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Coffee Culture as Community Development

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LISTEN | Coffee Awesome. Here you can find the Coffee Awesome podcasts as they appear: May 2017: Darrin Daniel, Cup of Excellence February 2017: Trish Rothbeb, Wrecking Ball Coffee September 2016: Finca El Suelo,Tim Wendelboe August 2016: Matt Perger, Barista Hustle July 2016: A day in Cauca with Geoff Watts June 2016: James Hoffmann, jimseven.com May 2016: Morten Wennersgaard, Nordic Approach April 2016: Gilbert Gatali, Rwanda March 2016: Peter Giuliano, SCAA / Re:co January 2016: Geoff Watts, part 3 December 2015: Geoff Watts, part 2 July 2015: Geoff Watts, part 1 (DRIP) February 2015: Tim Wendelboe.

January 2015: Tim Wendelboe. January 2014: Tim Wendelboe: It all started when … (DRIP) December 2014: Stephen Vick, green coffee buyer for Blue Bottle December 2014: Stephen Vick, I got into coffee by (DRIP) November 2014: Colleen Anunu, independent contractor October 2014: Aleco Chigounis, green coffee buyer September 2014: Expereince and design in your coffee shop August 2014: Erna Knutsen, portrait of a coffee pioneer. Stitcher. A community in flux: Will Boyle Heights be ruined by one coffee shop? They discover, they gentrify, they ruin: How 'progress' is wrecking Los Angeles neighborhoods.

A few months ago, on a Sunday morning, I drove from my house near the Venice Pier over to Abbot Kinney Boulevard to meet my cousin for a cup of coffee at Blue Bottle, which is to coffee what the French Laundry is to dinner: peak fetishization. (But yes, of course, delicious!) I circled the block a few times, adamant that I would not pay $9 to park in order to buy a $5 cup of coffee. Fortunately, I found a spot on the street, but not before getting yelled at twice by motorists who were mad at me for blocking them as I waited for the space. Abbot Kinney, as you undoubtedly know, was once a funky retail outpost that was forever on the verge of being discovered. Unfortunately, in 2012, GQ named it “the coolest block in America,” and pretty much everything went to hell after that.

Now you can spend 400 bucks on a pair of boots at John Fluevog Shoes, but you won’t be able to get them repaired anywhere on the street. Venice, Calif., he said, is a unique planning challenge. Because developers. Placemaking Gets Deep - Forecast Public Art. Mark VanderSchaaf, regional planning director of Minnesota's Metropolitan Council. Photo courtesy the Metropolitan Council. Today’s cities could use a little soul, says city planner Mark VanderSchaaf. For much of his nearly 12-year tenure as director of regional planning for the Metropolitan Council of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, VanderSchaaf has been arguing for something he calls deep placemaking. JOE HART: What is the origin of the notion of “deep placemaking”? How has your thinking has been influenced by the work of the Dallas Institute?

What did they discover? And you applied the same kind of exercise back in Minnesota, correct? Remind us of that event. You’ve given a couple examples of deep placemaking—this notion of discovering the soul or personality of a place. JOE HART is senior editor of Public Art Review. Spin Laundry Lounge * Small Business Revolution. If I was going to recreate the laundromat, I wanted to do it right. It was go big or go home. While some tend to complain about tasks they don’t enjoy, others decide to change them, make them more enjoyable and efficient—essentially, make them better. Morgan Gary is one of the latter. Frustrated by the inefficiency of the typical laundromat experience, Gary turned her MBA thesis project into a sustainable business. Gary’s goal for Spin was to do something good for the environment and the community. Gary’s future business plans are focused on Spin’s commitment to community, Gary hopes to find more ways to give back. In just a little over a year since opening, Spin has certainly changed the idea of doing laundry for its customers.

Photos by Jared Moossy. A new spin on the laundry experience « Laundrylux | Blog. A new spin on the laundry experience Quote Posted on Updated on As you leisurely indulge yourself in a microbrew and a Panini, made with goat cheese from Portland Creamery, you receive a text message announcing your laundry is done. Glancing around the retro-mod lounge you just might have to remind yourself, “Oh right, I’m in a Laundromat.” Obviously this is not your typical college-town Laundromat – this is Spin Laundry Lounge. Located in Portland, Oregon’s Historic Mississippi District, Spin Laundry Lounge encompasses everything owner and founder, Morgan Gary, originally had in mind when it came to putting her, well, unique spin on the laundry business. “My goal was to redefine the Laundromat,” explained Morgan. “And a big part of that was creating a community space that functions as more than just a place to wash and dry your clothes.”

