All of these different social networks that you can join - Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or Last.FM, for example - could be thought of as neighborhood pubs.  You could decide to go barhopping every time you go out, you could decide that you only like one of them and never visit any others, or you could frequent a few different places fairly regularly.  None of these choices is a 'wrong' choice, and isn't even necessarily decided on by the quality of the location itself.  The pubs you go to or the social networking sites that you join & frequent are actually more likely to be decided based on where your friends are.

Maybe MySpace is that seedy dive bar of the internet you keep getting dragged to, wondering what others see in the place.  You might continue to go back every once in a while to catch up with any friends that are still kicking around, but your visits are less and less frequent until/unless they add or update features (keeping with the pub analogy; add a drink special, or start getting decent bands).  Maybe, for your group of friends, Facebook is the new popular bar that everyone is at all of the time now... Twitter might still be considered the trendy new club that your friends are hesitant to go to because they only serve beer (in 250ml glasses?)...

Also, don't forget that email and IM conversations fall into this categorization as well - you might decide to stay in or go to a friends house to have some drinks for the evening.  This is compareable to an IM chat or an email conversation; closed to the public, and likely only involving a few people at a time.  Just as I have friends who won't stay in & like to go to a new place each time they go out, I have other friends who always stay in & are rarely found waiting for a drink at the bar.

So, deciding which social networks to join should be less a question of whether or not you should be on the next latest & greatest social networking site - it should be more a question of where your friends are, and what type of environment you feel like participating in.  If all of your friends got up in the middle of a house party and decided to head down to one of the local pubs, would you hang back at the house alone ... would you go with them ... or would you even go out on your own to a totally different spot and see who you met there?  There isn't a wrong answer as to which social networking site you're using, just as there isn't a wrong answer as to what you'd like to do tonight.  The answer will revolve around where your friends are, and if you happen to want to be there as well or if you want to branch out and see what else is going on.

...and if you're a business owner, you can go ahead and re-read this post substituting 'customer' each time you come across the word 'friend'.  I suppose the pub analogy only works if you do business like you're a character in Mad Men, but I think that the "be where your customers are" idea still fits just fine.

I'll use this post to tell you about a few Mac or iPhone applications that I've had a fantastic time with lately.  These are typically applications that perform a common task extremely efficiently & effectively, but there are a couple Mac or iPhone applications in the list that completely transform tasks for the better.

This is by no means a comprehensive list; I think you can expect some more lists like this in the future since there are so many great Mac & iPhone applications out now or coming soon...

Quicksilver or LaunchBar

Both Quicksilver and LaunchBar are really cool & useful, but could be a hard one to get used to.  They both basically accomplish the same thing - they set a key combination (I use ⌘-Space) to bring up a floating interface that accepts type.  Whatever you type is then used as a type of search query which instantly returns what you're probably looking for…

For example, if you want to launch FireFox then you'd hit ⌘-space and start typing "firefox" - you probably won't need to get past the letter 'f' after using it for a day, though, because it learns your actions.  By learning I mean that if you downloaded another application that started with the letter 'f' tomorrow, and started using that more than FireFox, then it would learn the new application and present that to you when you typed 'f' instead of FireFox.

It can be as difficult to explain as it can be to get used to - rather than going by visual cues like taking your mouse and traveling down to your dock and knowing where a certain application sits, you have to train yourself to type out the name of the application you want to open or the name of the command you want to run.

It's well worth the initial learning curve, though.

TextExpander

TextExpander lets you set up custom abbreviations for your frequently-typed text & frequently-used images.  Additionally, there are add-ons that will correct common spelling mistakes or provide pre-made snippets that will complete HTML code, etc.

I use it a lot for beginnings of emails, since I usually start them all out the same way.  I also have a snippet for my email signature, since I don't want it included in every email I send but I also don't want to retype it.  Beyond that, I haven't gotten too far into it yet, but I'm sure it will continue to work itself into daily use.

There's also an iPhone version that accomplishes the same task on your iPhone by providing you with a place to store snippets & compose messages that can then be sent to Mail, Twitter, SMS, or copied & pasted wherever you like.

MindNode Pro

You can read through my post on Mind Mapping for more information on MindNode Pro .  You'll also read about MindNode Touch while you're there, which is a great implementation of MindNode for the iPhone.

Things

Things is a great task management application.  It's very easy to use, which is one of the most important aspects of an application that's supposed to help you accomplish more.  I'm not fumbling through menus or forced to click through options or added features - don't get me wrong, there are plenty of features in this application, but the point is that they're all opt-in features which allows me to quickly get ideas/tasks down instead of fighting with due dates, scheduling and organization right off the bat.

It also pairs very nicely with Things on the iPhone by syncing over wifi when the application is open both on the Mac and on the iPhone.  The iPhone version does just as good of a job as the Mac version in making the interface clean & easy to use.

Tweetie

Tweetie is a good Twitter application, and a new version is expected soon.  From my searches, this is the best Twitter application that doesn't use the Adobe Air platform (which I've been avoiding due to complaints of slowness I've read around the internet).  There's also a version of Tweetie for the iPhone, which is currently my hands-down top choice for using Twitter on my iPhone.

Related posts:

1. Navigate Your Brain

This post is an add-on to the previous post Don't Slouch At The Dinner Table.  I'm posting an updating because one of the features that I quickly glossed over has been upgraded, and is starting to be quite useful.  I'm referring to the Like feature, and in this post I'll tell you how it has been upgraded to be quite a useful tool.

If you've logged into Google Reader lately, you might have noticed a new section at the top of the left column.  This section, Explore, adds a bit of relevant exploration to Google Reader.  The topmost link within the Explore section is Popular Items, then below that is a revolving list of 4 out of a total of 20 feeds that might be of interest to you. Finally, there is a View all recommendations link which brings you to the total 20 feeds that you might be interested in based on your current set of feeds.

Popular Items

When you click on this link, the right side of the page displays a list of posts that are most-liked based on the ever-increasing list of algorithms that Google has up its sleeve.  There's a note at the top of the list of posts that reads "These are items from the Internet that you might enjoy. Hit the smiley face at the bottom of items that you like -- we'll customize your list to help you discover even more stuff."

These popular items are personally created for each Google Reader user.  They're generated based on what you've been reading, what you've been liking, what you've been starring, as well as how your behavior compares to global activity.

Recommended Sources

The Recommended Sources list is pretty useful because it pushes the "let the internet come to you" method of web browsing one step further.  Google shows you four feeds that you might be interested in but aren't subscribed to yet - so, sites you likely haven't visited before (because who goes to a website twice when you can just subscribe to the feed?).

To view the full list of twenty recommended feeds, you can click the View all recommendations link just below the four listed.  This list displays how many subscribers there are for each feed listed & approximately how many posts there are per week.  It also provides you with a Subscribe or No Thanks option below the feeds title & short description.  These links function in a "yay or nay" type action.  The No Thanks link removes the feed from the list of recommended sources, and the Subscribe link does just that.

The way that the Recommended Sources is generated is pretty interesting, as well... It factors in the feeds that you're already subscribed to along with your Web History & your location and it compares this to many other users.  This creates similarities in reading patterns, and I like Google's explanation:

"For instance, if a lot of people subscribe to feeds about both peanut butter and jelly, and you only subscribe to feeds about peanut butter, Reader will recommend that you try some jelly."

Related posts:

1. Don’t Slouch At The Dinner Table
2. Contemplate Consuming The Internet

Mind Mapping is something that I've recently gotten into, and I've found it to be hugely useful in all of the projects that I'm involved in.  A Mind Map is a bit like a flowchart that has all categorizations of importance stripped out of it; it's very useful for quickly getting down all of the ideas or tasks surrounding a particular project or topic.

