JB created the ultimate lifestyle brand, and he did what those of us that work in economic development are always trying to do: create a place that people want to be. He was influential and inspirational in so many ways. How did he inspire my own path in life, work, and music? What does JB have in common with my chosen field of economic development and design? What can economic developers learn from the master storyteller?

JB created the ultimate lifestyle brand, and he did what those of us that work in economic development are always trying to do: create a place that people want to be. He was influential and inspirational in so many ways. How did he inspire my own path in life, work, and music? What does JB have in common with my chosen field of economic development and design? What can economic developers learn from the master storyteller?

What does Hernan Cortez' burning of his boats when he landed in the new world have to do with entrepreneurship?

In this episode, we talk with Ken Stapleton of Ken Stapleton and Associates and the SafeDesign Institute about addressing real and perceived safety issues in our downtowns and other areas of our communities. We talk about the chapter on safety that he contributed to the book "Design Downtown for Women and the Men Will Follow." Topics include the "She-conomy", and how places must be "comfortable enough" and "safe enough."  How safety is not just about crime statistics and police presence, but between people there are varying safety thresholds.  What really are "community policing innovations?" They often just end up being more police, but it is much more than that. How measurement and tracking of perception is critical and rarely done, and how once crime and safety are being addressed from a policing perspective, there has to be a shift to talking about perceptions which will linger long after the actual problem has been addressed. We also talk about the physical environment and what makes a place feel safe.

Ken Stapleton and Kevin Crowder follow the action and new concepts showing up at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to see what in there might be relevant for cities.  And there was alot!  Flying Cars | Briefcase Electric Bikes | Mobility Automation | Practical Tech | No More Cables | Electric Hydrofoil Boats | Chip Manufacturing | Freelancers and Hybrid Work (what's next?) | Remote Drones? Gaming and Visualization | |aper Tablets.  Foldable Tech - Wayfinding? City Operations? Advertising Revenue?   Goggleless 3D for an enhanced downtown user experience!

In part two of our conversation on density and related matters, Ken and I pick up where we left off and Ken asked if we knew of any examples where downtowns thrive without density around them. In this episode we will talk about a couple of examples that I thought of. We start with a relevant example on Miami Beach, then go on into how design in important to business district success, as are bad uses and regulations. We touch on why business districts near wealthier neighborhoods can be less vibrant than ones near more modest areas. We also touch on the impact that leadership, engineering and regulatory problems can have on downtown vibrancy and keep us from building nicer places. We also talk about how some people can identify things they love about other places but may not realize that what makes those places have the things they love are things they would oppose in their own hometowns. We talk also about how important density can be to economic growth, but how density is not scale, and does not even have to mean residents and housing at all, and how misunderstanding and misleading have falsely made density a bad word.

Drama. Derangement. DENSITY Part 1 of a three-part series from a conversation with Ken Stapleton of Ken Stapleton & Associates about density. This conversation took place following my (Kevin) participation in a panel discussion on density held for public officials.  In this episode, we discuss some of the concepts presented at the panel, including the difference between density and scale, the demographics of opposition to density, the fear of change (especially in wealthier communities), and the need to find the right balance for a community's unique character. We also touch on gentrification, the missing middle, regulation, good and bad design, dead downtowns, irrational traffic fears and "flavor of the month" retail desires.

In this special Flareheads series, we will explore the different ways that a place can be one of The Music Cities.  The Music Cities are where people connect to a place and engage other people through music. Places that people want to be because of the music. Places that people think of because of music. Places where music drives economic growth and quality of life. This episode introduces our concept of what makes a place a music city. Please follow us on social media and at www.TheMusicCities.com

In this episode Ken and Kevin discuss the corporate relocation fever, Miami's role as the capital of the Americas, and great places and the importance quality downtowns as the key to economic development and revitalization.

Great conversation with Alexie Fonseca of Colliers, who is working on efforts in Downtown Lake Wales to foster opportunity for business growth, including the attraction of a craft brewery.    We talk about what draws people to Lake Wales, authentic Downtowns versus shopping centers, how comfortable is your downtown and how experiences can overcome Amazon’s impact on retail.