Global Austins are cities around the world that, like Austin, generate technology as well as talent, along with the culture, entertainment and quality of life to retain them.  The term was coined in Richard Florida’s new book, The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent.

As stated in the previous blog, the key is to understand the creative neighborhoods that catalyzed these cities and not to worship the city in its entirety, especially when it comes to

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Economic competition among cities is greater than ever according to the Globalization and World Cities - Study Group & Network.  Remember, creativity drives economic performance. Here’s their list of the top economically-performing cities in the world, in order:

Alpha (First-Tier) Cities
New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Milan, Singapore

Beta (Second-Tier) Cities
San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Zurich, Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo,

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You’ve heard it before, “There aren’t any young people here.“ “This place has no women.“ “This town is so dead.“ Perception is reality.

Why do 90% of us choose death over changing for a prolific future - socially and economically?  In continuing the series that began yesterday, Change or Die, the answer is perhaps that the brains of city and business leaders have become physiologically incapable of change, unless…

Contrary to popular belief. neuroscience researchers like Dr. Michael

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When given the choice between change or death, 90% of us choose death, according to medical findings highlighted in the Fast Company magazine cover story, Change or Die, which has since become a book.  So if you’re looking for significant change in your community toward building better places, you’d better be more than prepared.  Here are a couple myths of change:

Change will happen when crisis occurs. Not true for 90% of people who’ve had coronary bypasses, or how the healthcare industry has

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When’s the last time you came across a real estate developer with these principles, in this priority:

1. Progressive, livable communities
2. Comfortable, engaging, healthy homes and workplaces
3. The lowest total monthly costs to own on the market
4. High quality for the price and low maintenance
5. A commitment to the environment we all live in
6. Renewable energy-powered whenever possible

These are word-word from Solar Village, as CoolTown-oriented a developer as you’ll ever find.  It

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More than ever, the focus on growing a vibrant economy is on design.

In a globalizing economy based on mass production and commoditization, the business of design is more than ever the path to productivity and profit, not to mention a sense of soul.  What elements does this design economy entail?  Fast Company magazine provides a look:

Be project-based: Aka the hollywood model, creativity thrives when there’s a finite beginning and end (like movies, and the design and construction of

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Have you ever wondered why it is, that say, on one fine spring day in 1999, a downtown condo can be had for under $100,000, then just three years later an urban buyer’s epidemic breaks out and you can’t find one for less than $300,000?  Thousands believe that business consultant Malcolm Gladwell covered the reasoning quite well in his best-seller, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.

The three rules of epidemics, as he sees it:

1. The Law of the Few.  It doesn’t

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Ever notice that taking pictures of streetlife without having cars in the way is often much easier in other countries?  Or that some of the most popular streets in the U.S. (and the world) are pedestrian-only?

There is a demand for these kinds of people-oriented places, but the supply of auto-oriented places far exceeds them. Why?  Because, as economist Donald Shoup states in his newly published book, The High Cost of Parking, city governments decree that parking be free, and it’s making

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The 14th & U main street district in Washington DC was a jazz mecca in its heyday in the first half of the 20th century, when the likes of Duke Ellington, Billy Holiday, and Louis Armstrong were regulars.  40 years after the riots, jazz has not only returned to 14th & U, but its legacy is also spawning a new era of live music, entertainment and a population explosion to the area.

How did this happen?  It helps when you can retain institutions like Bohemian Caverns (a jazz club since 1926)

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Many who live or work in the city or downtown may think of stress-free urban living as an oxymoron.  However, according to Dr. Allen Elkin, author of Urban Ease: Stress-Free Living in the Big City, it depends on whether you’re an:
- urbanite that truly enjoys being immersed in urban life;
- urban mismatch of the ‘nice place to visit, but not to live in’ viewpoints
- unhappy camper who wouldn’t be happy anywhere.

Urbanites not only are able to manage the stress of urban living, but stress as a

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