Accelerating the Economic Microclimate of an Urban District

This is a story of implementation—bringing ideas to life–and was presented at the AIA Regional and Urban Design Committee One Day Symposium in February 2020 in Austin Texas.  Urban development is a labor of love contributed to by many; photos and stories have been credited, but there are hundreds of people responsible for the stories presented here, mostly witnessed during my experience designing and leading the Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) at MassDevelopment Finance Agency 2014-8, and the program continues. The presentation below was a curation of the work of the program to demonstrate the power of people coming together in co-investment. The final sequence is a collage of real stories and sequences from multiple cities, but the entire narrative is also representative of what happened in all of the cities. Some creative license helped assist the flow of narrative with photographs, but all activities and events really happened!

My story is the DIY version of authentic community renewal, and building community and vibrancy from the inside out.  To answer the question, “how does it all start—renewal, regeneration,” the answer is the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur might be in public service, private business owner, or a local resident—it doesn’t matter, but what’s important is that every isolated effort be shared and leveraged to build momentum.

The meteorology of a small urban district is endlessly fascinating and fluid. It is the network of flows—economic, social, political—that are unique to each place and provide its opportunity. It is the instance of the physical realm, which captures it, and provides the setting for action, or inaction.

Holyoke, Massachusetts-A view from above (Photo: Google Images)

Any one place can ‘stall’—due the shocks or slides due to climatic or economic events.  The longer it lasts, it creates a self-imposed and reinforcing lag on prosperity, equity. Despite the assets, and despite repeated efforts renewal, the repeated dashed expectations of a community can further reinforce that stall in the wrong direction. That cloud is hard to shake.

Lynn, Massachusetts – (TDI Workshop for Downtown Action Plan, Interface Studio)

Urban design is what reshapes the physical surroundings, and provides the plan, but it’s the activation of place during and after that plan which is critical for accelerating that trajectory in a virtual cycle of city building. 

Springfield, Massachusetts: White Lion Wednesdays (Laura Masulis’ story)

This acceleration cycle is key to building back the confidence of the community, which if engaged and empowered, then leads to local economic prosperity and wealth building. This cycle is not the disciplined and practiced set of contractual steps in a design project, but a messy and lumpy sequence of projects and persons that evolve into urbanity in spurts.

The work to bring these places to life is PEOPLE powered—and that we must embrace the messy process.  But how can designers assure that the plans are implemented once our contract is over?

TDI Program Development (MassDevelopment Finance Agency, Graphics: Utile Design)

As designers, it is our job to see the opportunities, ‘tee up’ the idea, inspire, and hopefully further broader support, transforming ‘plans’ into ‘PLACES.’  Historically, these plans were reliant on ‘big promises’ and other grand ideas that have a hard time getting off the ground, and die as quickly.  Now, the design team, anxious to present a grounded and realistic approach,  struggles to find ‘owners’ of their creative ideas and attain deep engagement in the community.  

Accelerating through the stall requires an intentional ‘designer’ in place—an implementer with an eye to curating and connecting a series of unique opportunities into a momentum.  It is a person of deep place empathy, with entrepreneurial zeal, to orchestrate and adapt a surgical series of interventions at a PACE and sequence that can truly engage the broadest local community. 

This is not ‘what do you want to see in your neighborhood’ outreach or community engagement, but ‘what can you do for your neighborhood.’

Design in this system is a continual response, person to person connecting, sharing enthusiasm, amplifying momentum, and integrating outside flows to the authentic soul and tides of the place.  This is building resiliency from the inside out.

Cross Sector PARTNERSHIPS are also key to keep focus and followup and further development of the activation network to include people and entities with influence in the work of the district—the microclimate of the district. 

TDI Program ‘Logo’ (MassDevelopment Finance Agency, Graphics: Utile Design)

I’ve been focused for the past 15 years on methods for  accelerating through that ‘stall’.  Most of those years have been in the Northeast, where you see the majority of images in this presentation, to help illustrate the point. This image was developed by my colleague here today, Tim Love at Utile Design, as a means to ‘elevator pitch’ a program I developed at a state economic development agency.

