Yes, according to a report on public health as it relates to development patterns by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.

As you can see on the graph from their report, the greater the density (sprawl index), the fewer the fatalities per 1000 people, as calculated over 83 U.S. regions that covered two-thirds of the total population.  Why are people dying?  The reports showed lower densities have higher incidence of cardiovascular and lung diseases including asthma in children, as well as

read more…

If you feel like relaxing at the end of the day with a good book, then meeting friends for drinks, staying for dinner, then catching a rather intellectual film, lecture or comedy show, you can do all of that in one place at the Busboys and Poets in central Washington DC.

The name of the venue is inspired by Langston Hughes who was discovered as a poet while he was a busboy, and the theme carries through.  There’s a literature-oriented bookstore; a bar; lots of couches and informal sitting

read more…

How affordable are central cities?  In a quarterly newsletter by Reconnecting America’s Center for Transit Oriented Development, this is answered statistically.

The map on top shows the areas in Twin Cities, MN that are affordable in the lightest color, when only housing costs are factored in.  The darker areas are less affordable (greater % of income spent on housing), and the darkest areas are least affordable.

The map below shows what happens when transportation costs (e.g. car ownership,

read more…

The last two days focused on Richard Florida, so let’s look at seemingly contrasting research.  People like Joel Kotkin, author of the The New Geography, and Jack Schultz, author of BoomTown USA, say more people are migrating to small towns that aren’t nearly as ‘creative’ as the cities on Florida’s list. In fact, Schutz just commented on this yesterday.

Well, they’re kind of all right.  Young people are still moving to creative centers (if you’re young and single, you know why), but they’re

read more…

Yesterday I re-introduced Richard Florida, and as promised, here’s his most current list, as featured in the November issue of Fast Company, of the hottest cities for creative types like yourself.

In no particular order:

Sacramento, CA - WIne is big, the downtown is coming around, and outdoor recreation abounds.
Phoenix, AZ - Artists like its free spirit, biotech is booming downtown, and yes, few rainy days.
Salt Lake City, UT - Mormons are big on enterpreneurship, really big. Not so much on

read more…

You may notice the term ‘creative class‘ pop up here and there, with a category on this website covering it.  I first mentioned Richard Florida - the person who coined and legitimized the term - way back in April 2003, so it’s time for a re-introduction, especially since the creative class best defines the market most attracted to ‘cooltowns’.

Richard is an economist and the author of the best-seller Rise of the Creative Class and its sequel Flight of the Creative Class.  The first book

read more…

How dramatic is the excitement of moving to Philly’s downtown?

The area in

shows where current construction and renovation will lead to an expansion of this perceived ‘downtown’.  That means a lot of people are and will be calling downtown home, about 20,000 to 30,000 of them in this decade.

The details are included in this housing study, which also indicates no shortage of

read more…

Why should a city invest in the arts?  While artists have no shortage of reasons why, there’s often little economic evidence of their impact.  That’s the focus of Dr. Stephen Sheppard, an economist at Williams College who has been working with MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) to calculate the real value of arts to communities.

There are three ‘pathways’ that lead from the arts to economic growth that he measured and analyzed:

Direct employment and income from the arts and

read more…

So you’re young and can’t afford gallery art just yet.  Or you’re a young artist and looking for exposure.  Or you’re just someone looking for something a bit more fulfilling to do on a Saturday night.

Scott Fraser has quite the remedy.  He hosts an art auction dance party at popular nightclub venues. Why?  As he says, “Not enough young people are buying original artwork,“ especially at gallery prices. “It’s just expensive, they don’t have the disposable income.“

So, because he has many

read more…

I’m delving into sensitive material here, but since the heart of community and business is fundamentally made up of one-one relationships between people...

An Oxford graduate, Richard Ecob conducted a study that modeled a community of daters to a ‘community of atoms’, since they exhibited similar physics (hey, don’t shoot the messenger.)  If you’ve seen What The #$*! Do We Know?!, it wouldn’t seem too far-fetched.

The study’s final word if you want to build strong relationships? Stay put in

read more…