Apple introduced videoconferencing for the masses yesterday which will help connect entrepreneurs and artists in unprecedented ways, but it’s the company’s philosophy that blends with CoolTowns. Here’s their tribute to the same kind of people that will pioneer CoolTowns - with one slight opportunistic edit:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.

Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
   
We [build towns] for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.“

1200 urbanists met five blocks from my home at the annual Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) conference in Washington DC last week.  I owe a lot to the people who started this organization dedicated to improving quality of life in our communities through better planning and development.

While they are the largest group committed to the concept of New Urbanism, I have to stop short of saying they are active supporters of CoolTowns.  CNU conference speakers and attendance are not very diverse in race, age and socioeconomics, and that’s fundamental to a CoolTown.  However, as referred to even in mainstream movies like The Matrix:Reloaded, non-diverse ‘boards of directors’ are not uncommon.  Unfortunately the results are.

A more supportive perspective is that a diversity of movements are needed to build a CoolTown, and New Urbanism is one of them.  Arts & entertainment, economic development, entrepreneurialism and social justice are others, and there are many more.

Investing in cool places to eat

So what kind of restaurants will the ultimate CoolTown have?  That’s like asking what kind of movies will be produced if your studio worked with only the most creative independent directors, writers and actors - one can only imagine.

The best ideas will come from asking the most creative people, then finding the entrepreneurs to run it.  One clear factor is that the creative inhabitants of CoolTowns need affordable places to eat - it’s about fun dining more than fine dining.  They also don’t need venues where the chefs and service are wildly creative, but that they are the source of creativity:  Hot pots, mongolian, shabu shabu, ethiopian, fondue, mix-your-own-drink bars (OK this doesn’t exist as far as I can find, but it probably will soon enough).

Add a few experience-oriented restaurants, like communal service, eating in the dark (only in Manhattan), authentic ethnic, live music or a movie, provide a giant collective outdoor room (see picture), and you’re dining in a CoolTown.

Where ‘Friends’ meet for coffee

Forget Central Perk, the sofa-laden coffee house where the characters of the TV show Friends meet up, Tryst has it going.

Let me count the ways to make a great neighborhood hangout:  Provide lots of big comfortable chairs and couches for those who want relaxed conversation;  a communal table for those who want to strike up spontaneous dialogue or collaborate on work projects; lots of small tables near the front for more intimate conversation and dining; or seating at the bar if you like the staff.  Choice.

You can sit in the back where it’s more private, or right on the street if you like the scenery; browse a menu in your hand or a giant handwritten blackboard listing coffees, teas, chais and smoothies along with a collection of sandwiches, pastries and waffles; order at the counter or be served.  Choice.

Of course, there’s the bulletin board, local revolving art on the walls and annual New Year’s slumber party.  Community.

Finally, did I say the wireless internet access is free?  Not the $6/hr or $30/month rip-off @ Starbucks, but free! Cool.

Now that’s how you compete with the big boys.

There are many reasons why fast food doesn’t jive with a CoolTown, and here’s a whole book of them.  Below are listed just a few:

Health:  As covered in this particular week’s blog, there are many ways town planning can promote health, and avoiding these is one of them.

Local economy:  I’ve got an upcoming week’s blog on this, but fast food chains simply take more money out of the local economy than local entrepreneurs.  The National Main Street Center is the best resource on this.

Community spirit:  The more fast food restaurants you have promoting movie blockbusters, the less local favorites you have promoting watching the movie itself.

People say they frequent national chains because they trust what they’re getting.  I believe that the stronger the sense of community, the greater that trust will be in finding out what they’re missing from the local cafes.

Read about the parallels of fast food to the mcmansion proliferation, and the antithesis of fast food via the slow food movement.

As we evolve from a service economy to an experience economy, diners are seeking more than just good food, they’re looking for a great time.

One of the popular restaurant types in my neighborhood is Ethiopian cuisine, which is essentially a giant pizza-sized serving of soft bread with varieties of spreads and fillings you combine yourself.

The best part to me is that you get to break all the rules.  First of all, you sit on the floor.  Second, you share from a common serving dish, and third, you use your hands.

Besides the common dining conversation topic, what makes this experience fun is that you get to be creative as well as not have to cook.

Food + fun = Hot pot

How can a town be fun if you don’t have fun places to eat? My favorite restaurant when I lived in San Francisco was The Coriya Hot Pot, and still is.

The basic concept of this all-you-can-eat experience is that you cook your own food - known as hot pot dining - or hot-potting. All the vegetables, meats, etc. are laid out like a salad bar for you to choose from, followed by sauces (of which you can use recommended combinations).  The fun part comes when you start cooking your preferences on the large round skillet in the middle of your table.  There’s even a pot of hot water in the middle of the skillet to make your own soup.

There’s a constant flow of energy between not burning your broccoli, out-cooking your friends and laughing at it all.

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 and attracted innovative investors to carry their vision out.

Read this article and you’ll see why you need a mayor like Nancy if a CoolTown is ever going to see the light of day.

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 (who also happens to be a CoolTown advocate.)

Visionary governments also specifically prioritize visionary real estate projects, which is anti-thetical to typical bureaucratic procedure of supporting only its governing area as a whole.  As documented in this classic bestseller, when you try to please everyone, you please no one.

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 anywhere else.  In Seattle, the city requires its street musicians to audition first.

Smart Growth: San Francisco leads the west and New York leads the east in promoting pedestrian-oriented over auto-oriented development.  Parking requirements are often non-existent and millions of tourists visit just to walk the streets.  Portland, Oregon provides numerous financial and fast-track incentives at light-rail stations.

Economic Development: Many of Chicago’s most abandoned neighborhoods are undergoing an economic renaissance thanks to Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which is essentially allowing additional (incremental) property tax generated from initial investments to be invested back into the project’s public infrastructure.  Austin, now considered one of the tech capitals of the world as well, utilizes TIF.

The economic bottom line is that if people are frequenting the public realm, then talent is frequenting the public sector.