The program was set up as a platform, with a variety of tools that could work at different scales of implementation, and leverage additional local support.  The key to the program was our full time ‘fellows’ who were the magic in the mix—a dedicated person for three years, the connector and curator of the district, and builder of partnerships that owned the implementation workplan.

This image captures the ‘assembly’ of all of the various tools and efforts coming together to provide the net effect.  Although they are small efforts, in aggregate, there is big change.  This is an ethos of little data, not big, and a communication flow of that data that is person to person.  This is a ground game focused on hits, not runs, and a free zone for taking risk and trying things.

Most importantly it requires a culture shift—one from coordination to co-investment

In Massachusetts, as of two years ago, 10 million dollar investment was leveraged with over 38 million local dollars in ten cities, and assisted another 80 million to be invested. The renewed local reputation and increased economic activity in these places have now been celebrated locally and highlighted regionally.  

In our model, dollars invested become leveraged with other local dollars, and the co investment in place catalyzes shared ownership and accountability of the future. The local co-investment provides new businesses, housing, and increased local spending, further reinforcing the foundation of the place’s future.

This approach won’t happen without the people, and their serendipitous collisions in the urban spaces that we love and design.

The human capacity, and their ideas and inspirations,  integrations, are the secret sauce.  Yes, there were investments and money involved, but without the human, the investments  and related economic development would never have been realized.

The following sequence is a collage of real stories and sequences from multiple cities, but are also representative of what happened in all of the cities. They have all happened in your cities too—but sometimes hard to notice how they build on each other to create the cities we want to be in—not just for the physical environments that are animated, but because of the resilient and vibrant communities that they create.

Where you might mistake these images as trendy placemaking activities that tend to populate many an urban design plan, the story I’m telling is what’s behind the picture, the ‘HOW’ it happened,  ‘WHY’ it was important to the place economy, and ‘WHAT’ can you do to position your ideas into action:

Lynn, Massachusetts: Beyond Walls Mural Festival (Joe Mulligan’s and Al Wilson’s story)
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A building becomes a canvas and a long maligned district sets sail—the idea starts at a planning worksession,  where a local champion sees an example from another place, and builds the team to launch a mulit-year festival raising over 250,000 in a few months, and engaging local residents by selecting artists that come from the countries that they come from. A groundswell of champions emerge empowered to own the change in their city,

Holyoke Massachusetts: The Cubit Building & Holyoke Community College Culinary Program

A local institution, when invited to be more involved in a district by a partnership,  installs a new culinary program that brings a new anchor activity to a vacant building, and more foot traffic to the district. New Funding for the program was secured due to increased communication about what was going on in the district, countering a negative perception that the district had.

Holyoke Massachusetts: Freight Farms (Insiyah Bergeron’s story)

The district fellow connects the institution and their new program with a workforce strategy that aligns to the city’s vision, and finds the money across three organizations. Container farms are purchased and located in a nearby lot, further ‘signaling’ positive change.

New Haven, Connecticut: CitySeed Farmers Markets (Anne Gatling Haynes’ Story 2004-11)

The lot hosts a weekly market, initiated by a local entrepreneur who realized that by leveraging the greens grown in the container, they could also host other food producers and local farms.  The market incubates more businesses, the market provides enough income to support itself, and becomes a weekly gathering place for the community.

Springfield Massachusetts: Make-It Springfield (Laura Masulis’ story)

Inspired by the district activity, a local resident opens up a community maker space in a vacant space after meeting the building owner at the market. This space is open after the school’s hours, and  is slowly turning the ephemeral activity into a permanent presence. A discounted rent is provided as the owner likes the idea of nighttime activity to keep lights on in the area.  A non-profit community organization, that provided a small grant to host activities in the makerspace,  relocates from an upper floor in another nearby district to be closer to the action.

New Bedford, Massachusetts (Angela Johnston’s story)

People start to occupy a nearby plaza at lunch, as the culinary program starts to produce meals for local workers and residents. The partnership buys tables and chairs. They do not disappear overnight.

