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.

Great conversation and update from Beachfly Brewing's Zach Featherstone. We first met Zach when we were working for the City of Rockledge, and they happened to be looking around the Space Coast for a new location. This eventually led to their purchase of a building from the City right in the heart of Rockledge's future downtown on Barton Boulevard, and they opened earlier in 2022 after a lengthy renovation.    We touch on things that include their process of deciding on the location, what was important to them, and what was going on in Rockledge that told them there was good potential for a brewery.  Zach describes his experience working with the city of Rockledge, and with another city, and how different city approaches can make or break a business' decision to locate in a city as well as the importance of the partnership with city hall. We also talk a little about how the Brevard brewery scene is evolving.

Caught up with Jason Sleeman of United Community Bank to talk breweries at the Florida Brewers Guild annual conference. Jason is in charge of craft beverage lending for United Community Bank and has more than $80m out across the US in funding for expansions and startups of breweries, distilleries, cideries, and wineries. His perspective is especially important for cities that hope to attract a brewery to their community.   Some of the things we discuss:   Places where breweries are congregating in clusters, as well as the suburban area opportunities and new development.   What strong brewery locations like North Carolina can means for Florida.   The lender's perspective toward different brewery market characteristics.   What makes brewery clusters work and more complimentary than competitive with each other.   What is the thing that makes both music cities and brewery cities – Ashville and its subdistricts, Atlanta   What are the pitfalls and local government challenges that can mess up brewery underwriting? Like zoning.  How can a city be brewery friendly, like in Louisville?   What is a great Florida brewery city example for other cities to check out?   How does the outside brewery world view Miami’s market and opportunity?   Shout out to Doral’s Prison Pals Brewery and their story, and Miami’s new distillery!   Are breweries still looking to expand and add new locations?

A fun conversation with Jessica Newman, CRA and Main Street Director in Wauchula, Florida. Nice hearing about all the great things happening in Downtown Wauchula. Recorded at the 2022 Preservation on Main Street Conference in Deland, Florida.

I enjoyed spending time with my friend Dr. Jeff Burton, President of the Florida Redevelopment Association at the Preservation on Main Street Conference last week in Deland, Florida, where he joined me for a special video podcast conversation about a range of topics including?  Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and visit flareheads.com for more podcast content. Miami’s Gold Rush, what does it mean for other areas like Tampa and St Pete?Wow, all of a sudden people have discovered Miami Beach!What does all this great regional economic development mean on the ground, in the real places?How Miami Beach’s 30-year (1980-2010) economic revitalization success can benefit any community.Any community can do successful redevelopment.Lifestyle choices.Affordable housing and Tampa’s CRAsThe BusinessFlare P.I.E.C.E. “AnalysisBusinessFlare’s Fitment and Feasibility™ ModelThe difference between economic development and redevelopmentWhen do developer incentives become entitlements?How did CRAs in Florida originate?Miami Beach’s role in early days of Florida RedevelopmentJanet Reno’s Dance Party and Fred FlintstoneThey wanted to build a waterslide mountain in South Pointe Miami Beach #economicdevelopment #people #community #podcast #housing #development #developer #building #video #redevelopment #mainstreet #flareheads #BusinessFlare #deland #florida #revitalization #historicpreservation

A great conversation with Punta Gorda Councilman Jaha Cummings that took place at the Preservation on Main Street Conference in Deland, Florida, on July 28, 2022.

In this episode we continue our conversation with Ken Stapleton of Ken Stapleton and Associates, picking up where episode 1 left off. We continue to discuss the wealth and people migration between cities, affordable lifestyles and lifestyle choices, and place brands. We discuss the economic development excitement gripping Miami and it spreading through the rest of the State, CEOs remote working, and the continued flight of capital and assets from Latin America.

In Season 2 of the Flarehead Podcast, Ken Stapleton joins Kevin to discuss a number of current economic development events, including place brands and comfortability, the “Miami Gold Rush” as it was recently called by the Wall Street Journal, and how quality of life and livability is about more than affordable housing, its about making trade offs for the lifestyle you want.

In this episode, the last in the Talent Wars miniseries (at least for now), Charita, Ken and Kevin discuss talent retention and attraction, how it related to the larger context of economic development, and they also move into discussion on other economic development topics.

Kevin Crowder, Charita Allen and Ken Stapleton discuss workforce issues and their impact on economic development, especially how the workspace itself continue to evolve.

Kevin, Ken and Charita continue their conversation, this time focusing on the importance of leadership and good management for talent retention, and how entrepreneurship influences the talent pipeline and worker availability.