It’s a familiar scene - you find housing you can afford near a mass transit line on the outskirts of a city, and the reason it’s affordable is because few people will visit you. There’s no there, there.  For decades, Collingswood, New Jersey, neighborhood of 15,000 just outside of Camden, was just that. It suffered massive downtown vacancies like most other cities, even though it was served by a major transit line to Philadelphia.  It hasn’t helped that many are still averse to living or working in Camden, which sits in between Collingswood and Philly.

However, it has found the magic formula to become a walkable destination with a vibrant downtown, and the window of opportunity to buy attainably-priced homes is still there, but shrinking fast. How’d they do it?

The process is a very familiar one - as this previous entry, Attracting people to emerging main streets, provides in more detail. It starts with visionary entrepreneurs establishing destination local restaurants with great food and atmosphere. A farmers market complements them well, further making people feel comfortable just being in the downtown for longer periods of time, and thoroughly enjoying an entirely unique experience, followed by festivals celebrating the local culture.

Unfortunately, the city leadership seems determined to shift from attracting the creatives that helped the town’s revitalization, and instead focus on wealthier families and those with executive positions. The city is incentivizing owners of duplexes that serve two households to convert them into single-families, and in a neighborhood where the average available home is $216,000, a public private partnership is developing a signature mixed-use project with 120 condominiums that start at $350,000 to $400,000. Of course, these were planned before the economic crisis, and creatives are well aware of how that may have been avoided.

When artist and avid cyclist David Byrne, former lead singer for the band Talking Heads, was asked by the New York City Department of Transportation (no surprise) to help judge a bike rack design contest for New York City, he was so enthusiastic about the opportunity that he submitted his own designs.

With his design prowess and public exposure* however, NYC DOT felt it only fair to distinguish his submissions from the rest. Alas, these particular bike racks will be up for only a year, after which the art gallery that paid to construct them will be allowed to sell them to recoup their costs. Here’s to someone winning those bids to keeping them where they are.

Here’s the best part - each bike rack represents the local character of where it’s placed. Looking at the nine images, left to right, top down…

The MoMA - Museum of Modern Art - modern art, West 54th St./Avenue of the Americas
Mudflap Tammy/The Olde Times Square - the image on truckers’ mudflaps to reflect Times Square’s seedy past, West 44th St./Seventh Avenue
The Villager - the dog friendliness of Greenwich Village, 536 La Guardia Place, West Third/Bleecker St.
The Coffee Cup - the legendary parisian Hungarian Pastry Shop near Columbia University, Amsterdam Ave., West 110th/111th St.
The Wall Street - how ironic - 82 Wall St./Water Street
The Ladies’ Mile - in front of Bergdorf Goodman, a world-renowned luxury goods department store on the equally famous 5th Avenue, at 57th St.
The Hipster - a guitar, Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a home for live music and new bands, Bedford Ave./North Sixth St.
The Chelsea - in front of PaceWildenstein Gallery, perhaps symbolizing the artists, musicians, and writers in the neighborhood of Chelsea, 530 West 25th St./11th Ave.
The Jersey - near the Lincoln Tunnel to NJ - of course, a car. Ninth Ave./39th St.

Byrne is writing a nonfiction book called “Cycling Diaries,” scheduled to appear in 2009. Read more about his involvement in the bike rack installation in the NY Times article, David Byrne, Cultural Omnivore, Raises Cycling Rack to an Art Form.

This site is by no means a political platform, so understanding that, one had to be there in the streets of downtowns across the U.S. after the final voting results to understand that this was more than just another election. The joyous dancing, the spirited cheering and chanting, the intense hugging, the endless laughter and tears, a generosity of love in the air… you’d think you were either in Berlin when the Wall had just fallen, or for sports fans, your country had just won the World Cup.

