Governor to his citizens: “Don’t make an effort”

“We don’t make an effort in Iwate,“ prefecture (state) Governor Hiroye Masuda has declared in a nationwide government ad campaign running since 2001.  By the way, that’s really what it says on their business cards.  Realizing his people couldn’t compete in Japan’s fast-paced economy, “Here, I want people to go home early in the evening, take a walk with their family, and talk to the neighbors.“

It makes more sense than it sounds.  An

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CoolTowns in Utah?

Many people believe Utah may be the most entrepreneurial state in the country - its Mormon values for individual success being a factor.

Joe Alfandre and I visited three towns in Utah this week:  Pleasant Grove, St. George and Logan.  Pleasant Grove valued revitalizing its downtown, though more from a historic preservation point of view.  St. George wanted to revitalize its downtown as a regional destination with some artistic, cultural excitement.  They both understood

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Q&A: Which comes first?  A city-wide master plan or a built project?

This was asked by a city manager when discussing where to focus initial CoolTown investment.

The answer for the public sector is obvious:  The city-wide master plan.
The answer for the private sector is obvious:  The built project.

The CoolTown answer would be both, and more specifically, to build a touchstone CoolTown neighborhood that raises the standards for how the rest of the city could be master-planned, ideally at

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To answer the previous entry’s questions:

Municipalities (economic development agencies in partnership with planning agencies) have the power to reverse the ‘greenfield easier’/‘infill-harder’ reality.  The overwhelming desire to truly accomplish this is years away unfortunately.

What municipalities can do to help build CoolTowns:
1. Property/site identification and assembly assistance.
2. Tax increment financing (TIF) program to fund public infrastructure, namely project-killing parking

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To answer yesterday’s question:  Why is it easier to build greenfields/sprawl?

Because it’s legislated that way, and the private sector has followed.  How’d this happen?  A quick history:

Early 1900s to 1934:  A group of home builders lobbied the government relentlessly to allow them to mass-produce homes just like Henry Ford mass-produced automobiles.  Of course, people lived in villages, which were anything but.

1934:  As a result, Congress passed the FHA (Federal Housing Administration)

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Greenfield/sprawl developments are easy for the private sector to do, but not economically, socially and environmentally beneficial.  Meanwhile, infill/urban/redevelopment projects are difficult, but highly beneficial economically, socially and environmentally.

Greenfields/sprawl vs. infill/urban/redevelopment impacts, as it relates to the creatively entrepreneurial CoolTown audience:

Economic:  Workers are increasingly bolting office parks to work for

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Some rather hip mayors…

The image to the left is the Wynkoop brewpub in Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver - keep that in mind…

Economic development ain’t what it used to be.  Just listen to Mayor John Hickenlooper from this Denver Post article:

“The days when offering a big subsidy was enough to attract a major company are over. Cities used to consider cultural life as symphonies, operas and ballet companies. All those are still important, but now we should embrace struggling artists, bluegrass

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Government sponsored beer and live music?

OK, so you still have to pay $3 for the beer, but the City of West Palm Beach choreographs the beer truck and local live bands every Thursday night in its revitalized town square.  I was there on one of those nights and wish we had it here in Washington DC.

Clematis by Night was initiated by then Mayor Nancy Graham as a means of revitalizing the City’s neglected downtown.  Not only that, but she established a progressive, young planning department

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What would a CoolTown government be like?

A CoolTown government would look at enhancing the talent of its own people rather than importing it from somewhere else (ie big corporations).

It would promote ways of utilizing technology (e.g. the internet) and fresh ideas (e.g. universities) to enhance the skills and businesses of its own residents and establish a strong local economy.  Much of this is detailed in Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities in a Global Age by Michael Shuman

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Which cities support CoolTowns?

Well, the ultimate CoolTowns are in places like Paris and London because of the overwhelming priority of people over automobiles (these cities matured well before cars hit the streets).  The U.S. has its share of cool city governments.

Arts & Entertainment: The City of Austin has a live band play before every council meeting.  That’s the spirit of the city and its live music capital of the world slogan, where there are more live music venues per capita than

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Will local governments endorse CoolTowns?

It depends on who voted them into office.  Since governments are elected by the people, the mindset of its community’s leaders is a good indication of what government will do.  How they perceive risk is a fundamental indicator of whether or not they will endorse a CoolTown:

The risk-takers:  These are the people you read about in the paper, the ones who commit to ideas no one else will and set trends:  Artists and entertainers, Steve Jobs and Oprah

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You need strong, entrepreneurial government leadership to see innovative development implemented.  If the mayor doesn’t support the concept you may as well invest somewhere else.

What does government leadership provide?  For instance, it can produce policies that support entrepreneurial economic development; establish a tax system that reinvests into the project that generated the taxes in the first place; and provide a common vision that inspires community and business leaders to support

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