I recently listened to mahalo.com CEO Jason Calacanis speak about his business on the LISNews podcast (audio can be found here). One of the more interesting things I pulled from this interview was his assessment of making money online. Making the money, he says, is easy if you can get traffic to your site. That takes branding, and branding is the answer to the question of how urban planning relates to web success.

Over history, American cities have gone through phases of roles. From the earliest cities that were built with high walls to protect from the uncertainties of the wilderness of the New World, to the bustling industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh that were centers of the economy in the early 20th century, to the modern forms of today's centers of technology and finance, all cities have been defined by their role.

For today's cities, especially those hit hardest by the decline in heavy industry, defining that role is becomming increasingly important. A city's brand, as it were, can become the strongest driving force in the local economy. Seattle and San Francisco have branded themselves as hubs of computer and information technology. San Francisco also has a brand of being accepting of alternate lifestyles, which can be one of the greatest brands a city can have today (see Richard Florida's creative class). Los Angeles will always have movies and celebrity glamour as its brand, and continues to attract people for that reason. Even smaller cities like Paducah, KY are benefitting from branding, as their hit planning initiative, the Artist Relocation Program, has gained national recognition, and pulled in artists looking for a place that will welcome and inspire them.

Just as an internet startup or a new blog reaches out to the internet for eyeballs and site traffic by providing a quality product and recognizable brand, cities reach out nationally by offering their brands, providing their own special perks for those that are looking for a better place to live.

In the coming years, urban planning will be more important than it has ever been. As gas prices increase, more and more people will begin to move closer to jobs and services, and the demand for housing in city centers will continue to grow. The first wave has already begun in many cities, an account of which can be read here. This wave is primarily composed of young professionals, singles, and wealthy families. As supply catches up with demand, the second wave, made of middle-class families, will begin to make the migration away from cookie-cutter suburbs.

Cities need to understand this phenomenon and plan for it. New development and an influx of high-income people almost always means that lower classes are pushed out of their neighborhoods, either physically through demolition, or economically through increased land values. These inhabitants are likely to be long-term residents, creators of the culture of their blocks. The New York Times recently had this article, chronicling the street culture that leads to interactions between unlikely members of the community. The article also has this bit of information, that cities must take to heart and plan intelligently to prevent: Referring to the dinner that was occuring on the sidewalk below his apartment:

“It feels eccentric and odd here in New York,” he said from his open doorway, “like something more typical of Paris. Americans are very uptight, but if you go way uptown here, of course, everyone is outside. It’s when the money hits the street that it goes away.”

How can cities plan for the influx of money to city centers, and maintain the street culture that exists now? The solution is in the same ideals that shaped Jane Jacobs' vision for the city. Street details like low setback restrictions, wide sidewalks, sidewalk seating, public spaces, green space, bicycle facilities, as well as allowances for street-level dining and street performers all work to build neighborhood character. These elements bring people out of their homes and into the street, where they interact, build friendships, and self-police. Jane Jacobs spoke at length about the need for visibility to the streets, where neighbors could watch children at play, and everyone could work together to deter crime in the neighborhood. Higher interactions, lower crime, and friendships among neighbors are key to keeping city culture in tact.

As new residents move into new developments within the city center, planners must do whatever it takes to maintain street-level interactions that define the character of the neighborhood, and through smart design decisions these places will be maintained even as new mixes with old.

Working in a public library for the last two years has given me an interesting perspective on the divide between printed and digital information. The emergence of web tools like Google and Wikipedia have greatly reduced the amount of time and effort it takes to find information. Even academic journals are offering their publications in PDF format, downloadable from sites like JSTOR and Google Scholar.

Does this mean that libraries are becomming increasingly irrelevant? Not immediately, I don’t believe, but there is a real possibility for their demise if they do not adapt and evolve into a place that can be the hub of information that they once were.

If the growth and maturity of Web 2.0 has taught us anything, it’s that the collaboration and sharing of ideas is what really drives today’s innovation. Ask a question on FriendFeed and you’ll get an almost instant response, sometimes many great ideas and thoughts can arise from a single stimulus post. Libraries, while once the place where information and knowledge was stored, must now take on a new role, one that is a hub of communication and sharing. Libraries should be embracing their communities with tools like Twitter and FriendFeed. Information that cannot be acquired from a source in the stacks could be requested from the community, and as people join the knowledge network, the reliability of the service increases.

The reverse is also true. People should be able to @yourlibraryhere a question that the reference librarians would receive, research, and reply with an answer that the sender would know to be reliable, removing the uncertainty of information posted online.

The idea here is that libraries should no longer just be a place to go get a book to read. They need to reinvent themselves and places in the community where ideas are exchanged and knowledge is created. Today’s digital world means information is needed faster, and by using Web 2.0 tools, libraries can provide that service and remain relevant.

Do you use your library or the internet to aquire information? How could it better serve you and your community? Share your ideas below.