Why are they so infused with enthusiasm and happiness?  If you’re skeptical about whether or not this article describing these scenes across the country isn’t partisan, you’ll want to read the nonpartisan business articles from Fast Company magazine, How Obama Won It With the Web and The Brand Called Obama: Win or lose, Barack Obama’s rise changes business as usual for everyone. Here’s why. The stated fundamentals for success are strikingly similar to the tenets of why crowdsourcing generates so much passion and enthusiasm. Some of the lessons…

Lose control - Trust and let the people message what you’re about.
Embrace the modern internet - Every Web 2.0 tool was used, and even pioneering new ones, such as a micro-funding tool to raise money among your own friends and constituents.  This will be an invaluable tool in crowdsourcing.
Cast a wide social net - Build communities of support with other online social networks, not just your own.
Let fans be real - Many of the most effective messages were created by supporters, not the campaign itself.
Be open (but not totally) - Open source means people are allowed to know what’s going on, but of course, not everything.
Lead, don’t boss around - Get people to do things on their own, not because they have a contract, known as ‘adaptive leadership’.

As an example of the above, here’s a message from the campaign after the results were announced, “We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I’ll be in touch soon about what comes next.” Since when does a president-elect care what individuals think once they’re elected? Wouldn’t you like to get a similar message from the organization or company you work for, or even your government? We’ll see…

Update: Within 24 hours of the election, Obama launches web site to reach public.

No one in their creative right mind (no pun intended) would wear a tourist souvenir t-shirt displaying their city name, but what if you really did want to display your love for your own unique, authentic neighborhood? If you live in Queens, New York, the answer for many is to buy a shirt from local artist Ciara Elend’s Queensbound collection. Think of it as when you wear your ol’ college alma mater, except it’s in real time and anything but generic.

What inspired Ciara to create the Queensbound line? As she says, “I heart Queens. I really do, and its obvious from all my propaganda. I am making up for those who don’t appreciate this kick-ass borough. Queens gets no respect and I’m trying to change that one t-shirt at a time.”

A sampling of her descriptions for her creations, going from left to right at the top of the image above:
- “DO U HEART QUEENS? Of course you do. Prove it by wearing this shirt.”
- “1964 World’s Fair Pavillion, one of the best known structures in Queens. I made a mixed-media collage where I had cut these structure out of two different colors of paper.”
- “Inspired by my absolute favorite place, Sunnyside. I drew this font based on those found on a saloon.” What she refers to as her ‘neighborhoody’, it also comes in other flavors - Forest Hills, Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Astoria and Woodside.
- The image on the shirt in the bottom middle is of a landmark arch.

What makes this work is that it’s one artist for one borough. It just wouldn’t work if she started doing Brooklyn and The Bronx because it wouldn’t be authentic, a key attribute for creatives. The real question is, ‘Who’s your neighborhood’s Ciara Elend?’

Presently, few visitors venture north of Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Station into what is known as Charles North, a 100-acre arts and entertainment district characterized by boarded up buildings. On October 30, 2008, Mayor Sheila Dixon (pictured) unveiled the Charles North Vision Plan to transform the area into more of a knowledge economy oriented natural cultural district (local businesses, human-scaled buildings, multiple developers) rather than the typical industrial economy corporate cultural district (national chains, block-sized buildings, one or two major developers).

The scope: Integrated into the existing historic urban fabric and active destinations (such as the popular Charles Theater pictured to the left) 1900 residences, 557,000 s.f. of retail, 300,000 s.f. of office space, 4700 parking spaces in automated garages, in an area bounded by St. Paul Street on the east, 20th and 21st streets on the north, Howard Street and Falls Road on the west and the Jones Falls Valley on the south.

The main components of the plan seem promising on paper:
- Residences for college students and professionals;
- A ‘Creative/Design Zone’ for artists, designers and architects. The Maryland Institute College of Art, Morgan State University and University of Maryland officials are discussing a shared center for design students working on urban projects.
- An Asia Town
- Redevelopment of historic landmarks such as the Parkway Theater, North Avenue Market and former Chesapeake Restaurant building; and a park along the Jones Falls Valley.

Read more about this in the Baltimore Sun’s A new vision for arts district.

The top image is what the city released, though unfortunately, asphalt takes up most of the pan. Hopefully this doesn’t reflect a plan that promises to emphasize places for people rather than cars - such as these examples.