The map starts at the center of the page/document, and non-linearly stems out from there into different branches - each branch representing further & further refinement of the overall project or topic.  The result has an organic feel to it; something like roots of a tree ... But, it's probably easier for me to just show you an (extremely complex) example:

image by Adam Sicinski

Process & Benefits

The main idea with Mind Mapping is that you're getting all of your ideas out of your head and onto the paper or document as fast as possible.  The goal is to make the actual mind mapping process as easy and effortless as possible so that you come as close as you can to automatic-note-taking while you brainstorm.  I guess it would be a bit like recording your thoughts straight to paper, or typing a document using only your thoughts ... sort of a nod towards Automatic Writing but tailored to suit the conscious mind.

The benefit is that you can brainstorm on a particular project or topic, and not have to worry about forgetting about that awesome idea you had five minutes into an hour-long brainstorming session.  Not only are all of your thoughts & ideas fully documented along the way, they're also naturally sorted into logical & useful tree structures that share a relationships with your central project or topic.

It's backtrackable brainstorming ... brainstorming with 100% recollection.

Some Mind Mapping Software Suggestions

Mainly, you can sift through this list of free Mind Mapping applications (both Mac & PC), as well as this list of both free & paid Mind Mapping applications over at Wikipedia.  I'd suggest that you try at least a few out before you settle on one, because each application has its own nuances that can make mind mapping that much more useful (or agonizing).  The biggest factor in your decision should be the application's ease of use; find the software that allows you to enter & organize your thoughts as easily and quickly as possible.

My primary computer is a MacBook Pro, so I've only had first-hand experience with Mind Mapping software that's available for MacOS.  Some of my favorites, for other Mac users out there, are FreeMind, MindNode, and OmniGraffle.  For the iPhone, iBlueSky looks like a fantastic Mind Mapping iPhone app, but I've had fantastic first-hand experience with MindNode Touch.

FreeMind had the simplest data entry, but it currently doesn't work (without Rosetta) in MacOS X Snow Leopard unless you easily hack it by quickly copying a file.  Because of that bug, and because I wanted a tighter integration between my computer and iPhone experiences, I decided to go with MindNode Pro (on my laptop) and MindNode Touch (on my iPhone).  The iPhone synchronization between both MindNode apps is fantastic - I can easily work on the same mind map on both my laptop & my iPhone with barely any fuss.  It's on par with the synchronization between Things Mac & Things iPhone, which is no easy feat (more on Things, and to-do lists later).

The following is Tenero's product video for iBlueSky version 1.0, which does a great job in displaying this app's power:

And the following is MindNode's product video for MindNode Touch:

Related posts:

1. Some Fantastic Mac And iPhone Applications

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. prepared a plan for the City of Holyoke & The Holyoke Redevelopment Authority on August 2nd 2009.  This plan is available as a beautiful PDF document, and I've reproduced the entire plan below for those who prefer to read online (and so that the contents of the plan can be scooped up by search engines & easily found by those interested in the topic).  You can click every image to view its larger version without leaving this page, and you can use the links in the Table of Contents to jump down to specific sections (and link to or bookmark those specific sections).  Enjoy.

Acknowledgements

This plan was produced by over 400 Holyokers who shaped this agenda for our City’s future by participating in public forums, interviews, focus groups and other activities. Participants came from all of the city’s neighborhoods, and represented a wide range of cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to be found here.

Center City Vision Plan Steering Committee

Kathleen Anderson / Jeffrey Burkott / Thomas Creed / John Dyjach / Carl Eger, Jr. David Guzman / Karen Mendrala / Eileen Regan

The Holyoke Redevelopment Authority

Carl Eger, Jr., Chair / Patricia Duffy, Vice-Chair / Thomas Creed, Treasurer / Leida Cartagena, Assistant Treasurer / Jacqueline Watson, Member

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), Inc.

Geoffrey Morrison-Logan / James “Jef” Fasser

Funding for this study was provided through a Gateway Plus Action Grant awarded by:

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development

with special thanks to Mayor Michael J. Sullivan, the support of City Councilors and to the following Holyoke individuals, institutions, merchants, restaurateurs, & residents:

Amedeo’s Restaurant & Pizzeria / Church of God Mission Board / The Log Cabin & The Delaney House / Holyoke Council on Aging / Holyoke School Department / Holyoke Department of Public Works / McDonald’s Restaurant / Templo Ebenezer / Our Lady of Guadalupe Church / War Memorial Commissioners / residents Virgenmina Viera and Joseph Kingsley

Table Of Contents

1 Project Overview

• Overview
• Holyoke Today
• Process
• Goals and Objectives
• Opportunities & Challenges
• Community & Stakeholders Common Recommendations

2 Alternatives

• Alternatives Overview
• Alternative 1
• Alternative 2
• Alternative 3

3 Vision Plan

• The Vision Plan
• Develop Key Nodes
• Enhance the Arts & Innovation District
• Expand Open Space Amenities
• Transform the Riverfront
• Enhance the Urban Neighborhoods
• Reconnect the City through Gateways & Complete Streets

4 Transportation

• Connectivity
• Pedestrian Enhancements
• Circulation

5 Implementation

• Implementation Strategies
• Urban Renewal Plan
• Implementation Table

Overview

This following Center City Vision Plan was prepared to set the framework for the revitalization of the historic core of the city, which was once the vibrant centerpiece of this planned industrial community. As with many other industrial cities throughout New England, Holyoke is proactively planning ahead for the future reinvestment in its Center City area by working closely with its diverse community of residents, business owners, institutions and numerous organizations, to help shape a plan. The Vision Plan identifies opportunities to capitalize on the unique aspects of Holyoke’s industrial heritage and green power generation, while embracing new opportunities for job growth, population growth and place making. This will set the direction for the Center City and its neighborhoods to realize their future potential.

The Center City project area consists of four census tracts (figure 1) and includes the neighborhoods of South Holyoke, The Flats, Downtown/Prospect Heights and Churchill. This area has frontage along the Connecticut River and includes the three power generating canals that helped support the original growth of Holyoke. These neighborhoods once comprised the urban core of the City including a central business district along High and Maple Streets, manufacturing sites along the three canals, associated employee housing surrounding these areas and commercial uses to support urban living. However, this part of the City has seen a significant disinvestment in recent years, leaving many vacant and underutilized parcels and buildings. Presently, the area has a great need for reinvestment and revitalization in order for it to prosper and thrive, and, fortunately, the City is currently taking action and seeing signs of new investment in this area.

Some of the investment that is currently taking place includes:

• Canalwalk Construction Phase 1 being constructed, Phase 2 under design.
• Intermodal Center under construction.
• Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Project — Circulation improvements designed for Dwight and Heritage streets in design.
• South Holyoke Plan master plan completed.
• Private Investment in various buildings ongoing.
• Proposed Data Center — public private partnership between state, city, private business and universities.
• Proposed Passenger Rail Station—State initiative.

See below for a showcase photographs of some of the more notable buildings and scenes in the Center City area. These photographs are grouped by the Vision Plan topic they best represent, including civic/public buildings, types of housing, open space, mixed-use corridors, historic structures and mills, industrial buildings, vacant buildings/parcels and community character.

Holyoke Today... a snapshot of the Center City

Process

Recently, the City has initiated a number of actions to guide the revitalization effort of the Center City area. The City has recently formed the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA) whose immediate focus is the revitalization of this area of the city.

One of the first tasks undertaken by the HRA was the preparation of this Vision Plan. This process included a comprehensive analysis of the project area, preparation of a development framework for the various sections within the Center City, and recommendations for redevelopment actions to revitalize the area. Actions address all elements of the Center City area including housing, streets and open space along with commercial and industrial development. Anticipated results include job creation, expanded housing choices, improved urban environment and quality of life issues such as walkability, cultural activities and education.

A major component of this planning study was significant public outreach to assure that the Vision Plan evolved from the community. The outreach process included focus group meetings with numerous interest groups, three public meetings and additional outreach by City staff. The outreach concentrated on building and strengthening existing community collaborations and initiatives as well as working to build new relationships with organizations, community groups and individuals.