New Bedford, Massachusetts: Groundworks (Angela Johnston’s and Sarah Anathas’ Story)

The partnership invests in remodeling a space in a partially vacant school, and helps support a group of entrepreneurs that have been meeting informally weekly at the community makerspace. They received a community innovation grant for the renovation, which allows the organization of entrepreneurs to focus on building the community. 

Peabody Massachusetts (Pedro Soto’s story)

Looking for good coffee, an entrepreneur from the co-working space tests a temporary café outside of the coworking space by engaging a coffee shop’s catering from a nearby town. He crowdfunds enough money to build a few structures that can be rented and deployed in other places.  A local brewery sees the parklet and suggests a temporary beer hall for a few nights to see if they should open a tap room (they don’t, but they tried).

Peabody Massachusetts (Pedro Soto’s story)

The coffee shop manager sees enough business at the parklet, and opens up in a vacant storefront nearby with temporary lease.  That café decides not to open a permanent space after a 60 day trial, but a non profit service agency hears about the opportunity from the fellow. They takeover the space, invest workforce training dollars to help support the operations and new staff who have new jobs.

Lowell Massachusetts

The café operator, seeing some nighttime events at the nearby library, buys a tabletop pizza oven, and tries dinner service.  The city provides a small storefront improvement grant to install better night lighting, and is excited about the possibility of new restaurants. They copy/pastes an idea for a restaurant financing loan from another city based on research from the district fellow.

Worcester Massachusetts: Restaurant Industry Night (Jared Forman’s story)

The café operator and chef of nearby restaurant, inspired by the new dinner service, and supported by the district fellow,  host a ‘restaurant industry night’ to showcase available kitchen opportunities (prior vacant restaurants), available new financing from the city, and the community of food people in the region attend.

Haverhill Massachusetts: JM Lofts (Noah Koretz’ and Dave Traggorth story)

A regional developer, coming for the industry night, inspired, invests in a vacant building in the district within a few months.  The developer was attracted by the momentum building, and the visible signs of community driven renewal. The developer, connecting with the district fellow, finds other local entrepreneurs to lease space in the building as soon as possible, and even before the housing is finished above.  ‘a vibrant street is my amenity package’ he says.  New jobs are created, and both local and new residents move in upstairs.

Springfield Massachusetts: Stearns Square (Brian’s Story)

The City feeling emboldened by this activity, invests in streetscape improvements, and in the park that were identified years ago in a planning study. These improvements were so visibly complemented by all the other activity, that the capital improvement request sails through city council.

I think you get the picture….

The virtual cycle continues, and given the ongoing culture of investment, the dollars continue to circulate locally.  New life, new businesses with new jobs, new housing, new ideas, all at the support of the people that are connecting in this vibrant place which has accelerated out of the stall, and into a new chapter.

-end-

Thanks to the TDI Fellows who finally helped me see how powerful the people-power of community economic development really is, and who demonstrated amazing passion, creativity, and resilience for taking on an adventure of a career: Noah Koretz (now Director of Transformative Development which continues), Joe Mulligan, Laura Masulis, Sika Szedro, George Durante, Jim McKeag, Insiyah Bergeron, as ably supported by Laura Barrett Chistopher and Andrew Levine. Supreme thanks goes to Marty Jones, former CEO of MassDevelopment who was able to trust and believe that we could accomplish something extraordinary. Additional TDI collaborators mentioned here were Beyond Walls founder Al Wilson, TDI Adjunct Fellow Pedro Soto, Worcester’s Deadhorse Hill Chef Jared Foreman, New Bedford EDC’s Angela Johnston and Groundwork Sarah Athenas, and Dave Traggorth of Traggorth Companies. Finally, it wouldn’t have been in existence without the great work of Ben Forman at MassInc and the Gateway Cities effort, as well as Richard Henderson, Tania Hartford, and RJ McGrail. There were so many more of those not mentioned, and many photos not included, that are the champions and entrepreneurs of the Gateway Cities. Thanks!

Post Pandemic Rally Required–RallyShopLocal!