Warm and inviting “In the end, sustainability was always my main focus,” shared Morgan. A focus on sustainability and making an impact The dream takes off… The microfinance delusion: who really wins? | Global Development Professionals Network. I’m always amazed at how many students show up each year in the classrooms of the London School of Economics, where I teach, quivering with excitement about microfinance and other “bottom-of-the-pyramid” development strategies.

Like eager young missionaries, they feel they’ve stumbled upon the One Idea that is sure to save the world. Would that it were true. What’s so fascinating about the microfinance craze is that it persists in the face of one unfortunate fact: microfinance doesn’t work. Of course, there are some lovely anecdotes out there about the transformative power of micro-loans, but as David Roodman from the Center for Global Development put it in his recent book, “The best estimate of the average impact of microcredit on the poverty of clients is zero.”

This is not a fringe opinion. In fact, it turns out that microfinance usually ends up making poverty worse. The reasons for this are fairly simple. It’s also a very effective tool of political control. Places in the Making by MIT DUSP. Millennium Villages – Center for Sustainable Development. The Millennium Villages Project’s sites are areas in which community-level work is done to advance MDG related goals in health, nutrition, and education. Accomplishments in these sectors will be documented over the life of the project. Areas of measurement will include malaria morbidity, access to water and sanitation, education attendance and performance, and availability of school meals. The findings will review lessons learned in empowering local communities to achieve the MDGs.

CSD at the Earth Institute is home to the monitoring and evaluation and the systems design teams for the Millennium Villages. The monitoring and evaluation platform for the Millennium Villages has been established to assess progress towards the MDGs, and to compare Millennium Village Project sites to villages nearby not receiving the intervention, and national and sub-national data sets. For more information on CSD’s work in the Millennium Villages, please visit What We Do. About the Millennium Villages. Documentcoffeebar. Warby Parker may have a better 'buy one, give one' model. We already know that good marketing does not equal good aid.

Toms Shoes has earned a fair amount of criticism for its “One for One” model – a pair of shoes is donated to a child in need for every pair bought by the consumer. But, after seeing the marketing benefits, more and more for-profit businesses are using a similar model to donate goods in developing countries. Here's the basic problem of the “One for One” model: When everyone in a community can get a free pair of shoes, the local shoe vendor goes out of business.

Not only does it hurt the local economy, but it is also a short-term solution that creates long-term problems. Toms model may also encourage poverty tourism, as the company allows people to pay to travel along with distribution trips as shoe fitters. RELATED: 10 entrepreneurs who changed the world Despite the unintended consequences of its “One for One” program, Tom's has a cult following. Have you bought or would you buy Warby Parker glasses and Toms Shoes? How Toms Shoes and Warby Parker Give Differently. By Josh Caplan In a time where the global economy is still reeling from the effects of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and tension between socio-economic classes are running high, capitalism is undergoing an examination. Is this economic system — which, according to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, has in the span of 200 years shrunken the number of people living on $1 per day from 85 percent to 17 percent — too flawed or in large part obsolete?

This is not the correct question, even though it is asked daily by academics, politicians, businesspeople and thinkers alike. I am of the view, like John Mackey, that capitalism requires not a structural reformation, but a philosophical rewiring. Companies like Toms Shoes and Warby Parker are leading examples of how businesses can become successful while taking on specific issue areas where leadership gaps exist. The first model is what I call “Horizontal Corporate Social Responsibility” or HCSR. Why Cities Can't Afford to Lose Their Artists. The Art Basel Miami Beach art fair kicks off this week, an event that drew 75,000 people and 140 international museum and international groups in 2013. The art fair is widely credited with kick-starting the economic resurgence of the Miami area, so it seems like a good time to ask: What do we really know about the role of art in the city? Does it help to drive economic growth and development or does it contribute to gentrification?

Are leading edge arts clusters found just in big cities, like New York and Los Angeles, or can they spread to smaller and medium sized ones as well? A recent study published in the journal Urban Studies takes a close look at the connection between the arts and city building. The researchers use a series of statistical techniques, including correlations and regression models, to identify the types of places that are home to arts clusters and the key locational factors that are associated with them. Two important implications flow from the study’s key findings. Collaborative, Creative Placemaking: Good Public Art Depends on Good Public Spaces. This article also appears in the current issue of Public Art Review. “It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people; what is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.” —William H. (Holly) Whyte During the past two or more decades, communities around the country have fallen victim to the relentless machinations of a group of people with an overdeveloped, overspecialized “creative function,” who see themselves as experts rather than collaborators or service providers.

