First beta community meets in New Orleans

A few weeks ago we profiled a group of young urban rebuilding professionals that wanted to make a difference in New Orleans. On September 26, 2007 they were invited to take more action as far as the rebuilding itself was literally concerned, at the first New Orleans beta community meeting at Tulane University.

The first order of business was for the group to establish a manifesto by which the businesses, buildings and communities they were investing in would be defined. Three writers were selected, and here are the destinations of inspiration the group identified to serve as the foundation:

Andrew – The markets of Honk Kong
Joel – The streets of Salzburg, Austria
Ritchie – Atlanta’s bike paths
John – Atlanta’s mixed-use, greenbelts, Serenby village
Victoria – Seattle’s urban grocery stores
Shercole – Urban groceries of Houston and Dallas
John G – Holyoke, MA’s urban agriculture
Jessica – Bangkok’s peaceful courtyards
Emily – Madrid’s communal public spaces
Kenny – Pedestrian promenades of Santa Monica, Burlington and Quincy Market in Boston
Hampton – University City and its coffeehouses, St. Louis
Morgan – The mix of old and new buildings in Seattle
Ben M – Charlottesville, VA’s pedestrian mall
Ben – The squares of Savannah, GA
Katelyn – The streets and local shops of Beaumont, Paris
Rachel – Iowa City’s pedestrian street
Zach K – The pedestrian-oriented life of Florence, Italy despite no mass transit
Victoria – Walkable neighborhoods of Atlanta
Allie – Venice, CA’s amenities open day to midnight; Chicago’s neigborhoody North Side
Jeff – The mix of modern renovations with old warehouses in Georgetown, DC
Casey – Munich’s Hofbrau House (German beer gardens); Amsterdam’s beauty
Julia – The fresh markets, free bikes, pedestrian streets of Rue de Rivoli, Paris
Seth – Block parties, historic homes in The Heights of New Orleans
Lauren J – The personality, character, bars, cafes of Old Town Square, Krakow, Poland
Lauren – The homes of Lisbon, Portugal
Editha – The green selection at Eastern Market, DC
Zach Y – The young population and convenience in Brooklyn, Park Slope, NYC
Miji – Creative redevelopment of historic buildings in Philly
Henesi – The new buildings, concerts and carnivals of Long Island City, NY
Gill – The bike paths, character, joyful life in Barcelona, Spain
Jess G – Inhabiting the river and walking long distances without feeling like it in Paris
Vika – Waterfront park in Schenectady, NY
Ross – The walkable nature of Asheville, NC and Lincoln Road, Miami

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neilkt