The result of this visioning process will lay the groundwork for an Urban Renewal Plan to create vibrant, diverse, safe neighborhoods in downtown Holyoke where all residents can live, work and play.

The following report provides a summary of the items considered in the planning process and the elements that constitute the Center City Vision Plan.

• An overview of the process that was undertaken.
• A summary of the issues and opportunities that were considered.
• An overview of the alternatives that were discussed.
• A summary of the elements that constitute the Vision Plan.
• A set of strategies for implementing aspects of the Vision Plan.

The Center City Vision Plan was developed over a five month period structured around initial stakeholder interviews and three public workshops, each organized to gain input about issues and opportunities, Vision Plan alternatives and the preferred Vision Plan.

The planning process started by conducting a series of interviews with stakeholders over a two-day period to gain insight on the issues and opportunities that were relevant to the Center City study area. The interviews were held at City’s Office of Planning and Development and at the Visitors Center in Heritage State Park, where more than 100 people attended. The interviews were organized by topic area and included representatives from the business, non-profit, housing, healthcare, and education industries. In addition, City Councilors, multiple City departments, private property owners, retailers, realtors and developers were interviewed.

The three public workshops were advertised through the local media including the City cable access channel, City web site and Spanish radio Station WSPR, at local churches, as well as through the use of flyers and community boards that were distributed and/or placed within the neighborhoods in the study area. These materials were translated into Spanish to expand community outreach efforts.

The extensive outreach efforts led an average turnout of 80–100 people for each of the public meetings, where the consultants and City staff provided a brief presentation followed by “break-out” group discussions on the material that was presented that evening. Translation services were provided at the public meetings to accommodate Spanish speaking participants. Each group was asked to “report back” what they discussed so that their concerns and goals could be considered in developing the vision for the Center City. The meetings focus on the following topics;

• First Public Forum “Understanding the Issues and Opportunities” and “Set a Vision/Framework for the Alternatives”
• Second Public Forum “Review the Preliminary Vision Plan Alternatives”
• Third Public Forum “Review Downtown Vision Plan” and preliminary “Urban Renewal considerations”

The City appointed a Steering Committee that worked closely with the consultants throughout the development of the Vision Plan. The committee consisted of members from the City Office of Planning and Development and members of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA), the Holyoke Planning Board and the Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC). Meetings with the Steering Committee were held regularly to provide guidance on project coordination, development of the alternatives, refinement of the preferred Vision Plan and strategies for implementation actions that will result from this plan.

Goals and Objectives

The City of Holyoke and the HRA prepared this Vision Plan to understand community values that will guide the preparation of an Urban Renewal Plan for the Center City area that reflects citizen aspirations and preferences for the future of their community. The broad public involvement and resulting plan are essential to provide guidance to municipal officials and board members as they advance efforts and actions intended to stimulate the revitalization of this area of the City.

In order to address the critical issues that will impact the redevelopment potential of the Center City area, this vision planning process addressed the following goals and objectives:

Goal: Conduct an extensive public outreach process to achieve broad community input into the Center City Vision Plan

• Understand community values and preferences for the Center City area.
• Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges within the area.
• Achieve broad-based community understanding of the City’s plans for this area.

Goal: Solicit community input into a number of issues that impact revitalization activities in the area. Understand community opinion regarding:

• Preferred mix of land uses—retail, office, entertainment, government/ civic, schools and education, housing, industrial, community/cultural, mixed-use development.
• Improvement of the open space system—large city parks, neighborhood parks, playing fields/courts, Canalwalk, Connecticut River, community gardens.
• Transportation options—vehicular, pedestrian, buses, trains, bicycles, walking, and multimodal.
• Street treatments—arterials and “entry” roads, main streets, secondary or access streets, residential streets, service streets (alleys), streetscape treatments, and gateways.
• Activities or events—cultural/social/ethnic events, entertainment, recreational activities, community celebrations, and family events.
• Schools, Health & Social Services—public and private schools, institutions and colleges, health care.
• Culture and Heritage—community values, historic resources, significant events/resources.

Goal: Develop a preferred Vision Plan that can be used to guide the preparation of an Urban Renewal Plan that will identify specific actions for the redevelopment of the Center City area.

• Identify public actions intended to stimulate private investment, improved housing and job creation.
• Identify principals that will guide future redevelopment. • Prioritize proposed activities to help focus public actions.

The benefit of this community visioning process was that it provided an oppor- tunity for citizen input into the municipal planning process and revitalization plan. This process provided a sense of community ownership in the development of a plan and, thus, support for its recommendations. Furthermore, this on-going process of communication among the citizens helped reconcile conflicting views resulting in an agreement on preferred courses of action. It also helped to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation and partnerships to resolve problems.

Opportunities & Challenges

The Opportunities and Challenges Map (below) was developed to iden- tify a series of issues that the Vision Plan should consider and/or build upon.
The map reflects observations, community input and information provided at the stakeholder interviews, and has helped set the planning framework for the Vision Plan. Each of the components identified on the map is summarized in the paragraphs below. The adjacent text box includes a list of the ideas that emerged from the stakeholder interviews and first public forum. The list is not organized by priority, but rather by common recommendations that
were discussed.

1. Gateway Opportunities: Gateway elements such as unique architectural features, signage, landscaping features and streetscape enhancements can be used to accentuate arrival to the Center City.
2. Streets/Connections: Enhance the connections along streets that link various portions of the Center City together, connecting neighborhoods and activity centers.
3. Canal & Canalwalk: Build on the planned improvements to the Canalwalk and seek opportunities to extend the Canalwalk to other portions of the Center City.
4. Civic Buildings & Parks: Leverage civic buildings and parks as assets to the community and a focal point for adjacent redevelopment. City Initiatives: Advance the planned city initiatives (5 and 6)
5. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Encourage Transit-Oriented Development.
6. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40R (40 R): Encourage smart growth in accordance with the purposes of 40R.
7. Arts & Industry: Expand, encourage reuse, redevelopment, and revitalization of historic resources within the existing Arts & Industry Overlay District, along the canals and on the periphery of Holyoke’s traditional city center.
8. Vacant Properties: Plan for, redevelop and enhance the numerous vacant properties within the Center City.
9. Neighborhood Identity: Capitalize on the unique characteristics of Holyoke’s urban neighborhoods.
10. Enhanced Connections: Enhance connections to destinations adjacent to the Center City (Springdale Park, Mitchell Field, Pulaski Park).

Community & Stakeholder Recommendations

• Creation of jobs.
• Workforce training.
• Higher education opportunities.
• Maintain properties and selectively remove blight.
• Maintain a clean City and educate about littering and clean-up—start clean up in highly visible areas.
• Improve safety (both perceived and real)/implementation of beat police, improved lighting.
• Promotegreen...greenpower,greenindustry,andgreenidentity.
• Celebrate culture and ethnic diversity.
• Preserving the architecture and historical value of the area.
• Build on the City’s successes and civic assets.
• More entertainment. e.g. Family-friendly restaurants, movie theatre, family activities.
• Strengthen the Arts District.
• Mixed income, mixed use, mixed housing choices.
• Encouraging small, diverse and local businesses.
• Create a strong downtown core with small businesses and mixed uses.
• Local foods/local markets.
• Address transition areas in land use, create buffers.
• Rename the area. Positive marketing.
• Increase the safety and attractiveness of public parks.
• Creating a walkable City with complete streets.
• Develop an approach for the vacant buildings
• Consider zoning updates and design guidelines, strategic zoning.

Opportunities & Challenges Map

Alternatives

Three preliminary Alternatives were prepared for the study area based on the issues and opportunities that were identified during the stakeholder interviews, results from the first public forum and the Opportunities Map that was prepared. The alternatives identify a framework for revitalization activities, both public and private, such as areas for future development and redevelopment, areas recommended for rehabilitation, infrastructure improvements, open space and streetscape improvements, recommended land uses and similar activities that will help to revitalize the area.

