Starbucks Delocator. "It's about corporations and choice," says Xtine Hanson, explaining the thinking behind the Delocator -- a website that makes it easy to find cafes other than Starbucks, as reported by Kim Severson in The New York Times (5/4/05). Check it out: Go to www.delocator.net, enter your zipcode and up pops a list of "independent coffee shops within a five-mile radius," as well as a list "of Starbucks stores in the area."...

www.delocator.net was launched with the intention of becoming a web-meme, sprouting many future de-located corporate stores.

From Reveries Cool News

I've added my favorites:
Jump Start (best small town coffee shop around!)
Kavarna

Dr. Meir Russ of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay discusses some of the factors in his two-part series on why the creative economy proposed in The Rise of the Creative Class is not functioning in Northeastern Wisconsin.

What's choking the New-Creative Economy - Part 1
http://fridayreport.titletown.org/fridayreport/past+issues/past+articles/articles02-27-04.asp
Some of factors contributing to our plight:
- Digital copyright issues
- Under-utilization of intellectual property in our corporations
- The system that largely benefits only large corporations for innovation

What's choking the New-Creative Economy - Part 2
http://fridayreport.titletown.org/fridayreport/current+articles/economic+news.asp
This article takes a positive spin and deals with some of the key success factors, and the barriers for creativity and innovation within the company.

ABC News: HOW Funky is Your Town?

Here's a list of the top 25 US cities for "creativity," as determined by Richard Florida, the author of The Rise of the Creative Class, and founder of The Creative Class.

Having options for travel relieves stress in people and improves quality of life, he said. Towns that are walkable and bikable have a greater sense of community, which is exactly what Creative Class people are seeking. This from an article on city transportation issues in Arlington, Mass. and their recent efforts in bicycle advocacy, which have brought about a number of pedestrian-friendly laws and trails in recent years:

- Bicycle parking bylaw where new businesses must provide racks for cyclists.
- Making streets - and intersections in particular - bicycle friendly
- Creating designated bicycle trails like The Minuteman Trail

Green Bay has already made leaps in improving transportation in the city for bicyclists and pedestrians through the following efforts:
- Completion of the Fox River trail, and the East River Trail which provide both recreation and transportation facilities for residents
- Bicycle lanes on some city streets
- Easy access to rural roads for cycling and recreation

On September 18th, 2003, 400 local business, civic, and education leaders gathered at the Lambeau Field Atrium for an all day session with Richard Florida, author of the book The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. The message to all of us: engage young people in your community to stop the "brain drain" from Northeastern Wisconsin and get going on making your community one where creative class people are attracted to. We've made progress, by starting with things like the Creative Future Cafe, and keeping it going through the continued participation of the YPN and EWDN.

In light of all this, I'll be picking up on features from around the country, at least to the best of my ability, that illustrate elements of Creative Class cities and metro areas that we could glean ideas as we march forward with our own creative future vision. Look for these ideas under the category Creative Class.