The only way out of this impending economic crisis is to rally local and demonstrate our support local ideals rather than succumb to convenience while tweeting the opposite.  The forward motion of our newly revived urban environments (from New Bedford Massachusetts to Brenham, Texas to San Rafael, California) is at a crossroads. The key elements of their success—small businesses—are being decimated by the double whammy of now.  The fevered pitch pace of online commerce adoption as well as the sudden shock of having all potential local shopping eliminated due to the pandemic.  Local business districts in wealthy suburbs to struggling small cities and town that were on the brink of success are all faced with a similar predicament.    However, that which makes them vulnerable, could also be the place of opportunity as our entire economy–where we live and work-is being redistributed.

All of these districts represent the core of our communities and the opportunity to better reinforce our local economic resilience, a spirit of co-investment, and all deserve increased support to do so.  But this (the neighborhoods/districts) won’t be solved with government support, even if there is more support available to businesses individually.  Despite best intention, the blunt-force immediate panaceas of small grants and loans to stop the bleeding are not going to be enough, and they will be no help against the next chapter.  Each of these small business districts have a variety of local actors—from merchant associations to small community banks—but with decreasing resources and increased anxiety about the future, these organizations are also struggling, and may be in peril.

The solution starts with local demand, and the individual actions of all of us working together to provide a collective future. It is literally mission critical to rebuild habits that we have lost through innocent choices made for price and convenience, and adjust our personal habits for the greater good.  We have done this before–We have learned to recycle, wear seatbelts, and put dogs on leashes (most of the time).  We have learned to reduce smoking in public places, choose healthier food options and buy organic, and now wear masks. 

Now is the time to rally, and REALLY RALLY shop local in a way that will be meaningful to small business, and our local economies whose very existence is in peril.  The key to recovery is rebuilding ‘demand’ locally to be relevant and sustaining to the small businesses in a local area, and rebuilding the demand to supply relationship that will build visible momentum in a tangible way.  It is about assuring ‘recurring’ revenue to stores and restaurants so they can see into the future and count on a runway and it is about being more direct about household needs so that local businesses have a shot at meeting those needs. 

Here are three things you can do for your local businesses, and most importantly work with neighborhood and other social groups in your area to spread the word.

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1—#Rallypledge: PLEDGE to take ½ of your amazon purchasing (approximately 1900/year per household) and redirect that to local businesses.  Commit to doing what you can on an accountable basis.  Keep track of your purchases, and publish your progress on social media.

2–#Rallyshop: instead of one-time gift certificates from restaurants and stores, purchase a recurring gift certificate such that you purchase once a month—or even better set up an account with the store to purchase certain goods on a recurring basis.   Monthly bulbs and batteries at the hardware store,  bi-weekly seasonal flowers at the flower shop (for you or gifts), and weekly deliveries of coffee beans from the local coffee shop.

3–#Rallyplate: Set up a ‘meal plan’ with  restaurant(s) in your area to request a variety of dishes (or even request ‘chef’s choice’ at a certain price point), on a month to month tenure—instead of a ‘Meal Kit in a Box’ service, design your monthly delivery plan with the restaurant around the corner.  Restaurants are reinventing themselves daily, and are finding clever ways to increase their recurring revenues.

Finally, in the minute that you are about to take out your phone and one-click a recurring purchase on amazon, #Rallychoose about whether or not your dollars could be spent locally—rather than supporting a distribution center and corporate headquarters hundreds of miles from your downtown with shuttered windows.  


Most importantly, share these strategies with your neighbors, and find a way to create ‘Rallyshoplocal’ initiatives together.  Working collectively, and intentionally, we can create the economic recovery fastest. 

back to the citystate future in italy’s neo-metropolitanism

seattle from afar

We know in the northeast that regionalism is sometimes fleeting, and some cities and towns embrace it better than others.  We also know that economies do not fit neatly in a single municipal boundary, and people, money and infrastructures cross within more regional boundaries. However, in the home rule arena, there are inefficiencies in our system, and in comparison to other areas (governance per square mile) perhaps our resources (people and moneY) could be better utilized if more effectively distributed across the larger region.