Each alternative includes a series of elements that are common to all three. These include considerations for: Complete Streets, City Parks, City Bridges, Streetscape, Canalwalk, Neighborhood Initiatives, Mix Use Centers, Arts/History, Jobs/Industry/Commerce, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Each of these “Common Elements” is shown in the legend on the opposite page.

The differences between the alternatives are denoted by their individual approaches to certain land uses within sub-areas of the Center City. These differences are shown with darker colors as indicated in the legend below. During the initial discussions with the stakeholders and community members, multiple ideas emerged about how to treat future growth within these areas. The summary of these differences are highlighted in the description of each alternative plan.

Based on the feedback from the second public forum and comments from the City and Steering Committee, a preferred Vision Plan was created that incorporates many of the aspects shown in alternative three.

Legend

Alternative 1

• Expand the mix of uses along High and Maple Streets south towards I-391 with a focus on Office and Retail.
• Focus Cultural Uses and activities along the 1st and 2nd Level Canals—between Appleton and Cabot Streets.
• Target redevelopment of the southern blocks along the 1st and 2nd Level Canals—between Commercial, Race, Cabot and Jackson Streets as mixed-use with a focus on Housing.
• Expand the mix of uses along Main Street towards I-391 with a focus on Office and Retail.
• Target Jobs and Commerce along the 2nd Level Canal with emphasis on the land between the canal and river. Continue to promote Jobs and Commerce in the southeastern portions of the Flats neighborhood.
• Explore opportunities for views and open spaces along the riverfront, and between redevelopment sites.

Alternative 2

• Expand the mix of uses along High and Maple Streets south towards I-391 with a focus on Retail and Housing.
• Focus the Cultural Uses and activities along the 1st and 2nd Level Canals—between Appleton and Sargeant Streets, one block larger than Alternative 1.
• Target redevelopment of the southern blocks along the 1st and 2nd Level Canals—between Commercial, Sargeant, Main and I-391 for Jobs and Commerce. Extend Jobs and Commerce along the 3rd Level Canal on the southern edges of South Holyoke.
• Target Jobs and Commerce along 2nd Level Canal with emphasis on the land between the canal and the river. Continue to promote Jobs and Commerce in the southeastern portions of the Flats neighborhood.
• Explore opportunities for views and open spaces along the riverfront, and between redevelopment sites

Alternative 3

• Expand the mix of uses along High and Maple Streets south towards I-391 with a focus on Office and Retail
• Focus Cultural Uses along High and Maple Streets within downtown—between Heritage Park, Appleton, Dwight, and Chestnut Streets.
• Target redevelopment of the southern blocks along the 1st and 2nd Level Canals—Between Commercial, Race, Cabot and Jackson Streets with a focus on Jobs and Commerce.
• Expand the mix of uses along Main Street towards I-391 focusing on mixed-use with Retail and Housing
• Extend housing along the 3rd Level Canal in South Holyoke.
• Target Jobs and Commerce along the 3rd Level Canal, emphasizing land between the canal and river. Explore opportunities for housing within the southeastern portions of the Flats.
• Explore opportunities for views and open spaces along the riverfront, near the damn and between redevelopment sites along the 3rd Level Canal.

The Vision Plan

Based on the results from the second and third public forums and comments received from the Steering Committee, a Vision Plan and revised framework diagram was created for the Center City area that outlines goals and objectives for its future redevelopment and revitalization. This chapter provides an overview of the six key elements that define the Vision Plan. The plan identifies both site specific strategies and broad principles that will provide guidance to the community and the City as plans and initiatives are advanced and projects are implemented.

Through the community process and feedback received on the Vision Plan, it was evident that increasing the density and types of development, creating new jobs, providing more housing choices and preserving Holyoke’s historic character were all important considerations. Equally important was the desire to improve connectivity to and throughout the Center City, making the neighborhoods and the downtown amenities more accessible. These and other “core principles” are outlined on the opposite page. The Vision Plan expands upon these initiatives and is described in the following pages of this chapter that describe:

1. Develop Key “Nodes”
2. Enhance the “Arts and Innovation” District
3. Expand Open Space Amenities
4. Transform the Riverfront
5. Enhance the Urban Neighborhoods
6. Reconnect the City through gateways and complete streets

The Framework

The Vision Plan was prepared in conjunction with the revised Framework Diagram that illustrates various goals for land uses, initiatives, and connections within the Center City.

Center City Vision Plan Principles

1. Revitalize the Center City by increasing the density and types of development (more residents, more jobs)
2. Create an active Center City with a variety of 24/7 uses for day and night (Events, retail, restaurants, family destinations, etc)
3. Preserve Holyoke's historic urban character and valuable architectural resources (blocks, streets, buildings)
4. Increase housing choices with building styles that compliment the character within each urban neighborhood (multi-family, townhouse, duplex, etc.)
5. Improve downtown circulation with walkable, safe, and pedestrian-friendly streets and open spaces (Sidewalks, crosswalks, landscaping, lighting, etc)
6. Promote local utilities, green technology, and the innovative sectors as economic development initiatives (HG&E’s water power, renewable energy, creative jobs)

Develop Key Nodes

Holyoke’s Center City is, in part, defined by its grid of streets, location of its mixed use centers, or “Main Streets”, proximity of its urban neighborhoods, and the existing mix of uses that are located within each of its areas. High Street, Maple Street and Main Street have historically been the mixed-use activity centers that have catered to Holyoke’s retailers and businesses and have provided services to downtown employees and residents. There is an opportunity to reconnect and strengthen these various streets and places within the Center City by focusing redevelopment, future development, streetscape enhancements and cultural activities within four “key nodes” of the downtown. Equally important is connecting these nodes to each other, as well as the neighborhoods that abut them, ultimately becoming a “porthole” that links neighborhoods and the downtown back together.

The Vision Plan identifies four nodes where development and redevelopment should support the overall goal for a vibrant urban center filled with active ground floor and broad mix of retail, office, business, residential and institutional uses. Each node has the potential to build upon a theme based on the existing land uses that help define its existing character and future potential. Connections between these nodes should be enhanced through improved streetscape and transportation choices, such as improved sidewalks and a downtown bus circulator.

“Municipal” Node: Build on the existing municipal uses such as City Hall, Veteran’s Park and the planned expansion of a new park behind City Hall. Promote and expand downtown cultural actives such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and “Celebrate Holyoke Day” to bring events to this civic area.

“Learning” Node: Celebrate the theme of “learning” by advancing the planned improvements to the City Library and the potential to create a new park adjacent to the new or renovated Lawrence School.

“Transit-Oriented Development” Node: Plan for future passenger rail service that will link Holyoke to Hartford and the region’s “Innovation Corridor”. Promote mixed-use development with active ground floor uses, with opportunities for new high density housing. Restore connections to the Flats by implementing the proposed rail bridge and enhancing connections to downtown via Dwight Street.

“Cabot and Main” Node: Promote infill development and redevelopment that enhances the character of Main and Cabot Streets with a mixed of uses that activate the street. Seek development that creates a sense of place and provides for enhanced connections to the South Holyoke neighborhood.

Goals

• Promote cultural activities within each node
• Enhance the streetscape to create places for people
• Focus redevelopment and future development to create the sense of place
• Create links or “portholes” to the adjacent neighborhoods
• Connect the nodes through streetscape and transportation enhancements
• Plan for a transportation “Hub” in each node
• Create a transportation “Loop” that connects each node

Enhance the Arts & Innovation District

Holyoke was founded on its innovative approach to power generation, by capturing energy from the Connecticut River. Its history as an industrial city and inventory of architecturally rich mill buildings provides a unique foundation for a continued emergence of an “Arts and Innovation” district. The community process identified the existing artist community that is occupying space within buildings near the 1st and 2nd Level Canals. In addition, the community stated a preference to extend the Arts & Industry Overlay District to with the Arts and Innovation District extending from the 1st and 2nd Level Canals to Maple and High Streets so that the Victory Theater and War Memorial Building are part of the district.