Photo: Charles Theater by mreid0183.

In surveys about where young people want to live, Shimokitazawa, a rare natural cultural district on the western side of Tokyo, is always a top choice, and known as a trendsetting place for creatives. Why? Here’s a description from a Japanese magazine, 10+1:

“The urbanism of Shimokitazawa characterized by narrow pedestrian streets (no cars) and dense commercial activity, gives the area a deep Tokyo feel. Attracted by the relaxed character and communal atmosphere of Shimokitazawa, newcomers live alongside old-timers who have seen the neighborhood change throughout the years. An African shop owner explains that what attracted him to Shimokitazawa was a feeling of “old-Japan” which he did not encounter in any other part of Tokyo. In Shimokitazawa the future meets the past.  Shimokitazawa is an urban experience and a space of cultural expression enjoyed by a colorful crowd from Tokyo and the rest of the world.”

In Shimokitazawa, you’ll find small theater halls, live music venues (known as ‘live houses’), bars, secondhand record and clothing shops, and stores offering miscellaneous items from the 70s and old animation-themed toys. Many shops express the ingenuity of their young owners, such as the convergence of multiple venues and user-driven items, (ie combining a cafe and a record shop or an outlet for small handmade items.) Every February the month-long Shimokitazawa Theater Festival showcases plays performed at eight small theaters, and the Kitazawa Music Festival in July features live music in every alley throughout the town.  Animated cultural festivals include the Tengu-matsuri Festival honoring the mythical Tengu, and the Mikoshi-matsuri (portable shrine) Festival.

As the magazine further states, “it is the favorite destination of sophisticated vintage shoppers, record collectors, musicians, artists, students, freelancers, lovers, and other creative types. The “Shimokitazawa experience” is a lifestyle rather than a fashion-style. Indeed the area has served as an “incubator” for many Japanese artists and musicians. From one of its creatives, ”“It’s the hippest place in the city where people who say no to the commercialism… you won’t see Gucci or Vuitton here. It’s vintage-antique-used-retro-pop-cool-jazz-indies that defines what this town is about. It’s the basement and attic of Tokyo.

Sadly and surprisingly, various government and commercial entities are attempting to replace the neighborhood with an auto-oriented boulevard - hopefully they learn from Dublin’s successful Temple Bar District, a natural cultural district that was not only saved, but is now a major cultural and economic destination for the city (however, perhaps too much so).

By popular request, here are what I feel are the top 20 articles among the 1400 on this site, influenced by current times. This will be constantly changing, especially as I rediscover previous articles and post new ones (in bold)…

Crowdsourcing and creatives...
The creatives: rengen, cultural creatives, creative class - Identifying the core market itself.
What is crowdsourced placemaking? - The most definitive definition.
The time is now to crowdsource the places you want - Get started now.
The beta community - The crowdsourced placemaking community that makes it all happen.
The four different kinds of beta communities - The four kinds of projects beta communities can help generate.

Placemaking...
The impact of natural cultural districts - The best academic definition for the places that attract creatives.
The third place - The fundamental unit of a natural cultural district.
Cultivating your own Temple Bar District - One of the most inspiring stories of how a natural cultural district was saved and now flourishing (though maybe too much so).
Happiness best reflected by the beauty of place - Aesthetics matter to people more than anything.
The ‘postcard test’ - A litmus test for a place’s aesthetics, beauty.

The economic foundation...
If there was ever one definitive graphic, this is it - A table that illustrates our evolution from an industrial to a knowledge economy.
Digital infrastructure replacing an asphalt one - The physical environment to accommodate modern needs.
The Experience Economy - A better description of our modern economy than simply ‘the information age’ or ‘knowledge economy’.
Creatives ahead of the financial crisis - How the preferences of creatives, and not so big homes, are better suited to a sustainable economy.
How the creative class relates to the economy - Visual evidence of how creatives grow an economy.