Favela Painting collaborates with communities to use art for transformation. That’s the bad news. “…planners, artists, and architects are no longer afraid to see themselves as resources, facilitators, and collaborators…” The group Civic Center, in New Orleans, has lead many participatory public art projects. The success of a work of public art relies heavily upon the design of the public space in which it is located. Related PPS articles and resources: The High Line | Friends of the High Line. Measure What Matters | B Impact Assessment. 11 Principles for Creating Great Community Places.

Effective public spaces are extremely difficult to accomplish, because their complexity is rarely understood. As William (Holly) Whyte said, “It’s hard to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.” PPS has identified 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places, whether they’re parks, plazas, public squares, streets, sidewalks or the myriad other outdoor and indoor spaces that have public uses in common. These elements are: The Community Is The Expert The important starting point in developing a concept for any public space is to identify the talents and assets within the community. In any community there are people who can provide an historical perspective, valuable insights into how the area functions, and an understanding of the critical issues and what is meaningful to people. Loom International.

Strengthfinder Resources

WWOOF as Model for interconnected coffee movements. Community Development as Art. Placemaking for communities. American Barista & Coffee School | Barista Training, Coffee Business Consulting. Detroit Leads the Way on Place-Centered Revitalization. Future plans for Cadillac Square call for a lively marketplace / Image: PPS You may have heard about downtown Detroit’s big comeback story. Campus Martius has become one of America’s great urban squares.

Demand for housing has outstripped supply for months. Major tech firms like Twitter are opening up offices in refurbished historic buildings. The Motor City’s historic core is ascendant. Yesterday, at an event hosted by Dan Gilbert of Rock Ventures LLC, downtown Detroit became the Rust Belt comeback kid to watch. Gilbert, who moved thousands of employees downtown from his company Quicken Loans’ former headquarters in the suburbs, has bought more than a dozen downtown properties in recent years and is deeply invested in the revitalization of the district.

The Woodward Avenue corridor will be defined by its key public spaces / Image: PPS That passion was channeled via a slew of engagement activities over the past several months. B-Corp KeepCup! Business Innovation Summit. Forbes Review Mcmennamins. Tactics: Brian McMenamin of McMenamins. McMenamins hopes to expand Edgefield with purchase of former pig farm.

Pitfalls

How McMenamins' crowdfunding effort in Washington could unlock future Oregon expansion. Any discussion of a historic building in Oregon that’s threatened will inevitably work its way around to McMenamins. The chain of brewpubs and entertainment venues, famed around the Northwest for renovating and reinventing historic sites, gets inquiries just about every month — some serious, some idle — asking it to look at an old building somewhere. McMenamins Inc. Founded: 1983 Ownership: Family-held Employees: 2,200 at seasonal peak Locations: 52 in Oregon and Washington Revenue: More than $100 million "Obviously, you can't do everything," says Mike McMenamin, who co-founded the company with his brother Brian in 1983. But when the city of Bothell, Wash., came to the company in 2009 with a potential site in a former school complex, McMenamins went ahead with what would become one of the company's most ambitious projects.

The project in Bothell, just north of Seattle, would transform the W.A. The project comes as Bothell attempts to bring more life to its downtown. -- Elliot Njus. Of Note: Dream Center & Coffee House Building a Community for Foster Youth. The Kern County Network for Children (KCNC) working together with our community partners has created an innovative resource center for foster youth that serves as an easily accessible, inviting hub for comprehensive, integrated services and unique job training.

The Dream Center assists current and former foster youth transition to independence and self-sufficiency. Services utilize a formal case management system, with co-located staff from Kern County Probation, Kern County Mental Health, Bakersfield College, Kern High School District and our Department of Human Services Independent Living Program on-site and available to reduce the duplication of services and increase service accessibility for youth. Dream Center Goals Donate Your Items & Help A Foster Youth! When a foster youth emancipates, they often have very little when they move into their first home.

Bus Pass Policy If you are unable to get a bus pass at the Dream Center, you may go to the main DHS building at 100 E.