The Vision Plan identifies a general boundary where the theme of Arts and Innovation should be explored (see image below). Multiple efforts will continue to support the emergence of this district by:

• Unlocking the development potential for office, commercial, retail and housing to reoccupy the vacant floors of existing buildings that are suitable for renovation.
• Integrating the ground floor uses with the Canalwalk.
• Expanding programmed events within the district to include:
  •    Walking & Historic tours—that showcase the unique building inventory and history of the Canal.
  •    Cultural events—Bring back Celebrate Holyoke and seek new events that bring together Holyoke’s diverse population.
• Enhancing the edges of streets—By renovating buildings, providing new development and improving the streetscape along the streets that cross the canals (Lyman, Dwight, Appleton, Cabot, Sargeant Streets).
• Making the bridges a design element—Work with Mass Highway to explore ways to illuminate the bridges and improve the sidewalks.
• Seeking opportunities for new parking lots/structures that can facilitate redevelopment.

Goals

• Celebrate the arts community
• Unlock development potential for office, commercial, retail and housing
• Integrate uses with the Canalwalk
• Expand programmed events
  • Walkingtours
  • Historic tours
  • Cultural events
• Enhance the edges of streets
• Make bridges a design element—lighting sidewalks
• New parking lots/structures

Expand Open Space Amenities

Holyoke is home to several notable parks such as the Heritage State Park that celebrates Holyoke’s unique history as the first planned industrial city; Pulaski Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted—an internationally recognized landscape architect. Figure 6 identifies these and other existing parks and suggests ways to introduce new open spaces, parks, expansions to the Canalwalk and potential streetscape enhancements that will connect these amenities throughout the Center City. The following summarizes the potential enhancements to the network of open spaces.

Veterans Park

• Continue with and expand programmed activities that activate the park.
• Seek infill and redevelopment opportunities for sites that surround the park.
• Explore the potential for additional enhancements the park with the conversion of Maple Street into a two-way street (see Chapter 4, Transportation).

Heritage State Park Area

• Advance the City’s plan to remove the parking structure behind City Hall, making way for a new park that will abut Heritage State Park.
• Seek opportunities to celebrate Holyoke as “the Birthplace of Volleyball” (park improvements, special events).

New Lawrence School Park

• Work with the School Department to advance plans for the Lawrence School and the opportunity for a new recreational park.
• Infill vacant sites that surround the park to provide more “eyes on the street”.
• Work with the city to explore options to close a portion of Chestnut Street.

Expand McNally Field to Canal

• Explore potential redevelopment opportunities along North Canal Street adjacent to Kelly School to expand the existing playing fields and open views to the canal.
• Expand the Canalwalk System along Canal Street and other potential areas.

Build a network of linkages to connect open spaces

• Enhance sidewalks and the streetscape along key streets that link neighborhoods to parks and open spaces.

Expand South Holyoke’s playground at Morgan School

• Advance plans to expand the elementary school.
• Work with the City to develop plans for the new park, considering closing South Bridge Street, building a new ball field and closing Bonin Field off Jackson Street.

Goals

• Enhance existing open spaces
• Open access to the river in collaboration with redevelopment opportunities
• Build a network of linkages to connect open spaces through streets and the canalwalk
• Expand the Canalwalk System to the second and third canals

Transform the Riverfront

The existing riverfront properties that are located between the Connecticut River and the 2nd Level Canal are mostly occupied by industrial uses. In addition, this area has several vacant buildings, some of which have recently been demolished and are being cleared for their potential future redevelopment. The Vision Plan has identified that this area continue to be used for job creation and commerce, targeting new development that can capitalize on the industrial and green technology industries. The Vision Plan also identifies the potential to extend the Canalwalk on the western side of North and South Canal Streets. As redevelopment and investment occurs along these riverfront properties, emphasis should be placed on the building edges and landscaping that fronts the Canal to enhance the aesthetics of this area. The following goals should be considered as properties redevelop along the riverfront;

• Place emphasis on facades that front the 2nd and 3rd Level Canals—including restoration of existing historic buildings and new development to enhance the character of the building frontage (see adjacent rendering).
• Promote landscape buffers to limit views to loading docks, parking lots and storage areas.
• Seek new green industries/technologies as part of the City’s effort to promote its renewable energy supply.
• Work with Holyoke Gas and Electric to advance plans for their properties, including an open space or “innovation park” near the dam and open views to the river for properties along Water Street.

Goals

• Enhance the edges of development along Water Street—through new development façade treatments
• Seek new development opportunities for vacant sites
• Capitalize on the “Green/Power” Industry

Enhance the Urban Neighborhoods

There are opportunities to “enhance” each of the four Center City neighborhoods by advancing new infill development, improving their appearance through cleanup programs, and creating new community gardens where residents benefit from access to locally grown foods.

The Vision Plan has identified various opportunities for infill sites that can accommodate a wide range of housing and mixed-use development. These are sites that are vacant, underutilized, or could be redeveloped. Figure 8 illustrates that these sites are scattered throughout each of the Center City’s four census tracts. Future development on these sites should be in scale and character with the surrounding context and should contribute to their urban setting by fronting buildings towards the street and accommodating parking within the internal portions of their lots or at the rear of the buildings.

Many of the existing vacant lots are adjacent to the residential uses. New development should expand upon the existing housing choices to provide a variety of unit types that can cater to Holyoke’s existing and future population and income levels. Opportunities for home ownership should be expanded to provide balance between the higher concentrations of rental units that are located within the Center City.

Existing neighborhood clean-up programs should continue to advance efforts to help these neighborhoods improve their appearance. The City should work closely with its neighborhood-based organizations and the Department of Public Works to advance efforts on trash pick-up and litter education.

During the planning processes, participants noted the need for improved code enforcement to ensure that buildings and properties are in compliance with health and safety codes. In addition, participants expressed a desire to add more community gardens within each neighborhood so that residents can benefit from access to locally grown foods. The City should explore opportunities to convert appropriately placed and accessible vacant lots into community gardens.

Goals

• Provide a mix of urban housing choices that complement the existing Center City neighborhoods
• Advance infill development opportunities throughout the Center City
• Expand neighborhood clean-up programs to enhance the appearance of the neighborhoods
• Seek opportunities for community gardens with the four neighborhood in the Center City

Reconnect the City through Gateways & Complete Streets

The Center City area has a set of distinct boundaries that include; the Connecticut River to north and east, I-391 to the south and Route 202 to the west. Celebrating arrival to the Center City can be highlighted by making enhancements to key points of entry or “gateways”. Internally, the Center City is home to four urban neighborhoods, each geographically located at its four corners. Improvements to the existing grid of streets offer the opportunity to reconnect these urban neighborhoods to each other and the adjacent mixed-use centers like High and Main Streets.

The Vision Plan has identified a series of gateway locations that should be enhanced to celebrate arrival to the downtown (See image below). In addition, the Vision Plan recommends improvements to several east-west streets that will link the four neighborhoods and downtown together. During the planning process, residents, business owners and other stakeholders raised a number of transportation-related issues. These issues included improving the following: existing sidewalks, roadway infrastructure, truck access, traffic circulation and streetscape/gateways. Enhancing these transportation elements, along with strategic roadway planning to improve connectivity, will improve the transportation network and assist in economic development and revitalization of the downtown. See Chapter 4 for further information regarding Transportation improvements.

Gateways locations:

• Beech Street (north near Lyman Street and the River, south near the High School).
• High and Maple Streets (north at Lyman Street, south at the entrance to I-391).
• Main Street (south at the crossing of the 3rd Level Canal and I-391).
• Cabot Street (east at the crossing of the 3rd Level Canal).
• North Bridge Street (north at the between the 3rd Level Canal and river).