Innovative examples...
The most innovative government agency in the U.S. - The New York City Department of Transportation.
NYC’s stunning ‘streets to plazas’ program - A model program for creating pedestrian-only destinations.
Ten defining principles for a true green community - Benchmark principles and communities for zero carbon, zero waste communities.
Paris launches world’s largest bike sharing system - No bike sharing system in the world comes close.
Elements hits the Washington Post front page - A crowdsourced restaurant gets national exposure.

Recently dropped from the Top 20
More evidence that ‘not so big homes’ are in - Smaller homes are the creative American Dream
Affordability’s secret weapon - the ‘ipad’ - A stylish 380 s.f. one-bedroom in the UK.

What’s the big deal with how aesthetically pleasing a place is? Well, according to the Place and Happiness Survey, it’s the most important of any quality regarding what matters to people the most. Thus, within this understanding, we present Forbes Travel’s America’s Prettiest Towns, based on the following very subjective qualities used by the judges:

- exceptional, unique urban form
- organic
- haunting beauty
- picturesque
- how the towns makes one ‘feel’
- local character and real charm
- aesthetic appeal on a human scale
- personal preferences like tradition, the kind of places that don’t exist much anymore, and flower boxes on windows

...and my personal favorite, the postcard test.

Finally, here’s their list of the 20 ‘prettiest’:

Northeast
Annapolis, Maryland
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Hanover, New Hampshire
Cape May, New Jersey
Lake Placid, New York
New Hope, Pennsylvania
Newport, Rhode Island

Southwest
Bisbee, Arizona
Flagstaff, Arizona
Mendocino, California
Bodie, California
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Marfa, Texas

Galena, Illinois
Park City, Utah
Savannah, Georgia
Aspen, Colorado

What’s the prettiest town in the U.S., or the world, in your opinion?

September 2008 is a landmark day for anything having to do with green dance clubs.  That’s the launch month for both Club Watt in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Surya in London, both being presented as sustainable/ecological dance clubs featuring a floor that generates energy from the people dancing on top of it.

It’s been talked about since 2005 by a group now referred to as the Sustainable Dance Club, formed by a group of Dutch ecological inventors, engineers and investors using a technology called ‘piezoelectricity’, based on the dance floor panels having about a centimeter of play.

Each dance club has a different company behind them - Sustainable Dance Club developed Club Watt, and Club4Climate created Surya. A little bit of competition may be healthy. For the ecological record, Club Watt claims 30% electricity reduction and 50% water, waste, CO2 reduction, and Surya says the floor will eventually produce 60% of the club’s electricity. At Surya, tables are made of magazines, the walls out of old mobile phones. Both have waterless urinals and toilets using rainwater.

Read about the technology in the New York Times, Partying Helps Power a Dutch Nightclub, and check out a video explaining Club Watt’s eco features.

Thanks to Marianne Drowne for the reference.

The Bearden Arts Building, a crowdsourced development (restored building in front, new building in back) in the once bustling/now revitalizing H Street/Atlas District of Washington DC, has released the following triple bottom line goals, co-developed by its beta community, as a causal benchmark for any development:

Financial/Economic
The Bearden Arts Building will meet required member rates of return, serve as an appreciating investment for its homeowners, and provide a revenue source for strategic environmental organization partners. The project will demonstrate that urban-infill ‘green’ residential condominiums can be attainably priced and profitable with or without the use of government subsidy, serving as a model suitable to be widely replicated in other locations.

Environmental
The Bearden Arts Building will be built using sustainable design and construction practices based on the Green Communities Criteria, specifically created for attainably-priced developments. As a model of elegant and practical green living, the residences will be efficiency style units with low carbon footprints. Parking spaces will be reduced compared to new housing developments, resulting in more residents that walk, ride bicycles, take the bus or metro, and use short-term rentals (Smartbike, Zipcar).

Btw, when they say ‘attainably-priced’, they mean it.  In a city where any new housing unit starts at $300K, the objective here is to provide homes beginning at under $200K, partly inspired by Cubix Yerba Buena in San Francisco.

Follow this project’s story here when the developer was first introduced to the idea of crowdsourcing and here when they assigned that process to a project.