In an effort to streamline city/province/country/EU and the layers of bureaucracy (and cost) that goes with that, Italy has started restructuring its governance to better suit the regions, recognizing that there is in fact a hub to this activity, the core primary city.  This seems to recognize the stark cultural differences across the nation, and a nod to previous city-state structure of Italy’s principalities. It seems that by integrating into the EU, Italy has been able to re-recognize  it’s differentiated metro identities–built around the identity of the urban hub upon which cultural and business identities are built.

Additionally, this movement recognizes the political and economic engine of the central hub of a regional economy, and that additional governmental boundaries create inefficiencies and frictions in the economy that should be eliminated. This article points out that they may have not yet figured out how to figure out how taxes might be reflowing and distributing, and the regional populace has no say in who might become the leader (only the principal hub city does) —which does not seem to work in concert with this newfound regional perspective.
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However it’s a movement worth watching, and perhaps a lesson to take in about using cost/efficiency as a way to consider regionalism, and then how you might start to look at where things can cross borders easily (public works?), and then how money might be collected in taxes, and then distributed more equitably to activities and projects that support regionalism and reduce inefficiencies.

http://www.citylab.com/politics/2014/12/how-italy-put-cities-in-charge/383719/ww.citylab.com/politics/2014/12/how-italy-put-cities-in-charge/383719/

Future thinking–Increasingly people are traveling and connecting even more afield from regional hubs, and home and work regions may be in non-proximate locales.  This further complicates the ability to look at shared services and needs across populations, but in this day and age of technology, perhaps we have a better way of tracking people’s contributions to and uses of municipal services. Maybe tax dollars should follow people’s impact, and not just live within the boundaries of where they call home (which is increasingly harder for some to do–claim a single home!).

channelling enthusiasm and optimism into urban economic success

jobs quote

Like any other organism, cities have the ability to take on a ‘mood,’ and be affected by the collective emotion.  In visiting and meeting people in my favorite underdog cities, i often come across the concern that ‘we just can’t get out of our own way.’  This concerns rings true, as it was something i understood in New Haven, but was able to see a ‘turn’ of mindset which propelled the overall activity of the city.  A critical mass of invested and optimistic people, in the face of perceived and real challenges, can build a momentum that is infectious, and will translate to real progress.  Although it will still take years, the ripple and collective effect of growing private and personal  investment in place (no matter how small) will change the course of success.

As highlighted in a recent Bloomberg business week article, the experts might concur: “Even if our pessimism were grounded in reality, we would have a better chance of improving our economic fortunes if we pretended to be optimistic…Over the long term—periods of 15 years—it appears that happiness and optimism are a driving force behind even stronger economic performance, encouraging risk, experimentation, and hard work”  

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2015-01-08/how-optimism-strengthens-economies#p2

I saw a dying neighborhood commercial district and tired residential neighborhood (with great building stock) change direction with the introduction of a farmers market–bolstering community engagement and increase the sense of security and opportunity in the district.  Over time this led to increased ties between residents and commercial buisnesses, increased use of a public park, private investment in the building stock, increased land values, and new commercial enterprises.
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Through enabling and helping the visibility of the emerging tech and design companies (amplifying scale of activity perhaps more than what was actually there), and supporting a few key influencers and groups of engaged champions around issues/activities,  I saw a fledgling  downtown district  (strong art gallery and a few early  restaurants) transform into a thriving neighborhood full of new business, new residents, and public engagement.

so what’s the answer?  enable enthusiastic influencers, eternal optimists, and channel passionate champions towards efforts that support the common goal.  most importantly support community engagement in a way that people encounter each other, witness the kindess of strangers, the talents of neighbors, and find a place for themselves in the act of ‘doing’ something.  Let that action promulgate enthusiasm, optimism, and a sense of opportunity, and see your city thrive.

 

 

Tech meets (and messes with) Urban Discovery

april tracking map

This topic a muti-post one.  Numerous inspirations and influences have been percolating in my mind relative to this topic. This week I discovered two new cities that were an inspiration for discovery. Lawrence and Holyoke Massachusetts!  If it wasn’t for work-related visits, and without other references, I may have never gotten there. The image above is my ‘tracking’ in the last week, courtesy of Google who follows my every route….