Streetscape and Street Improvements:

• Jackson Street, Sargeant Street, Cabot Street, Appleton Street, Dwight Street, Lyman Street, Main Street, High Street, Maple Street.
• Advance plans to convert Maple and High Streets to two-ways streets, from Lyman to Cabot Streets.

Goals

• Create a network of complete streets that connect the Center City’s neighborhoods and mixed use centers
• Enhance “gateway areas” to identify entry to the Center City
  • Expand and implement wayfinding
  • Highlight new or existing architectural features on buildings
• Improve vehicular circulation and convert sections of High and Maple to two way streets

Transportation

During the planning process, residents, business owners and other stakeholders raised a number of transportation-related issues. These issues included improving the following: existing sidewalks, roadway infrastructure, truck access, traffic circulation and streetscape/gateways. Enhancing these transportation elements, along with strategic roadway planning to improve connectivity, will improve the transportation network and assist in economic development and revitalization of the downtown. Furthermore, the transportation elements of this plan present a strategic effort to make the downtown transportation system a safer, more efficient and attractive asset to the City. The following are strategic elements that can be implemented; these elements are highlighted in Chapter 3 of the Vision Plan.

Connectivity

Street connectivity needs to be improved to eliminate the need for vehicles and pedestrians to take indirect and inefficient routes via one-way, residential streets or streets without sidewalks when accessing destinations. Without improvement, increased traffic loads and pedestrian activity could reduce safety and efficiency. Goals for this element could include:

Pedestrian and Bicycle: Creating more attractive opportunities to park and walk, or park and cycle in and around the downtown is a primary goal. An effort is already being made by the City to improve this by revitalizing the Holyoke Canal and creating a Canalwalk that will provide linkage between many cultural amenities, businesses and other destinations. Chapter 3 of the Vision Plan discusses opportunities to reconnect the Center City by creating complete streets, developing key nodes, and restoring the urban neighborhoods. Special consideration should be given to connect parks, civic uses, neighborhoods, schools, open spaces, the canals, and destinations like the Volleyball Hall of Fame, Heritage State Park, Children’s Museum, etc. via an enhanced pedestrian and bicycle network.

Non-Motorized Transportation: Decrease the reliance upon the automobile. The Intermodal Transportation Center is a key element that will bring Peter Pan Bus Service to the City. The City should use this as an opportunity to create opportunities to expand bus service throughout the downtown to key destinations to/from the center.

Future Passenger Rail: Planning for future passenger rail can help revitalize the downtown by promoting another alternative transportation mode that can draw people into Holyoke from other cities, towns and states. In addition, this type of service will provide an opportunity to the redevelopment of the area around the passenger rail station, which is often referred to as Transit Oriented Development (TOD). Providing adequate parking, circulation/access for pick-up and drop-off, and designing a transportation/pedestrian network that will connect to the downtown nodes, will ensure the success of passenger rail.

Pedestrian connectivity at Mitchell Field: Mitchell Field is separated by Route 202 between Linden Street and Beech Street on the northerly end of the downtown. Connecting the fields on the northerly and southerly side of Route 202 would improve pedestrian connectivity and increase opportunities to utilize this area more efficiently. However, traffic circulation would need to be reviewed more closely, as joining this park would divert traffic and increase traffic flow on the adjacent streets of Linden Street, Dwight Street and Beech Street.

Truck Circulation: Truck access and circulation is critical to the revitalization of the downtown. A truck routing plan should be prepared to meet the needs for developing key nodes and reconnecting the City. This plan should pay particular attention to the future redevelopment of the riverfront and the major roadways/ highways used to access downtown, including I-391, Route 202, Route 141 and Route 116. Additionally, the location of low clearance bridges on local streets should be reviewed, including Jackson Street, Sargeant Street, Cabot Street, Appleton Street (south of Main Street), Mosher Street, and Race Street. Improvements at low clearance bridges or improving infrastructure on adjacent roadways to support a truck route should be explored.

Pedestrian Enhancements

Bicycling, walking and the use of other non-motorized forms of transportation are integral elements of the downtown transportation network. Attractive and safe pedestrian, bicycle and recreation facilities can help improve the downtown’s sense of character, charm, accessibility, and circulation. As evidenced in future plans to enhance downtown, i.e. the Canalwalk Project and the Intermodal Transportation Center, the importance of establishing a continuous network for non-motorized transportation users is essential. A fluid non-motorized transportation network can significantly decrease the reliance upon the automobile, increase pedestrian circulation (near shops and retail) and help relieve congestion on area roadways. Additionally, the establishment of such a network can have profound positive impacts on social equity and access as well as the health of a community. Implementing enhancements and sidewalk features along major corridors (Maple, High and Main Street) and other connector streets (Appleton, Dwight and Lyman Street) would reconnect the Center City. The following lists enhancements that could be implemented:

Neckdowns: These curb extensions shorten the walking distance for pedestrians crossing the roadway from curb to curb. These extensions call attention to pedestrians and help define on-street parking. This treatment works well in downtown settings.

Enhanced Crosswalks: Include pavement markings, colored and textured treatments and raised crosswalks which can also be called speed tables. Raised crosswalks are good for locations where drivers may not expect pedestrians to be crossing the roadway and where vehicle speeds are excessive.

Sidewalks Features: Brick accent strips and other sidewalk patterns and amenities can enhance and define a transportation corridor including streetscape and street lighting. The City has made the transformation of the downtown area into a vibrant place a top priority. The underlying goals of this vast revitalization include increased economic development, improved housing and improved community facilities. Aesthetic enhancements will likely not only result in increased pedestrian circulation through downtown but will also likely attract more businesses to the area. Conversely, a poor or unattractive environment can be a repellent to visitors and businesses and hinder economic development.

Circulation

The existing street network in the downtown area has a tendency to detour or direct visitors along specific routes, sometime bypassing key destinations. This has extremely significant consequences for the economic development of certain areas. Visual and aesthetic improvements to the transportation network will help draw visitors to the City, but improved circulation will help bring visitors and businesses in with the ultimate goal of redeveloping key areas. The circulation patterns of traffic can be very influential because they can help dictate future economic development areas by exposing more traffic to businesses. Goals for this element include:

Downtown Gateways: Develop a supplemental gateway program that builds upon the City’s signage gateway program already in place. This plan should be harmonious with the City’s streetscape elements for the primary gateways into the City that clearly define City character and efficiently guide the roadway user. Gateways often provide the first impression of the City to the visitor.

Two-Way Streets: Creating two-way streets from one-way streets. Previous studies have evaluated the conversion of High Street and Maple Street, between Appleton Street and Lyman Street, to a two-way roadway. The results of this study appeared to be favorable; however, further studies need to be conducted to determine the actual costs to make this transformation and evaluate if the existing roadway cross-section can accommodate two-way traffic flow without widening. In addition, the limits of this improvement should be further reviewed to extend to the limits that are consistent with this Vision Plan and the location of developing key nodes; this may mean extending the two-way configuration to Cabot Street.

Wayfinding Signs: The City is currently in the process of implementing a wayfinding program that creates a visual aid to guide the transportation user to parking and attractions, as well as identify historic areas of the downtown. The intent of a wayfinding signage program is to create a clear and inviting community feel, preserving and enhancing the character of the community while also guiding the roadway user efficiently to their destination. This program can have significant benefits to the community.

One-Way Streets/Dead-Ends: Creating one-way streets or dead-ends in the Flats or South Holyoke to discourage cut-through traffic and promote traffic flow on major corridors.

Pavement Marking, Signage, and Traffic Signals: The presentation of the downtown character can be largely conveyed through its transportation system. A network of signage and pavement markings that is clear, clean, and concise can safely and efficiently guide the transportation network user through the downtown. In addition, ornamental traffic signals and implementation of new traffic signals can help control traffic and still provide character to the downtown.

