Cool Communities and

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Cool Communities and Destination Downtowns
Rebecca Ryan Next Generation Consulting September
15-16, 2004
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Todays Agenda

• What do you know and believe about downtown
  development?
• A 7.5 minute oral history of city building
• Identify economic and workforce trends affecting
  our downtowns
• What must you know or be able to start before
  you leave?
• Discover best practices
• Rinse, repeat

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What do we know and believe about downtown
development?

• Center of Commerce
• Public/Open Spaces
• Community ID
• Complicated
• Expensive
• Opposite Ideas
• Human Scale Structures
• Diversity of Offerings
• Schools
• Culture
• Historic Preservation

• Density to make it work
• Walmart/Mall Effect
• Growth Management
• Constant Change
• Recgntn/Involvement
• Trust among players
• Downtown living cool
• Parking Challenge
• Perception v. Reality
• Specialized Nodes

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7.5 minute Oral History of City Building

• Garden Cities (1898), Ebenezer Howard
• Decentrists (1920s), Lewis Mumford, Clarence
  Stein, Henry Wright, Catherine Bauer
• Radiant Cities (1920s), LeCorbusier
• Great Cities (1961), Jane Jacobs

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Trend 1 Innovation Economy
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Trend 2 Leadership Model Evolving

• Think Like a Commander teaches that Everyones a
  General. ICTs programs are designed to train
  the individual solder in a decentralize,
  networked model of warfare in which even the
  lowest ranking officer can call in an air stroke
  or a tank battalion. The institute calls its
  products first person thinkers. Wired, Sept,
  2004

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Trend 3 Fewer Young Workers

• By 2006, two employees will leave the workforce
  for every one entering
• By 2008, a national shortage of ten million
  workers

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(No Transcript)
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Brain Drain A Global Trend

• In developed countries, the dominant factor in
  the Next Society will be something to which most
  people are only just beginning to pay attention
  the rapid growth in the older population and the
  rapid shrinking of the younger generation.
• - Peter Drucker, Managing in the Next Society

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Trend 4 Talent CapitalsLive First - Work
Second

• 3 out of 4 Gen Xers under the age of 28
• first pick a place to live, and then find a job.

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Trend 4

• Companies go
• to the Talent Capitals.

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Trend 5 Life Stage

• People living longer
• Young Talent pushing adulthood back
• 4 Ss of Next Generation

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Relocating to
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What makes a Community Cool?
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Stroll Districts

• Third Spaces bistros, coffee houses, coming
  together
• Local merchants
• Walkable
• Residentially dense
• PEOPLE!

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Young Talent want to live in Cool Communities as
Measured By

• Earning
• Learning
• Vitality
• After Hours
• Around Town
• Cost of Lifestyle
• Social Capital

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1. Learning

• Arts and Rec
• Universities/Colleges
• Non-profits
• Yoga/Movement
• Arts/Crafts
• Discussion Groups
• Film Documentaries

• Public discussion groups
• Action groups
• Bookstands and bookstores
• Library Usage/Access
• Access to Information (websites/posters/etc)

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2. Earning

• Household Income
• Home ownership
• Single income families
• Bankrupcy rates
• Non-profits
• Major employers
• Discretionary spending options (arts) flourishing

• Successful Chamber
• Small Biz Incubator
• Building Occupancy
• New Biz starts
• How much for the coffee?
• Auto dealership dominance
• Property Tax Rate
• Dining Choices

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3. Around Town

• Easy to get around
• Transportation
• Buses, light rail, ferries
• Pedestrian-friendly
• Destination point (suburbs incoming?)
• Store Sales

• Parking areas
• Bike paths
• Landscaping welcoming?
• Hanging flowers?
• Vag
• Controlled traffic systems (rush hour)
• Good lookin/maintenance/safety

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4. After Hours

• Theaters theatres
• Bars
• Sports Stadiums
• Clubs (interest groups)
• Community College/extension
• Retail hours
• Transit and Accessibility (esp after hours)
• Do people show up?

• Child care?
• Happy hours?
• Public safety
• Outdoor events/parks/rec
• Golf courses
• Festivals
• Open Markets
• Concerts in Park
• Are they hearing about the events?

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5. Vitality

• Festivals and street fairs
• Farmers Markets
• Biz district alive on weekends?
• Complement of services?
• Walkable/bikeable/multi-modal
• Low or no vacancy rates for retail

• Number of third spaces and streetscapes
• Intergenerational and mixed income housing
• Safety/crime rates
• Its safe to be here after 5 PM
• Schools/cities/residents involved in biz district

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6. Social Capital

• Interdependent with other indexes
• Diverse
• Number and kind of restaurants
• Number and kind of events (ie motorcycles, swap
  meets)
• Gay community
• Celebrate differences

• Various active, community orgs
• Youth oriented activities

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7. Cost of Lifestyle

• ACCRA Cost of living index http//www.coli.org/
• Sperlings Best Places www.bestplaces.net

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Madisons Community Handprint

• Excellent Scores in
• Social Capital
• Earning
• Around Town

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What do we know and believe about downtown
development?

• Center of Commerce
• Public/Open Spaces
• Community ID
• Complicated
• Expensive
• Opposite Ideas
• Human Scale Structures
• Diversity of Offerings
• Schools
• Culture
• Historic Preservation

• Density to make it work
• Walmart/Mall Effect
• Growth Management
• Constant Change
• Recgntn/Involvement
• Trust among players
• Downtown living cool
• Parking Challenge
• Perception v. Reality
• Specialized Nodes

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What are best practices?

• Measure your baselines and develop a plan for one
  Cool Community driver
• Start a Young Professionals Network
• Develop an Entrepreneurial Scorecard
• Attend to your historic districts
• Intentionally develop walkable communities

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What can you do immediately?

• Talk to your children
• Tell your story (Why Your City?) every time you
  speak publicly or to media
• Invest here vendors, retail, entertainment
• Invite Boomerangers back

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• For more information
• Complimentary Ezines at www.nextgenerationconsul
  ting.com
• Powerpoint presentation www.downtown.wa.gov
• Call us! 888.922.9596
• Email rr_at_nextgenerationconsulting.com