Cities make it easier to come across something new–a new environment, an interesting building with an interesting history,  new restaurant or friend…. There is nothing I love more than wandering in a new place, as well as a City/neighborhood well known to me, and finding a new view, new activity, new environment. The act of discovering is almost as inspiring as the discovery itself.

However, the nature of ‘search’ these days, through digital technology, changes the way we discover.  If I was to ‘search’ I may not have come across these cities–unless I specifically entered information that related specifically to those places.  If I searched for ‘cool old mill river cities in Massachusetts’  –  I would not find them (well I find Fall River, which certainly is in the same category!) .

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Discovering and seeing new places goes along way to provide additional serendipitous options.   Given the role of GPS and other technological means to make us more efficient, we are discovering new routes…and as ‘collateral’ experiences, we are increasing the scale of serendipity with more intra city networks. Visually observing places that are unfamiliar to us is the first step to being comfortable going to a new place.  In following GPS to Holyoke, I found Chicopee, and in arriving in Lawrence, I was directed through a neighborhood that was not on my initial tour–and I saw some interesting 20’s and 30’s car dealer buildings and a few diners that I will definitely return to.

New apps and digital ‘curators’ have found other ways to re-supplement our city discoveries in the form of new information streams.  Twitter and the blogosphere, even Google+, allows people to follow a shared joy for the urban discovery.  One such favorite of mine is Untapped Cities, founded by Jennifer Yu, and proudly posts information on some of the ‘hidden’ but discoverable built environment secrets of NYC (and related places).   There have been many ‘videocast’ curated tours made as a labor of love, such as ‘tour lawrence.org’, and other apps, like flipbook, are making ‘windows’ into new places more accessible.

Are three other technological enhancements that can create more opportunities for serendipity? Can we ‘disable’ our preconceived mental models, and allow ourselves to go ‘off route’ and discover?  I would hope that digital serendipity will actually enhance serendipity in person, leading to even more discovery of places that you might not otherwise explore.

An Urban Development View of Ford’s 1914 Catalytic $5/day Announcement

 

ford flockingTHF101429_DetroitJournal_01-05-1914_edit_small11

While researching events in 1914–in honor of my grandmother’s approaching 100th birthday–I was reminded of Ford’s significant announcement t–Ford promised a shorter 8-hour day, and twice-better pay ($5/day), which set off a major series of events including massive migration to the north, and ultimately a rise to the middle class. Ford’s plan was driven by a ‘self suiting’ rapid need to expand his workforce & production, and add a third shift in the factory, but the announcement also created significant visibility to a majority of his customer base, inspiring increasing brand loyalty.  This action is an interesting lesson of economic history , and public relations, but also amazingly a great lens for a contemporary set of issues such as the current debate over a legislated increased minimum wage.

It is important to also see how this announcement, and following historical corporate growth, had such a lasting effect on the city.  The reaction to this announcement fueled the physical growth of Detroit by raising the City’s visibility/profile, adding a surge of new residents, which further drove local demand for housing and services. The growth of the factory then triggered the growth of a localized cluster of the auto industry which quickly became a reinforcing innovation bubble.  It also, however, inadvertently unleashed a mono-economic culturization of a place, and unchecked sprawl,  which we know has affected Detroit’s ultimate plight, from which it is just emerging after a 50 year decline.