Implementation Strategies

The Center City Vision Plan sets the goals and framework for a number of initiatives to help transform this part of the City into a vibrant Center City. With this Vision Plan in place, many individual but unified actions can occur within the revitalization framework that will support the overall recommendations of this plan. For example, public improvements to streets, parks and buildings, as well as private actions for parcel development or building rehabilitation, can now be planned and occur knowing how they will fit into this larger framework for the entire Center City area.

There are a number of actions the City and HRA can initiate to start achieving the recommendations of the Vision Plan. These include:

• Preparation of an Urban Renewal Plan as a implementation tool.
• Changes to the Zoning Ordinance text and/or Zoning Map to support the redevelopment recommendations for this area of the City.
• Development of Design Guidelines, either as a stand-alone document or as part of the Urban Renewal Plan, to set standards for the rehabilitation or construction of buildings.
• Use of the Vision Plan to guide proposed development to those locations that support the larger vision.
• Use of the Vision Plan by various City Departments and other governmental agencies to guide any initiatives or improvements in the area of the City, such as improvements to parks, streets, utilities, schools, housing, etc.

In addition to these general initiatives for the Center City area, prioritized and key specific initiatives for the six Vision Plan elements are described in the table beginning on the opposite page.

Urban Renewal Plan

One of the primary goals of Vision Plan was to provide the basis for the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to prepare an urban renewal plan for all or a portion of the Center City area. An urban renewal plan is an implementation strategy and tool for revitalization projects, and preparing such a plan will enable the HRA to take certain action to stimulate private investment in the area. One of the main reasons for doing an Urban Renewal Plan is to document why public investment and actions are needed to stimulate private investment. This is typically referred to as the “But For” factor – “But For” public action, the normal activities of private enterprise alone would not result in economic investment in the identified area. It is important to note that the City and HRA cannot dictate private investment in the area, but they can assist and promote private investment through an urban renewal plan. The Urban Renewal Plan must be prepared an implemented in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 121B, and the Urban Renewal Guidelines prepared by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

One of the first steps in the Urban Renewal Planning process is to define the proposed urban renewal area. Once an initial area is identified, critical data and statistics can be collected, an in-depth analysis can occur and public actions can be identified that are intended to attract private investment into the area. Key elements of an urban renewal plan include:

• Confirm the Project Area—in-depth analysis to verify that the area qualifies as an urban renewal area.Parcel and building evaluation—to document existing conditions and, where applicable, determine the redevelopment potential of a vacant or underutilized parcel.
• Documenting that the area qualifies as an Urban Renewal Area.
• Specific recommendations for:
  •    Public actions intended to attract and support private investment
  •    Private actions expected as the result of public initiatives in the area
• Financing Plan—estimated project costs for public actions and potential funding sources.
• Expected Results—examples include job creation, increased property values, additional housing options.
• Phase implementation—how the entire plan is to be implemented over a 10–20 year period.

The City and HRA should build upon the momentum of the Vision Plan and begin using it as a planning tool for future actions in the Center City area and also as the basis for the preparation of an Urban Renewal Plan.

Implementation Table

Let me reiterate: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. prepared this plan for the City of Holyoke & The Holyoke Redevelopment Authority on August 2nd 2009. This plan was officially released as a beautiful PDF document, and I've reproduced the entire plan for those who prefer to read online (and so that the contents of the plan can be scooped up by search engines & easily found by those interested in the topic).

Related posts:

1. Is Holyoke Ready To Pioneer And Dominate An Industry Once Again?

This post is far from timely, so you've likely already heard about and use StumbleUpon.  If you haven't: I'm about to ruin your life.
Basically, you install the plugin & configure your account to specify topics you're interested in ... Then, whenever you click the Stumble button you're whisked away to a random page on the internet that fits your configured your interests.  So, if you're like me and just checked every single box you could, then you're literally brought to a random page on the internet.  This pretty much makes StumbleUpon a power-house of a timewaster that would rival cable television, if it weren't for the fact that it's also pretty useful.

Fun For Everyone

It's always fun to find new sites, pages, and videos on the internet.  StumbleUpon is one of the easiest ways to do this - just click the Stumble button.  This system relies on all of us, though, which is why it's important to keep thumbing-up the things that you like.  If you happen to be the first person to add something to StumbleUpon, then definitely take the time to appropriately tag & quickly review it - this will help keep stumbles relevant & make sure it's likely to be displayed for other stumblers.

There's a bit of a community within StumbleUpon which, I must admit, I haven't quite taken a lot of time to check out yet.  The idea is solid, though, and it's a bit like Last.fm in its methods for connecting people in that it compares the sites & topics that people Like and then rate your similarity.  This is a great way to find out about new music, so I'm sure the theory translates to finding new websites as well.

Useful For Your Own Site

Every time you post on your own site, you should take some quick steps to properly add it to StumbleUpon's collection.  Properly Like the new page by accurately tagging it, and adding a short review - the review can be as simple as copying & pasting text from the page into the review section.  This will make sure that it's available for others to stumble upon, and hopefully Like as well.

Additionally, you should extend StumbleUpon's hit-creating ability even further by using Su.pr links wherever you share links.  Su.pr will shorten URLs so that instead of passing along a mile-long link, you pass along a link that's nice and short and even kind of fun to read.  Su.pr also tracks how many times a link is clicked, so you can see how influential you've been (stat junkies - I've just re-ruined your life).

I'm not entirely sure if it's the case, but it does seem that links with high clickthrough rates within Su.pr are more likely to be displayed to people just stumbling around the internet as well.  This seems to mean that if you're consistently providing influential links that are getting a lot of clicks, then all of your links (yep, that includes your posts too!) will also earn more stumbles.  I'm pretty sure this is a small addition to the existing stumble 'authority' which simply displayes pages that other users thumbed-up more often those those that either haven't been thumbed-up or have been thumbed down.

You need two things in order to start running your own website: A domain name, and a web host.  The domain name will allow people to type in something ideally short and catchy, like PeopleOfWalmart.com, and be directed to your website.  The web host will store your entire site on their server, so that you don't have to leave a loud computer on every second of the day (not to mention pay for the bandwidth required to display your site to all of your visitors).

Domain Name

Your domain name should be easy to remember, and relevant to the content of your website.  All one, two, three, and four letter domain names are taken, but if you're ready to fork over some serious cash then that option might be open to you.  For everyone else, this means finding an unregistered longer word or phrase, creatively putting words together, or even making up words.

I've been able to get great deals on domain name registration through godaddy.com ... Sometimes you can also pick up some coupon codes from the SlickDeals forum - click this link to go to search results for the term 'godaddy' in the SlickDeals forum.  You might be able to find some codes to get a set dollar amount or a percentage off of your final purchase price.

When you purchase a domain name, you're actually purchasing the Second Level Domain - this is the "JamesChevalier" part of my domain name.  The other part (in my case, the ".us" in my domain name) is the Top Level Domain, and you'll get to choose from quite a few Top Level Domains (TLD)when you register your domain name with GoDaddy.

It's actually that list of TLDs that sets it apart from my suggested web host (below).  DreamHost provides you with one free .com, .org, .net, or .info domain name registration when you purchase hosting, so it's likely the best deal for you to purchase your domain name through your web host as well.  The only trouble is the TLD limitation, which might play a part in keeping you as a GoDaddy customer...

Web Host

After you purchase a domain name for yourself, you'll need a place to host your site. Your web host will do just that - store every file that is required for your website, and reply to requests for those files.  This is one of the most important parts, because if your web host fails then people can't access your website.

I do all my hosting through DreamHost and I've had a fantastic experience!  They're constantly passing along offers for great features like unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disk space, private server hosting, etc. and the service has been flawless.

You can click this link to sign up at DreamHost and take $50 off your first year of hosting, courtesy of some guy named James Chevalier - the same guy who can help you out by setting up a new blog for you.

Google Reader has Like and Share features built in that let me do more than simply read posts.  The Like and Share features allow me to tell others about interesting things I find on the internet.  I use these two features quite a bit...

