A 56K modem just doesn’t cut it anymore

While writing this column from my home town in Hilo, Hawaii is refreshing, the lack of broadband isn’t - it sometimes takes a few minutes just to download a single web page.  DSL isn’t even available.  Which leads me to fiber optics…

If being stuck with a 56K modem has already made me miss publishing a daily story, how many opportunities is a small town with a struggling economy missing each day?  Then again, how much is a big city missing by not having fiber optics?  That’s why we’re working with companies like Corning to make sure everyone can compete on a common playing field, or at least give the most innovative, community-minded ones the early advantage!

For municipalities who believe the tortoise wins the race, that’s a fairy tale.

When a small town rocks like a CoolTown

Now this is how to rock like the big cities.  It doesn’t get much better when you the area’s best bands take the stage in front of what seems like half the population of the entire town cheering them on, with the backdrop of the downtown main street on one end and the ocean on the other.

Even in a quiet, economically-challenged small town that’s the subject of a local comedian’s sarcastic song, “Hilo, the most exciting place on earth”, a creative team of the area’s most creative artists, entrepreneurs and entertainers can start to turn things around - creativity equals economic growth.

You know it’s a small town (47,000 people) when the event’s sound system was set up by my cousins who happen to live next door.

Live from Hawaii… the farmer’s market

I’m on vacation for the next few days in Hilo, Hawaii, my hometown, but I’ll still report on what I find here.

While Hilo may not be a CoolTown per se, like any town it has its qualities.  For instance, you really can’t have a CoolTown without a farmer’s market, and the Hilo Farmers Market is one of the best.  Offering a variety of items from exotic produce to seafood and flowers to bongo drums, it’s a must for locals and tourists alike.

What makes farmers markets so cool?  The items are fresh, unique and less expensive, and it’s not only directly representative of the local culture, but you get to meet the local representatives directly as well!  I’m lucky to have two within walking distance of my Adams Morgan, Washington DC pad as well.

What’s your community’s manifesto? Memphis knows. The Memphis Manifesto summit took place in May 2003, a great first step in establishing a beta community.

Hosted by Creative Class author Richard Florida, Smart City Radio’s Carol Coletta selected 100 creatives in politics, arts, design, media, technology and academia, business, economic development and nonprofits, from Austin to Toronto, Portland to Providence, to meet in Memphis on the first of May to draft a manifesto for creativity in cities.  Why should cities care?  Because creativity creates economic growth.

What did the Creative 100 come up with?  You can read the Memphis Manifesto to find out, and the ten summary principles sound very familiar, which include: Invest in the ‘ecosystem’ (ie cooltowns), embrace diversity, value risk-taking, be authentic, invest in quality of place, and support continuing education in creativity.

What happens when a local Creative 100 becomes a real working guild, then a founding population for a revitalized neighborhood? That’s what this website is all about.

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.