Annie Lux at UNC in response to yesterday’s blog on our ongoing reader request for cool places, here’s a look at how to turn a supermarket into a third place:

“I did a “what’s cool in Carrboro, NC” project for an environmental design/behavior class. The winner was a food co-op/take-out restaurant called Weaver Street Market and is one of the most amazing community gathering places I’ve seen. It’s got a huge lawn, fountain, plenty of outdoor seating and free town-provided wireless

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A little over a year and a half ago I explained in this blog entry what a CoolTown really is -  it’s the collective answer of the local area’s most innovative, entrepreneurial, active people to the question: “So, what kind of town do you think is cool?“

It’s time to hear from you all out there, or at least some of the 5000 regular/repeat visitors from last month.  For this site to work and really help make a difference to build the kinds of communities you know you want, but don’t see

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There are way too many cool places (here and overseas) that shouldn’t be overlooked, so it thrills me when someone’s willing to document such a destination. Here I present artist extraordinaire Laura Sanda, who experienced one of three up and coming neighborhoods in Paris featured in Budget Travel’s Nouveau Paris.

“I have a firm belief that the Metro map is tattooed somewhere in my brain, for while I cannot tell you what side my gas tank is on, I can tell you exactly how to get across town in

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Ever feel so good about a song or two that you wished you could play it for a crowd?  Ever had a desire to be the DJ at a nightclub, even for just 15 minutes?

Well, since you can mass customize your new car, new home, and even your restaurant dinner or your shoes, you can do the same for your night out.  In this Washington Post article, iPod Nights Turn Amateurs Into Digital DJs at D.C. Club (expires Mar. 10), you can get your 15 minutes of fame by bringing in your iPod and playing your

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Sometimes being economically disadvantaged is an advantage.

The conflict: More and more IT (information technology) jobs are being outsourced overseas because costs are lower, resulting in major job losses locally.

The transition: These IT jobs can be outsourced locally where costs are lower, but the talent isn’t nearly as concentrated in those areas as abroad.

The solution: Kathy White and her company, Rural Source, that links IT needs of major companies with large IT talent pools that she

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In continuation of yesterday’s blog and Entrepreneur Magazine’s Hot Trends for 2005, a look at what’s hot in the economy and culture, and how it applies to CoolTowns…

Third places.  Yep, CoolTowns are full of third places, and there’s an entire section of this site dedicated to them.  The article focuses on corporate examples like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and even McD’s and Coca-Cola, but we know it’s the unique local ones that most people like hanging out at.

Obesity.  While there’s a

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