I think the Like feature is a bit of a dead-end organizational feature at the moment - whatever is Liked is categorized into an unshared pile of posts that are marked "Liked", and it's actually a bit useless on its own (at the moment anyway).  I use it anyway, though - partly because I'm a freak about Google products, partly because it can be a useful organizational tool to quickly access posts that I found most interesting, and partly because of the feature's potential (should Google decide to add to it).

So, if I really enjoy a post, I'll use the Like feature as well as the Share feature.  The Share feature categorizes the post into an RSS feed of its own that is shared based on certain settings.  I've got it configured so that everything I Share is open for anyone to read right here.  Plus, it's really easy for me, because I'm right there reading the post that I enjoy where I can also click a single button to share it (or click a single button & type some text if I want to comment on it as well).  The action of sharing becomes an almost passive action; being able to share right from where I'm reading without taking extra steps or going away from the reading page makes it easy and enjoyable.  (StumbleUpon does a great job at ease-of-use, as well, but I'll be talking more about that in other posts.)

I don't care for that direct Google Reader shared items feed, though.  It's all alone; it's another place; it's yet another neighborhood (more on the idea of Many Places At Once / Many Neighborhoods in another post).  So, yeah, sure, it's great for other Google Reader users, but what about the people on my blog, or the people on Twitter, or the people on FriendFeed?  I have to do a little setup work to get those things running smoothly...

If you haven't checked it out yet, go have a look at my Lifestream (essentially my own personal FriendFeed).  This is a collection of posts from nearly every online presence that I have, and it takes absolutely zero effort to produce.  Both FriendFeed and my Lifestream are automatically updated whenever I Share something from Google Reader, no more complicated than that.

The leftover part, however, is getting my shared Google Reader posts into Twitter.  For that, I use TwitterFeed which subscribes to my Google Reader Shared Items feed and automatically post Shares.  Since Twitter limits posts to 140 characters, TwitterFeed shortens the URL that's shared with bit.ly (but only because it doesn't support Su.pr) - but that's getting a bit ahead of myself, so I'll write more on URL shorteners and the great service that is Su.pr in other posts...

That brings it full circle - I can post directly to my Lifestream and Twitter simply by reading posts via Google Reader and clicking a single button for the things that interest me.  This is the easiest method that I've found to share interesting posts that are always relevant.

Related posts:

1. Relevant Exploration Through Google Reader
2. Contemplate Consuming The Internet
3. Stumbling Down The Information Superhighway

I went to the Green High Performance Computing Center (GHPCC) meeting in the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College on Wednesday September 23rd.  The turnout was fantastic - people from the Holyoke city government, business owners, and citizens were there.  The meeting was scheduled to run from 10:30am to 11:30am, but it went a little long and ended a bit before noon.

Here's the agenda, as listed in the available handout:

10:00 Welcome & Purpose
10:10 Centennial Park, North Carolina

• Introduction - Pat Larkin - Director, MTC John Adams Innovation Institute
• Presentation - Bob Kispert - Program Director, Regional & Federal Programs, MTC John Adams Innovation Institute
• Discussion

11:00 Status Reports

• GHPCC Planning - Eric Nakajima - Senior Policy Advisor, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development
• Education & Outreach Discussion - Rick Adrion - Professor of Computer Science, University Of Massachusetts Amherst

11:25 Closing Comments
11:30 Adjourn

The schedule was followed pretty well, aside from Eric Nakajima having been caught in traffic on I90 (which resulted in a well-cheered comment about how a rail transit system would have been useful).

Pat Larkin's introduction gave some good perspective on the overall project as well as where we currently stand with the project itself.  He emphasized the fact that we are not only very early in the planning process, but also on the bleeding edge of projects like this across the country as well.  It's important that this fact is kept in the back of our minds as the GHPCC project continues, as this is certain to evolve over time.

Bob Kispet's presentation dealt with three other examples of Computing Centers that the GHPCC here in Holyoke will be loosely based on; Research Triangle (established in 1959), Centennial Campus (established in 1984), and Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI, established in 2004) which will likely be the closest comparison to our own GHPCC of the three.

It's important to note that this is not a simple project to renovate a building to hold a data/computing center.  This project actually aims to be more like a full community or campus-like environment.  The GHPCC is estimated to span about 4 acres, with additional districts set up around it.  As a comparison to comprehend the scale of this project:  Research Triangle operated for almost 20 years before it become solvent in 1973.  RENCI has an annual budget of $18.4million and acts as a partnership with Duke, NCSU, UNC-CH, and State of NC.  Centennial Campus has more than $1.2billion currently invested in infrastructure.

The computing power present in the GHPCC will be based on researcher's needs.  The main use of the computing power will be for universities/research, and leftover CPU cycles or server time could be sold to third parties.  There was a bit of a discussion, at this meeting, about the actual servers that will be present in the GHPCC but it's really too early to say anything other than "it's going to be wow powerful" because there's too much planning time required before those specifications will need to be set in stone.

There are three work streams going on at once to accomplish this project: the Business plan, the Infrastructure, and Research, Education & Outreach.  These three aspects will determine who owns & operates the GHPCC, what's exactly in it, and what collaborative research, education & outreach it will enable.  Also, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is involved, but I'm not sure to what extent.  The planning group is set to have their report ready sometime in the late middle of October, at which point it will be passed back to Governor Deval Patrick and decisions will be made by all partners involved.  The mid/late October deadline is simply for a go/no-go answer from the partners involved, and probably won't involve any actual ground-breaking ceremony.  From comments at the meeting (I'm correcting myself a bit here on Oct. 2nd based on emails with Kathy Anderson), the goal is to have a running system within two years.  One important and interesting point brought up by Eric Nakajima (the main person responsible for the GHPCC planning) was that there is a strong focus on being able to get immediate return value from the GHPCC in addition to the long term investment.

Citizens of Holyoke, and organizations/groups within Holyoke should start forming their opinions of what they want Holyoke to be, and how the GHPCC can play a part in that vision.  After the decision in mid/late October, citizen opinion will start taking a bigger role in the project.  It's also reassuring to know that Eric Nakajima took a moment during the meeting to specifically point out that city officials in Holyoke have been tremendously great to work with.

As Pat Larkin pointed out during the meeting, Holyoke was once a world power by being the first planned city in the United States, and by using its strengths to dominate the Paper Industry.  Holyoke now has the potential to regain that title by using these same strengths to pioneer and dominate the new industry of High Performance Computing.

The next meeting is planned for Wednesday, October 21st: 3pm in the Kittridge Business Center at Holyoke Community College

Don't waste time revisiting websites over & over - have them delivered to you!  Subscribe to a site's RSS feed (like mine), so you don't have to travel all over the internet to stay up to speed.  Instead of going from website to website reading them individually, you'll have the updates delivered to you in a single easy to manage location.

To do this, you'll need a feed reader - my reader of choice is Google Reader.  It allows you to do more than simply consume information - you get to share everything, and comment on it as well (you'll hear more on that in later posts).  There's also a mobile version of the site, so you can pick up where you left off - anywhere you go.

Here's a quick guide on how to subscribe to a site's RSS feed:

1. Go sign up for an account to use Google Reader
2. Visit a website; we'll use my site as an example
3. In the address bar, click the RSS icon that looks like this
4. Select the "RSS 2.0" entry from the menu that contains different "Subscribe to" options
5. Click on the "Subscribe Now" button in the bland page you were taken to
6. Click the "Add to Google Reader" button in Google's page which is asking how to subscribe

Now that you know what you're doing - go ahead and subscribe to all of your frequently visited sites...

After you subscribe to more & more RSS feeds, you might find that you need to start organizing your collection.  Here's a screen shot of my freshly-read Google Reader screen (it doesn't happen often!), which consists of about 150 subscriptions sorted into about a dozen folders:

Related posts:

1. Don’t Slouch At The Dinner Table
2. Relevant Exploration Through Google Reader