What is freakonomics and why should it matter?  Renowned economist Steven Levitt began applying economics to everyday fields of study and began discovery rather extraordinary facts.  Some of his findings are below (and these are his conclusions, not my opinions):

- Roe vs. Wade did more for crime prevention in the 1990s than any conscious effort to reduce it, as babies were born into more stable households.
- Parents moving to a ‘better neighborhood’, reading to their child, or not working

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That is… attainable housing that doesn’t look like subsidized affordable housing.  For example, homes in The Renwick (pictured) are said to be starting in the mid-100Ks.  Seems to be a great example of no-frills chic.

The area’s overall cost of living is 3% below the national average, yet the median home price in Charlotte is $169,400, about 10% below the national average, according to the National Association of Realtors.  What’s surprising is that people are making more money than the

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It shows you have to be patient to be progressive.  A year and three months since we first introduced you to Upper Rock District, a proposed ‘CoolTown’ in Rockville, MD, it received formal city approval to be built.  More here.

Municipalities take note, not many developers are this patient, and serious institutional investors (like this one) will not wait more than six months, and certainly not fifteen.  Even then, the developers did not expect approvals to take this long, as it seems the

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Yesterday we talked about how the coolest neighborhoods can be, well, a little ugly, and how some places may pass the postcard test, but have little soul.

So how do you discover the hidden soul in the coolest neighborhoods?

1. Find a ‘neighborhood agent’ - anyone who lives, works or hangs out there.  It’s really not worth visiting anywhere without one if you truly want to get to know a place.  Period.  Otherwise, you’ll get that ‘been there, done that’ feeling.  I experienced Williamsburg in

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Ever walk into a neighborhood that people rave about, then wonder what all the fuss was about?  At the same time, wonder why there are so many beautiful neighborhoods that people rarely talk about?

When a person gushes about their neighborhood, they’ll often mention the great restaurants, hangouts and entertainment, that it’s affordable, walkable and convenient, and that they like the people. It’s a bit rare for them to say how well designed the architecture, parks and streets are, yet that’s

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There were only 2560 people living downtown, but that population jumped 43% since then.  Still, that’s only 3655 people, though that number is expected to increase to 20,000 in 20 years - that’s eight times the population at the turn of the century.  Why the sudden increase in popularity?  Understanding the principles of the tipping point helps.

So how will supply meet demand, given the trends described here in the last two entries?  “Build more low- to mid-rise buildings on vacant lots,

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Yep, Stouffer’s will be selling a lot more of these.

The census bureau reports that for the first time households with one single adult (31.6%) are now greater than those of couples with kids (31.3%.)  Further details here.  This should come as no surprise to those who are now aware that the average condo sells for more than the average single-family, as reported in yesterday’s entry.  The demand for condos (increase in number smaller households) is exceeding supply, thus the rising condo

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Yep, it’s true.  The National Association of Realtors reported that in fourth quarter of 2005 the national median price of a condo ($223,500) was higher than that of a single-family home ($218,600.)  Of course for regular readers of this blog, it’ll come as no surprise - we know what we want, and we know what our peers want - affordability, walkability, convenience, entertainment… and the fact that married with kids’ are less than 20% of net new household growth.

Read the full story in the

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How do you brand such a big city like Chicago?  Smart City radio interviews Paul O’Connor of World Business Chicago to get the answer, and I must say his answer is rather ‘CoolTownish’.

His focus is on branding the quality of life and global diversity of Chicago.  In his words, “The big change has been that by working on the quality of life of the city, making it safe and clean and attractive, a place where gen x and gen y want to be, then what has happened is the city has became a magnet for

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Why is it that you have to choose neighborhoods that other people design?  Wouldn’t it be great if you could collaborate on designing the coolest neighborhood, then have it built?

Perhaps that dream isn’t far away, and Lego may have laid the foundation. Its newly introduced Lego Factory allows people to design their own buildings, neighborhood, even an entire town via the free software they provide.  That’s just the beginning, because you then submit that design to Lego to buy all the pieces

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