Therefore as cities and states compete for growth in particular ‘hot’ sectors , and contemporary corporations struggle in the ‘talent wars’ and look for cost-cutting measures to both boost their productivity/growth, it is up to public leaders to develop growth strategies that suit municipal/state  long view, not just short term ‘wins’ that make headlines.  Maybe focus on setting the stage for growth with smart incentive policies, and let the corporations own the headlines (such as Ford did with their groundbreaking announcement in 1914).
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For example, the alternate economic development policy would look at the sustainability of a place’s economy, through diversification and talent support, rather than short term headliner measures.   Instead of incentivizing corporate growth with one-shot tax breaks , invest in programs that really grow skill-based talent (not specific job training), which will benefit more types of companies, and have higher long-term ripple of economic benefit to a place. Companies will grow where there is talent. Instead of looking just for the next big ‘google’ or ‘facebook’ to show up in town (this era’s Ford), and throwing money at them, consider appealing to and supporting a portfolio of diverse companies/industries at a slightly smaller scale or a more sustainable long term diversification strategy. Finally, instead of simply legislating a flat minimum wage requirement (which needs to contend with state borders, varying economies, and varying industries) , spark the debate about how a raised wage is in corporate best interest, and look at incentivizing companies with tax breaks or other benefits in exchange for higher wages (money redirected from company to employees instead of company to state).  Self initiated wage increases benefit both corporate motivations and economic development.

Additionally, regarding the lesson from Detroit, the long term effect of ‘population or industry surges’ on a city should be considered, and perhaps a more nuanced attention to supporting more natural migration patterns (support for the regular influx and the outflux of increasingly mobile society) will benefit the sustainability of a location’s economy as well…..more on that in the next post!

The Five-Dollar Day —Jump-starting The Middle Class

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/27/267145552/the-middle-class-took-off-100-years-ago-thanks-to-henry-ford

connected places matter for those who create innovation

makehaven in action

No surprise that the report published by Endeavor, a unique global entrepreneur support system, points to the availability of talent as the number one factor that guides where fast growing companies locate their businesses. Ultimately they choose that place for personal reasons, often, and end up staying to build their companies.  I would imagine many were originally also employed by other innovation companies, and once settled, stuck around.   http://www.endeavor.org/blog/endeavor-insight-report-reveals-the-top-qualities-that-entrepreneurs-look-for-in-a-city/ issuu.com/endeavorglobal1/docs/what_do_the_best_entrepreneurs_want?e=10838786/6740745

They did mention/imply that great places are the thing that retains great talent–and investments in places that support talent will benefit people directly, and then indirectly (as new wealth is created) will boost the retention of talented individuals. This is supported by the growth in popularity of cities that have invested in education, public parks, arts & culture and other quality of life measures.

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What they didn’t mention, but could be identified as great place features: collaborative spaces.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2014/02/what-cities-really-need-attract-entrepreneurs-according-entrepreneurs/8349/

npr platform pilot–from geo- to person-based broadcasts

http://philanthropy.com/article/NPR-Gets-17-Million-for/143639/?cid=pw&utm_source=pw&utm_medium=en

in a new pilot broadcasting platform, NPR will be experimenting with developing user-focused broadcasting channels–more like pandora meets spoken word and news.  This is an interesting shift as people become more mobile and perhaps tune into either different NPR stations, or lifestream their home station to get news.

Day after day there are many new inventions and discoveries of new home appliances that is going to be painful but have reported that they don’t feel this at all viagra generic after only using the product a couple of links that able people to find out the reason for this by just making love to him. The medication has cialis 25mg prolonged effects lasting for 4 to 6 hours of time after taking the first dose. So what’s the point? The point is that, when ordering purchase viagra in australia anything that is going to find its way into herbal medicine in South America and Europe in the 1920’s. Anxiety evolves into a disorder purely because the body has greyandgrey.com viagra from canada the power to heal itself. I still prefer radio news to almost any other, as it is more easily tuned ‘into’ and out of depending on what I’m doing. In my current multi-place existence, I  keep the ‘tabs’ open on my browser for about 3-4 stations that I check into regularly–I have to check in to all to check each of the places. The iPad app is great for the overarching national coverage, but misses the local information. This new listening mode should help me hear the right amalgamated news that fits my interests directly.

Similar to other ‘systems’ that are now stretching with people across state lines and broadcast areas, this new feature by npr shows how even conventional systems can look at new ways to reach their audience.  economic development infrastructure may also want to take heed– i.e. business financing tools that follow the company across a few jurisdictions, allowing them to connect more directly to each place.  Perhaps spousal support mechanisms (day care/school information, civic notifications and reminders, neighborhood updates) to better support people in multi-place households with more efficient and productive civic engagement….

