For progressive, community-oriented individuals like yourself, one way to identify a like-minded restaurant is to see if it’s gone green.  Restaurants are no small impact either, they actually represent 10% of the U.S. economy.

What are the signs of a progressive cafe or coffeehouse?  It varies, but the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is trying to make it easier for you.  The best thing is to look for the GRA seal.  Here are their most visible guidelines (full list and details here):

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Since we can’t all be entrepreneurs and artists, many of us need to work for corporations and government.  But when going to work in a cool town, don’t expect to waste away in a cubicle prison.

Check out this demonstration workplace in Washington DC put together by Herman Miller.  Corporate-style office, yes, but no cubicles.  Notice that none of the private offices are along the main window wall - that means great views and more importantly, natural daylighting for all.  It’s also a green

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The next generation isn’t just interested in green building, it’s a requirement.  It isn’t about having a ‘green building’ expert on the development team, it’s a collaboration of the entire team being knowledgeable on it.  As far as people putting money where their mouth is, the US Green Building Council has national standards; the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for just that.  It’s no coincidence that these trends are converging - the demand is there.

So,

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Communal living to the previous generation meant that you had to take turns cooking for all the residents in your community every Sunday at a common hall.  The fact that you had to do anything in the name of community kind of melted the concept in my book.

The folks at Youth Intelligence, a market research firm focusing on Gen X and Y trends, has noticed a few real estate trends that are redefining what communal living is:

- At The Orion in NYC, the laundry room hosts a pool table, free

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Hey folks, just got back yesterday from a two-and-a-half week vacation to my home in Hawaii, then my best buddy’s wedding, so I’m a little late on today’s post.  I had the other posts running automatically.

I’ve been eating out quite a bit lately because of this, which makes me appreciate the handful of restaurants that serve up a one-of-a-kind dining environment and entrees less than $7.  Sea in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is one of those places (pictured), which at first look, screams trendy. 

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First, the facts:

World Wildlife Federation (WWF) research shows people are consuming resources 20% faster than our ability to support renewal. The amount of natural resources used compared with what nature can support increased 2.5 times over the past 40 years, with the average North American using twice that of Europeans, and seven times that of Asians or Africans.

The mass production economy of the last century brought bigger houses, yards, closets, cars, supermarkets, stores, soft

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As presented yesterday, first came the renaissance of the downtown, then CityPlace, now West Palm Beach’s first transit-oriented development (TOD).  The buildings in the bottom right of the image make up CityPlace - notice the pie-shaped ‘square’ that is the epi-center of free entertainment in the area.

With three times more housing than CityPlace (2000 residences vs 600), a million s.f. of office (CityPlace has none) and 100,000 s.f. of retail (a third more), it’ll be a true urban village in

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In 2000, downtown West Palm Beach had no more than 2000 residents with only 20% of its main street occupied.  Today the main street is at 90% and the downtown population is on track for 10,000 in a few years.

“I’ll have what they’re having.“

Leadership, vision, and more leadership.  It starts with one forward-thinking mayor, Nancy Graham (pictured), initiating a form-based planning code that guides what the urban fabric will look like (i.e. think San Franciso, Charleston), but not the uses

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CityPlace, West Palm Beach is one of the most beautiful, European-inspired new retail entertainment villages in the U.S… for the rich.  $300K+ is the starting point for any of the 600 residences, its 20 restaurants are high-end, and its chain-driven stores even higher.

Still, for budget-minded visitors and local residents alike, there’s no better place in the area to sit back and enjoy anything remotely close to life in an Italian piazza.  The vastness of the square, the sound of bubbling

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Based on this week’s series, what are the commercial, residential and retail indicators that personal safety is improving in formerly unsafe neighbhorhoods, and that it may be time to invest?

Cool companies:  This is often the first indicator, assuming workplaces ever become a common component in the neigborhood, since they’re inhabited during the day. In DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), Brooklyn, NY, Jacques Torres, one of the ‘best known pastry chefs on the planet’ and a modern

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