Supporting New Urbanism and the Question of Moving

Welcome back!

So let’s say you live in one of those cul-de-sacs that are such a no-no in the new urbanism movement. Does that mean you have to consider moving to practice what you preach as a new urbanism convert?

Of course not. While a McMansion on a cul-de-sac doesn’t appeal to me anyhow, personally I would love to move to one of the newer new urbanism developments in my community because I love the neighborhood design, the small but stylish homes and I have friends there.

I won’t be moving though because where I live allows me to conserve energy and spend less!

I’m in one of those small, post-war homes that was thankfully built near a nature conservation area, our town’s Main St., amazing libraries and museums and excellent public transportation. Looking at all those benefits helps me to keep a level head about moving.

That’s a good thing since the temptation is always there – after all I put out the Top Ten New Urbanism Communities list every year and the research involved in creating that list has me submersed in the details and attributes of some of the most attractive and affordable new urbanism communities in all the locations we would consider moving to (both in the U.S. and Canada).

Overall I think that’s a good thing. It’s an indication that more and more builders are building quality, affordable homes that regular families like ours can afford.

So keep a level head about new urbanism. Don’t feel you have to move to embrace the ideals of this movement. If you were planning on moving anyhow, then yes this is a great time to consider your options of moving to a city or a new urbanism development that embraces the close knit community feel of traditional neighborhood designs.

But if moving isn’t on your agenda, some of the more important questions to ask are:

• Can I use public transportation more?
• Can I buy more of our food, clothing and housewares from  local vendors and producers?
• Can I lobby or work with community leaders to ensure that there are resources and infrastructures in place to support work-at-home-opportunities and attract more businesses to my town?

Let’s Do Lunch

I love the Internet and the way it has helped us to quickly access information, manage and launch small businesses and meet friends and business colleagues from around the world.

The one minor draw back is that some of us miss that face-to-face connection – that “personal” element.

Really all it takes is one person to start the ball rolling. In this case Small Business Branding’s Vera Raposo (3rd from right in the picture above) told a few of us from the Mom Masterminds business network that she was traveling from her west coast location to Toronto – a location that was pretty accessible for some members like me.

We met in one of my favorite new urbanism towns (Unionville) and spent almost 4 hours catching up!

The best part is not only were we able to do some business (I may have found a new branding consultant!) but we were also able to get to know each other a bit better as colleagues and friends.

If you’ve got a small business you’ll want to ensure you visit Vera Raposo’s Small Business Branding website. If you need graphic design and branding work done by an expert that understands not only big business projects but the small business and online marketplace as well, you’ll want to visit Ed Roach’s The Branding Experts website – in case you have difficulty identifying “Ed” he’s the one at the far left in the picture above .

If you’re a busy mom looking for financial management, stress relief ideas and solid life and business coaching support you must visit Sarah Zeldman’s Solutions for Busy Mom’s website (Sarah’s the one on the far right in the picture above). If you are a home based business owner or anyone looking for quality products and services that you can locate from one convenient location, you should visit Imelda Belanger’s I Shop At Home site where her motto is: “Shop from your Seat not from Your Feet” (I love that tag line – no wonder she’s the one with the stylish bag in the picture above – she shops well!). Finally, every business owner or busy enterprise needs an efficient administrator to manage operations – if you need a seasoned virtual assistant who is also an expert internet marketing manager, you’ll want to contact Angela Wills of StarVa (in the picture above, Angela is 2nd from the right) .

I’m just so pumped from my meeting with these fantastic business owners. Thanks to the Internet for bringing us together virtually and for the spirit we’re all blessed with that never lets us forget the joy to be experienced from being in real community and close proximity to one another!

Mommy Bloggers, Corporate Women and the Local Connection

If you’ve wondered if there was a resource to help you network effectively both locally and online – your search may be over. On today’s show I talk with Diane Danielson the owner of a networking organization that connects women business owners and career women both online and in person, according to their preferences, lifestyles and schedules.

The local connection is the one aspect of online networking that some women find lacking especially those in new urbanism communities. Diane Danielson’s Downtown Women’s Club (DWC) is an organization that seeks to address this need.

From numerous online events and resources that include a DWC facebook interface to local cocktail events and mixers for women, DWC provides choice for today’s WAHMS, other women business owners and career professionals.

Diane stresses that “downtown” is a state of mind not just a place. Whether you’re in the suburbs, rural areas, or a major metro area like Chicago, D.C. or New York, DWC likely has a chapter near you. If not you can easily start one without paying any fees. You can also network with the thousands of women in sister chapters across the country and now the world.

The other topic discussed during our talk was the gap in knowledge and engagement between mommy bloggers and corporate women. Mommy bloggers and work at home women are way ahead of their counterparts in the corporate world when it comes to using web 2.0 technology to further their businesses. Listen in to today’s program as Diane shares some perspectives on the reason for these differences and what the future holds for women online.

Additional References You May Find Interesting:

Smash the Ladder

The Women’s Dish

Tiffany Washko – A Mom Internet Marketer

Our Town: Pictures and Music

This morning I read once again an article that highlighted a reporter’s misperception about new urbanism. He explained how new urbanist communities are the ideal communities for those who want to live the green lifestyle but that “most people” can’t afford to live in these communities. Every time I read this I have to sigh.

New urbanism communities are not just new constructed high end communities or re-developments in costly areas of the city. New urbanism is also a lifestyle and a mindset. It is about examining how we live together in community with one another and how we can adjust our city or town policies and guidelines to enhance our social and physical environments. If anything, new urbanism is about making communities more accessible to a variety of income earners. Many new developments are specifically designed to give opportunity for healthy, green living to low and middle income residents.

Yesterday we celebrated our annual village festival which actually started out almost 40 years ago as an act of protest and activism against development that would have torn out the soul of our old community and made us a useless bedroom community with no purposeful commercial or artistic center to encourage residents to work and play where they live. These guiding objectives help to cut environmentally costly commutes and encourages people to be engaged and supportive of green living, small business and safe community initiatives. We all benefit from that.

Thanks to our act of protest decades ago we now have a thriving social and commercial center that supports safe and healthy lifestyles for families and and makes it easier for people who want to work at home or close to home.

Yesterday’s festival attracted upwards of 50,000 people from our outlying rural areas and the huge metropolitan city to the south of us.

It’s an event that just about everyone looks forward to because of the friends we’re able to connect with in the community, the activities for the kids and the fabulous food, arts and crafts that are available for purchase or barter!

Rather than ramble on about how great the Unionville Festival was I thought I’d just show some pictures from our event and remind you once again what a benefit it is to our families, our businesses and social life to celebrate and make a big deal about where we live – that attitude transformed our sleepy bedroom community into a vital new urbanism center.

Here’s a picture to give you an idea of the size of the crowd filling our Main St. during the festival. The street is closed for the day.

This festival isn’t just about browsing it’s about entertainment too. Click on the video link below to get a small taste of an amazing teen named Rob Christian. Rob performs all over the country but he’s a native of our region and it was a thrill to have him again at our annual festival. I’m sure we’ll hear more about this talented musician in the years to come:

Young Jazz Talent at Unionville Festival 2008

One of my husband’s favorite activities is buying food–especially his favorite hot sauce from a vendor who is also at our weekly farmer’s market.

On our Main St. we also have beautiful heritage homes so garden and house gazing is a nice activity too. Here’s a friendly home owner waving at this paparazzi!