To the casual visitor, downtown Ann Arbor is ground zero for restaurants, bars and artsy boutiques. But that's only part of the story. Climb the stairs to the floors above the bistros and gift shops and you'll find a community of new economy creatives. Concentrate's Terry Parris Jr. visits the people you might not meet every day.
It's less about world conquest and more about smart business. Ann Arbor firms are reaching out into the global marketplace and finding great success. Some even call the Mitten home but do little to no business here.
It was only a matter of time before pizza went high-tech. From web tracking to on demand orders from your TiVo, Ann Arbor-based Domino's has created a brave new world of snarfing.
Adversity is the mother of invention. Or so they say. And Michigan is proving them true. While the rest of the country has seen a decline in business formation, cities like Ann Arbor are experiencing a startup spike.
As Brooklyn is to Manhattan. Or Oakland is to San Francisco. Or just plain Ypsitucky. Over the years Ypsilanti has been endlessly compared to Ann Arbor. But now, with the elbow grease of its growing creative class, the former factory town is creating an identity all its own. Terry Parris looks at the community's emerging DIY arts identity and how it squares with Ann Arbor's more established institutions.
In Ann Arbor a buyout doesn't always mean a sellout. Though innovative startups like Fry, Healthmedia, and T/J Technologies have been snapped up by larger out-of-state companies, they have decided to stay in the city that birthed them.
Are you a follower or do you have a following? Who's tweeting who? Social Media is this year's buzz word and Twitter is its newest doo-dad. Our story would end here (if we stuck to the 140 character limit) but Twitter has only just begun in the Ann Arbor area.
Imagine commuting by bike between Ypsi and Ann Arbor, along an idyllic trail, no motor vehicles in sight. How about Dexter? Or beyond? The Border To Border Trail is nearly that route. Almost 60% complete, this ambitious multi-use thoroughfare could offer more than just a nice ride along the river, it could become an alternative mode of transportation.
Summer break used to mean children returning to the fields to help their families with planting and harvesting. It's ironic, then, as the new school year begins, that almost none of our locally produced food will end up on local lunch trays. Except in Chelsea, that is, where the Farm To Schools Program is building a healithier student body ...and local economy.
Toss a rock into the air in Washtenaw County and it's not hard to hit someone involved with computer software development. But how many of them have plotted the overthrow of Prussia, Austria, and Turkey? Eric Babe and his team of game developers are the brains and brawn behind West-Civ, a strategy-based computer war game company. Once more into the breach!
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