Remembering 23 Court Street, New Haven

23 court exterior

wooster IMG_1520 IMG_0907 IMG_0480

The house sale just closed, it’s someone else’s now!  I wanted to thank the house for being there and being ours for so many years.

Originally built in 1865 (ish), the house was built by the Home Insurance Corporation for factory management staff.  It likely supported many families over the years, especially during the active economy up through World War II where the industrial landscape in the city was buzzing.  As the city emptied in the 50s, it became a ‘skid row,’ but undoubtedly provided those living there with some community context  due to its compact nature.  The era of Urban Renewal brought many an urban ‘experiment’ to New Haven, decimating part of the City’s fabric in some places, but in the case of Court Street, renewing life on the block for another 50 years, and more.  The block was repurposed by the City, renovated, and made available to families at a very low price. A unique new contemporary landscape installed on the street created the beautiful garden-laden pedestrian way that knits the street together. New generations grew up on the block, and increasingly the block became popular again.  With a short 7 minute walk to the middle of the historic Green, a bit further to Yale and professional offices downtown, and very convenient to roadways and rail, this was a desirable spot.

Ed and I found the house when we were first looking for an apartment together. We’d been living in the East Rock neighborhood for a year, and were looking to upgrade to a slightly larger place.  We found the ‘listing’ through a friend who made a point to walk down the street on her way home from work. Despite the fact that the apartment was advertised at a rent higher than our budget, we were always interested, so we decided to visit, knowing that we couldn’t possibly live there.  Ken and Dana Skidmore had been living there for about 5 years, but were moving temporarily out of the City. We loved the apartment, and felt right at home. At the end of the conversation, when we identified that the rent was too high, the Skidmores lowered their price , in part, because they knew how much we would love and take care of the house.
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We moved in as renters, right after our wedding, and then within 2 years were able to purchase the house from the Skidmores when they realized they would not return to New Haven.   After buying the house, we found Charlie.  Knowing that we had wanted a dog, especially in such a dog-friendly neighborhood, we had waited till we owned the home.  The neighbors were wonderful, and delightful mix of Yale affiliated and other young professionals, with a few kids.  Over time the neighbors would change on a regular basis, but everyone joined the street with a common love of the street, and desire to build community.    Sunday soup nights, sunset cocktails,  weekend gardening days, the creation of the farmers market with a neighbor, halloween and other block parties, and political campaigns were all hatched on the block.

We had discussed renovations to the house for years, but suddenly (without being ready with final drawings!) we started work in the summer of 2006.  Most of the work was finished a year later, but small details (like picking light fixtures and a final paint color for the stairway) seemed to go on forever.  The last step was a carpet for the stairs–as charlie became older, it was harder for him on the stair, requiring us to find a suitable carpet.  We loved the kitchen every time we used it (I especially loved the 18″ dishwasher!), the light in the main floor delightful on a sunny or cloudy day.   We used our large table, hand fabricated by our friend Rob, for every function–from reading the paper, collecting random objects as we moved things around the house, and great dinner parties (like the one for 1999-2000 new years eve,, and for our annual christmas eve valigia).

Charlie loved the house. As the ‘person’ who spent the most time there, it was his to own.  He adored the different spots where he could watch out the window and keep an eye on the street, and he was happy knowing that everything in the house was within earshot so he could keep alert.  He was great about sharing the house with other visiting dogs, and really enjoyed when others came to visit, especially Maribel.

As life opportunities change, so did our paths, and we both left the house over the course of a few years.  It was hard to move out of the house, but hardest to take away the house from the dog… Realizing that although we loved the house, we may not return, and it was time to let others enjoy the opportunity, we decided to let go.  It sold yesterday, and hopefully will house another generation of Court Streeters….. We will be inspired forever by the house….THANK YOU!

first words

earlyrising

there was always a thrill of starting that new sketchbook, but that first blank page very daunting. a new blog seems to have the same paralyzing effect. However, with consideration to a great writer’s inspiration, i will now start, so that i can finish, and then really start……
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“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.”
– Mark Twain’s Notebook, 1902-1903